COMMENTING on Feedback鈥檚 report on Jonathan Rowles鈥檚 attempt to synthesise his reading of New 杏吧原创 and The Psychologist by invoking the concept of 鈥渜uantum psychology鈥� (28 November), Jon Sutton, editor of The Psychologist, wrote to us (Letters, 9 January, p 27) recalling that he once spent a few weeks on placement in New 杏吧原创鈥榮 offices.
鈥淚 will always remember being told that you experienced a spike in sales each time the word 鈥榪uantum鈥� appeared on the cover,鈥� he said. He went on to ask if there were any words that may have caused an actual drop in our sales.
Feedback asked New 杏吧原创 editor-in-chief Jeremy Webb. He said: 鈥淭he only word I can think of is 鈥榩otato鈥�, but I only have a sample of one very poor-selling issue to back that up. There are most definitely images that subdue sales 鈥� insects and spiders don鈥檛 work for readers, nor do images of fire.鈥�
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This led us to wonder 鈥� purely in the interests of science, of course 鈥� what would happen if New 杏吧原创 put the words 鈥渜uantum potato鈥� on the cover. But perhaps it wouldn鈥檛 be ethical to confuse readers in this way.
鈥淭he cooking instructions for Justin Neville-Rolfe鈥檚 Christmas turkey from British supermarket Waitrose gave an 鈥渁pproximate cooking time鈥� of 鈥�2 hours 60 minutes鈥濃��
MYSTERY surrounding the golfer Tiger Woods has grown much deeper and considerably more interesting than the speculation over events leading up to his minor car crash in November 鈥� at least according to a in the UK tabloid the Daily Mail, forwarded to us by Emily Wright.
鈥淥fficers first attempted to interview the golfer, thought to be worth about 拢500 million,鈥� it says, 鈥渨hen he returned from hospital.鈥� So far, so standard procedure. 鈥淭hey were told he was asleep and to come back yesterday, but were then informed that he would again be unavailable and they should try today.鈥�
Has the case gone quiet because the officers investigating are now trapped in an infinite loop of all their yesterdays, Emily wonders? We can certainly understand that Woods himself would like the ability to come back yesterday鈥� that halcyon day when the ball wasn鈥檛 lodged in the branches of that tree, the car was dent-free, and science magazines weren鈥檛 indulging in idle celebrity gossip.
LAX regulation of the internet allows companies to register website addresses in foreign countries, so that internet shoppers can be fooled into thinking they are buying locally when in fact they are not. Last year, in the first case of its kind, the US Federal Trade Commission used the US Safe Web Act of 2006 to get heavy with a Californian e-tailer who ran two websites with 鈥渃o.uk鈥� addresses ( and ).
that British customers thought they were buying consumer electronics from a company operating in the UK, with British warranties and no risk of customs duties. They then found themselves charged unexpected taxes and duties by the postman and received invalid guarantees. And as any traveller knows, DVDs, games and TV equipment sold for use in the US often aren鈥檛 compatible with European systems.
We recently checked both sites and found them still up and running and offering deals with prices in pounds sterling 鈥� but both do now say clearly that they offer 鈥渄eals from the USA鈥�. Hopefully, this message will alert would-be customers.
All of which sounds to us like standard internet skullduggery 鈥� but there is one other aspect of the story that makes it especially noteworthy, and that is the name of the offending company. With or without the 鈥渃o.uk鈥�, we wonder how many Feedback readers would want to order goods from a firm called Balls of Kryptonite.
鈥淚 SAVED 拢137.43 on household insurance,鈥� says the woman in the UK TV advertisement for . 鈥淭he money you can claw back on household insurance is invaluable.鈥�
鈥淪urely,鈥� says David Hewitt, 鈥渋ts value is 拢137.43 鈥� or am I missing something?鈥�
Raging at the wrap rage beater
OUR colleague Henry Gomm tells us that for Christmas his father brought his grandmother a 鈥� a multifunctional tool that claimed to be able to open all types of bottles, lids, boxes and plastic wrappings.
The only problem was that, almost inevitably, it came in vacuum-sealed plastic packaging so impregnably tough that, try as she might, Henry鈥檚 grandmother just couldn鈥檛 get it open. The only way the family could beat their wrap rage over this was by recourse to a pair of heavy-duty kitchen scissors.
Post-Newtonian station announcement
FINALLY, one from the department of post-Newtonian physics. Edward Roworth was impressed by the combination of relativity and quantum theories implicit in an announcement at Oxford railway station, which urged passengers: 鈥淭o speed up time, please use all available doors to enter the train.鈥�