AFTER reading our feature on how Kate Middleton snared her mate, by Geoffrey Miller (23 April, p 37), Karoline Schmidt was minded to contradict the statement that Prince William 鈥減ossesses the good genes destined to make this a biologically beneficent union鈥�. She remembered having read that going bald early indicates a heightened risk of prostate cancer.
To make sure she was right, she typed 鈥減rostate cancer bald鈥� into a famous search engine, only to discover that the risk of getting cancer when you鈥檙e bald depends on the newspaper you read, at least in the UK. The Daily Telegraph lets readers know that 鈥淕oing bald early 鈥榙oubles prostate cancer risk'鈥� (), while The Daily Mail assures 鈥淕ood news for bald men at last: Hair loss 鈥榓lmost halves the risk of prostate cancer'鈥� ().
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Karoline concludes that it鈥檚 not only important to make the right choice when selecting a mate. If you鈥檙e bald, picking the wrong newspaper can seriously impair your health.
鈥淭he flyer John Whalley got from Perfect Pizza told him that it offered 鈥淪avings of up to and over 拢250鈥�. 鈥淪o absolutely no ambiguity there, then,鈥� says John鈥�
鈥淓VEN charities are joining in the fruitloopery,鈥� Andy Ball notes. He draws our attention to a report in the online magazine Third Sector () which begins with this delightful sentence: 鈥淭he holistic health charity the Maperton Trust has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority for claiming a badge with a picture of a unicorn on it could repel head lice.鈥�
The report continues: 鈥淭he charity鈥檚 website describes the badge, on sale from the site for 拢19, as 鈥榓 small device using the latest technology to repel head lice from infesting children and adults鈥� It is in the form of a badge of the unicorn and is pinned to the clothing of the individual鈥�.鈥�
The ASA has told the Maperton Trust to remove from its website all claims that the badge can repel head lice.
IN A quarter-page advertisement in London鈥檚 Evening Standard on 12 May, John Everest noticed, Shelley von Strunckel offered 鈥渓ive astrology consultations鈥� at 拢1.50 per minute on BT landlines. 鈥淪helley鈥檚 team of professional astrologers are available now to answer your questions,鈥� the ad promised. 鈥淔ind out what 2010 has in store.鈥�
We think we might be able to do this too. Here are a couple of Feedback鈥檚 predictions for the year:
In April, a volcano in Iceland with a name no one can pronounce will erupt, ejecting a cloud of ash that will disrupt air traffic all over northern Europe for over a week.
Then, two months later, the football World Cup will take place. Spain will be the winner.
How are we doing? Can we have our 拢1.50, please?
READER Peter Bell is puzzled by this claim on a website advertising a transport conference at : 鈥淎 recent report by Analysys Mason predicts that by 2020 there will be a rise from 6 billion (present day) to between 16 and 44 billion digitally identifiable, potentially linked, electronic devices per head of population on this planet.鈥�
Peter is particularly intrigued by the assertion that we are already carrying around 6 billion devices each. 鈥淕iven that I don鈥檛 carry any more than two or three such devices at any one time, and I don鈥檛 know anyone else who does, some people must be carrying a hell of a lot of devices for the average to be 6 billion. How do they do it?鈥�
NASA rotates Earth the wrong way
鈥淥F ALL the organisations on Earth,鈥� says Larry McCloskey, 鈥渙ne might think that one of those most likely to know the direction of Earth鈥檚 rotation would be NASA.鈥�
But it seems it doesn鈥檛. By way of proof, Larry invites us to observe the first few seconds of the official NASA video at .
Larry鈥檚 right. The Earth is going round the wrong way.
YOU would have thought that the Marksman 400W Submersible Dirty Water Pump would be a) submersible, and b) used for pumping dirty water. So did Mark Inwood, until he read the instructions and was told he must 鈥渘ot use it in moist or wet environments鈥� and he must not 鈥渦se in damp locations鈥�.
REPORTING on France鈥檚 successful bid to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, The Times of London stated on 18 May that George O鈥橤rady, the European Tour chief executive, said 鈥淭he bids were evaluated on their merits and France was a unanimous winner by a narrow but very clear margin鈥�.
John Salaman says he doesn鈥檛 quite understand the mathematics of this.
FINALLY, the bumblebee nesting box in John May鈥檚 garden has a label that says it has an 鈥渋nteractive window for safe viewing鈥�.
鈥淭hat鈥檒l be a window you can see through then,鈥� comments John. 鈥淲hat will they think of next?鈥�