Table of contents for August / September 2024 in Readers Digest Australia

Old School I enjoyed reading your article ‘The Triumph Of The Book’ (Humour, Apr/May) by Richard Glover. I am old school and there is nothing more rewarding than holding a physical book in my hands, especially on long distance journeys when you don’t have to worry about your e-reader battery running out! DAVID WONG Art Of Conversation The article ‘How To Get Along With Anyone’ (Feb/Mar) was very helpful to an introvert like myself. As a child, I preferred to be on my own and I didn’t like to socialise. I preferred reading books and watching movies. I was ignorant when it came to communication. I failed to speak up when I needed to and often spoke at the wrong time. The article provided insights into navigating the art of…

MOULD This fungus often appears where there is damp, condensation and a lack of ventilation, such as on windows, walls and behind cupboards. Not only do mouldy walls and grouting look horrible, they’re also a threat to health, exacerbating asthma and causing bronchitis and other breathing problems, plus eye, nose and throat irritation. Leave windows open whenever possible, especially in bathrooms, where an extractor fan will also help. Ideally, dry clothes outdoors. Keep buildings and gutters maintained and tackle leaks promptly. RATS AND MICE Rodents carry a host of bacteria and viruses. These include salmonella, the respiratory infection hantavirus (which you can catch by breathing in dust from droppings) and LCMV, a kind of meningitis. They’re not common, but who wants to live in a home contaminated with rat or…

“Weight is something that I’ve thought about every single day of my adult life,” says Jennifer Blackburn*, a 49-year-old public relations professional. Following decades of trying different diets and medications – and finding little success – in late 2022 she started taking Ozempic, the diabetes drug that has become synonymous with celebrity weight loss. “It has been life-changing,” she says. It’s been reported that in the US, health-care providers wrote more than nine million prescriptions for Ozempic and similar drugs during the last few months of 2022. Weightloss drug sales are forecast to grow to as much as A$150 billion by the end of the decade. No wonder obesity medications are a hot topic. But there’s still mass confusion around who should take them, whether the potential side effects are…

The dog I’m pet-sitting just yipped pathetically for five minutes because I hadn’t gone to bed yet and she was already under the duvet. Are we married? @HEIDITRON3000 My friend whose dog I am watching has just texted to say there are yoghurt iceblocks in the freezer for the dog if he wants them. Yoghurt iceblocks. For the dog. In the freezer. If he wants them. @HANSMOLLMAN The dog I’m pet-sitting got hold of a plastic knife and was threatening to eat it. I had to offer her my whole breakfast in exchange for her dropping it. Then I realised I had just literally been held up at knifepoint by a dog over some scrambled eggs. @LEBASSETT In case this is helpful to other non-pet people who are going to…

Q: How do pirates know that they are pirates? A: They think, therefore they ARRRR!!!!! Q: Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet? A: Because they can spend years at C. Q. What did the pirate say when he became an octogenarian? A. Aye matey years old! Q: What’s a pirate’s least favourite veggie? A: Leeks. Q: How did the pirate call his mate? A: On his aye phone. Q: What is a pirate’s favourite doll? A: Baaaaaarrrrrrrbie! SOURCES: RD; LOVETOKNOW.COM…

For Beth Koehler and Peggy Van Gorder, this is how it works: three days a week they run a dog-grooming salon in St Petersburg, Florida. Then they close up shop and head to the swampy grasslands known as the Everglades for three nights of hunting Burmese pythons – powerful constrictors that squeeze the life out of their prey. Each night of the hunt, they spend hours slowly rolling along gravel back roads searching for the elusive invasive reptiles. They switch on massive lights atop their Jeep, turning the night as bright as day. The humid air is filled with a subdued chorus of hoots and ribbits. The younger, more athletic Van Gorder drives, never going more than about ten kilometres per hour, while Koehler, the more focused of the two,…

HER CHRONOLOGICAL AGE is 66 but her subjective age is 40. The woman I’ll call Ana did not become fully aware of this disconnect until she went for her COVID-19 vaccination a couple of years ago. As she stood in line, surrounded by her contemporaries, she looked around and thought: Are they really my age? Later, amused and slightly worried, she discussed it with her friends. Almost all of them said the same thing had happened to them. According to a 2006 Danish study published in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, people over age 40 perceive themselves to be, on average, 20 per cent younger than what their ID indicates. Having a younger subjective age begins at age 25 – before then, most people tend to feel older than they…

FOR PEOPLE who have struggled with their weight, the idea of a miracle drug that can support the process of shedding kilos is a prayer answered. Newly released diabetes medicines that also target weight loss – the prescription-only Ozempic and other drugs – have attracted a lot of attention about their efficiency at shedding weight and also the cost and side effects. In ‘Is Everyone On Ozempic?’ (page 28) we explain how the drugs work, who they were designed for, and what lies ahead in the race to claw back obesity rates. We then meet the women who are working hard to rid the Everglades National Park in Florida of an infestation of Burmese pythons (‘The Snake Charmers’, page 106). It’s dangerous work, but these colourful volunteers are dedicated to…

After a sleepy Saturday morning on my son Andrew’s 15th birthday, I whisk him off to a shoe shop near our home to get a pair of sandals. We know the exact style and size he wants, and we time the trip to arrive right when the shop opens. Andrew is nonspeaking autistic and prefers to go shopping when it’s not busy. “Size 41 of those black slip-on sandals, please,” I tell the two sales assistants when we arrive. Andrew slips his socked feet into the shoes with no protest or head banging (signs of distress we have seen in the past). A perfect fit. We box them up and pay, and I thank the sales assistants. As we head towards the door, I say, “It’s Andrew’s birthday today. Fifteen!…

The Picasso fell off the proverbial truck. It vanished from a loading dock at Logan International Airport in Boston and wound up where it didn’t belong, in the modest home of one Merrill Rummel, also known as Bill. In fairness, this forklift operator had no idea that the crate he tossed into the boot of his car contained a Picasso until he opened its casing. In fairness, he didn’t care much for it; he preferred realism. But now things had turned all too real. FBI agents were hot on the trail of a hot Picasso unavailable for public viewing, as it was hidden in Rummel’s hallway cupboard. He and his fiancée, Sam, began to panic. “How do we get rid of it?” she recalls thinking. “We couldn’t just give it…

Yet Another Bug I was doing some research for an article I was writing about how kids can learn about insects. Wondering whom I might interview, I told my husband, “I need to find an entomologist.” He just shook his head. “What’s wrong now? You’re always going to the doctor for one thing or the other.” SUBMITTED BY JULIE ENGELHARDT In The Service Business Job interviewer: “Why do you want to work in customer service?” Me: “I’m really good at apologising for things that aren’t my fault.” @NOTETHAMSEMITH Realised customer service wasn’t for me when a lady on the phone told me I didn’t know how to do my job and I said “Well, walk me through it” and she hung up. @HEYYITSJANEA Reply Fail I finally answered an email…

QUESTIONS 1 Egypt enjoyed a long period of peace with the Hittites, a neighbouring nation, under Ramses II (from 1279 to 1213 BCE). How did the Pharaoh secure this peace? a) He married a Hittite princess. b) He took Horus, the sacred mouse of the Hittites, hostage. c) He granted the Hittites water rights on the Nile. d) He established favourable trading terms. 2 Fans of the TV series Vikings know Rollo as the older brother of Ragnar Lodbrok, one of the main characters. It is uncertain whether Ragnar actually lived yet there was a historically important Viking named Rollo. We know this because the French King… a) adopted Rollo. b) had Rollo executed. c) was related to Rollo through marriage. d) gave Rollo the region known as Normandy as…

1. What ingredient is added to pizza to create ‘Hawaiian pizza’? 1 point 2. What female Pharaoh, who ruled ancient Egypt for more than 20 years in the 1400s BCE, was famously portrayed as a male in statues and paintings? 2 points 3. What Franco-Belgian comic book series has been translated into more than 100 languages, including Turkish, Hebrew and Latin? 1 point 4. What championship sporting event, held on the second Sunday of February every year, causes about 17 million Americans to skip work the next day? 1 point 5. Other than humans, how many mammal species have chins? 2 points 6. In what southern African nation would you find the Sossusvlei desert, where 2015 action movie Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed? 2 points 7. The Lord of…

Mum, you’ll never guess what I bought at the supermarket today!SIMON CAMERON There’s no ‘shopping’ us now!DELL MANNION Mummy said she got my little brother from the supermarket – so I am taking him back!GORDY N Toddler-driven innovation.JERIAH GABRIEL TAY “Mum, don’t wait up, we’re going to space-mart!”ELEORA LOW Congratulations to this issue’s winner, Dell Mannion. 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.…

START AND END THE DAY RIGHT It’s not just what you eat, but when you eat that matters. That’s the conclusion of two studies, one looking at breakfast and the other at bedtime eating. In the first, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, scientists studied more than 20,000 adults. Those who ate breakfast regularly – especially if the breakfast didn’t include inflammatory foods like red or processed meat and commercial baked goods – had lower rates of depression. In the second study, Penn State University scientists found that people who regularly ate berries of any kind, but especially blackberries, had fewer nights of short sleep (less than six hours). Add some blueberries to your breakfast or eat blackberries after dinner. And sweet dreams! BREAST CANCER RED FLAGS Nearly everyone…

Don Powell was pulling the usual assortment of envelopes from the letterbox outside his home in Orchard Lake Village, Michigan, when he noticed something out of the ordinary: a tiny doll couple were sitting on a love seat inside the letterbox. A small sticky note was also tucked inside. “We’ve decided to live here,” the message read. It was signed from Mary and Shelley. Powell, 72, says he initially figured that somebody must have left the wooden dolls inside his letterbox back in August 2022 by mistake. He and his wife, Nancy Powell, had a custom-designed letterbox resembling their contemporary white house installed about four years ago. “We could understand why dolls would want to move into such a nice mailbox, but we were still perplexed,” Don says. “I asked…

Passive-aggressive flattery on the job: “It’s impressive how you manage to stay so confident.” “You continue to meet expectations.” “I will give your suggestion all the consideration that it deserves.” “You seem too nice to be a lawyer.” “I’m certain you tried your best.” “I didn’t expect you to get the job. Congratulations!” “I always feel more intelligent after reading your reports.” “For a beginner, you did a nice job.” SOURCES: REDDIT; THETYPESETCO.COM…

I’m not sure that one can be a good writer without being a good reader. If you’re going to build a desk, it’s very good to see what other carpenters have done.CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, NOVELIST EVERYTHING YOU CAN LEARN FROM IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME STRONGER.DANIEL RICCIARDO, FORMULA 1 RACING DRIVER It’s fairly easy to send an innocent person to prison. It’s very difficult to get one out.JOHN GRISHAM, AUTHOR AND LAWYER HAVING DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE WORLD FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE SO GOOD AT LOOKING AT IT FROM A PARTICULAR PERSPECTIVE IS WHAT GIVES THE RICHNESS IN LIFE.YO-YO MA, CELLIST AND HUMANITARIAN The more you engage, the more you learn about different ways that people believe and worship, the more you can sit next to anyone and be a…

1. apiary – A: apple-cider press. B: place to store crops. C: collection of beehives. 2. freshen – A: delay ripening. B: thaw after freezing. C: begin to lactate. 3. hydroponic – A: grown without soil. B: overwatered. C: capable of swimming. 4. farrow – A: half a hectare. B: unenclosed pasture. C: litter of pigs. 5. haycock – A: mature rooster. B: seeding machine. C: cone-shaped hay pile. 6. lime – A: harvest produce. B: reduce soil’s acidity. C: wilt before sprouting. 7. fallow – A: uncultivated. B: drained. C: composted. 8. ovine – A: with hooves. B: egg-producing. C: relating to sheep. 9. viticulture – A: organic farming. B: cultivation of grapes. C: growing plants in water. 10. droving – A: irrigating with pipes. B: practice of walking livestock…