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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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If you can’t
get the real thing!
Israeli customs have seized a shipment of 450 singing, dancing Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein dolls, under a law banning incitement. The battery-powered, Chinese-made figurines were confiscated after an Israeli Arab businessman admitted to importing the figurines of the al Qaeda and depostic Iraqi ruler, as a “gimmick” for sale to local Jews and Arabs with a sense of humour.
face fuzz
London celebrates coming second in the World Beard and Moustache Championship in Carson City, Nevada. More than 120 men from around the world participated in the Face Fuzz Olympics where the shape and substance of the world’s best beards are judged. London pensioner Alf Jarrald, 82, came second to German Karl Heinz Hille, while Alaskan Dave Traver was third.
changing speeds
A motorist in Sydney tried to get out of paying two speeding fines by erecting a 70 km/h sign ahead of a speed camera in a 60 km/h zone. His plan collapsed when he was observed photographing his sign in an ill-founded attempt to prove his alleged innocence. The sign had been attached with roofing screws to a power pole.
roo advisory
Motorists in France have been surprised to see signs warning them of kangaroos appearing by the side of the road. The Rambouillet Forest, near Paris, is home to antelopes, pink flamingos and ostriches, as well as kangaroos imported from Australia! Local residents painted the marsupial on existing notices to warn of the animals jumping onto the road.
no fries
on them
McDonald's has been rapped by British advertising watchdogs for an ad campaign featuring french fries in which they claimed to "peel them, slice them, fry them and that's it." The public and campaigners objected, explaining that often chips were part-fried in one country, flown halfway round the world where they were soaked in dextrose, and often contaminated with gluten before finally being doused with excessive levels of salt.
dung to dollar
The German zoo, Hellabrunn Tierpark, in Munich, has plans to turn dung from its animals into energy. They plan to use the dung from elephants, rhinos and bears right down to birds, snakes and mice, as well as leftover food and cut grass, to fuel a biomass power plant. The instalment would provide heat for the zoo’s buildings, as well as feeding about 25 kw—enough for a family home—into the public supply.
high cost of living
A human now has a price. Due to the ever-increasing need for organ transplants, the value of our own anatomical structure has rocketed. Whereas once the body was valued in cents (in terms of its chemical worth), now its estimated market value in terms of reusable body parts is $46,000,000!
cruising in the record books
The $A1 billion mega liner Star Princess—the largest cruise ship to ever visit Australia and too large to pass under the Sydney Harbour Bridge—is more than twice the size of the legendary Titanic. P&O’s 109,000-tonne ship has spent three months cruising between Australia and New Zealand. The 2700-passenger Princess will have carried more than 22,000 passengers, including 4000 Australians, during its season in the Pacific. In addition to what might be expected aboard a luxury cruiser, the Princess has an art gallery, nine-hole putting golf course and a wedding chapel.
The following appeared in the Signs of the Times of January 29, 1923.
“The greatest cyclonic tragedy last year was the typhoon that . . . destroyed the city of Swatow and swept other towns on the Chinese coast, effecting damage to the extent of millions of pounds and exacting a toll of 100,000 lives.”
Extract from Signs of the Times, January February 2004 .
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