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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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ecopaint
A chemically engineered paint that soaks up the most noxious gases from vehicle exhausts will soon be available. Called Ecopaint, the substance reduces levels of the nitrogen oxides, which cause respiratory problems and contribute to smog. A chemical reaction between the airborne nitrogen oxides and nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, embedded in the paint, occurs, creating nitric acid, which is then neutralised and washes away.
the extra mile
An English pub owner has gone the extra mile in servicing his patrons. Most pubs offer a game of darts or a packet of peanuts, but this pub offers something more permanent—a final resting place. Many regulars, happy to never leave their favourite drinking hole, have started buying plots in the cemetery located next to the pub.
super gun
Car manufacturer Nissan is testing a device it hopes will protect its acres of out-of-doors cars from hail. The sonic gun fires sound into the atmosphere in order to disrupt the formation of hailstones. While in operation, the system generates 120 dB and has a range of 15,000 m. It tracks weather, switching on automatically if a hailstorm seems imminent. Nissan hopes this technology could be also used in the protection of airfields and agricultural crops.
loud is good
Screaming her way to stardom Jill Drake, Kent (UK) mother of two, earned at trip to the US to promote one of Disneyland’s newest rides. Disneyland theme park officials believe that her 129-decibel scream should be enough to give their new Tower of Terror ride the emphasis it deserves.
Mars balloon
In the near future remote-controlled balloons carrying armies of mini-robots could be filling the Martian sky. A NASA-funded venture is developing the StratoSail, a balloon with a wing, which can be accurately steered through Mars’s winds for months. Like weather balloons, the StratoSail could carry cameras and gadgets to spot potential areas for human missions while launching robotic probes to monitor the surface. The plus for using a balloon is that it does not need power-hungry engines or machinery on its extraterrestrial missions.
road (side) rage
English drivers are getting their own back by destroying speed cameras. One motorist was found to have blown up a speed camera with a homemade bomb, while others have resorted to wrecking them with angle grinders and burning them in tyres filled with petrol.
driving blind
Israeli roads might be safer now that the Transport Ministry admitted its mistake concerning the issuing of driver’s licences. It was found that over 2000 people who carry cards stating they are legally blind have also been issued with driver licences.
British pop shots
A British company has invented an MP3 player that can be attached to an assault rifle. The “AK-MP3” player, with enough storage space to hold 9000 songs, replaces the real magazine of a Kalashnikov AK-47. The AK-47 is used by many of the world’s terrorists. The company producing the players says, “This is our bit for world peace—hopefully, from now on many militants and terrorists will use their AK-47s to listen to music and audio books.”
Sixty years ago the world was at war, and Signs featured an article about the “Word of power” stating, “We all need power in these feeble human lives of ours.” The power of the word came from the Bible. This year the Bible Society celebrates 200 years of service (see page 37). The message from 60 years ago was: “God’s Word is an inexhaustible source of power. It is available to each of us.” That message has been with us for 200 years and more.
Extract from Signs of the Times, May 2004.
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