Watching the World
Smoking ‘Addicts’
The surgeon general of the United States, Dr. C. Everett Koop, declared last May that nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. “Careful examination of the data makes it clear that cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addicting,” the surgeon general wrote in a preface to his annual report on the consequences of smoking on health. “An extensive body of research has shown that nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction.” The 618-page report cites 171 separate scientific studies and concludes that the use of tobacco is a serious form of addiction, rather than simply a dangerous habit. This research helps to explain why people continue to use a product that is said to kill 320,000 annually in the United States alone.
Memory Disturbers
To determine the effect of background noises on the memory, researchers tested French college students on their ability to remember nine-digit numbers while exposed to a variety of sounds. The testing revealed that noises comparable to that produced by a subway train had little or no effect on a student’s recall ability. However, “background speech . . . is disruptive even if it’s in an unfamiliar language,” notes Hippocrates magazine. Explaining why, researcher Alan Baddeley of England’s Cambridge University says that short-term memory is linked to spoken language, which accounts for the need to repeat audibly a new phone number or a new lock combination. But according to the report, “the sound of another human voice jumbles this process” whether it is speech or vocal music.
Time for Accidents
People are most vulnerable to accidents “from 2 to 7 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.,” reports The Province, a British Columbia, Canada, newspaper. According to the report, a panel of scientists believe that “brain processes produce an increased tendency toward sleep and diminished capacity to function in the early morning hours. A second, less-pronounced period of vulnerability occurs in the mid-afternoon.” The disaster at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania is cited as an example of human error in judgment occurring within these “zones of vulnerability.” The researchers found “a striking association between the two daily periods of human sleep tendency and medical incidents, motor vehicle accidents and human error in technological catastrophes,” notes The Province.
“No Simple Solution”
“Distant” is how 50 percent of the residents of Rome, Italy, feel toward the Roman Catholic Church, states a report by the Church of Rome. The report shows that in the last 20 years, the number of regular attenders at Mass dropped from 41 percent to 25 percent. In some Rome suburbs, practicing Catholics make up barely 5 percent of the population. Figures relative to priests are of no less concern to the church. There is 1 priest for every 10,000 inhabitants. “It is a problem with no simple solution,” says Il Corriere della Sera, a Milan daily.
Does the Soul Die?
Bishop Krister Stendahl of Stockholm has shocked churchgoers in Sweden with his ideas on the immortality of the soul, published in his recent book Meningar (Opinions). Stendahl says that the traditional belief in the immortality of the soul is approaching its end. Parliament member Filip Fridolfsson asserts that the bishop’s position “calls the foundations of the Christian belief into question.” But as Stendahl states: “You cannot find much strong support for the immortality of the soul doctrine in the Bible”—the real foundation of Christian belief. Yes, the Bible’s stand is clear. The soul dies, and the hope of everlasting life for mankind is based on a resurrection, as indicated by such texts as Ezekiel 18:4 and Acts 24:15.
Bible “Sellout”
The “all-Australian Bible” released recently as part of Australia’s bicentennial year had a surprisingly good initial reception. (See “Watching the World,” May 8, 1988.) Within a week of its release, this ‘Australianized’ Good News Bible was sold out in some cities. However, the first printing was only 40,000 copies. According to The Canberra Times newspaper, the general secretary of the Bible Society in Australia said: “It is very sad that the great majority of our fellow Australians are Biblical illiterates. This comes through in so many ways and presents a big challenge.” Who is responsible for the general lack of Bible knowledge among Australia’s 16 million inhabitants? Surely, the clergy themselves must share the blame for failing to teach the people Bible truth.
‘Breeding Psychopaths’?
“America may be becoming a breeding ground for psychopaths,” reports The Province of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. According to the article, American psychologist Ken Magid, codirector of the behavioral science program at Denver’s Saint Joseph Hospital in Colorado, maintains that “there is a very serious problem of children who have not been properly bonded [in loving attachment] to their mothers in the first 16 months of life” when “trust in people is learned.” He says that failure to bond may result from “anything that interrupts the loving connection between a mother and her baby.” Dr. Magid claims: “We could end half of all violent, senseless crime in North America within two generations” if the governments helped mothers stay home with their babies for at least the first year.
Coffee Consumption
The British Medical Journal reports that excessive consumption of coffee or other substances with a high caffeine content increases the possibility of a heart attack by raising blood cholesterol. While modest amounts of caffeine serve as a stimulant and can enhance individual performance both physically and mentally, in larger amounts it has an adrenalinelike effect that stresses the circulatory system by stimulating the heart and dilating blood vessels. Headaches, insomnia, and anxiety may result from consumption of more than three cups of coffee daily. Boiled coffee was said to contain five times as much caffeine as coffee prepared in other ways.
The Longest Undersea Tunnel
The Seikan Tunnel, the longest undersea tunnel in the world, opened to the public last March. It links Hokkaido and Honshu, two of the main islands of Japan. The tunnel, which is exclusively for railway use, is 33.5 miles [53.9 km] in length, of which 14.5 miles [23.3 km] run 328 feet [100 m] below the Tsugaru Strait seabed. It takes about 30 minutes for the fastest trains to pass through the tunnel. The cost of the tunnel? Thirty-four lives and 1.1 trillion yen ($8.8 billion, U.S.) in overall construction outlays. However, during the 24 years that have passed since construction began on the tunnel, air travel has replaced much of the passenger rail traffic.
Pet Cemeteries
More and more Japanese are choosing to bury their dead pets in pet cemeteries. They pay from ¥10,000 ($78, U.S.) to over ¥1,300,000 ($10,000, U.S.) according to the type of cremation, funeral, and gravestone. Additional charges cover upkeep of the grave and a yearly visit by a priest “to pray for the peace of the animal’s soul.” Paying homage at the graves of dogs, cats, goldfish, and other animals is not uncommon. One cemetery reports being packed by over three hundred incense-offering worshipers on weekends. It is believed that more time and money are spent on many of these animals after death than on their acquisition and care when alive.