On your arks
PREVIOUSLY, Feedback pondered the seaworthiness of a replica ark under construction in Kentucky (4 June). Now Republican congressman Louie Gohmert invites us to consider a hypothetical situation (and we hope it is hypothetical): that an Earth-killing meteorite is bearing down on us, necessitating a spacefaring ark.
In a rambling speech that covered transgender issues and gay marriage, the Texan representative encouraged members of Congress to think carefully about who they might install in such a spaceship. 鈥淚f you could decide what 40 people you put on the spacecraft that would save humanity, how many of those would be same-sex couples?鈥� he inquired.
Yes, it seems there鈥檚 no space in space for gay interplanetary colonists. Given the option of boarding a exclusively heterosexual lifeboat to the stars, Feedback thinks that we would much rather stay put on Earth with the same-sex couples and meteorites.
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鈥淢ore odd smells: Claude Castonguay reports that though delicious, the cranberry-like pimbina must be stewed outdoors as 鈥渨hile cooking, the berries give off an unbearable dirty feet stench鈥�.鈥�
Genetic markers
ELSEWHERE in the US, ballot initiatives have been launched to push for mandatory labelling of genetically modified food, often justified by way of public opinion. But that鈥檚 not all Americans are worried about.
A published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal found that not only did 84 per cent of respondents support mandatory labelling of GM foods, but 80 per cent also thought any food containing DNA should be similarly labelled.
However, only a minority of those questioned thought these issues should be decided by public sentiment, and a mere 8 per cent thought that ballot initiatives were the right approach, with most in favour of leaving it to the Food and Drug Administration.
A sense, of sorts? Just don鈥檛 mention all that dihydrogen monoxide in our food.
Setting sun
RECENTLY, Feedback discussed the Helen, a proposed unit for measuring female beauty (14 May). Nicola Hutchison was left 鈥渨ondering how we should measure objectification of women in the media鈥�.
She recalls an anecdote about a subeditor whose job was to count the number of revealing images of women in a tabloid newspaper, and arrange for more if it fell below 10.
鈥淭his suggests that the unit of editorial sexism sufficient to objectify one woman should be the deci-Sun,鈥� says Nicola 鈥� after the UK paper famed for its page 3 nudes.
鈥淗owever, since objectifying one woman objectifies all, perhaps a quantum model becomes more useful: any publication can potentially collapse into the full state of sexism upon observation,鈥� she adds.
Going down
SOME years ago, a multi-store chain of pharmacies named Dart Drug could be found throughout Washington DC, writes Terence Kuch. One day he spotted a large banner hanging in one that declared 鈥淐OSMETICS: LOWEST DISCOUNTS鈥�. Terence says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 always good to see shops being honest for a change鈥�.
Cloud candy
NURY VITTACHI writes: 鈥淩egarding incongruous smells, the Office of Emergency Management in New York City regularly receives panicked calls about clouds of 鈥榙eadly caramel gas鈥�.鈥�
These fragrant emissions in fact emanate from a nearby factory that processes methi, a sweet vegetable used in Indian cooking, he says. Vittachi adds that by switching the cumin in your curries for methi 鈥� also known as fenugreek 鈥� 鈥測our sweat will smell like maple syrup waffles鈥�.
Dance captain
WE LAST heard from Patrick Fenlon when he asked if there was a term for sentences that were automatically truncated in odd or amusing ways (30 April). He says the as-yet-unnamed effect has resurfaced in the programme guide for the history channel in New Zealand, which offered him the viewing option: 鈥淐aptain Cook: Obsession and Disco鈥�.
Technicolor dreams
THOSE old enough to remember watching everything in black and white will recall the excitement offered by the advent of colour television. Now Arthur Chance relays news of an even bigger advance in the colour spectrum.
E Ink Holdings has announced a new innovation in e-book displays, namely a colour version that boasts 鈥渁 full color gamut, including all eight primary colors鈥�.
鈥淔antastic,鈥� says Arthur, 鈥渨e now have 166 per cent more primary colours available to us.鈥�
Words and music
A CASE of recursive nominative determinism has occurred, says Cameron Fairbairn, 鈥渋n a tweet by writer Bill Werde (pronounced 鈥榳ordy鈥�) about Alicia Keys, a notable singer and 鈥�.
A weighty measure
FEEDBACK has covered many unusual and absurd units of measurement in our time, but Chris Stoddart offers an unusually apt one.
A widely circulated press release on the mechanics of T-cells that fluoresced 鈥渋n response to a minuscule mechanical force of a piconewton 鈥� about one million-millionth the weight of an apple鈥�.
Chris says 鈥渇rom this we know the force of 1 piconewton is about equal to 10-12 apple, or 1 newton is about equal to 1 apple. A most fitting result.鈥�