Watching the World
‘Dangerous World’
◆ The world now spends about 300 billion dollars a year on armaments. Six nations have nuclear weapons, and an estimated twenty other nations have the ability to manufacture them. Within nine years, another fifteen countries are expected to have this ability. Thus an editorial in the New York Times noted: “The world ahead in the last years of the Seventies is likely to be, as one of our wisest observers . . . recently remarked, an enormously complex place, with nobody in general charge—‘leaderless, dangerous, uneconomic, unjust and ungovernable.’”
Technology ‘Prison’
◆ R. F. Rushmer, a professor of bioengineering from the University of Washington, says that now it is “time for a new revolution that will free us from entrapment and enslavement by our most valued possessions.” Why? Modern technology is “endangering mankind,” and the misuse and abuse of “our favorite creations have degraded the rich promises originally intended,” he declared. Technological triumphs, such as television, atomic energy, advanced medical procedures and other processes that were once hailed as solutions to problems, have, instead, he observed, created huge problems now. For example, Rushmer said, automobiles could have had real value, but their “unrestrained numbers, weight, speed and use have resulted in excessive congestion, waste, slaughter and sprawl.”
Where the People Live
◆ Half the world’s four billion people live in just four countries: China, India, the Soviet Union and the United States. The Environmental Fund in Washington claims that China now has 964 million inhabitants, not just the 850 million usually mentioned. India is said to have 652 million people, the Soviet Union 256 million, and the United States 222 million. Indonesia is fifth in population with a reported 143 million.
The world’s fastest-growing country (in percentage) is Kuwait, with an annual increase of over 6 percent compared to the world rate of about 2 percent. Four countries have achieved “zero population growth”—Barbados, Britain, Austria and Malta. West Germany’s growth rate is only 0.1 percent. East Germany is reported to be “shrinking” by 0.2 percent and Portugal by 0.4 percent.
More Televisions
◆ “A picture is worth a thousand words,” it has been said. Statistics confirm that people respond to pictures. The growth of television everywhere is one indication. Its spread has been truly phenomenal. Indeed, most lands now have more TV sets than either automobiles or telephones, although these were invented about a half century or more earlier. The Soviet Union has about 50 million TV sets, but only about 15 million telephones and fewer than seven million cars.
Effects of Marijuana
◆ The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, published in New York, makes the following statements about some of the possible effects of smoking marijuana: “Psychotic reactions have been observed on first smoking marijuana as well as after long use. . . . Hallucinations have occurred while a user was driving . . . Congestion of the conjunctiva, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting are also common. Other adverse effects include tremulousness and impairment of coordination. Smoking marijuana over many years may cause bronchitis and emphysema, but most patients in whom this was observed also used tobacco.
“Smoke from marijuana cigarettes, like smoke from tobacco cigarettes, accelerates malignant transformation of lung cells in tissue culture . . . In a careful, well-controlled study of driving in city traffic after smoking both high and low doses of marijuana . . . forty-two per cent of those on low doses . . . and 63 per cent of those on high doses . . . showed a decline in their driving ability.”
Farm Views Differ
◆ When fifteen farm specialists from the Soviet Union visited farmers in the United States, their views on farming differed considerably. One of the Soviet farmers stated: “We will never let our farmers work as many hours as your farmers do. We think the man has a right to his holidays and personal life. He may produce less in production but we will never let a farmer work 12 to 14 hours a day. It is against the law in our country.” He admitted that American farmers make more profit by working longer, but added: “We don’t think just profit and dollars is the main thing in the world.”
Rare Birth
◆ A newborn elephant weighs about 200 pounds and stands about three feet high, so it is understandable why multiple births are very rare. But twin elephants have been born at a game reserve in the African nation of Tanzania. It is believed to be the only confirmed and recorded twin-elephant birth of recent times.
Timber Theft
◆ Timber stealing is “a real racket, fast approaching the level of organized crime,” said a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Oregon. The value of logs stolen from federal lands in just the state of Oregon will exceed one million dollars this year, he estimates. The main target of the timber thieves is old-growth western red cedar, which can be sold for $150 to $500 a cord. Investigations of these thefts make up about 20 percent of the work load of the 75 FBI agents assigned to Oregon.
Tab Openers Changing
◆ The metal “pull-out” tabs such as are used on soft-drink cans to open them have been greatly criticized. They are easy to litter and hard to clean up. Animals and fish have died after swallowing them. Children and even adults have required emergency surgery after swallowing them accidentally. But now, can companies are trying out a new tab that is not disconnected from the can. After lifting up the new tab to open the can, the user pushes the tab back to its original flat position. The tab stays on the can and is disposed of along with it.
Southerners Smile More?
◆ According to some behavioral scientists, Southerners generally smile more in the presence of strangers than do other Americans. Professor R. Birdwhistell of the University of Pennsylvania stated: “The lowest ratio of smiling occurs in parts of New England and the Great Lakes region. New York city is low. It picks up again across the Midwest,” and then is highest down South. It is also noted that ‘one smile elicits another in response.’ While no reason was given for the difference, it is possible that the colder northern climates, and especially the more hectic pace, pressures and crime rates of the large northern cities, have much to do with it.
Smallpox Now Rare
◆ The ten-year program against smallpox by the World Health Organization has achieved remarkable success. It was begun in 1966, when more than 30 countries reported smallpox epidemics. At present, Ethiopia is one of the few places that report any significant amount of the disease, and there too it is being reduced drastically. Scientific American says that before long “the world may have seen its last case of the most devastating disease in human history.”
Slapping Harmful to Babies?
◆ A traditional method of handling a newborn baby is to hold it up by the ankles and slap it on the rump to make it cry and start breathing. But Dr. Edmund Crelin, professor of anatomy at Yale Medical School, says that if the infant could talk it would say: “Stop! Don’t lift me up by my ankles and don’t spank me!” He says that this procedure does the infant no good, and may even damage it. Dr. Crelin claims that this method is responsible for one out of every 400 newborns’ developing a dislocated hip. Grabbing the infant by the ankles, he says, places unnatural pressure on its hips, and the added slap may put further stress on the hip joints. He suggests that the infant should not be held up by the ankles, but, instead, cradled in the arms.
Electronic Check Deposits
◆ Millions of people in the United States have their weekly or monthly income checks sent directly to the bank where they have their deposits. Now, more and more of such payments are being handled electronically. No checks are involved at all. Instead, the money is transferred to the banks by computer tapes. Almost all government transactions for individual payments are now handled in this way, and the use of this electronic technique by private firms is expected to grow dramatically in the next few years.
Metric Conversion
◆ Britain is converting its present system of weights and measures to the metric system, which is used by most countries. The British and Foreign Bible Society notes that in the “Good News” Bible metric numbers are used. For instance, instead of measuring Noah’s ark in cubits or feet, it is “133 meters long, 22 meters wide and 13 meters high.” Goliath is about three meters tall instead of six cubits and a span, and his armor weighs about 57 kilograms instead of five thousand shekels of brass.
Suing Public Schools
◆ Several suits have recently been leveled against schools because of the inability of children to read and write well. For example, an eighteen-year-old San Francisco youth sued the public schools there because he graduated from high school with only fifth-grade reading and writing ability. And in recent years, various studies have indeed indicated a drop in these skills. However, his suit was rejected in the State Supreme Court.
Fear Takes Its Toll
◆ An elderly couple in their late seventies with all they needed materially committed suicide in New York city. Why? The note they left behind said: “We don’t want to live in fear anymore.” They had been assaulted and robbed in their apartment the previous month, and had also been the victims of crimes before that. Feeling that they were too old to move and start over, they concluded that they simply ‘could not take it’ anymore.
Car Costs Soar
◆ The average price of an automobile in the United States increased about 35 percent in the last four years. The cost of gasoline went up about 50 percent. Automobile insurance rose sharply, over 50 percent in many areas, as inflation made auto repairs and medical expenses more costly. Last year, the average cost of operating a car was 23.5 cents a mile, compared to 14.7 cents a mile in 1972.
How Many Gamble?
◆ A thorough study on gambling made at the University of Michigan reveals that almost two out of three Americans make some kind of bet. Those who bet on commercial gambling games spent more than 22 billion dollars, about a quarter of that on illegal games. Gambling taxes and losses fall most heavily on those who can least afford them—the low-income groups, since they spend proportionately more of their income on bets than do wealthier persons.
Eskimo Communications
◆ For many years Eskimos of the far north had no written language, but passed on information only orally. Now Eskimo leaders are promoting acceptance of a writing system. that uses two forms, Roman letters and phonetic symbols representing syllables. The dual system is designed to replace five separate writing forms developed by missionaries in recent years in different regions. Though the language, called Inukutut, is spoken in much of the north, separate writing systems hindered communication among scattered Eskimo settlements. The proposed standardization of just two forms was a compromise to satisfy those Eskimos already devoted to one or the other. The systems are interchangeable.