Table of contents for September 2021 in Readers Digest Australia

ON 15 APRIL 2019, the world learnt the terrible news that Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris’s famous landmark building and popular tourist attraction, was ablaze. The unimaginable had happened, but with its magnificent 800-year-old roof still smouldering in ruins, the enormous effort to restore the medieval beauty began. In ‘Saving Notre Dame’ (page 64), we take a look at the restoration effort involving expert scientists and historians from across France to identify the most suitable natural materials to rebuild the cathedral’s roof and preserve its other unique structural features. We also delve into the intriguing life of Coco Chanel, creator of another French icon, Chanel No. 5 (‘Smell Like A Woman’, page 38). This year, the perfume celebrates its 100th anniversary, and though one of the mostrecognised global brands, the lesser-known…

• Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not see the world only in black and white. Scientists believe that their vision is similar to that of a person who has redgreen colour blindness. • Dogs and many other animals have three eyelids per eye. The third eyelid is called the nictitating membrane and helps to keep the eye clean and prevent it from injury. • Dogs have 18 muscles in their ears and can move them independently which means they can swivel them in the direction of a sound. Their ears also express emotions.…

WHEN TAKING BLOOD PRESSURE, BOTH ARMS SHOULD BE CHECKED The ideal way to take blood pressure is by measuring it in both arms, according to international guidelines. But in real life, this happens only half of the time at best – even at the doctor’s surgery. Checking both arms is important because when arteries stiffen and harden, one side is usually affected more than the other in a way that blood-pressure testing may detect. A slight disparity isn’t cause for concern, but a difference of 10 mmHg in the systolic number could be a sign of cardiovascular problems. Next time you visit the GP, encourage the doctor to check both arms. DEEP SLEEP MAY DEFEND AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S Each day, as your brain cells consume energy, they create waste products. These…

FROM THE CONVERSATION When Marilyn Monroe was asked, “What do you wear to bed?” she famously replied, “Just a few drops of No. 5.” Marilyn Monroe was perhaps the most famous fan of the French perfume that celebrated its 100th birthday in May. Since it was launched by Coco Chanel on May 5, 1921, Chanel No. 5 has endured in popularity, selling an estimated ten million bottles globally every year. Already a successful fashion designer and businesswoman, Chanel became an icon at a time when women were mostly employed in agricultural or domestic duties. She trained as a seamstress, later working as a shop girl and cafe singer, and in 1910, opened her hat shop Chanel Modes at Number 21 rue Cambon, in the centre of Paris. By 1913, she…

There is no denying it, you just can’t get fresher than me, Mint. Mixed with a splash of lime juice and soda water, I am undeniably the coolest drink around – making the perfect mocktail or cocktail for hot summer days and balmy evenings. But I am so much more than just a refreshing beverage. I am added to all sorts of recipes to provide a stimulating twist on a tired formula. Think baked spuds or steamed vegies. Even a fresh fruit salad can gain a new zest of life with a little of me scattered over it. I am also the perfect companion when married with roast lamb, peas and beans, summer salads and cold soups. I’m super easy to grow, and even the world’s worse gardeners can’t go…

Over the centuries, Notre Dame’s roof was commonly known as ‘the forest’ – a reference to its intertwined oak beams. The 2019 fire completely destroyed the roof, and 2000 oak trees will be needed to rebuild it exactly as it was. Numerous countries stepped forward to offer trees for the reconstruction. Ultimately, the body overseeing the restoration of Notre Dame decided to use only French oaks due to time constraints involved in harvesting and drying the wood. At the beginning of March this year, before the sap began to rise, foresters from the Office National des Forêts (ONF) felled the first eight oaks in the Bercé Forest, 120 kilometres southwest of Paris. The wood from these exceptional trees – 230 years old, one metre in diameter, with more than 20…

True wisdom lies in gathering the precious things out of each day as it goes by.E.S. BOUTON, EDITOR The worst thing about catching the cat drinking from my water glass? Wondering how many times I didn’t catch her.KELLEY ARMSTRONG, AUTHOR The pandemic accentuated that part of me that says, why am I useful? Am I useful for anything? I’m only useful if I feel I can respond to need.YO-YO MA, MUSICIAN Home is not where you were born. Home is where all your attempts to escape cease.OMAR TAHER, WRITER I CAN LIVE WITH A MISTAKE. WHAT I COULDN’T LIVE WITH IS 
 SLOPPINESS. AND THERE’S A DIFFERENCE.DANA CANEDY, PUBLISHER Magicians do not lie about the universe.JAMES RANDI, ILLUSIONIST…

While soft drink manufacturers state that they use the same recipe regardless of whether the soft drink is packaged in a can or bottle, there is no denying that ice-cold cola tastes different when you chug it from a can compared to drinking it from a bottle. The aluminium cans have a polymer lining that can absorb some of the soft drink’s flavours, food chemist Sarah Risch tells Popular Science, potentially making the taste milder. If you are slugging your soft drink from a plastic bottle, Risch notes, the drink’s flavour may be altered by some of the acetaldehyde in the plastic transferring into the liquid. Since glass bottles are basically inert, they’ll deliver a product very close to the original intent, experts tell Business Insider. One chemist states that…

FROM THE CONVERSATION It can often feel difficult to escape a bad news story. The news plays a prominent role in our lives, something that has been emphasised even further during the past 18 months. The pandemic has brought with it daily news briefings and a seemingly never-ending influx of COVID-19 related headlines. Staying informed and educated is important. However, constant exposure to negative reporting may be bad for your wellbeing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has found news coverage can increase distress and anxiety, and a recent study suggests news reports shared through social media lead to increased panic. Some people may be particularly vulnerable to negative impacts of specific stories. For example, people with eating disorders have reported being triggered by an emphasis in the media on exercise…

1. buccaneer – A: early settler. B: pirate. C: bullfighter. 2. terrazzo – A: mosaic flooring. B: seasoned pork. C: public square. 3. heedless – A: outgoing. B: inconsiderate. C: unselfish. 4. muumuu – A: sweetheart. B: wild ox. C: loose dress 5. settee – A: place mat. B: sofa. C: tennis match. 6. hippogriff – A: mythical animal. B: early automobile. C: complainer. 7. bassoon – A: court jester. B: woodwind instrument. C: hunting dog. 8. suffragette – A: suede cloth. B: kind of dance. C: a woman who campaigned for the right to vote. 9. guerrilla – A: large monkey found in West Africa. B: outlaw soldier. C: grilled pita. 10. milliwatt – A: tooth whitener. B: unit of power. C: earthworm. 11. abbess – A: deep wound.…

Working With Robots I found ‘Welcome, Robots’ (June) an insightful read. While I marvelled at the technology, I worried where it might end. Robots may be more efficient but not at the expense of humans – or so I thought. When Mark Borman said, “We’re going through a generational change … in agriculture” and that younger people aren’t choosing these jobs, previously I would have thought it best to encourage humans to fill these positions, not a robotic workforce. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other, it can be a collaborative effort. RAY POULSON The Lasting Effect Of A Golf Game ‘Golf, A Game Of Life’ (My Story, June) resonated with me. At the high school where I taught, the staff always had a golf day on…

Your mother is not well at the moment,” Firdaus Abdul Hamid heard his father say during a visit to the Singapore prison where he was incarcerated. It was 2003, and 23-year-old Firdaus was a reluctant inmate. The young repeat offender was no stranger to prison life but learning of his mother’s illness, with father and son separated by a thick glass panel and speaking through a corded phone watched over by guards, was devastating. “Please pray for her,” his father said. Back in his cell, Firdaus’s thoughts turned to his mother resting at home, enduring the pain and discomfort of a breast cancer operation, diabetes and heart disease. Despite her illness, she made a point to visit him every week, walking the one kilometre from the prison bus stop to…

MARK’S FAVOURITE ENTRIES WERE: • Why did the scarecrow get an award? Because he was out standing in his field! • What did the buffalo say to his son when he left for work? Bison. • What do you call a blind dinosaur? A Doyouthinkhesaurus! • Why did the man fall down the well? Because he didn’t see that well! • I stood behind a customer at an ATM and he turned around and said, “Could you check my balance?” So I pushed him. His balance wasn’t that great. • Someone has glued my pack of cards together – I don’t know how to deal with it. • What do you call a zombie who cooks stir fries? Dead man woking. • Two guys walked into a bar. The third guy ducked. SKY…

Fire. The wheel. An implement to curl hair with. Yes, when it came to the inventions humanity simply had to have, a hair curling tool was right up there at the top of the list – and we were willing to go to any lengths to get the job done. Our ancient ancestors used wet clay on their hair, which when dried in the sun, set their hair into curls. A tad crispy, heavy and muddy, perhaps, but a small price to pay for beauty. Early Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Egyptian civilisations heated iron or bronze rods over a fire, to produce impressive hairstyles that signified beauty and wealth. They were the first – but definitely not the last – to appreciate that a lack of heat control could…

The boy has gone off to university now. And here I am, left with all the peace and quiet I have learnt not to miss. I was not a man who wished for children. It seemed contrary to the notion of human happiness, like wishing for lice, or tinnitus, or the more awful forms of gout. I was single most of my life, and parenthood was something that afflicted other people. I watched it from a distance, and shuddered. When they were small, children seemed to scream for no apparent reason. As teenagers, they seemed to lose all sanity, pinging through mood swings like Ricochet Rabbit and marking their bodies with more tattoos than a harpooner from Moby-Dick, while listening to music with more foul language than my drunk uncles…

1. In which ancient South Asian language is the text of The Vedas written? 2 points 2. Prince William’s Earthshot Prize promises one million pounds for solutions to what kind of global problem? 1 point 3. A string quartet consists of two violins, one viola and one of which other instrument? 1 point 4. What is the name of the famous street that runs through Singapore’s main commercial district? a) Orange Road. b) Orchard Road. c) Rose Road. 1 point 5. What fiction genre addresses the effects of climate change? 2 points 6. Extending about 2300 kilometres, what is the longest coral reef in the world? 1 point 7. What British screen and music legend reads bedtime stories on her family podcast? 2 points 8. Velocipede, penny farthing, gravel, randonneur…

SOME OF THE HABITS OF DOGS can seem strange and downright off-putting at times. However, most of these puzzling behaviours are perfectly normal for dogs and it is how they make sense of their world. Veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren explains the reasons behind some of the natural and instinctive actions of our canine companions. WHY DO DOGS SNIFF EACH OTHER? While we humans find this habit a strange one, it’s the way dogs greet each other and how they pick up information about the other dog by detecting its scent and pheromones. A dog’s sense of smell is thousands of times more acute than ours. A human has around five million olfactory receptors while a dog has around 300 million. When dogs sniff each other’s rears they are detecting scent molecules…

If you are not sleeping between 7-9 hours per night and enjoying deep REM sleep, then you are at risk of having low energy levels and poor concentration, as well as contributing towards later life illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s. Here are some tips that can aid a better night’s sleep. DARKNESS Even natural light will wake the brain up, so ensure maximum levels of darkness in your bedroom. Even if you can fall asleep with the light on, your brain won’t allow you to fall into a deep sleep. ROUTINE Going to sleep at the same time each night is a great way of increasing the quality of your sleep. This is because we are creatures of habit and our brains know when to anticipate a certain event or task.…

Hi, I’m a parent. You may remember me from such greats as ‘Repeating Myself’ and ‘Arguing over Shoes’ and ‘Stepping on Cereal’.@RODLACROIX My daughter just asked me, “Do fish get thirsty?” and I have no idea what to say.@CROCKETTFORREAL Blew my nose in front of my daughter and her friends today. Please respect her privacy during this difficult time.@SIMONCHOLLAND What parenting books don’t teach you is that your child can simply look at objects and make them feel sticky.@CHHAPINESS 8 year old: *fights with her sisters* Me: All right, who started it? 8 year old: You did when you had so many kids.@XPLODINGUNICORN…

Do you baulk at the idea of visiting the dentist? Oral health care professionals say mild anxiety is common among patients, and is even expected. However, statistics on dental anxiety are alarming, to say the least. It’s estimated that approximately one in seven adults have high levels of anxiety about a visit to their dentist, and the problem affects more women than men. Those who suffer from a dental phobia – known as dentophobia – frequently avoid visiting the dentist for years. It is not surprising then that this type of avoidance can lead to the destruction of not only a person’s oral health, but their overall health and wellbeing. Gaining an insight into the reasons why you fear the dentist can help you overcome your angst. We spoke to…

QUESTIONS 1 Innovation trumps everything. Not only is entrepreneur Elon Musk building electric cars and revolutionising space travel with reusable rockets and mini-satellites, but he also wants to transport people in trains that go nearly as fast as the speed of sound. How is this speed to be generated? a. By magnetic forceb. By rocket propulsionc. By low-pressure tubesd. By solar-powered batteries 2 The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest continuous railway line and connects the Russian cities of Moscow, in the west, and Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast. But there was a shortage of local labour for the construction of the 9000-kilometre-long line, so Russia brought skilled workers from Italy to work on it. What did they do? a. Cook mealsb. Blast work during tunnel drivingc. Stonemasonry work during…

FROM THE ATLANTIC For his first three years of life, Izidor lived at the hospital. The dark-eyed, black-haired boy, born on June 20, 1980, had been abandoned when he was a few weeks old. The reason was obvious: his right leg was a bit deformed. After a bout of illness (probably polio), he had been tossed into a sea of abandoned infants in the Socialist Republic of Romania. In films of the period documenting orphan care there, you see nurses like assembly-line workers swaddling newborns with casual indifference and sticking each one at the end of a row of silent, worried-looking babies. The women don’t coo or sing to them. In his hospital, in the Southern Carpathian mountain town of Sighetu Marmaţiei, Izidor would have been fed by a bottle…