Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more
Political seance
The UK鈥檚 parliament may be on shutdown, but to quiz one titan of the political stage on Brexit matters 鈥� despite her death six years ago. Flyers posted in the city advertised an exclusive two-night speaking tour from former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, courtesy of Happy Science.
Despite sounding like a euphemism for recreational drugs, Happy Science is made of far more mind-addling stuff. The Japanese religious group 鈥� also known as the Happies 鈥� has been channelling messages from the spirit world since 1986. The group also runs a political wing to further its goal of 鈥渢he realisation of love, peace and happiness on Earth鈥�, via policies such as, uh, military expansion, nuclear weapons and disavowing Japanese war crimes.
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Back in the UK, Thatcher still commands a cult-like following among neoliberal thinkers, who must be confused by her apparent new allegiance. But then, as Thatcher herself said in 2013 鈥� through the medium of Happy Master Ryuho Okawa 鈥� : 鈥淚鈥檓 not just the Iron Lady, I鈥檓 the Hot Iron Lady.鈥� Galvanising stuff, to mix our metal metaphors somewhat.
Holy cow
In these eco-conscious days, it鈥檚 important to recycle where possible. India鈥檚 national cow commission, however, might be letting its green zeal get the better of it.
The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog has raised eyebrows 鈥� and perhaps turned stomachs 鈥� with a scheme for getting rid of waste matter from cattle: feed it to women.
The commission announced that it is working with the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) to convert cow dung and urine into the traditional medicine panchgavya.
Commission chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria told , with reference to holy texts, that pregnant women who regularly consume the unusual product may give birth to 鈥渟mart, highly intellectual and healthy children鈥�. Smart enough, hopefully, to avoid such nutritional advice in future.
Food for thought
More trifles: a colleague reports that he is left famished by his switch to a vegan diet. 鈥淚n a desperate attempt to get the number of calories a strapping lad like me needs, I have just bought some Trek庐 Cocoa Oat Protein Flapjack bars.鈥�
These, he is informed by the packaging, are 鈥減roudly vegan鈥�, as well as being 鈥渄elicious, nourishing and REAL鈥�. Aha! 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I鈥檝e been going wrong,鈥� he says, 鈥渁ll these virtual calories!鈥�
Feedback notes the box also warns that the bars 鈥淢ay contain sesame, peanuts, other nuts and milk :)鈥� Real food, perhaps, and virtually vegan.
Frog storm
Returning to India, clerics there have divorced two frogs just months into their marriage. The pair were wedded in Madhya Pradesh in July in a ceremony to appease the rain god Indra and usher in an end to the dry season. But the frogs鈥� love proved to be too powerful: the monsoon season that started days later has since given rise to catastrophic floods.
Nice weather for frogs, but less so for their human officiants. Priests at the Om Shiv Seva Shakti Mandal in Bhopal have now dissolved the star-crossed lovers鈥� union, .
What now for the two frogs and their forbidden love? Can they find happiness in the pale green arms of another? Or will they gamble the local climate with secret trysts? Keep your eye on the Madhya Pradesh weather report to find out.
Coming to a head
As wildfires rage in the Amazon, it鈥檚 been frequently said that rainforests are the lungs of the planet. Feedback isn鈥檛 going to get into the scientific accuracy of that statement 鈥� lungs tend to consume oxygen, not produce it 鈥� but it does make us wonder what other body parts are found across the globe.
The moon seems a good candidate for the appendix, removed after an angry flare-up some years ago. Logic dictates that one of the ice caps ought to have a head underneath. The UK certainly seems to be full of spleen these days, and with nativist sentiment on the rise across Europe, the bile duct must be located nearby.
Given the plentiful gas pockets found under the Middle East, we鈥檇 suggest the digestive system lies there. As for where the gut ends, well everyone has an opinion on that. Your thoughts and theories to the usual address.
Cosmic sprinkles
Your regular dose of nominative determinism. David Rogerson writes: 鈥淭his is a bit late, but there was an article in your own magazine about interstellar dust being studied by Angela Speck鈥� (24 August, p 14).
Picture of the week Women in STEM
alice_in_zoology_land sent in a behind the scenes peek at the Natural History Museum. 鈥淒oing some research on hyenas and wolves for my PhD. This is an African spotted hyena skull.鈥�
The next theme is birds in all their feathered glory.
Email us your related photos to readerpics@newscientist.com by Tuesday 1 October.
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