Divine intervention
A RARE axolotl has found salvation at a convent in Mexico, after the nuns became experts at rearing these endangered salamanders. Axolotls are exploited as a traditional folk remedy in Mexico, and overharvesting, pollution and the arrival of invasive species have all contributed to the decline of the wild population.
In response, the Sisters of Immaculate Health began breeding axolotls in the 1980s (albeit to use in a cough syrup, the proceeds of which keep their own coffers filled). Yet this expertise means they are now playing a central role in the conservation of the species, working with Chester Zoo in the UK.
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It’s all a little like The Sound of Music, if the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie ended with the nuns keeping the von Trapps alive in order to harvest their regenerative powers. Feedback thinks that sounds like a better storyline – and no less syrupy.
Stool pigeon
IN BRISBANE, a 64-year-old corporate executive has been unmasked as the phantom pooper responsible for a year-long campaign of soiling a private path. Plumbing the psyche of “serial poopers”, BBC News spoke to Mike Berry, a clinical forensic psychologist at Birmingham City University, UK.
“Google’s new salad emoji has ditched the egg to go vegan. “It seems a shame for the majority to be missing out due to concern for offending one group,” clucked the British Egg Council”
Of mystery scat, he said: “if it’s soft, then it’s somebody who’s anxious… And if it’s really hard stool then it’s an indication of somebody who’s angry and bitter about what he’s doing.”
Feedback hasn’t given much thought to copromancy since “Dr” Gillian McKeith, who pored over potties like horoscopes, was flushed from our screens. Yet the art of fortune-smelling endures.
During last week’s summit in Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was reported to have brought his own portable toilet, to prevent foreign agents from capitalising on his leaks. With good reason: during a visit to Moscow in 1949, Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s excreta were swiped by Soviet spies hoping to divine his personality traits. A rare occasion when staff can be congratulated for going through the motions.
Rain of terror
MORE mystery droppings: residents of the Canadian town of Kelowna are keeping one eye on the skies after sewage twice rained down, creating a sort of Rorschach blot test for jobbing copromancers. Suspicion has fallen on aircraft bound for a nearby airport. Whether the plane responsible was anxious or angry is still unknown.
Pie in the sky
A PORK pie from supermarket Aldi leaves Paul Burall hungry for answers, after he noticed a message on the packaging that reads: “Not yet been recycled.”
He says: “Am I supposed to be pleased that the wrapping is new?” Perhaps, in a bid to reduce plastic waste, customers are encouraged to use the wrapper as a small greasy tote bag for loose change and such?
Slide rule
THE semi-automatic hospital doors discovered by Richard Davis (9 June) prompt John Cossins to recall a staff meeting in a new hospital where he was chaplain many years ago.
“Concern was expressed that in responding to a cardiac arrest call, the automatic doors on the corridors would delay a response. The makers of the doors assured us that however fast anyone ran at the doors they would open in time.”
Unsurprisingly, says Richard, no volunteers could be found to test out this theory.
Caffeine jitters
AN ARMY marches on its stomach, but it seems most offices are fuelled by coffee. Now researchers at Ohio State University have examined how coffee intake influenced a group discussion among 72 undergraduates.
Those who drank caffeinated coffee beforehand talked more, and rated the quality of their own contribution and that of others in their group more highly than those who drank coffee later. Decaf drinkers gave lower ratings to themselves and their group.
Feedback notes that it wouldn’t be the first time stimulants convinced someone their chemically fuelled chatter was especially interesting. Time for a follow-up study in a nightclub?
Not dead yet
THE “two health bars” phenomenon in video games refers to climactic foes that are defeated, only to revive themselves in some new (usually more dangerous) form. Occasionally, life imitates art.
In Texas, a man decapitated a 1.2-metre-long rattlesnake, only to be bitten by the severed head. It took an astonishing 26 units of antivenin to return the man to a stable condition – the usual treatment calls for 2 to 4.
Meanwhile in China, a crayfish was filmed severing its own claw to escape a pot of boiling water. Luckily for the crayfish, not only will its claw regrow in time, it was granted clemency to live on as a family pet.
Jeepers peepers
IN KENTUCKY, three public servants have been engaged in an eye-catching side hustle. Local news station WKNY reports that a county coroner and two police troopers have been arrested on charges of transporting moonshine and eyeballs.
An odd pairing for criminal mischief, though given hooch’s reputation for turning its drinkers blind, perhaps it is prudent to have some spare eyes on hand?
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