Indice dei contenuti per April 2021 in Readers Digest Australia

SO MUCH ABOUT THE WORLD’S network of oceans and seas is a mystery. Part of this mystery stems from its power and beauty. This month we have two very special stories set in ocean waters: one in the Pacific and the other in the rugged northwestern Atlantic. ‘The Seal Nursery’ (page 120) takes a close look at the antics and habits of the families of harp seals that call the Gulf of St Lawrence off the Magdalen Islands in Canada home. The world came to know these cute furry white seals during the 1970s-80s when environmentalists waged a fierce battle to stop them being bludgeoned for their fur. Today, with numbers recovering, the species is battling for survival on another front – the impact of global warming. The intimate underwater…

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Concerned that cold winters and hotter summers are increasing demand for electricity, two students in Berlin have designed an ‘intelligent’ curtain that can regulate temperature in the home. Anna Koppmann and Esmeé Willemsen from Berlin’s University of the Arts designed the ‘Plus Minus 25°C’ curtains, which are screenprinted with a unique material called PCM (phase change material). This material will store heat and release it when needed at night to keep room temperatures at a constant 25 degrees Celsius. In summer, the curtain has a cooling effect because it directly extracts heat from the incoming air. “We looked at ways to control the temperature in a more sustainable way, without the use of electricity,” explains Willemsen. The duo hope to attract investment so they can market their prototype product.…

IN RECENT TIMES people are working from home more than ever and, as a result, many pets are enjoying a lot more time with their owners. Our pets have never received so much attention and pet adoption rates have skyrocketed as people seek enjoyment from extra companionship. But what will happen to all these pets when life eventually returns to normal? Veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren shares advice about how to raise a puppy or train an older dog to be content when you are not around. TEACH PUPPIES ALONE TIME Dogs are social creatures and need to learn coping skills to be comfortable being left unattended. Otherwise, they may become anxious when left alone and this can result in destructive behaviour. Teach your puppy to be comfortable alone right from the…

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SAVES MILLIONS OF LIVES Insufficient exercise contributes to around 3.2 million deaths worldwide, according to calculations by Australian, UK and French researchers. On the flipside, physical activity prevents an even bigger number of deaths, including 3.9 million that would have been considered ‘premature’ (before age 75). The researchers believe that we should celebrate what exercise is already accomplishing, as a way to encourage even more people to get moving. HYSTERECTOMY IS NOT THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR FIBROIDS They’re not normally life-threatening, but uterine fibroids, which typically arise between the ages of 30 and 50, are a source of recurring pain for roughly one in six women. These non-cancerous tumours in the womb can also cause bloating, painful sex, a constant feeling of needing to urinate and difficult, heavy periods. For…

What is a colour, a nut and also a fruit? You guessed it, lovable me, pistachio. Most people think I’m a ‘nut’, but I am actually the seed of the tree’s fruit. I grow in clusters, like grapes. When ripe my hard shell splits open with an audible snap, producing a pleasing smile. In fact, I am better known as the ‘happy nut’ in several cultures around the world due to my cheerful demeanour. I have been grown for thousands of years, although countries outside the Middle East only twigged to my existence much later. Although my exact origins are not clear, I have been cultivated in the Middle East since before 7000 BCE. In fact, I was found at Jarmo, a prehistoric archaeological site (today located in modern Iraq),…

Advanced in Gears My neighbour was working in his garden when suddenly a car came crashing through his hedge and ended up on his front lawn. He rushed to help the driver, an elderly lady. “You appear a bit old to be driving,” he said. “I am!” she replied proudly. “I’m so old that I don’t even need a licence anymore.” “Really?” he asked sceptically. “And how did you manage that?” “The last time I went to my doctor,” she explained, “he asked to see my licence. Then he said, ‘You won’t be needing this anymore,’ cut it up, and threw it away. So I thanked him and drove home!” Planet Proctor Newsletter Stringing Along A piece of straight, clean string goes into a bar and orders a gin and…

My kitchen window is above my sink. The washer of dishes and rinser of celery and lettuce can look out and imagine doing other, better things. Our window looks into the kitchen window of our neighbour’s house, so close to ours. Our houses are old soldiers in a row, shoulder to shoulder on a worn out street. The view into our kitchen is often lit up, like a blaring, glaring movie set. But our neighbours, two young men who I only know in passing, never seem to turn on their kitchen light. Sometimes, as I do my dishes or rinse our apples, my eyes adjust. Shadow gives way to shape and bent head and striped sweater emerge. Then I see them, standing at the sink, leaning in and down, washing…

In 1910, the Los Angeles Times ran a story about a boy who was tasked with opening a valve every so often on a water pump powered by a steam engine to release the built-up pressure. His whole job consisted of staring at these whirring pieces of metal all day. Needless to say, the kid got incredibly bored. One day, the supervisor walked in and the boy was nowhere to be found. Yet the pump ran just as it should. The ‘lazy’ boy had contrived a mechanised release for the pump and won his freedom from monotony. The first iteration of the automatic steam engine was born. STRATEGIC IDLENESS MAY ACTUALLY BE A POWERFUL TOOL Now, this story may be apocryphal, but the boy’s behaviour reflects a deeper truth. When…

1. stuporous – A: hunched over. B: leaking. C: impaired. 2. wry – A: ironically humorous. B: disrespectful. C: made with flour. 3. purport – A: transfer. B: commit a crime. C: claim. 4. tryst – A: final audition. B: natural disaster. C: lovers’ meeting. 5. wonton – A: wild abandon. B: Chinese dumpling. C: great quantity. 6. spoor – A: animal tracks. B: rude rejection letter or message. C: plant cell. 7. yurt – A: custard dish. B: buffoon. C: circular tent. 8. usurp – A: purée or mash vegetables. B: flip over. C: seize. 9. sop – A: thick syrup or treacle. B: bribe. C: wetland or swampy area. 10. zooty – A: an animal attendant employed in a zoo. B: fit or flexible. C: flashy; ostentatious. 11.…

Thank You, Miss Potter So often it seems that beauty, creativity and resourcefulness are conceived in difficult times. Generations have benefited from Beatrix Potter’s years of loneliness (The Most Unforgettable Character I’ve Met, January), and we are all richer for having had Peter Rabbit and his endearing animal friends in our lives. EULALIE HOLMAN Mango Ritual I was born in southern India and in my childhood eating mangoes was no less than a ritual (‘I am Mango’, December). My grandfather had a penchant for mangoes and would prepare for mango season by filling three or four large barrels with rice. He would buy a sizeable quantity of not-completely-ripe mangoes as soon as they hit the market and then bury them in the rice. The warmth from the rice would assist…

The Price of a Wife A male colleague told us at work that it was his wife’s birthday. “What are you getting for her?” enquired another colleague. “Make me an offer!” he responded. SUBMITTED BY ANNA HAMMETT Parental Guidance Establish dominance by replying to your kid’s ‘Knock knock’ joke with ‘Door’s open’. @SLADEWENTWORTH Take Note The waitress was not moving much from the other side of the café, so I waved at her to get attention. When she turned her head towards us, I gave what I believed was the universally accepted hand sign to signal that we wanted the bill – holding out one hand and using the other to simulate writing on it. A few minutes later she came to our table, smiled and gave us a blank…

• Preheat oven to 200°C. • Combine 2⁄3 cup finely chopped pistachios with 1⁄3 cup bread crumbs and 1⁄3 cup grated Parmesan. • Melt 4 tbls unsalted butter with 1 tsp fresh or dried thyme leaves and 1 minced clove garlic over medium heat until foamy. • Combine butter with pistachio mixture and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened; season with salt and pepper. • Divide the lamb rack (about 1.5kg total) into about four cutlets, and season with salt and pepper. • In a 30cm cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tbls oil over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. • Add lamb rack and sear until browned, about 3 minutes each side. • Transfer lamb to a work surface and rub 1 tsp Dijon mustard in an even layer on…

1400s The Haunted Apple Thomas Betson, the prankster monk who was the librarian of Syon Abbey in Middlesex, England, pulled off one of the earliest documented practical jokes when he hid a beetle inside a hollowedout apple and fooled his fellow monks into believing that the mysteriously rocking apple was possessed. 1835 Lunar Life The Great Moon Hoax may have been one of the media’s first big tricks. The New York Sun printed an article claiming that astronomers had discovered life on the moon. More articles appeared over the next few weeks, and the US was gripped by moon fever. 1938 The Ultimate War The 1897 H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds was about a futuristic Martian invasion on Britain. Orson Welles adapted the story for a…

What we tell our children 364 days of the year: Do NOT eat anything you find on the ground. Easter: Go and search in the dirt for chocolate a strange giant bunny left for you, kids! Q: What do you call an Easter egg from outer space? A: Egg-stra terrestrial. Q: How do you make Easter easier? A: Replace the ‘t’ with an ‘i’. Q: Why did the Easter Bunny have to fire the duck? A: Because he kept quacking the eggs! Q: What do you call a line of rabbits jumping backwards? A: A receding hare-line. Q: What do you call a mischievous Easter egg? A: A practical yolker. Q: What do you call the Easter Bunny the day after Easter? A: Eggshausted. Southern Living, Scarymommy.com…

Cab drivers see travellers at their best and their worst. They see them alive and elated, on an adventure and reconnected with loved ones. They see them after teary goodbyes, or when they’re jetlagged, grumpy and culture shocked. Some travellers forget the driver is there at all, subjecting him or her to intimate moments of love, or mean squabbles, or both. For the lost tourist, the cabbie becomes – for a little while at least – the city itself. And with the right combination of driver and passenger, the city can open up like a flower. THE INSIGHTFUL HERO IN BUENOS AIRES I’m feeling smug. I’ve got plenty of time for check-in for my flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago de Chile, and I’m looking forward to kicking back with…

EVERYTHING THAT’S BAD FOR HUMANITY IS GOOD FOR COMEDY.SUGAR SAMMY, COMEDIAN My comfort zone is outside of my comfort zone. I like to be a little uncomfortable.BILLIE EILISH, SINGER It’s what we do when we don’t succeed that determines whether we will succeed.RETIRED ASTRONAUT, DAVE WILLIAMS What does it take to see through the illusion of fear? To me, the answer is something spiritual. It’s not facts or figures. It’s a discipline – of finding hope and love, and maintaining it.SHAD, HIP-HOP ARTIST NEVER STOP LEARNING HOW TO LEARN.BILLIE JEAN KING, FORMER CHAMPION TENNIS PLAYER…

1 to 25 Moderately Difficult Move the numbers from the outer ring onto the board. Each number must be placed in one of the five cells that lie in the direction indicated by its chevron. The numbers must snake together vertically, horizontally or diagonally so they link in sequence from 1 to 25. For example, 2 must be adjacent to both 1 and 3. There’s only one solution. Can you find it? Mathelogical Difficult Each letter in the grid stands for one of the whole numbers from 1 through 9. No two of them represent the same number. With the help of the clues, can you figure out which letter stands for what? 1. B × F = the two-digit number AB 2. B + J = G 3. D…

The beauty of working from home. EMMA O’MALLEY When I said you need to make up, I meant…. JOSEPH BAKER Daddy Day Care. GAIL DENHAM Working from home is child’s play! MICHAEL KOJIC Screen time always comes at a price. TANYA PATTEN Congratulations to this month’s winner, Gail Denham. WIN! CAPTION CONTEST Come up with the funniest caption for the above photo and you could win $100. To enter, email editor@readersdigest.com.au or see details on page 8.…

Staffordshire bull terrier-bulldog Max recently saved the life of a young boy who was just seconds from drowning at South Australia’s Port Noarlunga. Max’s owner Rob Osborn noticed the distressed child, who was swimming in the estuary, being pulled by a strong tide to a dangerous rocky area at the deepest part of the river. However, before he could jump in and head out from the river bank to save the boy, Max was already on his way. Wearing a life-jacket of his own, the pooch swam out to the rescue. Rob encouraged the boy to call out Max’s name and to hold on to the handle on the life jacket as he swam back to shore. Max was able to successfully guide the child back to dry land completely…

TRY A GENTLE STRETCH Physical therapist Shelly Coffman recommends gentle stretching of the neck muscles to get blood flowing and relieve inflammation. Lying down flat, with a rolled towel behind your neck, rotate your head slowly as if saying ‘no’. Then nod your head slowly as if saying ‘yes’. Do two sets each of 20 reps, two to three times a day. APPLY HOT AND COLD COMPRESSES Applying heat to your stiff neck helps to relax the muscles and bring fresh blood to the sore spot, Coffman says. You can get the heat you need with a warm face cloth. Alternate with an ice pack to numb the pain and bring down inflammation. Continue using both for up to ten minutes each, several times a day and up to every hour if…

…BEING BOUGHT A TOY CHIMP AS A TODDLER. It was made to mark the first chimp born at the London Zoo and was called Jubilee. People said it would give me nightmares, but he became my favourite toy. I took him everywhere. I still have him now, though he’s in his 80s, and rather delicate, so he doesn’t travel. …MY MOTHER supported my ambition to work with animals. She was the only one who didn’t laugh at my ridiculous dream of going to Africa. She said I’d have to work very hard, take advantage of all opportunities, and never give up. That’s the message I tell young people around the world, particularly in disadvantaged communities. I wish she was alive to know many people have told me that I taught…

Star Wars – Daddy issues in space. @MRHORATIOSANZ: The Hunger Games – Girl ruins her sister’s chance to be on television. @JUSTICEFORDACK Indiana Jones – The Nazis threaten world domination, so the US sends ONE MAN WITH A WHIP. @SETHPANATTONI11 The Wizard of Oz – Women try to kill each other over a pair of shoes. @JSWILLIAMS1962 Lord of the Rings – A group spends nine hours returning jewellery. @SQUIRRELTHEPAM…

Weeding along Wardoo Creek was just one of grazier Bob Elliott’s many jobs on Belmont station, his vast, 18,000-hectare sheep and cattle property on the western Queensland plains, about 100 kilometres from the nearest town, Winton. One day in April 2017 he set off early – about 7am – to drive the 15 kilometres from his homestead to the creek. It wasn’t a particularly hot day for the time of year, only 36 degrees Celsius or so. Bob’s task involved spraying burr with weed-killer while driving a quad bike along the dry creek bed, and pulling it out by hand in parts too narrow for vehicle access. Expecting a solid day’s work, he packed lunch as well as ‘smoko’ (morning tea). But drought meant far less burr than usual; by…

Danielle Payton’s metabolism was a mystery for most of her adult life. When she was 18, she weighed 75 kilograms, which made little sense to the 160-centimetre high school shot-put champion. “I was a very healthy eater – coming from a family of pescatarians and vegetarians – and an athlete, and I couldn’t lose a single kilogram,” says Payton. Just before university, she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which causes imbalances in the hormones that regulate both the reproductive system and metabolism. That solved part of the mystery – women with PCOS are prone to weight gain. But Payton continued to struggle. By the time she turned 24, she weighed 95 kilograms and had developed prediabetes. Her search for a solut ion became more focused and urgent. “I…

Our primitive ancestors lived in forests and jungles and believed that trees had spirits. And they may have been right. Scientists are discovering that trees communicate via chemicals, hormones, pheromones and electrical signals passed between their roots. Trees will even pass water and sugar to one another to keep their neighbours alive when humans have chopped them down and robbed them of their leaves. But what would trees say to us if we could hear them? LE CHENE CHAPELLE (THE CHAPEL OAK) ALLOUVILLE-BELLEFOSSE, NORMANDY, FRANCE “I believe oaks are the greatest, the most majestic of all trees. But are they all equal? Non! The French oak alone possesses a special elegance, glory and savoir-vivre. And of all French trees, I am the oldest, the wisest and the most long-suffering. Some…

1. Which software giant promises to be carbon negative by 2030 and to remove its historical emissions by 2050? 1 point 2. What special postmarks will your love letters get if you send them through the post office in Love, Saskatchewan? 1 point 3. What is the largest part of the eye, giving it its shape? 1 point 4. What was the fate of the first fire hydrant patent? 1 point 5. Where is the largest known cave chamber in the world to be found? 2 points 6. Which planet has a day that lasts almost eight months in Earth time? 1 point 7. There are more ways to arrange a deck of playing cards than there are atoms on Earth. True or false? 1 point 8. What contains more…