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T H E

AWAY
W O R L D ’ S

A Wedding Party’s
Nightmare
B E S T

PAGE 26
L O V E D

BONUS READ
Switched At Birth
PAGE 102
New Help For
M A G A Z I N E

Is 10,000 Steps HEARING LOSS

A FITNESS FRAUD? At Any Age
PAGE 118 PAGE 70

The Ancient Magic

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OF KITES AUGUST 2022

ISSN 0034-0383
r d a s i a . c o m

PAGE 82

Can You Change

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CONTENTS
AUGUST 2022

Features
26 38 54
drama in real life food for thought photo feature
Swept Away Pizza Jobs At The Top
Within seconds, a car Usually topped with Repairing towers that
carrying four people tomatoes and cheese, soar into the sky, and
COVER ILLUS TR ATION: S TE VEN P. HUGHES. PHOTOS: (THIS PAGE) GE T T Y IMAGES

on their way to a this mainstay food free falling out of an

wedding is swept down began as humble fare aeroplane are jobs that
a hillside and tumbled on the streets of are best left to the
into raging flood Naples. professionals.
waters. DIANE GODLEY JAMES MOTTRAM
SIMON HEMELYRK
48 60
34 art of living
Beware The
family life
Screen Pals
art of living
Can You Change Anti-Climax Teens from across the
Your Luck? Attaining a cherished globe are connecting
Is there such a thing goal should make you virtually to engage in
as a lucky person, feel like you’ve the issues that concern
and how can you accomplished them, build empathy
become one? something, but it may and make positive
GALADRIEL WATSON FROM have its downside. changes.
THE WASHINGTON POST VICTORIA STOKES RICHARD JOHNSON

ON THE COVER: SWEPT AWAY – PAGE 26

rdasia.com 1
70
CONTENTS
AUGUST 2022

82
66 82 102
100 years culture bonus read
Laughing Matters The Ancient Switched
Comedy may have Magic Of Kites A terrible mistake by

PHOTOS: (DUCKS) PIXEL-SHOT/AL AMY S TOCK PHOTO; (KITE) A N N E H A H M A N N . ILLUS TR ATION: SHUT TERS TOCK.
evolved with time, but The joys of swooping a nurses in a maternity
the eagerness of kite through the air is ward is only
humans for a good being taken up by a discovered some
belly laugh endures. new generation. 50 years later – and a
DANIEL STEINBERG NOOR BRARA FROM THE small community in a
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE remote area is changed
70 forever by the
health 90 repercussions.
New Help For art of living LINDSAY JONES
Hearing Loss Clean The Things FROM THE ATAVIST
Vast progress is being You Never Do,
made in new hearing
aid technology,
But Should
Adding a few bigger 98
surgical solutions and tasks into your
drug treatments. everyday routine can
SUSANNAH HICKLING produce sparkling
results. EMILY GOODMAN
78 AND JAMIE NOVAK
humour
The Quirks Of 98
Long-Term Love animal kingdom
Sometimes a wife Ping & Gaston
has to surrender Two fluffy ducklings
certain expectations waddle their messy
in marriage – like way into an already
flowery romance. chaotic family.
PATRICIA PEARSON OLIVIA STREN

2 august 2022
 Departments
the digest
16
18 Pets
20 Health
24 News From The
World Of Medicine
115 RD Recommends

regulars
4 Editor’s Note
6 Letters
10 News Worth
52
Sharing HAVE YOU
12 My Story VISITED THE
16 Smart Animals READER’S
44 Look Twice DIGEST
64 Tell Me Why FACEBOOK
81 Quotable Quotes PAGE LATELY?
humour 81 Constantly
updated, our
42 Life’s Like That Facebook feed
52 Laughter,
offers stories,
PHOTOS & ILLUS TR ATIONS: GE T T Y IMAGES

The Best Medicine

88 All In A Day’s Work videos, advice,
humour, quotable
the genius section quotes, cartoons,
118 Just Keep Walking quirky
122 Puzzles photographs
125 Trivia and more.
126 Puzzle Answers
FOLLOW US
127 Word Power
@ReadersDigestAsia

rdasia.com 3
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

EDITOR’S NOTE

A Choice Selection Of Stories

FOR SOME OF US, counting the number of steps we take throughout
the day is a wonderful motivator, encouraging extra activity to meet our
daily 10,000 step target. Our phones and wearables are able to record
this feat with amazing accuracy, making it even more desirable to reach
the target. In ‘Just Keep Walking’ (page 118), regular contributor
Helen Foster looks at the origins of the
magical 10,000 daily steps goal. In doing
so, she questions whether that idealised
number is actually good for us, or
whether it’s a bit of a health myth.
What Foster reveals makes for
compelling reading.
The articles appearing in this month’s
issue offer a wide range of topics and
insights. They include investigating
the reasons why the world loves pizza
(‘Food For Thought: Pizza’, page 38) and
the role luck has on our lives (‘Can You Change Your Luck?’, page 34)
to how today’s hearing solutions can reunite you with conversations
and much more (‘New Help For Hearing Loss’, page 70). While our
Bonus Read is a heart-wrenching true story of two men who were
accidentally switched at birth and raised in families who were not
their own (‘Switched’, page 102).
I hope you enjoy what’s on offer in the August 2022 issue.
Happy reading,
LOUISE WATERSON
Editor-in-Chief

4 august 2022
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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

LETTERS
Reader’s Comments And Opinions

Making Music
Reading ‘An Unexpected Musical
Journey’ (My Story, June) brought
back a similar experience. In
April 2001, our local choral
society advertised for people
interested in taking part in a
production of Les Miserables.
I had not seen an actual
performance of the show but
knew the music and loved it.
At my wife’s prompting, I
auditioned, was successful and
got to perform a solo. JOHN PHILLIPS

Broader Horizons magazine in my mailbox and read

Congratulations, Reader’s Digest,
on a marvellous century of service
to the public. My father was a
subscriber, so there was always a
Reader’s Digest in the house. When
it from cover to cover. At one stage,
I found myself skipping over stories
that I thought weren’t relevant to
my life. Then I read an article about
dementia and realised that if I let
PHOTOS & ILLUS TR ATION: GE T T Y IMAGES

I left home to teach, Dad gave me a
year’s subscription.
I took over the following year and
have been a subscriber ever since.
I still look forward to finding the little
my interests narrow, I’d never learn
anything new. Now I’m back to
reading absolutely everything.
It’s amazing how that has broadened
my horizons. ELIZABETH COLES

Let us know if you are moved – or provoked – by any item in the magazine,
share your thoughts. See page 8 for how to join the discussion.

6 august 2022
 Letters

Laughter Is A Good Tonic

Smiling at jokes is one thing,
but laughing till tears run down
my face is quite another. I found
Richard Glover’s article, ‘Raising
Kids: To Coddle Or Neglect’ (May),
hilarious. A good belly laugh is
a real tonic! EUL ALIE HOLMAN

TAKING THE PLUNGE

The Smartest Animals
The item on ‘Nurse Charlie’
(Smart Animals, April) is not
surprising since pet dogs are
known to be extremely faithful.
There are many examples where
they have saved the life of their
owners, warned off thieves and on
occasions, walked long distances
to reach their masters.
Time waits for snowman: it’s frost
The narrative given in the second
article ‘Feathered Guide’ is all the
We asked you to think up a funny
caption for this photo.
I can’t believe this is really part
of Navy SEAL training.
LINDA STEINHAUSEN
What’s a nice girl like you doing
in a dive like this?
YVONNE ZEMDEGS
They sure got an icy reception
from that dive. CHARLOTTE BLACK
come, frost served.
ADRIENNE HARRIES

Congratulations to this month’s

WIN A PILOT CAPLESS winner, Yvonne Zemdegs.

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Davidson.
asiaeditor@readersdigest.com.au
or see details on page 8.

rdasia.com 7
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
more astonishing since the bird
was not even a ‘pet’ bird of the
writer! I hope RD keeps publishing
interesting articles on the natural
abilities of animals.
TARIQUE MAHMOOD MAL AK
Heaven Scent
Thank you, Editors, for ‘We Found
A Fix’ (June). So many interesting,
useful and easy tips. ‘Use Essential
Oils To Deodorise’ is a genius idea.
I am the only female in a household
of ‘smelly’ males and this little
suggestion has been life-changing.
K AREN DAVIDSON
Always Welcome
When I was discharged from
hospital recently, I thought I’d
better clear out the letterbox.
Opening it, there was my copy of
Reader’s Digest, with my favourite
band, The Beatles (June) on the
cover! I started reading and wished
I had had a copy during my hospital
stay. Reader’s Digest is always
welcome whether I am in a waiting
room, in the departure hall, when
I am travelling or simply relaxing
at home. KENNY YEO
CORRECTION: In ‘Your Body:
A Maintenance Plan’ (July) we
incorrectly spelled chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) as chronic obsessive
pulmonary disease (page 82). Our
apologies for this error. The Editors
8 august 2022
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For a Healthier, Greener & Smarter Tomorrow

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 NEWS
WORTH
SHARING
Octogenarian Creates Free Game App
W
hen 85-year-old Masako
Wakamiya of Tokyo couldn’t
find Japanese gaming apps for
seniors, who may have slower reflexes
and arthritic fingers, she didn’t give
up – she created one.
Wakamiya had long embraced
technology, buying her first computer
when she retired from her banking
job so she could stay in touch with
her friends. So this self-described
‘IT evangelist’ set about teaching
herself coding.
COMPILED BY VICTORIA POLZOT
10 august 2022
Wakamiya successfully launched
her first mobile game app, called
Hinadan, in 2017. Named after
an ancient festival in Japan, the
game requires users to arrange
traditional dolls in a particular order.
The five-star-rated game has been
downloaded more than 100,000
times. Her second game, Nanakusa,
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES
named after Japan’s ‘seven herbs of
spring’ ritual, was released in 2020.
Wakamiya now teaches computer
classes to other people her age.
 News Worth Sharing

Border Collie Saves The Day

S
pot the dog was border collie’s frantic she called emergency
hailed a hero barks. services. After a
after alerting his When the teen came 40-minute rescue, the
13-year-old companion to investigate and saw man was successfully
to a man trapped in the man’s predicament, freed and taken to
a septic tank. The a nearby hospital
40-year-old contractor with only minor head
was working on a lacerations.
property in Sydney’s “Had the dog not
north when he became heard the man’s cries,
stuck. Unable to free it may not have been
himself and upside such a good ending,”
down in rising water, said NSW Ambulance
the man’s cries for help acting inspector
were answered by the Charnan Kurth.

Post To Post Recycling Trial In Progress

N
Z Post has teamed up with
The Packaging Forum to trial
a courier pick-up service of
soft plastics such as bread bags
and bubble wrap for recycling into
fence posts.
The idea for this business,
PHOTOS: (FENCE) COURTESY FUTURE POS T; (SPOT) YOUTUBE
posts continued to break when he
rammed them through the waste
plastic buried in the ground. His
solution, to build stronger fence
posts from soft waste plastic,
is also a step towards solving a
bigger environmental problem.

called Future Post, came to farmer Wenzlick says it takes about

Jerome Wenzlick while building
a fence on the site of a former
rubbish dump. The passionate
environmentalist became
frustrated as his wooden fence
1500 bags to make one standard
fence post and that the factory
can produce about 800 posts a
day which can be used in farms,
gardens, parks and vineyards.

rdasia.com 11
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
MY STORY
My Year Of
Playing 70 Sports
The year I turned 70, I decided to have
some fun and games
BY Garry Moir F R O M T H E G L O B E A N D M A I L
C
ALL IT A GEEZER crisis.
An old man grasping for
a semblance of youth.
A hare-brained scheme
that would almost
certainly end in lack of dignity
or, even worse, serious injury.
But on my 70th birthday, in
September 2019, I decided to
participate in 70 different sports
before I turned 71. The motivation?
Simply to have some fun.
I had played sport as a youngster
and never stopped. The odd game
of golf has long been part of my
annual routine. So while it might
sound like hubris, I was confident
that 70 sports in one year was well
within my reach.
12 august 2022
To qualify as a sport, the
endeavour would require at least
some of the following: agility,
strength, hand–eye coordination,
or it at least had to leave me huffing
and puffing. That obviously
eliminated competitions such as
poker, chess or hotdog-eating.
My goal was not to master any of
the sports, but to just give them a
whirl.
Athleticism, after all, does not end
at some arbitrary age.
In every one of these activities,
there are people much older than
me who can play the game at a level
I could never hope to achieve. ‘Try
anything once’ was my motto, then
move on.

THE LACK-OF-DIGNITY BIT
came early. Shortly after my
70th birthday, I took a crack at
paddleboarding. Not a confidence
builder. Family members were
greatly entertained watching me
first try to get on the damned
board, then stand on the board and
finally fall into the water before
trying all over again. Lesson learnt:
perseverance pays off. Eventually I
stood, I balanced and I paddled. An
ILLUS TR ATION: GE T T Y IMAGES
early success.
Winter sports brought their
own challenges. A pick-up game
of hockey resulted in the odd
collision. The old lads I was
playing with couldn’t always stop.
The quality of play was hardly
My Story
inspirational, but it was
certainly fun. Then came
the attempt to teach myself
the basics of figure skating.
They made it look so easy on
YouTube. But attempting a
simple spin left me prostrate
on the ice, my elbow and
knee throbbing. I refused
to give up. Some might call
it stubbornness; I preferred
self-discipline. If at first you don’t
succeed, try, try again. In this
case, I learnt the rudiments of the
sport – enough to do a very short
programme – and performed it
for my wife and anyone else who
happened to be around at the
community club.
I hadn’t been downhill skiing
since my early 20s so, when it came
time to try, I willed myself not to
fall. I didn’t, but admittedly there
was a tinge of terror as I headed
down the slope the first time, even
though it was only a bunny hill.
That glorious soft evening was
capped by a beautiful sunset. A
touch of paradise.
a few days after my skiing
adventure, the pandemic shut down
most of my city. COVID-19 proved
to be a significant setback to my 70-
at-70 goal. By then I had tried nearly
35 sports, including kayaking,
badminton, skating and even some
acrobatics on the trampoline. With
virtually all sports facilities locked
down, it became evident I would
rdasia.com 13
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

have to resort to my own devices if I my nine-year-old granddaughter on

were to keep going. her first trail ride.
Individual sports would have to Being a history buff provided
be the order of the day: running, an extra dimension. Evidence of
jumping, walking. For track, I built sporting activity can be traced
my own high jump and hurdles. I almost to the beginning of human
even came up with my own version activity. Skating has a patron saint,
of the Scottish Highland games, a form of hockey was played in
tossing a makeshift Ancient Greece, and
caber and shot-
putting a stone found
ATHLETICS Mary Queen of Scots is
rumoured to have once
in a ditch. Athletics DOES NOT shocked her courtiers
does not have to be HAVE TO BE by showing up to play
complicated.
Two-and-a-half
COMPLICATED tennis wearing pants.
There were some
months later, the city health advantages,
began to reopen, allowing travel to too, to all the exercise I was getting.
sports facilities in various parts of Each activity triggered endorphins
the state. I added pickleball (like that brought an immediate, if
badminton played with a paddle) short-lived, high. Over the longer
and horseshoes (quoits with term came the realisation that
horseshoes) to my list during a visit dreams are important, regardless
to a national park; hill climbing and of how far-fetched or unrealistic
swimming. On my little adventure, I they might seem.
also stumbled across an abandoned As youngsters we dream of
baseball – my very own field of playing in the big leagues, or
dreams. Of course, I grabbed a bat. participating in the Olympics. As we
age, our hopes and dreams change,
MY FAMILY’S SUPPORT was but one should never let them
essential. My wife was on hand to disappear.
photograph every event and even We need something to look
participated in a couple of sports forward to; what’s better than to
so I could check them off my list. wake up each morning knowing
My three sons were always ready there is a game to play?
for a spirited game of something. © 2021, GARRY MOIR, FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL
JANUARY 3, 2021), THEGLOBEANDMAIL.COM
Dodgeball, tug-of-war and beach
volleyball brought the whole Do you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay
family together. One of the most cash for any original and unpublished
memorable experiences was taking story we print. See page 8 for details.

14 august 2022
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
The world around them is a wondrous place
Bella And Her Butterflies
VICTORIA LORREKIVOCH-MILLER
One summer’s day, the bushes in
our backyard began whimpering
and whining and making all sorts
of commotion. Or rather, our dog,
Bella, was. Our 11-year-old daughter,
Kaitlin, discovered her sniffing
and pawing at a branch where
caterpillars had munched away.
My husband and I worried that our
backyard – a frequent hangout for
birds, squirrels and cats – wasn’t the
safest environment for vulnerable
caterpillars. So we got a butterfly
16 august 2022
house where the caterpillars could
safely metamorphose.
Each day, when we took the
butterfly house to the backyard,
Bella moved with it. Each night,
when we brought it back inside,
Bella followed, then slept under the
table on which it rested.
ILLUS TR ATIONS: GE T T Y IMAGES
Finally, the caterpillars turned
into beautiful monarch butterflies.
Surprisingly, Bella didn’t seem
You could earn cash by telling us
about the antics of unique pets or
wildlife. Turn to page 8 for details
on how to contribute.
worried when Kaitlin released them.
In fact, Bella seemed to understand
that this was part of the cycle.
It wasn’t until one last butterfly
wouldn’t fly away that Bella
expressed concern. She gently
rested her head, pointed her nose,
and let out one of those breathy dog
sighs. Off the monarch fluttered,
seemingly needing a little push
from a friend to begin her migration.
Ralph The Seafaring Cat
MAGGIE GRANTHAM
At the first cat show we’d ever been
to, my husband and I saw our first
Birman, a breed so beautiful we
contacted the presenter from the
show to ask about getting one. We
were given a kitten, Ralph, who
became our co-pilot, first mate and
constant companion.
We’re big travellers who weren’t
necessarily looking for a pet to
bring along on our adventures,
but it sure turned out that way:
Birmans are apparently known for
being dog-like. It began with short
road trips in the car. Ralph would
happily snooze on the backseat.
So we began taking him on longer
trips, and soon he was travelling all
over the country with us in our RV.
Ralph especially enjoyed it when he
was out on the water.
Ralph took to the sea just as
quickly as he had to the road.
We took our 12-metre pleasure
trawler up the coast of California to
Alaska’s Inside Passage with Ralph
perched on the bow. He made the
weeks-long journey eight or nine
times over the years. He managed
to fall into the drink a few times,
but we always scooped him out
and dried him off immediately, and
he’d emerge from the cabin to his
spot on the bow again in no time.
We even had a long fish net handy
on deck to quickly scoop him out.
After one plunge, he swam under
a nearby dock before we could net
him. I had to jump in after him.
Even in the summer, the water
was chilly. We learned to keep him
tethered in a harness after that.
After a while, I thought he might
like a change of scenery and took
him out on the kayak. He was
hesitant at first, but that was quickly
superseded by his fascination with
the flora and fauna and he would sit
in the seat in front of me.
He loved looking at all the birds
and wildlife as we paddled along.
I’m sure the otters did double takes
when Ralph checked them out as
we drifted by.
rdasia.com 17
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
PETS
Why Do Cats
Knock Things Over?
Just curious or attention-seeking? Their antics explained
BY Jonna Gallo Weppler
EPIC PURRING AND COSY CUDDLES
generally keep cat lovers content.
But then there’s the feline frenzy to
knock things over. What gives?
While some cats are affectionate,
others are aloof. Some love to
pounce around and play, while
others prefer to lurk out of sight.
Then there’s that thing where a cat
zooms from one corner of a room to
another in a blur, as if possessed.
These are just a few of the many
vagaries of living with felines.
But there are certain consistent
questions that captivate owners
across the board, no matter what
kind of personality their cat has.
For instance, why do cats sleep so
much? Why do cats meow? Why do
cats purr? And why do cats knead
any available pillow or blanket?
Another question that often rears
its head – pretty much every time a
18 august 2022
cat bats something off a table, desk,
or counter – is why do cats knock
things over? Is it a hardwired feline
obsession with what we humans
know to be simple gravity? Or is
there something else at play?
In a household with cats, very
little that rests on top of a table – or
any flat surface, for that matter – is
safe. Pens? Batted to the floor. That
vase of flowers? Going overboard.
Random coins? Down for the count.
But why do cats knock things over?
There isn’t necessarily just one
reason.
While there hasn’t been much
scientific research done into this
question, cat experts have their
own theories. Cat behaviourist
Pamela Merritt, author of The Way
Of Cats: How To Use Their Instincts
To Train, Understand, And Love
Them and blogger at wayofcats.

com, points out that a play-prey
drive exists in all cats, at least
to some degree. The level of this
drive is a mix of a cat’s genes and
early life experiences. A higher
prey drive can result in a cat using
its paws to knock things over as a
means to try to find out more about
the environment around them.
DO CATS KNOCK THINGS OVER
JUST TO GET ATTENTION?
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES
It could be, because think about it:
chances are, when you see your cat
heading for a table, the benchtop or
your desk, you react quickly, points
out Rita Branson Bowman, a cat
Pets
behaviour expert. So from the cat’s
perspective, looking like they are
about to strike means you will swing
right into action.
HOW DO I GET MY CAT TO STOP
KNOCKING THINGS OVER?
No certain method exists for getting
cats to stop whacking at things
altogether, but giving them plenty
of positive attention is a good
strategy to try, according to Branson
Bowman. Another suggestion is to
provide plenty of different toys to
prevent boredom. Consider rotating
toys in and out from time to time to
keep them novel.
rdasia.com 19
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
HEALTH
A Healing
Process
Why do wounds mend
more slowly as we age?
BY Christina Frangou
W
hen a kid gets a
scrape, a little
comforting and a
day or two with a
Band-Aid is usually
all that’s needed. When it happens to
an adult, it takes more time to heal –
in fact, a 40 year old’s wound can take
twice as long as the identical wound
on a 20 year old. And the process
continues to slow the older you get.
We’re all familiar with this
phenomenon, of course, but you
might wonder what’s behind it.
“We actually don’t have a complete
answer,” admits Dr Dennis Orgill,
professor of surgery at Harvard
Medical School. “But in my
experience, it’s a slow decline from
20 august 2022
birth on.” That delay in healing can
put us at higher risk of infection and
prolonged pain.
To repair a wound, the body
embarks on a complicated and
spectacular process, recruiting a
variety of cells to work together to
stop the bleeding, then restore and PHOTO: PHOTOALTO/ALIX MINDE/GET T Y IMAGES
rebuild the skin. And as we age,
changes in our bodies can disrupt
that process.
Our skin is put together like a three-
layer cake. At the top is the epidermis,
home of hair, freckles and wrinkles.
The epidermis, just half a millimetre
thick on some parts of the body, is
made up mostly of keratinocytes, cells
that slough off to be replaced with
younger, healthier ones – a turnover

that slows as we get older. We also lose
lipids and amino acids in this layer,
leading to dry skin prone to tearing.
Bacteria can get into the tiniest of slits
in the skin, so seemingly small cuts
can take longer to heal.
Just below the epidermis is
the dermis, which gives skin its
thickness. The dermis regulates our
body’s temperature and supplies
the epidermis with nutrient-rich
blood. This layer houses blood
vessels, lymph vessels, sweat and
oil glands, and collagen – a protein
that gives skin its elasticity and
resilience. After turning 50, a person
loses about one per
cent of their collagen a TO REPAIR A
year – making its vital WOUND, CELLS
task in skin repair less
effective. WORK TO STOP
Beyond skin THE BLEEDING
changes, there are AND THEN
other factors that can
come with having a REBUILD SKIN
long life. Though not
exclusive to seniors, many diseases
more common in older adults can
delay wound healing – for example
congestive heart failure, rheumatoid
arthritis, and chronic obstruct ive
pulmonary disease.
Most notably, diabetes is linked to
more than 100 known contributors
to delayed wound healing, including
hormone disruption and altered
collagen accumulation. And it
causes other complications that
impede healing, such as poor kidney
Health
function, vascular disease and
neuropathy.
Even if you don’t have any of
those conditions, medications for
other afflictions – steroids and non-
steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,
chemotherapy, and radiotherapy –
can have the same slowing effect.
Besides trying to dodge all those
wound-delaying factors, there are
some active measures you can take
as you age to shore up your body’s
power to heal itself.
Leading the list: avoid sun
damage and stop smoking;
moisturise regularly and stay
hydrated; keep wounds
moist by covering
them with a bandage;
and lastly, strengthen
muscles, as this can
aid with wound repair.
Since physically
inactive people lose
between three and
eight per cent of their
muscle mass every decade after age
30 – and even more after 60 – it’s
never too soon to start exercising.
Finally, there’s truth to the cliché
that an apple a day keeps the doctor
away. “Remember the old days when
people on boats would get scurvy
and have wounds that fell apart?”
says Professor Orgill. If your cuts
are healing slowly – at any age – he
suggests getting a lab test to check
for deficiencies in vitamins and
minerals like vitamin C and zinc.
rdasia.com 21

HEALTH
Sore Feet?
How to choose a pair of
shoes that keep your toes,
heels and arches happy
BY Samantha Rideout
O
ur feet are the structural
foundation of our body,
supporting not only
our weight but also our
wellbeing. Even seemingly minor
foot ailments, if denied the chance to
heal, can cause ongoing problems.
Yet studies suggest that at least
half of us undermine these anchors
of our health with ill-fitting footwear.
Overly tight or narrow shoes can
cause callouses and bunions, bony
bumps at the base of the big toe that
are often accompanied by swelling
22 august 2022
and soreness, while high heels are
associated with corns, blisters and
ingrown toenails. If you like their
style, consider saving them for
special occasions and opt for a wider
heel or a wedge.
Shoes with pointy toe boxes or
tips that crowd your feet can force
your toes to curl up instead of lie
flat, leading to hammertoe – a
bending deformity in one or
more of your smaller toes that
can result in difficulty walking and
sore feet.
Warm weather brings another
liability: over-reliance on flip-flops
or flimsy sandals. While these shoes
protect your feet from hot sand at
the beach, they’re not suitable for
day-long wear. They provide no
stability to your ankles, raising your
chances of sprains. And they offer
little support for your arches, which
puts you at risk of plantar fasciitis:
painful inflammation of the band of
tissue between your heels and toes.
Foot-friendly shoes should be
comfortable with no pressure on
the joints, pinching on the sides or
slippage at the heel. “They should
be wide, have a toe box with enough
space for the toes, be made of a
breathable material, such as leather
or canvas, and ideally have a heel no
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES
higher than 2.5 centimetres,” says
podiatrist Emma McConnachie.
“Shoes with laces that come up over
the middle of the foot will provide
the best kind of support.”
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
News From The
WORLD OF MEDICINE
FREQUENT EXERCISE WON’T
LEAD TO KNEE ARTHRITIS
It’s commonly thought that your
knees will eventually pay the price
if you exercise often. But a UK study
– which tracked the physical activity
of 5000 people for five to 12 years
– found that increased intensity,
frequency or time spent exercising
didn’t raise a person’s odds of
developing knee pain or arthritis.
In fact, regular exercise and
stretching can help lessen arthritis
by strengthening muscles around the
knee and reducing inflammation.
NUTS BENEFIT BREAST
CANCER SURVIVORS
Studies have already shown that
consuming nuts on a regular basis
reduces your risk for heart disease
and can help control type 2 diabetes.
Now we’ve learnt that eating a
handful a day also lowers
a woman’s chances of
breast cancer recurring
by half – and the risk
of dying from the
disease by one-third,
according to a study
of more than 3000
patients, published in the
24 august 2022
International Journal of Cancer.
These health benefits apply to every
type of nut, all of which are rich in
nutrients that can help prevent or stop
the growth of breast cancer cells.
DON’T TAKE ASPIRIN TO
PREVENT FIRST ATTACK
Owing to aspirin’s blood-thinning
quality, the drug has long been
recommended to prevent heart
attacks or strokes – and millions
of people with no history of heart
disease currently follow that advice.
But the US Preventative Services Task
Force – a panel of experts in disease
prevention – urges caution.
The organisation stated that, due
to a significantly increased risk of
bleeding in the stomach, intestines
and brain when taking daily aspirin,
the downsides outweigh the benefits
for healthy adults who haven’t
had a heart attack. Aspirin
remains, however, an
ILLUS TR ATION: VECTEEZ Y.COM
important medication to
help prevent a second
heart attack or stroke.
Talk to your doctor
about aspirin’s benefits
and risks to find out
what is right for you.
For the parents of the bride, fear replaces
joy as a raging river scoops up
their car on the way to the wedding
rdasia.com 27
M
The intimate ceremony was taking
arjon van Eijk was excited. The
5 year old from the Netherlands
57
a her family had just landed on
and
th Spanish island of Mallorca for
the
th wedding of her daughter Iris.
the
It was a day she’d dreamed about.

place the next day, October 10, 2018.

Twenty-one guests were planning to
gather at a stunning villa in the hills
beyond the picturesque town of Sant
Llorenç des Cardassar, just under an
hour’s drive from the airport.
“I can’t wait for the barbecue to-
night, never mind the wedding,”
Marjon told her mother, Bets Kasiu.
Bets was a sharp, warm-hearted
84 year old, but she wasn’t in the best
of health. A year earlier, she had had
emergency surgery on a perforated in-
testine and now wore a colostomy bag.
Hip problems meant she had to walk
with crutches. But she was thrilled
to be attending her granddaughter’s
wedding in such a beautiful setting.
She also felt comforted by the fact that
the family had brought along a nurse,
Marjon Theunissen, to help her.
The three women and Marjon’s hus-
band, Pieterjan van Eijk, walked out of
the airport at around 6pm and into a
rental car. Iris and her fiancé, Coen Vl-
othuizen, were waiting at the property,
thrilled to share such a magical event
with the ones they loved.
On the road to Sant Llorenç, the
family gazed at Mallorca’s rugged
countryside, with its rolling, rocky
slopes peppered by wispy grasses
and low green trees. As they crossed
the hilly landscape, the sun set and
rain started to fall heavily. But that
didn’t detract from the beauty of the
island. They chatted happily. Piet-
erjan, a quiet historian, kept them
amused with witty observations from
the driver’s seat.
They had no inkling that the rain-
fall had already reached dangerous
levels (more than 230 millimetres
would fall by the end of the night).
As they drove beyond the town of
Sant Llorenç and up the winding road
about a kilometre into the hills, the
rain came down harder and the sky
grew darker. They were approaching
a bridge over what was normally a
small stream when, without warning,
a wave of dirty, fast-moving water
washed over the top of them. Within
seconds, the torrent had lifted the lit-
tle white car into the now raging river
and sent it surging down the hillside.
It all happened so quickly that
Marjon and her family were too
shocked even to scream. As the car
lurched and spun through the water,
its roof scraping the underside of a

28 august 2022

couple of bridges, they clutched to
their seats and doors in numb dis-
belief.
The f lood carried the car back
through Sant Llorenç – which was
now eng u l fed by over a met re
of water – and into scrubland a few
hundred metres south of the town
where, finally, it caught on a sub-
merged object in the middle of the
torrent.
The mother of the bride felt water
swilling round her feet and looked
dow n. Muddy brow n f loodwater
was pouring into the car and rising
quickly. Sitting in the backseat with
her mother’s nurse, she knew they
all had to get out quickly before the
waters rose too high in the car and
THE TORRENT LIFTED THE LITTLE CAR INTO THE RAGING
RIVER AND SENT IT SURGING DOWN THE HILLSIDE
they all drowned.
Forcing the back door open, she
jumped into the floodwater, followed
by the 52-year-old nurse. Marjon
grabbed the front door handle and
tried to open the door to reach Pieter-
jan and her mother in the front seat,
but the water pressure on the door
was too much.
Suddenly the rising, churning wa-
ter flipped the car onto its roof, leav-
ing Pieterjan and his mother-in-law
hanging in their seat belts, seconds
away from being submerged.
This is the end, he thought.
Swept Away
But then, just as suddenly, an-
other rush of water flipped the car
right side up again. Braced against
the current, Marjon got a grip on a
backdoor handle and, using all her
strength, pulled the door open. She
hauled her husband and mother out,
one at a time, between the two front
seats, coughing and sputtering. But
the danger was far from over.
The four of them clung to the back
of the car as the water rushed over
them. They were being battered by
debris, including branches and piec-
es of metal. The sky was completely
dark, illuminated only by occasional
flashes of lightning, as the rain con-
tinued to pelt down.
The flooded stream was now more
than 80 metres across and they were
trapped almost in the middle. Pieter-
jan yelled for help. But his wife was
sure it was hopeless.
I don’t think anyone can even see
us, let alone hear us, she thought. We
don’t stand a chance.
GENTO GALMÉS STARED out of the
window of his small summer house.
The 57 year old, an administrator
for the local city government, had
just come home after making a har-
row ing 1.5 k ilometre drive from
Sant Llorenç through rain so severe
rdasia.com 29
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
that it was almost impossible to see.
The narrow, usually empty stream
100 metres away had surged over its
banks, swamping the rocky ground
towards his propert y. He’d come
to pick up his daughter, Margalida
Galmés, 24, who was staying at the
house, intending to return to his
home in Sant Llorenç, where his wife
was. But the flood waters forced him
to stay put with his daughter.
At around the same time, his neigh-
bour Miquel Montoro stepped out-
side. It was now well past 7pm and
dark, but during the frequent flashes of
lightning, Montoro could make out ten
or more cars in the floodwaters. Sud-
denly, just above the roar of the water,
he heard screams coming from a car
about 30 metres away in the raging
stream.
Galmés heard the screams, too,
and rushed out to join his neighbour.
“We’ve got to do something,” he told
Montoro.
Montoro agreed. “If we don’t try,
we might hear those screams for the
rest of our lives,” he said.
Montoro ran to his van and shone
30 august 2022
its headlights across the water towards
the car so they could get a better idea
of what they were facing. But even
with the headlights, they still couldn’t
see any details – not even how many
people they might need to rescue.
W hat t hey could see was how
far they would have to go into the
fast-flowing water. Montoro grabbed
a long length of rope from his house
and the two men tied themselves
together like mountain climbers:
Montoro, a strong 47-year-old black-
smith, would be the anchor, feeding
Galmés the line as the latter pushed
through the flood. Galmés, like his
neighbour, had wound t he rope
around his middle but with enough
remaining free so he could throw
the loose end to those needing to be
rescued.
They started into the water and
towards the car. The stranded fam-
ily spotted the van’s headlights and
screamed even louder for help. Along
with the occasional f lash of light-
ning, their cries were Montoro and
Galmés’s only real guide as to exactly
where they were.

WEIGHED DOWN BY HIS HEAVY JACKET, HE LOST HIS
BALANCE AND PLUNGED UNDER THE WATER
The two men could feel themselves
sinking into churning mud but, ac-
cording to plan, Montoro stood firm
while Galmés fought the current to
struggle ahead. Galmés was tough,
but at barely 1.52 metres, he was soon
chest-deep in the water.
“Don’t go any further!” Montoro
shouted. “The current will take you.”
But Galmés ignored his friend and
kept fighting the current. Refrigera-
tors, wooden pallets and even whole
trees cascaded by on either side of
him. A gas cylinder smashed into
Montoro’s ribs. Both men knew that
something bigger could send them to
their deaths, but they were driven by
pure adrenaline.
It took Galmés ten minutes to get
within ten metres of the car. He could
make out four people clinging to the
back. They pleaded with him for help
in what little Spanish they knew:
“Ayuda! Ayuda!” “Help! Help!”
Bracing himself, Galmés threw the
end of the rope towards the car, hop-
ing someone would be able to grab
hold. But it landed just out of reach.
After several attempts, Pieterjan, who
Swept Away
was closest, caught the rope. Galmés
gestured to him to tie it around his
waist, then Galmés steadied himself
as he pulled the man towards him.
Pieterjan stumbled on. Weighed
down by a heavy jacket, he lost his
balance and plunged under the wa-
ter. Spitting out water, he struggled
back to his feet and Galmés hauled
on the rope until he was close enough
for Pieterjan to fling his arms around
him like an octopus.
Worried that Pieterjan would drag
them both under, Galmés – with
Montoro pulling on the rope – got
him to safety quickly. They hoped
that the 60 year old might be able to
help rescue the others, but Pieterjan
was dazed and shaking with shock.
Galmés turned his efforts back to
the three people still clinging to the
car. After bringing Bets’s nurse to
safety, he went back for Marjon and
her mother.
Suddenly, before anyone could
stop her, Marjon dived below the
surface and back into the car to grab
her mother’s medications. She re-
emerged seconds later with the meds,
rdasia.com 31
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
tied the rope around her waist, then
grabbed hold of her mother.
Wit h Galmés pulling, t he t wo
women slowly made their way to-
wards him, Marjon straining to hold
her mother aloft through water that
was almost up to her neck. They
made it safely to Galmés. Then, with
Montoro heaving on the rope, they
pushed through the rushing waters
towards shore. Just as they reached
shallower water, however, Bets lost
her balance and fell to her knees,
sinking into the mud.
Galmés and Montoro tried to lift
her but couldn’t. Montoro untied
himself and rushed to get a wheel-
barrow. He and Galmés lifted Bets
just enough to get her into it. With
one man pulling and the other push-
ing, Montoro and Galmés dragged
the wheelbarrow through the sop-
ping ground to safety.
The rescued Dutch family, nurse
Marjon Theunissen, and Galmés
gathered in Montoro’s house. The
Spaniards gave them blankets and
found dry clothes for them to put on.
Nurse Marjon and Galmés’s daugh-
ter Margalida, who was also a nurse,
32 august 2022
tended to Bets. She was shiv-
ering. She needed to get to a
hospital. But with no phone
signal, there was no way of
calling an ambulance. Plus,
the street leading to the main
road had been washed away.
Montoro had no option but
to try to restore the road him-
self, using his tractor. After about an
hour it was passable, and they took
the family to a roundabout where lo-
cal police were directing traffic. The
Dutch group was taken to a shelter
and Bets was rushed to a hospital,
where she was checked over and re-
leased the following day.
Later that evening, Galmés drove
to Sant Llorenç to reunite with his
wife. The town looked as if an earth-
quake had hit it. Debris filled the
streets and cars were piled on top of
one another. Back at his main house,
a tired Montoro found his partner
and friends glued to news reports
and frantically contacting loved ones.
“I’m going to have a shower,” Mon-
toro sa id mat ter-of-fact ly as he
walked to the bathroom. “I’ve just
rescued four people.”
Thirteen people lost their lives
that day, during what was one of
Mallorca’s worst flash floods in
memory. In June 2019, King Felipe VI
presented Galmés and Montoro with
the Spanish Order of Civil Merit.
Iris and Coen were married in a
simple ceremony in the Netherlands.
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

34 august 2022
 ART OF LIVING

Can You Change

Your

And is luck even a real thing? It’s complicated

BY Galadriel Watson F R O M T H E W A S H I N G T O N P O S T

S
ome t i me s , e v e r y t h i n g
seems to go wrong. You’re
passed over for a job. Your
back aches. Your zipper
brea k s. You r cat keeps
throwing up. Faced with setbacks
large and small, you feel like your life
is always taking a turn for the worse.
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES
In hopes of improving my outlook,
I turned to three experts who helped
me understand why we believe in
luck and how we can harness that
belief to make real changes in our
attitude towards life.
What Is Luck?

You aren’t superstitious, but you be-
gin to wonder if you’re just an un-
lucky person. Why does it seem like
you can never catch a break?
I’ve been feeling this way lately.
People define luck in three ways, ac-
cording to Jacqueline Woolley, pro-
fessor of psychology at the University
of Texas at Austin. First, we often use
the term luck as synonymous with

rdasia.com 35
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

‘chance’; we may call it lucky to win within us that realises our lives are
on the poker machines, although it’s ruled by chance, and we’re trying
actually a random event. Another to do something to get control over
way to frame luck is “as a supernatu- that.”
ral force that exists in the universe,” Professor Woolley agrees: “We as
she says. This force may touch on humans are very uncomfortable with
different people at different times, uncertainty,” she says. “When people
and some people believe it also can feel less in control of their lives – like
be harnessed, with a ritual or charm. when they feel that things are ran-
Third, it can be thought of as a per- dom and they’re not directing their
sonal trait that you’re born with. lives – they often search for super-
But does it exist? Richard Wise- natural explanations.”
man, author of The Luck Factor and
professor of the public understand- Luck’s Role In Real Life
ing of psychology at the University of University of London sociology lec-
Hertfordshire in the turer Vik Loveday con-
UK, doesn’t believe ducted a 2017 study in
there’s anything mag- the UK that illustrates
ical or superstitious that point. Loveday in-
about luck – it won’t terviewed 44 academic
help you out or hurt employees who were on
you at the casino. On LU C K Y temporary contracts, a
the other hand, con- PEOPL E C A N precarious employment
sidering yourself lucky situation that caused
or unlucky is “a way of
T R A N S F O R M anxiety and financial
seeing yourself, which B A D instability.
then has impact on E X PE R I E N C E S I n g e ne r a l , w he n
how you behave and one of these academ-
how you think and
T O G O OD ics learned about good
becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” news concerning their careers, such
he says. “So, in a sense, it absolutely as getting a permanent job or having
does exist.” a grant accepted, they would attrib-
And it has ‘existed’ for ages. “In ute it to luck. Because they felt they
every culture throughout recorded had so little control, a move in a pos-
history, people talk about supersti- itive direction had to have happened
tious rituals or chance – as indeed almost by accident, rather than as the
we do now, even with our amount of result of hard work.
science and technology,” Professor In a 2020 study and ongoing re-
Wiseman says. “It’s something deep search, Professor Woolley has looked

36 august 2022

at this idea in children. Between the
ages of about four and eight, they are
exposed to the concept of luck most-
ly through sources like family and
books. By age eight to ten, however,
they start to get sceptical. They’ve be-
gun to notice that, “when they wish
for something, it doesn’t happen,” she
says.
Still, this doesn’t stop the belief
– and even our reliance on charms
and rituals – from persisting into
adulthood. For example, superstar
basketball player Michael Jordan
had to wear his college practice
shorts under his National Basketball
Association uniform.
Professor Woolley references a 2010
study – which she wasn’t involved in
and which other researchers haven’t
been able to replicate – that found
that being told a golf ball was lucky
improved participants’ chances of
making the putt. “Obviously it’s not
luck that’s causing this. It’s that these
superstitious rituals give you confi-
dence and then you play better,” she
says.
How To Think About Luck
Is it possible to change your outlook
on luck and, if so, could that lead to
better outcomes?
Professor Wiseman believes there
are steps you can take to improve
your luck. After studying people who
consider themselves lucky or un-
lucky, he has found that the ‘lucky’
ones maximise chance opportunities
Can You Change Your Luck?
and dare to follow their intuition to
grasp those moments.
“If you are relaxed and happy, your
world view becomes bigger and you
see more opportunities,” he says. “If
you’re a flexible person, when those
opportunities come in, you’ll make
the most of them. Lucky people know
where they’re heading, but often they
change the course depending on how
the wind is going.”
Lucky people also expect good for-
tune and can transform bad experi-
ences to good. “They tend to be – no
surprise – optimists, and they’re also
very resilient to bad things that hap-
pen,” Wiseman says. “If bad things
happen, they think, ‘OK, it could have
been worse’.”
As for specific activities, you can
shift your focus towards the positive
by keeping a ‘luck diary’, Wiseman
says. “Each night before you go to
bed, spend about 30 seconds writing
down a positive thing that’s hap-
pened that day, or a sense of grati-
tude for friends or family or health,
or a negative thing that’s no longer
happening.”
Also, don’t be a creature of habit.
Take a different route when walking,
watch a different TV programme,
speak to different people – even
small changes can be effective. And
then keep your eyes open and be
prepared to grab whatever opportu-
nities might arise.
THE WASHINGTON POST (DECEMBER 8, 2021), © 2021
BY THE WASHINGTON POST
rdasia.com 37
 FOOD FOR
THOUGHT

PIZZA
W
Today it is relished e all have our favour-
ites. Some lean towards
around the world, but a traditional Napolitano
pizza was once scorned as
PHOTOS: GE T T Y IMAGES

or a cheesy quattro for-

poor-man’s fare – until maggi, while others prefer ‘mul-
ticultural’ versions, such as ham
royalty intervened… and pineapple. Regardless of where
your loyalty lies, there is no deny-
BY Diane Godley ing that this oven-baked flatbread

38 august 2022

topped with tomato sauce, cheese
and a variety of toppings, is one of
the world’s most loved foods. “Pizza
is easy to love,” says Scott Wiener
from scottspizzatours.com in New
York. “It’s portable, inexpensive, cus-
tomisable and, it tastes awesome!”
says the man who turned his love of
pizza into a business.
Although many believe pizza orig-
inated in Italy a few hundred years
ago, a form of pizza can be traced
back to ancient times, ac-
cording to historytoday. PIZZA WAS
com. Eaten by people on
FIRST EATEN
BY PEOPLE
the move or those who
couldn’t afford a plate,
the simple meal of flat- WHO COULDN’T
bread topped with sea-
AFFORD
A PLATE
sonal savouries (whatever
they could find growing in
the woods around them),
like mushrooms and herbs, was
mentioned as far back as circa
19 BCE. In the poem ‘Aeneid’ by Ro-
man poet Virgil, Ascanius exclaims
after their meal: “Look! We’ve even
eaten our plates!”
But it was in Naples, Italy, that piz-
zas as we know them today found
fame and fortune. Under the rule of
the Bourbon kings in the late 18th
century, Naples had become more
than just a bustling port city. Fuelled
by foreign trade and a flood of peas-
ants from the countryside, the popu-
lation doubled in size in just 50 years
– from 200,000 in 1700 to around
400,000 in 1750.
Food For Thought
Understandably, the city struggled
to keep pace with the speed of change
and many of the working poor fell
into poverty. The most wretched of
these were known as lazzaroni be-
cause their shabby attire was said to
resemble that of Lazarus, from the
Bible story.
Numbered in the tens of thou-
sands, they rushed about searching
for work as porters and messengers,
and needed food that was cheap and
could be eaten ‘on the
go’. Street vendors selling
pizzas met their needs,
by offering food that not
only didn’t need a plate,
but was cut into slices to
fit their customers’ budg-
ets and appetites.
Us i ng i ne x pen s i ve,
easy-to-find ingredients,
typical toppings included combina-
tions such as lard, garlic and salt, as
well as caciocavallo (made from cow
or ewe’s milk), cecenielli (whitebait),
basil and tomatoes. As tomatoes
were newly introduced from South
America, they were still shunned by
the well-heeled, and could be bought
cheaply.
A royal visit to Naples in 1889
changed the fortunes of pizza forever.
Tired of the rich French dishes they
were served at every meal, King Um-
berto I and Queen Margherita asked
for some local specialities instead.
A pizzaiolo, or pizza chef, cooked
them three varieties of pizza: lard,
rdasia.com 39
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
caciocavallo and basil; cecenielli;
and tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
Delighted with the simple fare,
the queen was said to thoroughly
enjoy the last of the three (which
represented the colours of the Ital-
ian flag; red, white and green) and it
was promptly named the Margher-
ita in her honour. With the queen’s
seal of approval, pizza’s reputation
soared. The food that could be eat-
en without a plate was
no longer seen as only IN THE EARLY
fit for the bedraggled 1900S, PIZZAS
WERE LIGHTLY
lazzaroni and became
a national dish.
In t he early 1900s, TOPPED, THIN
pizza left Naples for for-
eign shores. During the AND CRISPY
Great Depression, large
numbers of Neapolitans left Italy to
find work, taking their local cuisine
with them. However, it didn’t be-
come a global phenomenon until
the 1950s, says Wiener, when a post-
war boom in immigration boosted
its popularity.
“The wave of Italian immigration
after World War II, especially to the
US and Australia, brought the food
and culture of Southern Italians to
us,” he says.
With the advent of fridges and
freezers, the demand for ‘conveni-
ence’ foods grew, and – after a bit of
recipe manipulating – pizzas cor-
nered the frozen convenience food
market. To withstand the harsh con-
ditions, pizzas were redeveloped:
40 august 2022
slices of tomato were replaced with a
tomato sauce base to stop the dough
from drying out, and new cheeses
were created to withstand the freez-
ing temperatures.
The popularity of pizzas became
supercharged once again with the
advent of home deliver y. In t he
1960s, Dominik’s in Michigan, USA,
had become renowned for speedy
delivery of freshly cooked pizzas.
The owners, Tom and
Ja mes Monag ha n,
changed the name of
the company to Dom-
ino’s and expanded it
nationwide, and finally
globally.
Nowadays, you’d be
hard pressed to find a
country where a pizzeria can’t be
found. “I’d venture a guess that pizza
exists in at least 90 per cent of coun-
tries,” says Wiener. “I collect pizza
boxes and my collection represents
samples from over 115 countries.
Today’s pizzas are a far cry from
those served to King Umberto I and
Queen Margherita nearly 150 years
ago, or those that were first made
on foreign soils.
“In the early 1900s, pizzas were not
the huge, heavily topped pies we have
today,” says Wiener. “They were light-
ly topped, thin, probably even crispy
discs. There aren’t many images of
pizza back then so we just have to go
by descriptions from newspaper arti-
cles and ads.”
 Food For Thought

‘Abom i nat ions’ l i ke ha m a nd their scorn may include the Coat of

pineapple were also not a ‘thing’ Arms (emu and kangaroo) in Aus-
back in the day, and are still a source tralia, haggis in the UK, coconut in
of consternation for pizza purists. Costa Rica and curried banana in
Other toppings that no doubt meet Sweden.

MARGHERITA PIZZA
Pizza base ingredients 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• 2 cups (300g) strong
(baker’s) flour
3. Preheat oven to 240°C. Knock back
the dough by punching it to remove air
• 7g sachet dry active yeast and divide into 2 balls. Roll out dough
• 1 tsp caster sugar on a floured surface until you have
• 1 tsp salt 2 thin pizza bases, approx 25cm in
diameter. Carefully transfer to baking
• 1 tbsp olive oil
Topping ingredients
sheets and place on pizza stones or
trays.
• 100ml tomato passata or puree 4. Combine passata and garlic and
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped spread over pizza bases, leaving a 2cm
• 100-150g mozzarella, sliced border. Divide the slices of
• 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan mozzarella between bases, then
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved scatter with parmesan and eight
• Basil leaves, torn cherry tomatoes (cut side up). Drizzle
with olive oil and bake for 8-10 minutes
• Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Method
until cheese has melted and the pizza
bases are crisp.
1. For the pizza bases, sift flour into a
5. Add basil and remaining cherry
large bowl and stir in yeast, sugar and
tomatoes and drizzle with a little more
salt. Make a well in the centre.
olive oil, serve immediately.
Combine oil with 200ml warm water
and add to dry ingredients. Bring
together with your hands, then turn
dough out onto a floured surface.
Knead for 5 minutes by hand until the
dough is smooth.
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES

2. Lightly grease a clean bowl with

olive oil, add dough and cover with
a tea towel. Set aside in a warm
place (around 30°C) to prove for

rdasia.com 41
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
LIFE’S LIKE THAT
Seeing The Funny Side
Plot Twists
“Maybe he lived somehow.” (Me,
reacting to a character on a TV show
who has very obviously died.)
SOPHIA BENOIT, JOURNALIST
My mother has a great movie
recommendation! She doesn’t
remember the title, but she said it
stars “Jake something.” @HISAMWELCH
“I couldn’t get into it.” (Me, talking
about a TV show I didn’t pay any
attention to because I was on my
phone the entire time.)
REDDIT.COM
42 august 2022
Towards the end of the movie King
Kong, my then-girlfriend asked,
“Is this based on a true story?”
REDDIT.COM
Unsuitable For Requirements
When Grandpa died, my mother
and aunts decided he deserved
a new suit for his burial. Off they
went to a men’s clothing store,
CARTOON: RON BARDELLI
where a salesman helped them
pick out the perfect outfit. Smiling
broadly, the salesman told them,
“Today is your lucky day. This suit
comes with two pairs of pants.”
SUBMIT TED BY JACK MOSS
 Hope It’s Hereditary
TODDLER: Daddy, I have a question:
what is on your head?
ME: I don’t know. You tell me.
TODDLER: Nothing ... because you
have no hair!
JAMELLE BOUIE, JOURNALIST
We Just Clicked!
While my date was in the restroom,
I texted my roommate, who had just
been in an argument with her ex-
partner … except I accidentally sent
the text to my date.
So while in the restroom on our
first date, he received a text from me
that read, “Are you OK? I love you.”
@ALLEYDALLEY
Ladies Choice
My wife and I couldn’t agree on
where to eat, so we went to her
favourite restaurant. Next time,
we’ll go to her other favourite
restaurant. @ERICSSHADOW
Looking Good
My mother moved towns and went
for her first visit to her new doctor’s
surgery. The doctor looked through
her extensive medical notes on the
computer containing her health
ILLUS TR ATION: GE T T Y IMAGES
history and then looked at my
mother again.
He commented, “I am pleased to
say, with utmost certainty, that you
look a whole lot better in person
than you do online”.
SUBMITTED BY MICHA BRYN
THE GREAT TWEET-OFF:
THE SCHOOL RUN
The parents of Twitter have some
good pick-up lines.
The worst part of having a school-
aged kid is having to get dressed
and pretend I wasn’t in my pyjamas
all day when it’s time to pick her up.
@ADULT_MOM
I successfully backed into a parking
spot at school pick-up so excuse me
while I ride this high for the rest of
the ye—. Oh, there’s a traffic cone
stuck under my car. Never mind.
@MICHIMAMA75
As a dad with a full-time job, I don’t
get to pick up my four year old from
school very often. But the times I
finish early and go to surprise him
are worth it when I see his little face,
and he sees me, and he holds out
his arms, and shouts out: “Urgh, I
wanted Mummy to pick me up!”
@THREETIMEDADDY
[Phone rings]
“Mr Hughes?”
“Yeah.”
“We need you to come pick up your
son up from school.”
“What’s he done now?”
“Nothing. It’s nearly midnight.”
@DAVID8HUGHES
rdasia.com 43
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

44 august 2022
SEE Turn
THEtheWORLD...
page ››

rdasia.com 45
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

...DIFFERENTLY

IT LOOKS AS IF BIG BEN HAS

lain down to enjoy a good
paperback. For her installation
at the Manchester International
Festival in 2021, Argentine artist
Marta Minujín made a 42-metre-
long replica of the famous
London clock tower covered
with books: 20,000 copies of
160 different titles that deal with
or have shaped British politics.
After the festival, visitors were
allowed to take the books.
PHOTOS: CHRIS TOPHER FURLONG/GE T T Y
IMAGES

46 august 2022
rdasia.com 47
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Beware
The
ANTI-
CLIMAX
How to handle the unexpected downside
of achieving your goals
BY Victoria Stokes

48 august 2022
 ART OF LIVING
P
icture the scene: you’ve
spent years working to-
wa rds a speci f ic goa l.
You’ve put in countless
hours of work and made
many sacrifices, but now
you’ve got there it’s not how you im-
agined. Instead of celebration, ela-
tion and pride, you feel emptiness,
confusion and doubt.
Welcome to the anti-climax. The
of ten-ex per ienced but seldom-
discussed downside of achieving
life’s biggest milestones. Many of us
work tirelessly towards our goals.
We may spend our lives dreaming of
the day we get married, publish our
first book or purchase our first home.
However, often, when we achieve
these things it doesn’t feel quite as
expected. In fact, the achievement
of these goals feels a bit of a letdown.
So why do we often experience
an anti-climax when achieving big
goals? “An anti-climax can be an un-
expected by-product of a milestone
ILLUS TR ATION: GE T T Y IMAGES
achievement,” says psychotherapist
Rachel Vora. “Usually, the more sig-
nificant the milestone, the greater
the anti-climax may be. The journey
to achieving a milestone can be ex-
citing and all-consuming in addition
to giving us a robust sense of purpose
and focus. Therefore, when this dis-
appears overnight, we can often feel
lost and confused, despite feeling
proud of our achievement.”
When this happens it can prompt
a cocktail of complicated emotions.
“Clients often present [to me] with
an overwhelming sense of ‘is this it?’
and ‘what now?’,” says Vora. “These
feelings of confusion and disap-
pointment, if left unacknowledged,
have the potential to cause clients to
develop symptoms of depression and
low mood.”
The intensity of an anti-climax
depends on our preconceived ide-
as and expectations of what this
achievement means. Falsely believ-
ing that we’ll feel drastically differ-
ent afterwards or that our feelings
of low self-worth will disappear, is
rarely the case.
YOU HAVE ARRIVED
AT YOUR DESTINATION
Psychologists call this emotion the
‘arrival fallacy’ and it plays a big part
in those feelings of emptiness that
can follow achieving a goal.
“The term describes how fulfilling
our goals and achieving our ambi-
tions doesn’t lead to a happily ever af-
ter,” says psychologist Lee Chambers.
rdasia.com 49
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
“We hold this expectation that attain-
ing the outcome we are chasing will
grant us a lasting feeling of happi-
ness, fulfilment and contentment.
And when we do arrive at the desti-
nation, beyond the moment of cele-
bration, there is often a void, a feeling
of aimlessness, or a whole new long-
ing for something more.”
It’s a feeling that’s all too familiar
for Katie Ford, a veterinary surgeon
who completed extra study to obtain
an extra qualification, only to feel
deflated, lost and disillusioned when
she passed. “The path to this quali-
fication meant two-and-a-half years
of study, alongside a busy job and on-
call roster. It was also a significant fi-
nancial investment,” Ford says.
“Gaining this qualification felt like
it should be an armoury, proof that
I was indeed a good veterinary sur-
geon, but when the final result came
through, I felt nothing. My expecta-
tions of confidence and belonging
were sadly absent. Rather than cele-
brating, my thoughts shifted to won-
dering what was wrong with me, and
I felt lost.”
Ford thinks the anti-climactic feel-
ing was partly a result of failing to
recognise her progress along the way.
“I never acknowledged how far
I’d already come, discounted every
achievement, and failed to see that
I was the person who’d legitimate-
ly walked this path. I had pinned
an internal feeling on an external
change.”
50 august 2022
HOW TO HANDLE
AN ANTI-CLIMAX
Fortunately, there are steps you can
take to manage and even prevent the
feeling of anti-climax.
Enjoy The Journey
Appreciate the progress you make
along the way instead of fixating on
the end result can be freeing. It’s an
approach Ford has adapted. “I now
focus on the process more than the
outcome,” she says. “I get clear on my
motivators and my ‘why’ and check
in with myself on how I’m feeling
along the way, rather than prov-
ing something to someone else. I’m
much more self-aware, and kinder in
my self-talk.”
Chambers says enjoying the journey
can be difficult in a world that has be-
come increasingly outcome-obsessed,
but assures there are many ways we
can foster this approach in our lives.
“The first one requires slowing down
and realising that joy comes from the
doing, not the completing. So instead
of rushing for it to be done, take a
moment to enjoy the doing, and re-
member that many things in our lives
are never truly done, but constantly
evolve,” he says.
Another vital step is acknowledg-
ing the small wins. “Have lots of step-
ping stones to a big goal to pause on.
Celebrate each new stone, look back
and celebrate how far you’ve come
from the first one, and look forward
to the many stones in front.”

Anticipate The Comedown
Vora believes expecting and antici-
pating anti-climaxes in the lead up
to big milestones can lessen their
impact. “Anti-climaxes are just as
common as post-holiday blues,” she
points out. “If we normalise and plan
for feeling this way, we can limit the
impact on our mental health.”
If you are aware of a
potential upcoming an-
ti-climax, Vora recom-
mends scheduling an
activity to look forward WE FALSELY
to soon after the event
has finished. Plan some BELIEVE
time with friends and WE’LL FEEL
family, attend a concert DRASTICALLY
or cooking class. Vora
says, “This can act as a DIFFERENT
reminder that other as- AFTER AN
pects of life can be just
as fulfilling.”
ACHIEVEMENT
Normalise The Experience
Experiencing an anti-climax can be
a pretty isolating time. Vora points
out that there is an increased social
pressure to hit social milestones.
Our culture depicts these achieve-
ments as the be-all and end-all, and
because of how these moments are
portrayed by others, we expect to feel
a certain way. When we don’t feel as
we’re expected to, it can be confusing
and feed into feelings of comparison.
Vora says the key is to “normalise
feelings of low mood, confusion and
self-doubt around anti-climaxes.”
Beware The Anti-Climax
Many people experience these feel-
ings and connecting with others may
be beneficial. Ford believes practising
self-compassion can also be helpful.
“It’s important to be gentle with
ourselves at this time, to try to avoid
the comparison trap, and see where
we can start to reflect on the small
steps and victories that we might
not have acknowledged
along the way,” she says.
Focus On Sustained
Progress
“We have to remember
that from an evolution-
ary perspective, our
brains are wired to keep
us alive and evolve, not
happy and content,”
Chambers says. “For
the majority of our ex-
istence, we were prey,
and this means we are
not always deliberate in celebrating
even the biggest achievements.” The
solution is to cherish each moment.
Instead of downplaying what we have
achieved or moving straight to the
next item on the list, deliberately cher-
ish the moment and properly reflect
on the gain you’ve made.
“Reward yourself in a positive way
a nd rec og n i se you r prog res s,”
Chambers says. “That way, you won’t
fall into the fallacy of having ‘made
it’. Instead, you’ll see that you are
happily ‘making it’ along the jour-
ney that is an entire lifetime.”
rdasia.com 51
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

LAUGHTER
The Best Medicine

Cattitude Psychological Trick

Every time I return home after I put my old fridge outside my
taking my dog for a walk, I like to house and hung a sign on it that read,
imagine my cats are thinking, Wait, ‘Free. You want it, you take it’.
you brought it back? After three days, however, it still

CARTOON: BOB ECKS TEIN. ILLUS TR ATION: GE T T Y IMAGES

ZACK BUDRYK, JOURNALIST
Etiquette Edict
My rule is that if I wasn’t invited to
someone’s wedding, then they’re not
invited to mine, and I don’t care if
that upsets my parents.
GLEN MOORE, COMEDIAN
Principal Reason
In my school days I used to bury
my head in the sand. Eventually
he expelled me. @MrNickHarvey
sat there, so I changed the sign to
read, ‘Fridge: $50’. The next day
someone stole it. GCFL.NET
Legally Funny
A man walks into a lawyer’s office
and asks: “How much do you
charge?”
The lawyer responds: “I charge
$1000 to answer three questions.”
“That’s expensive, isn’t it?”
“Yes. What’s your third question?”
HUMOROPEDIA

52 august 2022
 Laughter

Round Trip
I was at the airport when I saw a guy AP-PEELING BANANA JOKES
fall unconscious on the baggage FOR A BUNCH OF LAUGHS
carousel. He came around slowly.
SEEN ON REDDIT

Hair Care
I couldn’t stand my boy’s long hair
any longer, so I dragged him to the
barber with me and ordered, “Give
him a crew cut.” The barber did just
that, and so help me, I found I’d been
bringing up somebody else’s son!
HARVESTHOUSEPUBLISHERS.COM
What do you call a
Strange Request charismatic banana?
I was returning home from a A banana smoothie!
business trip a few years ago and my
Why couldn’t the police catch
plane was fairly empty.
the banana?
“We have a little extra room
tonight, folks,” the pilot said over the Because he split!
PA system. “If you wouldn’t mind, What do you call the period
please take a window seat so the of time between slipping on
competition thinks the plane is full.” a banana and landing on your
GCFL.NET rear end?
A bananosecond.
Not Always The Best Policy
A guy goes in for a job interview and Why did the banana go to
sits down with the boss. the doctor?
The boss asks him, “What do you It wasn’t peeling well.
think is your worst quality?” Why did the banana go out
The man says, “I’m probably too
with the prune?
honest.”
Because he couldn’t find a date.
The boss says, “That’s not a bad
thing, I think being honest is a good What did one banana say to the
quality.” other banana that she just met?
The man replies, “I don’t care Yellow, nice to meet you.
about what you think!” From the internet
HUMOUR THAT WORKS

rdasia.com 53
S TOWER CRANE OPERATORS
know no fear of heights, even
when inspecting their work
equipment. However, securing
themselves correctly – like this
operator in the north of England
does – is nevertheless mandatory.

54 august 2022
 PHOTO FEATURE

JOBS
AT
THE
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES/IMAGE SOURCE/MONT Y R AKUSEN

TOP They are not only

found in the
executive suite
BY Doris Kochanek

rdasia.com 55
 PHOTOS: (PINK) GET T Y IMAGES/E THAN MILLER; (CATHEDR AL) PICTURE-ALLIANCE/ ZB/JENS WOLF; (SK YDIVING) SAN FR ANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA GE T T Y IMAGES
SEXPERIENCE FREE
FALL without any skydiving
training? Tandem masters like
California’s Boris Sergeev
make it possible. They ensure
that adventure-seekers land
safely after the thrill.

X POP SINGER PINK

impressed the audience with
acrobatics during her ‘The
Truth About Love’ tour, seen
here in 2014. Her
accompanying performers are
also very impressive.

WWIND AND WEATHER

are taking their toll on the
centuries-old masonry of
the Magdeburg Cathedral
in central Germany. Here
stonemason Daniel Schlauch
reworks part of the south
tower, nearly 100 metres
above the ground.

56 august 2022
Jobs At The Top

rdasia.com 57
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

58 august 2022

PHOTOS: (TREE FELLER) AL AMY S TOCK PHOTO/JOCHEN TACK; (MOUNTAINEERS) GE T T Y IMAGES/
CAVAN IMAGES RF; (ATOMIUM) AL AMY S TOCK PHOTO/JOERN SACKERMANN
SW THE FELLING OF A
TREE piece by piece is
best left to professionals.
This may be necessary if
the tree is in an awkward
location or surrounded by
other structures. The rope
climbing method allows
branches and trunk to be
lopped from the top and
lowered in a controlled
manner.
Jobs At The Top
W ANYONE WHO S WELL SECURED,
WANTS to climb the workers clean the surface
soaring Grand Teton of the Atomium, Brussels’
mountain in Wyoming, most famous landmark.
US, must be sure-footed. The shiny steel structure
Even experienced that depicts a gigantic iron
mountaineers should crystal was built for the
consider hiring a guide, 1958 World Fair. Between
but climbers still must 2004 and 2006, its nine
negotiate exposed spheres and their
passages on the way to connecting tubes were
the 4199-metre summit. thoroughly restored.
rdasia.com 59
 FAMILY LIFE

SCREEN
PA L S
Teens worldwide connect through video calls
to build empathy – and change
BY Richard Johnson

F
ive years ago, Abhay Sin-
gh Sachal and a group of
his Grade 10 classmates at
Seaquam Secondary School
in British Columbia, Cana-
da, made their first video call to the
Arctic. On the other end of the line
was Abhay’s 23-year-old brother,
Sukhmeet, a volunteer teaching as-
sistant and his class at East Three
Secondary in Inuvik, North-West
Territories.
Students in Inuvik detailed the legacy
of residential schools for indigenous
students on their families, including
stories of social problems and alcohol
abuse. Seaquam kids shared how they
felt helpless to do anything about the
threat posed by the climate crisis.
After both groups said their good-
byes, the brothers had an idea: what
if the conversation, meant to expand
the students’ perspectives about life
outside their hometowns, didn’t have
PHOTO: MAY TRUONG

The conversation started with typi-
cal teen small talk – asking each other
about TV shows, music and school
life. But as the teens grew more com-
fortable, the chat turned serious.
to end? Students, they figured, could
continue to benefit from bridging
geographical and cultural differenc-
es. They called their organisation
Break The Divide. Today, it facilitates

60 august 2022
Break the Divide founders:
brothers Abhay (left) and
Sukhmeet Singh Sachal
(on laptop)
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Abhay speaks at Canada’s Walk Of Fame gala after receiving his

Community Hero award. He is joined by his brother Sukhmeet and
Andrea Phillips, who helped inspire the idea of Break The Divide

conversations and coordinates com- interests, such as mental health,

munity action between youth all over truth and reconciliation actions, and
the world. “It all starts with empa- climate change. There are now over
thy,” Abhay says. two dozen Break The Divide chap-
The students at Seaquam used ters located across Canada as well as
social media to spread at schools in Taiwan,
the word about their STUDENTS BENEFIT Cambodia, South Afri-
m ission to create
eye-opening conver- FROM BRIDGING ca and Bolivia.
T h e C a p e To w n
sations. Other schools GEOGRAPHICAL chapter that started a
began reaching out, AND CULTURAL few years ago by South
DIFFERENCES
PHOTO: COURTESY BRE AK THEDIVIDE

and Break The Divide A f rican students,

helped them to start
t hei r ow n chapters,
providing resources, such as a list
of guiding questions to get the con-
versation started, and technical tips
for video calls. Individual chapters
are encouraged to connect with each
other based on common big-topic
wanted to talk about
their local water crisis,
which had reached a critical level.
The students at Abhay’s school were
interested in learning more about
it. After their conversation, Abhay’s
classmates started a campaign chal-
lenging people to conserve water as

62 august 2022
 Screen Pals

though the Cape Town crisis were
their own. “It goes from little con-
versations,” says Sukhmeet, “to the
big ones.”
Maryam Haroon knows first-hand
how powerful that change can be.
She joined her school’s Break The
Divide chapter as a Grade 10 student
in Surrey, British Columbia. Haroon
says talking to youth around the
world pushed her to gain perspec-
tives beyond those offered in a tra-
ditional high school curriculum. She
eventually became her school chapter
president and organised two mental
health awareness events, focusing on
the challenges of isolation and depres-
sion – especially relevant during the
pandemic. Now 18 and a university
student, she continues to volunteer
for the organisation. “I envision Break
The Divide as a new kind of social
network,” she says. “It’s a platform that
empowers people to connect and then
do whatever they’re passionate about.”
Last year, Abhay and Sukhmeet se-
cured funding to hire their first em-
ployees, enabling them to develop an
app that will act as a social platform
to connect Break The Divide chapters
worldwide. Their plans of expansion
include reactivating the India chap-
ter, which had become defunct due to
COVID-19.
Hundreds of conversations later, the
brothers are still optimistic that the
core principle of Break The Divide –
empathy – can play a central role in
how youth tackle the issues that mat-
ter most to them. “I hope that we can
be part of creating a world where we
are all listening to each other,” says
Abhay. “Listening with an intent to
learn and to change.”

As Kids See It
My six year old: I figured out the password to the tablet and
bypassed the parental controls to download all my shows.
Also my six year old: Help! I put both my legs in the same pant hole
and now I’m stuck! @not_thenanny
My ten year old: Granny, can you teach Mum how to make this
dessert?”
My mother: Oh, she already knows how to make it, Sweetie.
My ten year old: No, she doesn’t. @wordesse
My five year old asked me to find something downstairs.
I couldn’t find it.
My five year old: I’ve got an idea. This time, go back downstairs
and try your best. @adamhill1212

rdasia.com 63
 TELL ME WHY...
We Eat Birthday Cake
Hint: It has to do with the Ancient Greeks!
BY Claire Nowak
T
here are hundreds of types of
birthday cake in the world, each
beautiful in its own sugary way.
Odds are, you’ve indulged in one dur-
ing one of your birthday parties. But
in between delicious bites of cake
and icing, have you ever stopped and
wondered, What makes this dessert fit
to commemorate the day of my birth?
Ancient Egyptians are credited with
‘inventing’ the birthday celebration.
They believed when Pharaohs were
crowned, they became gods, so their
coronation day was a big deal. That
was their ‘birth’ as a god. Ancient
Greeks borrowed the tradition but
rightfully realised that a dessert would
make the celebration all the more
meaningful. So they baked moon-
shaped cakes to offer up to Artemis,
64 august 2022
goddess of the moon. They also dec-
orated them with lit candles to make
the cakes shine like the moon.
Modern birthday parties are said to
get their roots from the 18th-century
German celebration Kinderfeste. On
the morning of a child’s birthday, he
or she would receive a cake with lit
candles that added up to the child’s
age, plus one. This extra candle was
called the ‘light of life’, representing
the hope of another full year lived.
The birthday child would make a
wish, try to blow out all the candles in
one breath, and dig in.
Since the ingredients to make cakes
were expensive, this birthday custom
didn’t become popular until the In-
dustrial Revolution. Now we enjoy
cakes on any occasion.
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES
ANG ORIGINAL NA PLASTIK,
PLASTIK NA PLASTIK PA DIN!
Orocan Icebox 30L

Orocan
Utility Pail 12L

OrocanPH Also available in

 YEARS

LAUGHING
Matters Humour connects us to one another.
But what we find funny has changed
over the past 100 years
BY David Steinberg

M
aking people laugh connects us to one an-
other. But what humour endures? For me, it’s
personal life stories and experiences. Life,
twisted and moulded until you find the fun-
ny, will always evolve, and therefore endure.
I’ve found that the closer it cuts to the bone, the funnier it
is. The beauty of life is that everyone is similar in some way.
While we may not have the same experiences, everyone can
relate to observations on life, family and the varieties of be-
haviour we all encounter every day as we go about our lives.

66 august 2022
Laughing Matters

rdasia.com 67
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Humour is very helpful in everyday relate to that. My older brother Fishy

life. For example, it can end tense sit- used to bring home joke books and
uations. In my life, humour has ended read them to me when I was about
arguments at home and at work too ten, and it had a great impact on me.
many times to men- W hy do we want
tion. Finding humour HUMOUR HAS to make other peo-
can break tension im- ple laug h? I asked
mediately. My dad was
A NATURAL comed ia n a nd d i-
a rabbi, and he found WAY OF rector Judd Apatow
humour so important EVOLVING. LIFE t h i s onc e a nd he
during his sermons. It sa id ma k ing ot her
always broke the ice ITSELF NEVER p e ople l au g h w a s
and brought the con- GETS OLD “an instant way to
gregation together. At know you think I’m
home, being funny OK”. T h at s ou nd s
brought the family closer. about right to me. It’s a bonding
Jerry Seinfeld once told me how experience. Laughter is good for
his dad collected jokes in a box. He your health. And most importantly is
would write them down on cards so being able to laugh at yourself.
he wouldn’t forget them and then Great comedians look at that prism
tell jokes at the dinner table. I could of life in different ways. For instance,
Chris Rock can tell a relatable story
about life and it will be funny. It will
resonate with the audience and Chris
will get huge laughs. Steve Martin or
Jerry Seinfeld will look at a similar
observation in life and tell a very
different story from a very different
angle with a very different delivery.
Comedians look at life through a gi-
ant prism and they each look at that
prism from a different angle. The best
of them keep working it out until they
find the humour that suits them and
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES

“People say strikes the right chord and, hopefully,

‘Bill, are you an optimist?’ the laughter chord of an audience.
People will always relate to the hu-
And I say, ‘I hope so’.” man story, with all its challenges. The
BILL BAILEY good thing about life is that it changes

68 august 2022
 Laughing Matters

and evolves. Many of the

issues a nd cha rac ters
change. Humour has a nat-
ural way of evolving. Life
itself never gets old and is
always fodder for a laugh.
Robi n W i l l ia ms, when
talking about his mother,
said, “She was a Christian
Scientist. I used to call her
a Christian Dior Scientist.”
B u t hu mou r h a s t o
adapt with modern life.
As a result, comedians
are constantly pushing
the envelope. They have
to because what the pre-
vious generation found
funny becomes a cliché
to the new generation. As
comedy evolves with life,
the edge keeps moving as
well. As groundbreaking
and revolutionary as Lenny Bruce pushing that moving envelope. Com-
was in the 1940s and 50s, he feels edy will endure – it must – as long as
tame compared with modern co- the edge keeps moving outwards. Go
medians. Counterculture stand-up with laughter.
George Carlin pushed the bound-
aries of humour with ‘Seven Words David Steinberg is a comedian,
You Can Never Say on Television’ actor, writer, author and director. His
in 1972, but I believe we say most of directorial portfolio includes Friends,
them now. That’s what time does to Seinfeld, Mad About You, Newhart,
comedy. And now with a whole new Designing Women and Curb Your
generation the challenge is the same. Enthusiasm. He was also the host of
Humourists must keep pushing that the show Inside Comedy. His latest
envelope, and we will. book, Inside Comedy: The Soul, Wit,
My hope for comedy is that we and Bite of Comedy and Comedians
don’t become comedy cops and that of the Last Five Decades, is available
we just focus on being funny and now @david_steinberg.

rdasia.com 69
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

New
Help
For
Hearing
Loss
Today’s solutions not only reunite you with easy
conversations, they also reduce your chances of
having a fall, becoming depressed and more
BY Susannah Hickling

70 august 2022
HEALTH

rdasia.com 71
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

“YOU’RE COMING THROUGH

MY HEARING AIDS!”
laughs Lynne Kingston as she enthuses
on the phone about the little devices that
have changed her life.
The 57 year old had been aware of people can have these white things
her deteriorating hearing for at least sticking out of their ears, why would
15 years, as young as her early 40s. I be bothered about wearing a hear-
She constantly asked people to re- ing aid?”
peat themselves. Noisy restaurants, So in 2020, Kingston did some re-
parties and the telephone were a search and was amazed at the im-
nightmare for Kingston, who runs a provements in hearing technology.
student accommodation rental busi- She went to an audiologist to check
ness. “I do most of my work on the out the different aids available, and
phone,” she says. “I had to put it on chose ReSound One models from
speakerphone, which meant every- Danish manufacturer GN, a widely
one else could hear.” available option. She was attracted
About ten years ago she consulted by the devices’ three microphones
a hearing specialist and tried basic – two in a tiny unit worn behind

ILLUS TR ATIONS (PRE VIOUS SPRE AD AND THIS ONE): SHUT TERS TOCK
hearing aids, but soon gave up. While her ear and another mic inside the
they amplified all the sounds around ear. These give more natural sound
her, she still couldn’t make out the quality and filter out unwanted back-
ones she needed to ground noise. “I’ve got
hear. “I was in denial,” an app on my phone
she says. “I thought, After and, depending on the
I’m not that deaf.” age-related environment I’m in, I
But she was. Eventu- hearing loss, can adjust the sound,”
ally, pressure from her the next she says.
children and a friend biggest cause When Kingston put
who wore hearing aids the hearing aids in,
made her think again,
is long-term she realised how much
as did buying her son exposure to she’d been missing. “I
and daughter trendy excessive thought, What’s that
wireless Bluetooth ear- noise noise?” she recalls. “It
buds for Christmas. “If was my shoes!”

72 august 2022
 New Help For Hearing Loss

Kingston can finally communi-

cate normally on the phone and face
to face. She is able to route television
audio as well as phone conversations
through her hearing aids. They are
comfortable and discreet, and her
self-esteem has risen as a result.
Lynne Kingston is one of around
430 million people globally who
live with disabling hearing loss, ac-
cording to the World Health Organ-
ization. This means they struggle in
normal conversation.
Around 90 per cent of hearing loss
is due to wear and tear in the inner
ear, sometimes as early as in our 40s,
with 40 per cent of over-50s having
some level of hearing loss. When vi-
brations come through the ear, tiny
hair-like cells change them into elec- losing your hearing. Other risk fac-
trical signals that are sent through tors include a family history, head in-
the auditor y ner ve to the brain, jury, smoking and some medications,
which then interprets the sound. including the antibiotic gentamicin
Once dead, these cells don’t renew and some chemotherapy drugs.
themselves.
After age-related hearing loss, the NOT JUST AN
next biggest cause is long-term ex- INCONVENIENCE
posure to excessive noise, which can The effects go far beyond missing out
start in your teens. Working in fac- on conversations. Hearing loss has a
tories or with firearms can damage profound impact on mental health.
hearing, as can listening to loud mu- “Hearing is our primary commu-
sic either through headphones or live. nication sense and losing it leads to
Viruses can play a part, too. King- social isolation,” says Professor Birg-
ston believes contracting measles in er Kollmeier, president of the Euro-
her 20s might have caused her hear- pean Federation of Audiology Soci-
ing loss. Some medical conditions, eties. Researchers have found that a
such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease hearing problem doubles the risk of
and high blood pressure, are also depression.
thought to increase your chances of And that’s not all. Hearing loss

rdasia.com 73
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
contributes to the likelihood of de-
veloping dementia by up to eight
per cent – and is the highest modi-
fiable risk factor for the disease, ac-
cording to a Lancet Commission on
dementia in 2020. When you can’t
hear well, “your brain is not stimu-
lated enough,” says Dr Paul Van de
Heyning of Antwerp University Hos-
pital in Belgium.
There are clear signs that hearing
aids can guard against dementia.
One 2018 study of nearly 4000 people,
conducted over 25 years by health re-
search organisation Inserm, showed
that uncorrected hearing problems
led to increased risk of disability and
dementia, whereas people who wore
hearing aids had the same chance of
remaining independent as those with
normal hearing. And based on data
from the more recent PROTECT on-
line longitudinal study, UK research-
ers believe hearing aids can reduce
the risk of cognitive decline by up to
five years.
“My hearing
aids have
made me
feel better
about myself.
It's an
investment
in me”
— LY N N E
74 august 2022
Surprisingly, hearing loss is im-
portant for physical health, too. Even
mild loss can lead to a three times
higher risk of falls, which can prove
fatal for older people.
THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY
The latest hearing-aid technology
can be a huge help. “The quality has
improved massively in the last 20
years,” says audiologist Francesca
Oliver. “They can be programmed
for the individual’s hearing loss.” An
algorithm determines how much am-
plification at different frequencies is
required.
But one of the most exciting devel-
opments is the ability to connect your
hearing aids to your smartphone via
Bluetooth. Using your phone like a
remote control, you can adjust the
volume and switch between different
modes, such as restaurant settings,
meetings or live music. Previously,
hearing aids did not have connec-
tivity to smartphones, so you had to
physically turn up the
volume on the device.
“Vast prog ress has
been made with re-
PHOTO COURTESY OF LYNNE KINGS TON
spect to connectivity
with communications
dev ices, i nclud i ng
public address sys-
tems,” says Professor
Kollmeier.
W hat ’s more, a l l
this amazing tech is
KINGSTON of ten conta ined in

Shown here are
two popular hearing
aids: The ReSound
One from Danish
manufacturer
GN (left) and the
Lyric from Swiss
company Phonak
(right)
much smaller devices. There’s even
one – the Lyric, which is widely avail-
able – that can be worn unseen inside
the ear canal for several months at a
time. “You can’t feel it, and you can
sleep and shower with it in,” says au-
diologist Paul Checkley. “It’s like a
contact lens for the ear.”
Most hearing loss is bilateral, and
in those cases, two behind-the-ear
devices are better, such as the one
Kingston purchased. There is a wire-
less interaction between them, giving
the wearer a better idea of where the
sound is coming from – replicating
what our own ears do. Coming next,
Checkley believes, are ‘hearables’.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF: (LEF T) GN, (RIGHT) PHONAK
“Some manufacturers are putting
hearing technology into ‘smart’ ear-
plugs,” he explains. These microcom-
puters, which are similar to earbuds
to listen to music, use wireless tech-
nology, allowing your personal hear-
ing data to be input to enhance your
hearing. With hearing aids, the soon-
er you get them, the better.
“Research shows that people wait
about ten years before seeking help,”
says Oliver. Why? It’s not just the
New Help For Hearing Loss
stigma associated with going deaf;
it’s also because hearing loss is grad-
ual and people are often unaware it’s
happening.
“Age-related hearing loss affects
the higher frequencies first, which
means people can hear vowel sounds
but miss consonants,” says Checkley.
“They can be fooled into thinking
their hearing is normal.”
But don’t wait until you can’t hear
a thing. “Start early with any inter-
vention, because the brain tends to
forget your central hearing abilities
if they are not properly activated
anymore,” says Professor Kollmeier.
Neglecting the problem means it takes
longer to get used to hearing aids.
COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
When hearing aids are no longer up
to the job, there’s a surgical solution
that can revolutionise lives. Cochle-
ar implants can allow for improved
speech perception in up to 98 per
cent of people who, even when wear-
ing aids, can’t have a normal con-
versation, according to Dr Van de
Heyning.
rdasia.com 75
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
“Eighty per cent of people who get
a cochlear implant can make a tele-
phone call again,” he says. And for
people who are unfortunate enough
to have tinnitus as well, he says the
noises in their head abate by 50 to
80 per cent when they switch on
their implant.
A cochlear implant has two parts.
One is worn behind the ear and the
other is surgically implanted under
the skin of the scalp with a wire lead-
ing through the ear to electrodes in
the cochlea, the ‘hearing’ part of the
inner ear. An external microphone
on or near the ear picks up sounds,
which are analysed by a chip and
sent as code into the implanted
CLUES THAT YOU HAVE
HEARING LOSS
• You have the volume on your
television higher than others need.
• You keep asking people to
repeat themselves.
• People seem to be mumbling,
and you mishear what people say.
• It’s difficult to hold a
conversation in restaurants and
bars or at parties.
• It’s difficult to hear on the
telephone.
• You feel tired or stressed from
having to concentrate while
listening.
76 august 2022
electrodes. These send currents to
the auditory nerve.
“It replaces the work of the hair
cells,” says Dr Van de Heyning, clar-
ifying that there is no brain surgery
involved.
In fact, the risk of complications
and the failure rate are low. Implants
are suitable for people whose hear-
ing loss is caused by inner-ear issues
– the vast majority – and age is no
object.
“The only barrier is severe demen-
tia,” says Dr Van de Heyning. These
patients don’t have the cognitive acu-
ity needed to interpret the initially
unfamiliar sounds they hear.
Still, awareness and uptake remain
low in many countries. In high-in-
come countries, less than ten per
cent of people whose lives could be
improved by a cochlear implant ac-
tually have one. Why so few?
“That’s a good question!” says
Dr Van de Heyning, who says that
even ear, nose, and throat (ENT)
specialists often seem unaware of
the advantages, and which patients
would benefit from surgery.
“Ideas persist that you have to
be completely deaf to benefit.” You
don’t.
Jacques Verdière, 88, is proof that
cochlear implants can restore hearing
even when you’re elderly. After years
of ear infections, the retired librarian
went completely deaf in his left ear.
When his ENT surgeon suggested a
cochlear implant, he was hesitant.
 New Help For Hearing Loss

“But my daughter, a Schilder believes this

nurse, persuaded me,” Implants are
Verdière says. suitable for
I n 2016 he had a
cochlear implant, fol- people whose
lowed by a second the hearing loss
following year when is caused by
he lost the hearing in inner-ear
his other ear. W hile
Verdière had rehabil-
issues
itation after the first
implant to retrain his brain to under-
stand the metallic sounds produced,
he required no help adjusting to the
second. “I could hear perfectly. It was
marvellous.”
Inner-ear hearing loss has always
been considered irreversible, but
science may be about to debunk that
idea. Particularly exciting is a new
drug being trialled in Greece, the UK
and Germany.
“This drug treatment aims to re-
generate inner-ear hair cells that are
lost as hearing loss progresses,” says
ENT surgeon and hearing researcher
Dr Anne G.M. Schilder, who headed
the trial, dubbed REGAIN. In people
with mild to moderate hearing loss, an
ENT specialist injects the drug, a gam-
ma secretase inhibitor, into the mid-
dle ear, from where it diffuses into the
inner ear to make new hair cells. Dr
and other innovative
treatments capable of
reversing hearing loss
could be available in
five to ten years’ time.
But right now it’s im-
portant to prevent, as
much as possible, dam-
age to those crucial hair
cells.
“There are very good quality, rea-
sonably priced ear plugs you can buy
that filter out harmful sounds but
won’t detract from your experience,”
says Oliver.
When listening to music, consid-
er noise-cancelling headphones,
don’t turn the volume up too high,
and don’t listen for too long. Take a
break of at least five minutes every
hour and, if you’re at a concert, every
15 minutes. Many audiologists be-
lieve you should have regular hearing
tests just as you do for your eyesight.
After all, why suffer in silence?
W hile you may have to pay for
some or all of the cost of state-of-the-
art hearing aids, Lynne Kingston
thinks it’s more than worth it.
“They’ve made me feel better about
myself,” she says. “It’s an investment
in me.”

Eiffel Tower Reaches New Heights

Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower has grown by six metres to 330 metres
after a new digital radio antenna was attached to the top of the
135-year-old monument.
SKY NEWS
rdasia.com 77
 HUMOUR

The Quirks Of
LONG-TERM LOVE
BY Patricia Pearson

A
fter 25 years of marriage, a (Ambrose has been nursing a bad
ILLUS TR ATION: SAM ISL AND

relationship problem in my knee.) I move the stick a metre over

home t ypically plays out
like this. I go to the kitch-
en to make dinner and see my hus-
band’s walking stick leaning against
the drawers that contain my pots.
and rest it against the door frame.
The next day, it is back leaning on
the drawers. I move it again. This can
go on for weeks. Neither of us men-
tions it to the other. It’s just a silent

78 august 2022
tug-of-war about where things belong a musician who preferred to play his
in the house. instruments, or play with our pets
I mentioned this to him the other or our children, than go out on the
day, about how hilariously low-stakes town. I thought I could change him. It
the romantic drama has become in drove me nuts that he’d sneak out the
our lives, and he countered that, ac- back door at his own surprise birth-
tually, he hadn’t noticed that I kept day party. Or shrink into the shadows
moving his stick. “You’ve been doing at social or networking events.
that every day for two months?” I once received a hand-delivered,
Then he added, defensively, “Well, gold-embossed Christmas party invi-
you keep leaving a spoon in the dog- tation from a Very Important Person,
food can.” addressed to myself ‘plus guest’. I
“No, I don’t . Not was so excited, waving
every day.” IT DROVE ME it at Ambrose, and he
“Yes, you do. Every NUTS THAT advised me that he had
time you feed the dog, no intention of being
you put the spoon back
MY HUSBAND my ‘guest’. He would,
in the can instead of in WOULD SNEAK he mused, rather get
the dishwasher.” OUT OF HIS his foot caught in a
“ Ho w w ou ld y ou
know it’s every day if
OWN BIRTHDAY bear trap.
Basically, I married
you didn’t even notice PARTY Ferdinand the Bull –
me moving your stick?” that children’s-stor y
Then we both laughed, because character who isn’t interested in the
if these are the crisis points in our swagger of the bull fight when he can
marriage after a quarter of a century, sit placidly under the trees, smelling
I’d call that a win – and also a long, the flowers. But I could never quite
slow-motion surrender. believe that he was truly this way. I
On the occasion of my parents’ kept trying to wave a red cape at him.
50th wedding anniversary, my father “What are you thinking about?” I
said to the assembled crowd, “The joy might ask him.
of a wedding day is that two people “Nothing.”
become one. They just spend the next “Really? Nothing at all?” Since it
50 years fighting over which one.” could not be true, he must be keeping
Oh, how true that was, for so long. secrets. A thousand scenarios would
I used to want Ambrose to be more play out in my mind about what he
like me, more intense and emotion- was actually thinking. It took me
ally expressive and socially asser- years to comprehend that he wasn’t
tive. He was a shy man of few words, holding any thing back from me,

rdasia.com 79
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

didn’t harbour private thoughts, could be because he’s blind without

wasn’t planning an affair. He was his glasses, which is another plus. I
genuinely just thinking stuff like, I also like to think he doesn’t notice
wonder if they still sell those dill pick- when I sneak chocolate chips from
le-flavoured peanuts I used to get as a the baking supplies, or talk to myself
kid. I should google it. while gardening. There is something
At first, I tried a different route into to be said for a partner who cuts you
his subconscious by asking him about a huge amount of slack.
his dreams. But he There is also some-
could never remem- HE DOESN’T thing to be said for
ber them. Until one NOTICE WHEN s u r r e nd e r i n g c e r-
I TALK TO
day he did. He came tain expectations in
downstairs looking a marriage. Over the
amused and said, “I MYSELF WHILE past couple of dec-
had a dream that I was
taking a nap.”
GARDENING ades our anniversa-
ries were sometimes
T h i s w a s pr e t t y ver y fraught – back
much the point at which I realised he when I was trying to make Ambrose
really was Ferdinand the Bull. And I more like me. There would be tears
stopped trying to make him more like and bouts of fury and fantasies about
me. I began considering the virtues thwacking him on the head with
of him being him. I mean, there are a rubber mallet. Now that I’ve let
the obvious ones. Ambrose is funny some things go, there is a mellower
and kind and supportive, a great fa- romance at play. I don’t know what
ther. We can talk for hours and never the gods call it, but it involves deep
get bored. He doesn’t mind me writ- attachment, shared worldview, made
ing about him in magazines. memories and grown children.
And then there is the flipside of be- Now when our anniversary rolls
ing someone who doesn’t notice that around, I find myself relieved, frank-
I’m fighting with him over his walk- ly, to skip the ill-fitting lingerie and
ing stick: that is, the things I’m grate- just smell the roses he unfailingly
ful he doesn’t notice. Mind you, that supplies.

Comfort In Soft Toys

A fifth of adult men in the UK own a teddy bear, according to a survey
from newspaper The Sun and electronics retailer ao.com, with many
admitting they snuggle up to their childhood toy at night.
THESUN.CO.UK

80 august 2022
 The first day ONCE I LEARNED
or so we all HOW TO READ,
pointed to our I WAS NEVER
countries. BORED OR
LONELY AGAIN.
The third or ANYA TAYLOR-JOY,
fourth day ACTRESS

we were
pointing to our There is no best
musician, best artist,
continents. best dancer, best actor.
By the fifth The arts are subjective
... It’s like a song or an
day we were album is made and it
only aware of almost has a radar to
one Earth. find the person when
SULTAN BIN SALMAN AL-SUAD, they need it most.
SPACE SHUT TLE ASTRONAUT JON BATISTE, MUSICIAN

WHEREVER
YOU GO, NO How far that little
MATTER WHAT candle throws his
THE WEATHER, beams!
ALWAYS BRING So shines a
PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

YOUR OWN good deed in a

SUNSHINE. weary world.
ANTHONY J. D’ANGELO, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,
EDUCATIONALIST IN THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

rdasia.com 81
For millennia, kites have mesmerised
people around the world. Now, a
new generation of artists is
taking their creations to
greater heights
rdasia.com 83
O
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
ne night two millen-
nia ago, a Han Dy-
nasty general sent
a s qu a r e -s h ap e d
assemblage of bam-
boo and cloth into
t he air above en-
emy territory in central China. He
was trying to measure how much
earth his men would need to tunnel
through to breach their adversaries’
defence line.
It is one of the most famous early
stories of kite flying. Similar devices
were later used by other Chinese ar-
mies; they launched them after dark
in whipping winds in hopes that the
noise would scare off foes, and used
them to deliver threats via missives
tied to the kites’ tails. In 1232, Chi-
nese military kites dropped pages of
84 august 2022
propaganda into the compound of
a Mongolian prisoner-of-war camp,
inciting first a riot and then a mass
escape.
Today, of course, these delicate air-
craft – built from light wood or plastic
frames shaped to create lift, covered
in a thin material such as paper or
silk, and piloted via long strings – are
considered toys, not tools of warfare.
And yet they have captivated us for
centuries, serving a range of practical
and spiritual functions in cultures
around the world.
In Singapore and Borneo, fishers
have long trailed lures from kites
attached to their boats. In Japan,
washi-paper versions, often depicting
scenes from legends, have been flown
for good luck since the 17th century.
On Good Fr iday i n Ber muda,
PHOTOS: (OPENING SPRE AD) RENE AND R ADK A; (THIS PAGE) GE T T Y IMAGES

Anne Rubin’s bamboo and tengucho paper kite Sakura (meaning cherry blossom)
people gather on beaches to fly enor-
mous, multicoloured kites in homage
to Christ’s ascension. And on the In-
donesian island of Bali, villagers con-
struct kites up to four metres high –
shaped like leaves, birds and fish – to
fly in competitions as gratitude for a
successful harvest.
Despite their ubiquit y though,
kites have rarely been the subject of
serious study. Even their origin story
has seemed uncertain since the 1997
discovery of a prehistoric Indonesian
cave painting of what appears to be a
floating rhomboid.
PHOTO: ANNE HAHMANN
It seems likely, though, that kites
originated in China or Southeast
Asia and were brought by merchants,
missionaries and soldiers into Ko-
rea, Japan and, later, Myanmar and
India – where they can be seen in
The Ancient Magic Of Kites
17th-century Mughal paintings.
Less clear is how they arrived in
the West. Some sources suggest Mar-
co Polo, who travelled through Asia
in the late 13th century, observed
Chinese sailors using wind-carried
devices to gauge incoming weath-
er patterns and brought some back
to Europe. Tailless kites, modelled
on medieval pennant-shaped mili-
tary banners, appear in English and
Dutch drawings from the early 1600s.
Over the next century, flying kites –
often in diamond or pear shapes and
crafted from silk with ornamental
tails – became a popular pastime for
children in Europe.
From there, the kite travelled to
North America, where it informed
two of the defining advancements of
the modern age: in 1752, American
rdasia.com 85
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
Gas Giant, a 2013 installation by Jacob Hashimoto, was composed of 7500 kites
polymath Benjamin Frank lin fa-
mously attempted to harness elec-
tricity by sending a kite hooked to
a thin metal wire – an ill-fashioned
lightning rod – into a thunderstorm;
and starting in 1899, the Wright
brothers’ trials w ith gliders and
man-lifting kites helped pave the
way for the first powered aeroplane
in 1903.
The Wright brothers “were obses-
sive kite fliers,” says American kite
historian and maker Scott Skinner,
69. “Yet no museums have their kites.
Once they invented the aeroplane,
that’s what became important.”
INDEED, VERY FEW MAJOR cultural
institutions have deemed kites wor-
thy of inquiry or preservation. But in
the 1990s and early 2000s, kite flying
86 august 2022
experienced a boom in the American
West and parts of Europe, due in part
to the popularisation of kite surfing.
Groups of kiters who gathered at
windswept places like the Hawaiian
island of Maui, the city of Seattle in
the Pacific Northwest of the US, and
the Atlantic coast of France began to
take interest in its lore.
During this period, in 1995, Skin-
ner founded the Drachen Foun-
dation, a non-profit in Seattle that
PHOTO: COURTESY JACOB HA SHIMOTO
sought to reframe kites as historical
art objects through workshops and
residency programmes for young
makers. “The idea was to raise kites
above the toy level,” he says.
Skinner, whose large-scale patch-
work creations marry Japanese
kite-making motifs with the Amer-
ican quilting tradition, belongs to
 The Ancient Magic Of Kites

a generation of established crafts- of palm-size kites to hang from the

people. Two others are 71-year-old
master Japanese kite maker Mikio
Toki – known for his fantastical
hand-painted designs – and the late
Chinese-American kite artist and Dis-
ney animator Tyrus Wong, who was
renowned for 30-metre-long centi-
pede-shaped kites.
THUS A WAVE OF YOUNGER ARTISTS
has been inspired to pioneer new
forms. In Austria, Anna Rubin, 48,
conjures surreal bamboo-and-paper
creations that are designed, she says,
to resemble “things that shouldn’t be
flown on a kite,” including coal-black
meteors and striped hammocks.
Rubin often employs ancient Jap-
anese methods for her art, including
hand-splitting the bamboo for the
frames and using hand-pressed natu-
ral fibres to cover them. She wants to
carry on traditions she fears may be
lost by a culture fixated on the future,
but she’s equally inspired by the joy
of the work. “Everyone should, once
in their life, make a kite and fly it,”
she says.
And in New York, visual artist
Jacob Hashimoto, 49, assembles
massive installations from dozens
ceiling of his studio or gallery. He
inherited his interest in kite making
from his father, whose own father
taught him techniques he’d learned
as a boy in Japan.
Hashimoto is one of the few kite
artists to have broken into the main-
stream art world. To him, the craft is a
way to “honour our shared humanity.”
To look at his works, such as 2017’s
The Eclipse, which comprises roughly
16,000 black-and-white disc-like kites
that form a swooping cloud evoking
the texture of a bird’s wing, is to feel
surrounded by a flock of fluttering
creatures or swept up by some col-
lective, greater upwards motion.
“That kite making is a pan-cul-
tural practice makes it a beautiful,
democratic thing,” he says. “In many
ways, it’s a global property – we all
own the relationship between us
and the sky.”
His work is a reminder that, espe-
cially after a period when so many
people were forced to stay rooted in
place, kites offer us a means to defy
gravity. In the hands of a willing flier,
they give us a way up – and out.
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (SEPTEMBER
29, 2021), © NEW YORK TIMES, NYTIMES.COM

Meet The Real Harry Potter

A 34-year-old British man called Harry Potter has spent most of
his life trying to convince people that he shares a name with the
world’s most famous wizard. Potter says he was even called a liar
by his future wife. FEMALE FIRST
rdasia.com 87
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

Humour On The Job

CARTOON: JOE DATOR/CARTOONCOLLECTIONS.COM. ILLUS TR ATIONS: (SIRENS): VECTEEZ Y.COM; (L ADY) GE T T Y IMAGES
“Anytime I’ve ever been asked,
‘What do you want, a medal?’ I’ve said yes .”

Bungling Bank Robber Slithering My Way

They say criminals always return
to the scene of the crime, but a
bumbling California bank robber
didn’t even wait a day before he
came back to the branch he
allegedly robbed.
Samuel Brown, 33, was arrested
after he tried to rob the same
Fountain Valley Chase bank two
days in a row, police said. The
first time he got away with cash.
The second time, he didn’t.
NEW YORK POST
Yesterday I learned from a colleague
who studies snakes that climate
change will cause them to become
bigger, and I think this should
probably be a more central part of
political messaging.
MICHELLE DE GROOT ON TWIT TER
The Initial Step Is
Always The Hardest
“I haven’t started either” are the most
comforting words for a student.
@MMIICCKKKEEY Y Y

88 august 2022
Wigged Out
A correction published on the
website Vulture.com: “This article
originally claimed that actor Ben
Platt’s Dear Evan Hansen haircut
was a wig. It is, astoundingly, his
own hair.” BUZZFEED.COM
On The Cream Team
My boyfriend worked in a posh
hotel and at breakfast one of the
guests asked him, “Is this crème
fraîche?”
He replied, “Yeah, we don’t serve
out-of-date food.” @LILYANNATRNR
A Valuable Business Skill
Someone once put up a nameplate
in our engineering office: The
nameplate read: “Herdaing Katz,
engineering manager.”
I have no idea whether it was an
actual person or not. I was always too
afraid to ask! NOTALWAYSRIGHT.COM
FIRST AND LAST DAY
When I arrived on the
first day at a new job,
there was an eviction
notice on the door and a
policeman looking for the
business owners.
Lucky escape, that day!
UPPER-JOB5130
SHOULD’VE SEEN
THAT COMING
I work in an optometrist’s office.
CUSTOMER: Hi. You do glasses
repairs, right? The wire snapped.
Can you repair it now?
She takes off her glasses and hands
them to me. She has half-frames that
use something like a fishing wire to hold
the lens inside the frame, and one side
has snapped. Hot glue is holding the
lens to the frame, but it’s clearly just
a temporary fix.
ME: Oh, yeah, this just needs
a new wire fed through.
It’s a 15-minute job.
CUSTOMER: Great.
She then sits down on one of the seats,
apparently content to wait.
ME: Uh. Ma’am, you can leave
and come back? If you like, you can
give me your phone number and I’ll
call you when I’m done.
CUSTOMER: You have my glasses.
ME: Yep, I’m just fixing them now.
But you don’t need to wait.
CUSTOMER: I can’t even see
the doorway.
ME: Oh!
It actually took 25 minutes.
The customer waited patiently, paid,
and then left through the door without
any problems. NOTALWAYSRIGHT.COM
rdasia.com 89
 ART OF LIVING

Clean The
Things You
Never Do*
We often ignore important things
in our housework routine.
But adding a task or two is easy
BY Emily Goodman and Jamie Novak

*But Should

90 august 2022
TIP
Dust your
electronics
very lightly

rdasia.com 91
Y
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
ou rout i nely
cha nge you r
sheets, but
when was t he
last t i me you
refreshed your
mattress?
And you run
your dishwash-
er regularly, but how long has it been
since you gave the machine itself
a wash? Chances are, you haven’t
thought to clean certain household
items in a long while – and might not
think to clean them at all, until they
become bigger projects than they
would be if you’d given them a little
regular TLC.
If you feel you already spend too
much time cleaning, don’t despair.
Many of these tasks are easy to tack-
le, especially if you tack them on to
existing chores.
We suggest routines for each, but
these are simply standards to aim
for, not literal homework. To start,
it’s enough to notice these frequent-
ly overlooked items more often than
you perhaps have before. The nicest
part? As you build them into your
cleaning routine, you won’t have to
pay much attention to them.
APPLIANCES
COFFEE MAKER
* How to clean: Over time, the oils
from all your cups of coffee build up
inside your coffee maker. To remove
92 august 2022
them, along with any lime scale, first
check the manual (or manufactur-
er’s website) to see whether either
advises against using any particular
descaling agent. If not, mix one-part
white vinegar and nine parts water
(or two parts lemon juice and eight
parts water), fill the reservoir with
the mixture and run a drip cycle.
Pause it halfway to let the solution
sit for about half an hour to break
down any build-up. Then finish the
brewing cycle and run two more full
cycles with plain water to remove any
lingering traces of vinegar or lemon.
* How often: When your machine
starts to take an unusually long time
to brew.
TAPS AND SHOWERHEADS
* How to clean: Fill a plastic bag
about halfway with white vinegar.
Use sandwich-sized zipper bags for
taps and larger-sized bags for show-
erheads. Wrap the bag around the
fixture so that any place where water
exits is completely submerged in the
vinegar. Use a rubber band to hold
the bag in place, and leave it for an
hour or so. Then remove the bag and
rinse with water, using a toothbrush
to scrub away any lingering residue.
* How often: Once a month.
HUMIDIFIER/DEHUMIDIFIER
* How to clean: Empty all water
from the unit. Check the filters and
replace any dirty ones. Then clean
any mineral deposits with a small
 br ush a nd wh ichever
disinfectant the manual
or company website rec-
ommends. Remember to
wear gloves and goggles if
you’re using a bleach solu-
t ion. A f ter wa rds, r i nse
the tank several times to
wash away all cleaning
chemicals.
* How often: Whenever
you notice it looks dirty,
and always before you put
it away for the season. Let
the device dry completely
before storing it.

DISHWASHER
* How to clean: Remove
the filter, utensil holder TIP
and racks, and wash them Don’t forget
separately with soap and to wash your
warm water to remove any dishwasher
greasy food residue, then
replace the parts. Next,
clear any debris from the
dishwasher drain. (You’ll
be surprised by how many crumbs vinegar. Then run the washer on the
get stuck there.) Sprinkle bicarbo- hottest and longest cycle available.
nate of soda across the bottom and For a front loader, pour 3/4 cup of
set a bowl filled with vinegar on the vinegar through the detergent com-
ALL PHOTOGR APHS BY K. SYNOLD

top rack. Run a cycle on the hottest partment, wait 20 minutes, then run
temperature setting. the self-cleaning cycle. Afterwards,
* How often: Once a month. w ipe dow n the inside and leave
the door open to let the machine air
WASHING MACHINE dry.
* How to clean: For a top-loading
* How often: Once or twice a year,
machine, pour 500 grams of borax or any time you notice mould or a
into the drum and add four litres of foul odour.

rdasia.com 93
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

TIP
Sanitise your
sponges. Dirty
tools don’t clean

RANGE HOOD HOME ITEMS

* How to clean: Wipe the outside
and then the underside of the hood
with a soapy soft cloth. Next, remove
the filter and let it soak in hot, soapy
water for about 20 minutes. Let it dry
completely before putting it back.
* H ow o f t e n : Once a mont h.
Vacuum the hood’s exhaust fans once
a year.
MATTRESS
* How to clean: Sprinkle with bicar-
bonate of soda and let stand for about
20 minutes. Then vacuum the entire
surface. Bicarb absorbs moisture and
neutralises odours. Also throw the
doona cover, mattress pad and bed
skirt into the washing machine.

REFRIGERATOR COILS * How often: Once a month.

HOUSEHOLD WASTE AND

* How to clean: Pull the fridge
away from the wall and run a hand- RECYCLING BINS
held vacuum over the coils, exhaust
fans and air vents.
* How to clean: Scrub them – inside
and out – with an all-purpose cleaner.
* How often: Once a year.
* How often: Once a month.

94 august 2022
 Clean The Things You Never Do But Should
CLEANING TOOLS
* How to clean: Finish any job by
washing your cloths, sanitising your
sponges, and wiping your vacuum
and cleaning its filter.
* How often: Anytime you clean.
ELECTRONICS
SCREENS
* How to clean: These surfaces are
delicate, so use a microfibre cloth to
prevent scratching – and don’t apply
too much pressure. A dry cloth is all
you should need, but to remove stub-
born stains, use a mild soap highly
diluted with water. Put the solution
on the cloth instead of directly on
the screen, then wipe. Wiping in cir-
cles creates streaks, so use straight
strokes, either vertical or horizontal.
Don’t use glass or window cleaner,
which can discolour screens.
* How often: Once a week.
KEYBOARD
* How to clean: Turn the keyboard
upside down and gently shake it to
dislodge any dust and crumbs. Flip
it back over and sanitise with a dis-
infecting wipe. It pays to run one of
these wipes over the mouse as well.
* How often: Once a week.
EARBUDS
* How to clean: Wipe the plas-
tic part with a dry lint-free cloth
and scrub the mesh part with a dry
cotton swab. Never use alcohol or
disinfecting wipes on the mesh part,
but you can wipe it with a slightly
damp microfibre cloth if it’s really
dirty. These tips also work for your
smartphone’s charging port, al-
though compressed air is your best
bet for cleaning that.
* How often: When you see gunk.
SURFACES
CABINET DOORS
* How to clean: Wipe down the fac-
es and knobs with a damp microfi-
bre cloth.
* How often: Once a week. The in-
teriors need to be wiped down only
once a year.
SPLASHBACK
* How to clean: Mix equal parts
bicarbonate of soda and hydrogen
peroxide with a splash of degreasing
dish detergent. This combination
breaks down the greasy build up that
is common in most kitchen areas. The
solution loses its effectiveness if it sits
around for too long, so don’t make too
big a batch. Apply the paste with a mi-
crofibre cloth, then rinse it off with a
separate damp microfibre cloth.
* How often: Once a month.
LAMPSHADES
* How to clean: Do a quick pass over
each lampshade with a handheld
vacuum – just not while the light bulb
is on. Use the same attachment you
would on other upholstered surfaces.
rdasia.com 95
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Speaking of this, you’d be surprised by WINDOW FLYSCREENS

how much dirt is hiding under your
couch cushions, so vacuum there, too.
* How often: Once or twice a year.
CURTAINS
* How to clean: Toss them right into
the washing machine, along with
other seldom-washed fabric pieces
* How to clean: Remove screens
from windows. Use an all-purpose
cleaner mixed with warm water and
apply it with a soft brush to loosen
any debris. Then rinse with a hose.
This is a job best done outdoors.
* How often: Once a year.

such as oven mitts and reusable gro- GARAGE DOOR TRACKS

cery bags. As for shower curtains,
wash them every few months or so,
and simply replace the plastic interi-
or liner when you do.
* How often: Once a year.
* How to clean: Run a cloth or an
old toothbrush along them to ensure
that the door can roll up and down
smoothly.
* How often: Once a year.

Picking Up The Slack

A shortage of foreign workers in Singapore due to the pandemic
has led businesses to increasingly turn to robots to fill jobs. Robots
are carrying out a range of tasks, from surveying construction sites
to making coffee and even scanning library bookshelves.
A four-legged robot ‘dog’ called Spot scans sections of mud and
gravel at a Gammon construction site to check on work progress,
with data fed back to the company’s control room. Meanwhile,
more than 30 metro stations have robots busily making coffee
for commuters, while Singapore’s National Library has intro-
duced two shelf-reading robots that can scan labels on 100,000
books, or about 30 per cent of its collection, per day. “Staff
need not read the call numbers one by one on the shelf, and this
reduces the routine and labour-intensive aspects,” says assistant
director Lee Yee Fuang.
Singapore has 605 robots installed per 10,000 employees in the
manufacturing industry, the second-highest number globally after
South Korea’s 932, according to a 2021 report by the International
Federation of Robotics. REUTERS

96 august 2022
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

98 august 2022
 ANIMAL KINGDOM

Fostering a pair of ducklings brought new joy to our home

– until I discovered what awaited them back at the farm

BY Olivia Stren

D
uring the pandemic, I was our home school. If there was a
found myself justifying playdate, I was the playmate – and
all manner of what you I was exhausted. Even our two cats
might call non-essen- seemed increasingly oppressed by
tial purchases in the our constant presence, pining for
name of lockdown. I or- Precedented Times, when the house
PHOTO: PIXEL-SHOT/AL AMY S TOCK PHOTO

dered a hand-knitted cotton jumper
from Spain and throw cushions from
Sweden, but the most delightful and
unusual thing I ‘added to cart’ was a
pair of Pekin ducklings.
This happened in June 2020, when
my husband, Joaquin, my five-year-
old son, Leo, and I were in month
three of lockdown. By then, I had
long shuttered the charade that
was their private hotel and humans
would only occasionally pop in, like
housekeeping.
So there I was scrolling Instagram,
retreating into the seeming perfec-
tion of other people’s lives, when I
spotted a friend’s photo of two tiny
golden ducklings in her living room.
I messaged her immediately. She ex-
plained that she was fostering the

rdasia.com 99
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

babies for a farm. You can adopt the each one a tiny, almost weightless
newborns and parent them as long parcel of silky gold. Their webbed
as you like – typically, the farm ex- feet, clementine-orange, felt soft and
plains on its website, the usual foster satiny against our palms, and their
lasts a few weeks, until the ducklings glossy little beaks were unexpectedly
waddle from their downy infancy warm. Leo immediately cast himself
into their more obstreperous, feath- as their father, and they accepted the
ered teenaged fowl-hood. This pro- role happily, waddling at his heels
gramme helps fund the farm and, I and slipping on our hardwood floors,
told myself, generously provides us like Bambi on an ice rink. He decided
with what we’d been lacking: joy, to call one of the ducklings Gaston,
spontaneity and fellowship. after his favourite cartoon charac-
“We’re getting ducklings!” I proud- ter, and I named the other one Ping,
ly announced. Joaquin replied with after the Chinese duck hero from one
something along the lines of “What?” of my favourite childhood books.
I explained that, for $165, the Leo kissed Ping and Gaston on their
farm would bring us beaks and they nipped
ever y thing we need- HAD WE BEEN at his lips, which he
ed – ‘chick Gatorade’,
a heat lamp, food and
FOSTERING concluded meant they
loved him. He then de-
bedding (a bale of pine OR FATTENING cided that they must
shavings) and also an THESE need a bath after a long
activity for Leo. trip from the country.
“OK. When do we get
ANIMALS? He filled a Tupperware
them?” he said gamely, container with water,
at which point, I smugly concluded which filled me with a surge of relief.
that I had married wisely. “You nev- (It was an activity! Without an iPad!).
er really know a man until you’ve So much of parenting, especially pan-
divorced him,” said Zsa Zsa Gabor. demic parenting, comes down to guilt
Or until you’ve adopted livestock to- management. And our new family
gether in a pandemic. members delivered me from mine.
Leo lowered t hem into t he bin,
ABOUT TEN DAYS LATER, on a sun- and they took to it like, well, ducks.
ny morning, a man from the farm ar- Afterwards, we swaddled them to
rived at our front doorstep. In what keep them warm.
will remain the best delivery moment If the pandemic had plunged us
of my life, he handed over a shoebox all into chaos, at least this kind had
housing a pair of newborn chicks. a madcap charm. The messiness was
Leo and I held them in our hands, literal, of course. For the ducks, the

100 august 2022


world is not so much a stage as it is a
toilet – you can’t house-train a duck
the way you can a dog. I had read that
as a foster duck parent, you can fash-
ion tiny nappies. One surely could do
such a thing, but I did not. And while
Leo was happy to share love and
Cheerios, he swiftly made himself
scarce when it came to the dirty work.
“It’s okay, Mummy, I’ll let you
clean that mess,” he’d so generously
offer. At this point, while serving as
parent, cook, playmate, cleaner and
head butler to Leo, I also had duck
husbandry to add to the list.
AFTER A FEW WEEKS, the ducklings
tripled in size, and the fairy tale took
a turn. As much as we loved Ping and
Gaston, they’d become an armful,
and I began to think it was time to re-
turn them. It was only then, however,
that I realised that I didn’t know what
would happen to them back at the
farm. When I called to find out, the
woman on the phone tersely suggest-
ed I refer to the last page in my ‘duck-
ling manual’ – a beak-orange folder
that had arrived with our pets. In fine
print, I read to my horror that they’d
likely serve as a ‘wonderful supper’ at
PHOTO: COURTESY OLIVIA S TREN
a wedding or banquet. We had been
fostering these animals, hadn’t we,
not fattening them for a meal?
We couldn’t keep them, but I also
couldn’t take them back. And this
is how I found myself launching a
sort of duck-adoption agency, fran-
tically emailing and calling animal
Ping & Gaston
Leo with his ducklings
sanctuaries in the hope of finding
them a safe home. Meanwhile, the
ducks flirted with adolescence, awk-
wardly sprouting snowy feathers.
I was losing hope when I received
an email from a woman who lives on
a hobby farm. She was looking for
more ducklings. She was vegan. She
was perfect! We chauffeured Ping and
Gaston to their new home, and as we
crunched over the gravel road, I felt as
if we had slipped into the pages of a
Beatrix Potter book. Bunnies hopped
around sunlit grass; a swing hung
from an old tree; miniature horses
gambolled on the pasture; and grown-
up ducks promenaded about, their
plumage white and plump as sum-
mer clouds. If the owner had offered
to adopt me, too, I would have happily
moved in. We left our ducks and head-
ed home, feeling the sadness of empty
nesters (forgive the pun).
Finding them this country house of
dreams was the best thing I did in
2020. Also, maybe the only thing.
rdasia.com 101
The town of
Come By Chance,
Newfoundland,
Canada

SWIT

In 1962, nurses at a small

hospital sent home two women
with the wrong babies.
BY Lindsay Jones F R O M T H E ATAV I S T

102 august 2022

 BONUS READ

CHED

Then, 50 years later,

their children discovered
the shocking mistake
P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y J E S S I E B R I N K M A N E VA N S

rdasia.com 103
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

R
ita Hynes lugged her pregnant body up
the rural hospital’s wooden steps. It
was the night of December 7, 1962, and
her rounded belly tightened with each
contraction. At the hospital, she felt
the intensifying crests of pain – at first
bearable, then searing as the night wore
on. Just after midnight, the cries of her new baby pierced
the air. A boy! She named him Clarence Peter Hynes. He
was deposited in the hospital’s nursery and tucked into a
crib, while Rita dozed in the women’s ward.

Clarence, whom everyone calls Clar,
grew up in a fishing town, St Ber-
nard’s, perched on the edge of For-
tune Bay in the North Atlantic island
province of Newfoundland. His fa-
ther, Ches, was a fisherman, and Clar
was the first in a steady stream of in-
fants to arrive at the Hyneses’ home.
Clar slept in a top bunk in a room he
shared with his brothers. They were
fairer than he was – Clar had a toasty
complexion and a head of thick,
dark hair. He grew to become a local
heartthrob, with a chiselled brow
and lean, muscular frame. When he
drove his navy-blue Chevy Camaro
around town, the teenage girls of St.
Bernard’s swooned.
At age 24, Clar met a woman named
Cheryl at a motel bar in Marystown,
farther down the boot-shaped pen-
insula from where he grew up. She
was the belle of the bar, and he was
instantly smitten. As the two talked
over beers, Cheryl found him atten-
tive and kind. They danced and chat-
ted the night away. She didn’t want it
to end. They were married two years
later.
Clar’s mot her, R ita, was diag-
nosed with late-stage ovarian can-
cer a few years later at the age of 50.
Clar nursed her as a mother would
a baby. He held her and rocked her
in his childhood home on the hill,
making sure she faced a window
onto the ocean so she could see the
waves. Rita also stayed with Clar and
Cheryl at their home during her futile
cancer treatments. Clar spoon-fed his
mother bowls of fish and potatoes.
He spent day after day with her right
up until the end so she would never
be alone. Five years after that, lung
cancer took Clar’s father.
Cla r a nd Cher yl ra ised t h ree
children of their own. By 2014, Clar
was a welding foreman at Bull Arm,

104 august 2022

 Switched

where employees were building an fortified by rolling bluffs. Extended

oil platform that would eventually families are vast and tightly bound.
be towed out to sea. That Decem- For a long time they had to be. In
ber, 52 years to the day after he such an austere place, it was a mat-
was brought into the world, Clar ter of survival. Today on “The Rock,”
overheard a woman in the hallway as Newfoundland is affectionately
just outside his office sing out to a known, your bay and your bloodline
co-worker, “It’s Craig’s birthday!” still define who you are.
T he woma n’s na me was Tracey Getting to places along Newfound-
Avery, and she was a cleaner at Bull land’s 9650 kilometres of mountain-
A rm. She was talk ing about her ous coast has always been a chal-
husba nd, who a lso lenge. In t he ea rly
worked at the site. HOW FUNNY, 20th century, people
How f unny, C la r CLAR THOUGHT. i n ma ny of t he is-
t h o u g h t . “ I t ’s m y land’s approximately
birthday, too,” he said
“IT’S MY 1300 outports – the
with a laugh. BIRTHDAY, local term for fishing
“Oh!” Trace y re- TOO,” tow ns – had limit-
plied. “How old are HE SAID WITH ed access to health
you?” When Clar told c a re. Ru ra l hospi-
her his age, Tracey’s
A LAUGH tals – small clinics
next words came tum- with beds and live-in
bling out: “Where were you born?” nurses – were strategically located to
“Come By Chance rural hospital,” serve dozens of outports at once.
Clar said. Tracey stood still for a sec- The first of these opened in 1936,
ond, her mouth agape. Then she ran, including one in Come By Chance,
leaving her mop and trolley behind. which served more than 50 outports.
Pregnant women arrived there in an
DIFFERENT FROM unending procession, by dirt road
THE START and boat from capes and islets. By
The stirring of this long-buried truth 1958, Newfoundland’s families were,
might have been sheer coincidence, on average, the largest in Canada –
one of those wild things that just households had seven, eight, even
happens. Or maybe it was inevitable, ten children.
born of the nature of this place. Many women returned to the rural
Newfoundland has a rugged coast- hospitals on a nearly annual basis to
line with hundreds of communities give birth. Among them was Mil-
nestled into crooks, crannies and dred Avery, who came from a ham-
coves, each its own remote kingdom let called Hillview on Trinity Bay. By

rdasia.com 105
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

C R A I G AV E R Y

106 august 2022

 Switched

the time she was 29, five children, of everything, just like his father, and
all boys, filled the house built by her took care of family members when
husband, Donald. they needed a hand, stacking their
On December 7, 1962, Mildred ar- wood or shovelling their snow.
rived in Come By Chance to deliver Craig married his first wife, who
her sixth child. Early the next morn- was from the next cove over.
ing, the baby emerged. It was another Several years later, after three
boy, weighing in at just under three children and a divorce, he found his
kilograms. Mildred named him Craig partner for life, the sister of one of the
Harvey Avery and he was placed in men with whom he played softball.
the nursery alongside the other new- Tracey was high-spirited, the type
borns, including Clar, who didn’t miss a beat.
who just seven hours “HOW DO E v e n t u a l l y, t h e y
earlier had taken his YOU GET BACK both got jobs at Bull
first breath. WHAT YOU Arm – the same site
Mildred took Craig MISSED? where Clar Hynes was
home to Hillview, add- employed. It was Trac-
ing him to her brood. YOU’LL ey who first noticed
From the start Craig NEVER GET the man who looked
was different. Nobody IT BACK ” strikingly like her in-
in t he Aver y fa m i ly CR AIG AVERY laws. Clar had Mildred
could figure out who Avery’s brown eyes and
he looked like. He grew into a strap- strong nose, and he could have been
ping blue-eyed jokester, nothing like the twin of Craig’s brother Clifford.
his quiet, dark-haired siblings. Craig But Tracey didn’t think much more
was freckled; his father, Donald, had about the uncanny likeness until that
high, sculpted cheekbones. Donald December when she discovered her
worked various jobs as a woodcutter, husband not only shared a birthday
carpenter, fisherman and mason, with Clar but was born at the same
with Craig often at his side. hospital.
Craig quit school at 15 and joined That night, Tracey and Craig sat up,
his brother Wayne working at a por- talking and drinking black tea until
celain factory, making sinks and toi- the sun rose over the bluffs. It was a
lets. He was on the rowdy side, a guy huge mental leap from recognising a
who picked fights and chased all the series of coincidences to wondering
pretty girls. When he moved back to if he was switched at birth, but inside
Hillview, Craig got odd jobs, cutting Craig knew – he just knew.
brush and helping build an exten- Something clicked into place, a
sion on the wharf. He did a little bit piece of his existence that had always

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

stuck out awkwardly. His mind spun him. “Oh,” she said, surprised when
with questions: How did it happen? he explained he was Clarence Hynes.
What was my life supposed to be like? “I thought you were Cliff Avery from
Where would I be now? What would Hillview.”
I be doing? Still, when the Averys told him
their theory, Clar dismissed the pos-
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS sibility that he wasn’t the person he’d
Soon after, the Averys decided they always believed himself to be. Every-
needed photos of Cla r to show one looks like someone.
Craig’s siblings. After a few days, Craig got the email with the results
Tracey got her chance. They were comparing his DNA with Clifford’s in
in the Bull Arm lunch- November 2015. He was
room at their usual ta-
CLAR DECIDED too nervous to click on
ble when they spotted IT WAS TIME. ... the message himself, so
Clar. Tracey held her HE HAD TO Tracey did it. Not only
phone up, su r rept i- did he and Clifford not
tiously snapping a pic-
BE SURE: share the same father,
ture of him in profile. WAS HE A but they weren’t even
O ver t he nex t few HYNES OR distantly related.
days, Craig texted the
image to his brothers
AN AVERY? T he f irst person
Craig called was Clar.
and sister. They shook But Clar, even while
their heads in disbelief. Craig’s older he felt a wave of sadness, wasn’t
brother Clifford, the one who looked convinced that the news applied to
almost identical to Clar, offered to do him.
a DNA test to determine if Craig was That winter, Clifford started call-
really his kin. ing Clar. He wanted to meet, but
W hen Tr ac e y a nd C r a ig ap - Clar always had an excuse. Then,
proached Clar to tell him about their one day that spring, Clifford died by
suspicion, he found the whole thing suicide after quietly suffering from
outrageous. Sure, his mind wandered depression for several years, follow-
briefly: Wow, Craig does look a lot ing the death of his young son. At
like my brother. And he remembered work, Craig handed him the obitu-
some odd encounters he’d had over ary, and Clar politely accepted it, but
the years. There was, for example, he couldn’t bring himself to read it,
the time in a toy store when he heard and he didn’t attend the funeral ei-
a woman say, “Cliff! Cliff!” After re- ther. It has nothing to do with me, he
peated calls, to which he hadn’t re- told himself again.
sponded, the woman approached But the truth seeped in slowly. For

108 august 2022

 Switched

CLARENCE HYNES

rdasia.com 109
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

the first time in his life, he didn’t his own health and that of his kids,
want to go to work. Unshovelled snow Clar had to be sure: was he a Hynes
piled up in his driveway. He was like or an Avery?
a bird caught in a crosswind. Clar When Clar’s test results arrived
moved from his bed to the couch, the in the mail, in the winter of 2019, he
couch to the bed, sometimes stop- called Craig. Clar had laid out his
ping to sob at the kitchen counter. results on the kitchen counter next
Fearing her husband might take to Clifford’s, which Craig had shared
his own life, Cheryl hid the car keys with him. “Everything was a match,”
each night after supper, tuck ing Clar said. He and Clifford had been
them into a black plastic box high brothers.
in the bedroom wardrobe, where There was silence on both ends of
she also stashed all the medication the phone. Finally, Craig spoke: “We
in the house. Some nights, when know now that it’s all real.”
Clar couldn’t sleep, he walked to his The next question has plagued the
younger brother Chesley’s home, men and their families ever since:
where he talked and cried with his how did it happen?
head in his hands until dawn.
Chesley had never seen Clar, 17 A LIFE-CHANGING MISTAKE
years his senior, in such a fragile Digging for answers led the Averys
state. As the eldest sibling, Clar had and the Hyneses to a nurse with an
always been a father odd nickname. Christi-
figure, especially after IF A NURSE na Anne Callanan was
their dad died. To see WAS RUSHED, born in the Irish city

NEWFOUNDL AND MAP: GREBESHKOVMA XIM/IS TOCKPHOTO.COM

h i m l i ke t hat shook of Galway in 1924. She
Chesley to his core.
A BABY COULD trained to be a nurse
It took more than a BE PLACED and, at age 19, moved
year for Clar to surface IN THE to Canada for work. In
f rom t he abyss. H is WRONG CRIB her 30s, she relocated
wife and sisters finally to Come By Chance,
convinced him to see a a town with one main
doctor, and he was diagnosed with road, a post office and a general store.
clinical depression. Callanan was brisk and competent,
Once he was on the right med- the first to emerge from her quarters
ication, he slowly returned to his on the second floor of the hospital
old self. That was when he decided each morning. She rose to the posi-
it was time. He knew that mental tion of head nurse, which, in addi-
illness ran in the Avery family, that tion to delivering babies and assist-
Clifford had suffered from it. For ing in the operating room, required

110 august 2022


From left: Rita and Ches Hynes; Mildred and Donald Avery
managing the office, distributing pre-
scriptions and supervising staff.
Some colleagues described her as
like a big sister. But other colleagues
found Callanan to be like an army
sergeant who put everyone on edge.
Her underlings called her Nurse Tiger
behind her back for her fiery, dom-
ineering ways. She was known for
pillorying the young nurses and their
aides. “Where’s your hat?” she would
roar across the room to a young
woman who’d forgotten it that day.
The nursery was often packed.
When all the cribs were full, babies
were deposited in red-and-white
milk crates.
Nurse’s aides, who were as young
as 16 and didn’t have medical train-
ing, were overworked, with little
Newfoundland
Hillview
Come By Chance
St. John’s
St. Bernard’s
to no time off. They were often the
ones who looked after the babies at
night while the mothers slept in the
wards. They warmed bottles of milk,
scooped up crying infants to console
them, and changed soiled nappies.
The cribs and milk crates were
supposed to be labelled. Aides and
other staff were warned: make sure
the name on the label matches the
baby’s arm band, and make sure both
match what’s on the mother’s hospi-
tal bracelet.
But sometimes arm bands slipped
off after the swelling in the babies’
limbs – a common occurrence af-
ter birth – went down. If a nurse or
an aide was in a rush, a baby could
easily be placed in the wrong crib or
crate.
rdasia.com 111
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

By all accounts, Callanan ran a tight wrong baby – but they had luckily
ship, but then something changed. In realised the mistake.
the process of one particularly difficult If action had been taken, the Aver-
birth a nurse’s aide got in her way. The ys and Hyneses argue, maybe Craig
aide was trying to put the correct iden- and Clar would have gone to the right
tity band on the baby. Protocol dictat- homes. They believe the department
ed that both the infant’s and the moth- of health should have intervened,
er’s bands be attached immediately investigated mistakes made by and
following birth, in the delivery room. complaints lodged against Callanan,
But Callanan became annoyed and and set more stringent birth-manage-
sent the aide out of the ment policies.
room. “Do that out- CRAIG AND As they wait for the
side,” she had said. “It CLARENCE HAVE legal case to proceed,
needn’t be done here.” BECOME LIKE the families are com-
From that point on, ing to grips with what
protocol was relaxed. BROTHERS, ha p p e n e d . In t h e
Identity bands could BUT THEIR summer of 2019, Craig
be attached to mother BOND IS made his first visit to
and baby after they’d St Bernard’s, where
been separated, once
ALTOGETHER Clar had grown up
the infant was in the DIFFERENT and then nursed Rita
nursery with the oth- when she was dying.
er newborns. When he arrived, he stood outside
Callanan was in charge in Decem- for an hour and a half before he could
ber 1962, when Craig and Clar were bring himself to step inside the bunga-
born. She delivered both babies, and low. At the kitchen counter, he cracked
it’s her name, signed with tight, cur- lobster claws with Clar, conscious
licued Cs, atop the medical records of that all this – the view, the people, the
the births. walls – should have been home.
Meanwhile, the Hynes siblings
AFTERMATH took in their new brother’s mous-
Together, Clar and Craig and their tached grin, how he held his fork like
families decided to sue the New- their father had, how he too walked
foundland government for the hos- with a slight hunch and a side-to-
pital’s negligence and the irrepara- side motion.
ble damage done by it. The families Craig and Clar have become like
found out that a few short months brothers, but their bond is some-
before Clar and Craig were born, thing altogether different. They spend
another family had been given the time together, and with their various

112 august 2022


siblings, on snowmobile excursions
punctuated by boil-ups – an afternoon
of tea, chilli, toasted bread and hot
dogs roasted over a crackling fire. On
weekends they stay at Craig’s getaway
cabin or park their camper vans in St
Bernard’s.
They find comfort in cherished fam-
ily members’ tics and mannerisms
that they see in each other. Craig re-
minds Clar of his father – the way he
taps one arm with two fingers on the
opposite hand, the way he sits when
he eats, hunched over with his knees
apart. For Craig, looking at Clar’s eyes
is like looking at his brother Clifford’s,
or his mother’s.
Craig and Clar try not to indulge too
much in the what-ifs and if-onlys. Life
has been hard lately. Newfoundland’s
fuel industry has cratered and Craig
was laid off at work. Matters grew
worse with pandemic lockdowns,
and Craig struggled to fill his days and
keep his mind from wandering. He
used to be more easygoing, but now
he’s quick to anger. “How do you get
back all these years?” he says. “How
do you get back all that you missed?
You’ll never get it back.”
For his part, Clar keeps conspic-
uously busy. When he’s not at work,
he’s building things, like a new ga-
rage and a cabin in St Bernard’s.
The tasks help keep his emotions at
bay, especially the regret about the
family he never met.
All the parents – Rita and Ches,
Mildred and Dona ld – are gone
Switched
now, a sad fact that nonetheless
means the families don’t have to
navigate an extra layer of emotion-
al turmoil.
Clar watched a video of his birth
mother for the first time in 2020.
It was footage of Mildred dancing
w ith Craig in the nursing home,
stepping side to side.
As Clar took in her short grey
curls, the eyes like shiny river stones,
the long nose that was also his own,
he shook his head in awe. This was
the woman in whose body he grew,
who laboured to give him life, who
surely loved him at first sight. This
was the closest to her that he could
ever be.
Nothing can undo or excuse that
terrible mistake made in Come By
Chance, but before there was any
knowledge of wrong families, there
were loving ones.
Now there’s something else: an un-
likely unit of Hyneses and Averys,
welded together by the cruellest of
truths, and also by compassion and
devotion.
FROM ‘THE LIVES OF OTHERS’ BY LINDSAY JONES,
THE ATAVIST (MARCH 2021). ATAVIST.COM
If you or someone you know has had
thoughts of self-harm or suicide, visit:
Malaysia: befrienders.org.my/
Singapore: https://www.sos.org.sg
Philippines: Toll-free HOPELINE:
(02) 804-HOPE (4673); 0917 558
HOPE (4673) or 2919 (toll-free for
all GLOBE and TM subscribers)
rdasia.com 113
PHOTO: AVID LUK A ZS/© 2021 ADA FILMS LTD – HARRIS SQUARED KF T

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris Historical Comedy Drama

I
remember reading Flowers For
Mrs Harris, the book this movie is
based on, in my first year of high
school – so it obviously left an indelible
mark. The novel by Paul Gallico was
published in 1958 and has been
adapted for screen by four writers,
including director Anthony Fabian.
The story revolves around a widowed
cleaning lady, Ada Harris (Lesley
Manville) in 1950s London. She is so
enraptured by her employer’s haute
couture wardrobe that she becomes
COMPILED BY DIANE GODLEY
determined to go to the House of Dior
in Paris to buy an evening gown of her
own. After saving to raise the funds to
pursue her dream, she embarks on a
trip to Paris that will change not only
her own outlook on life, but the very
future of the House of Dior.
The comic tale takes on a final
poignant overtone, which is the reason
this story has stayed with me for so
long. If you’re looking for a bit of a
laugh with a generous helping of 1950s
high fashion, then catch this movie.

rdasia.com 115
 Juniper Drama

S
am (George Ferrier) arrives soon finds himself confronted by her
home from boarding school alcoholic wit and arrogance. Their

for the holidays to find that
his wheelchair-bound English
grandmother, Ruth (Charlotte
Rampling) has moved in. An ex-war
photographer with a lust for life and a
love of the bottle, Ruth is something
of a handful and 17-year-old Sam
PHOTOS: (BE A S T) © 2022 UNIVERSAL S TUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.; ( JUNIPER) TR ANSMISSION FILMS
relationship goes from awkward to
violent, and when Sam finds himself
stranded with her and her nurse for
the duration of the school holidays,
a battle for supremacy ensues
with neither of the strong-willed
characters backing down.

Beast Thriller

R
ecently widowed Dr
Nate Daniels (Idris Elba)
returns to South Africa,
where he first met his wife, on
a long-planned trip with their
two daughters. The adventure
includes a visit to a game reserve,
managed by an old family friend
and wildlife biologist, Martin
Battles (Sharlto Copley). But what
begins as a journey of healing sees all humans as the enemy,
for the family quickly turns into begins stalking them. If you loved
a fearsome fight for survival movies like Jaws, you’ll enjoy this
when a rogue lion, a survivor of too: the added bonus here is the
blood-thirsty poachers who now stunning backdrops.

116 august 2022

IMAGES: COURTESY OF ANIMATED AUDIOBOOKS, FRE AKONOMIC S, APPLE PODCA S TS, K ATELYNN MARTINEZ

HOW TO GET PODCASTS To listen on the web: In a search engine, look up

‘Off Leash’, for example, and click on the play button. To download: Download an app
such as Podcatchers or iTunes on your phone or tablet and simply search by title.
TO LISTEN TO RD TALKS GO TO
www.rdasia.com/podcasts and click on the play button.

rdasia.com 117
 I
THE f you’ve ever spent a rainy day
pacing around your house trying
GENIUS to crank out the last few thousand
SECTION steps to reach 10,000, we have
news. The fitness goal may be
Sharpen Your good, or it may be bad. It’s defi-
Mind nitely interesting, as it seems reaching
the elusive 10,000 steps might not be
completely necessary to get results.
The 10,000 steps programme didn’t
start off as medical advice; it was cre-
ated by the marketing team of a Japa-
nese pedometer in the 1960s. In fact,
when the first step-based research
programme launched in Australia, it
was actually going to be called ‘The
7000 Steps Programme’ and see peo-
ple aiming for that number of steps
per day. “However, then a marketing
team got involved who effectively
said, ‘you need something snappi-
er’, and so it was changed here, too,”
says Professor Corneel Vandelanotte,
head of ‘The 10,000 Steps research
programme’ at the Central Queens-
land University.
This means that health researchers

Just Keep
looking into the connection of walk-
ing and health are almost coming at
things backwards. They’re trying to

WALKING…
see if the number ingrained in our
heads as the ideal walking goal really
is the gold standard for health – and
studies are finding that we may have
Wait! Is The 10,000
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES

overestimated things a tad.

Step Goal A Myth? The fact that the Australian re-
searchers picked 7000 steps as
their original number is now oddly
BY Helen Foster prescient as fresh studies trying to

118 august 2022


determine the perfect number of steps
for our health seem to suggest that
around 7000 steps is the number that
gives us the healthiest bang for our
buck – well, at least when it comes to
living longer. Take a study published
in March by researchers at the Uni-
versity of Massachusetts Amherst in
the US. It found the greatest benefit
to longevity came from between 6000
and 8000 daily steps.
Taking this many steps a day re-
duced the risk of early
death for people over HERE’S ANOTHER
the age of 60 by 54 per CONUNDRUM:
cent – but taking more
didn’t create much ad- ARE FASTER
ditional benefit. “It may STEPS BETTER
be that as you approach THAN SLOWER
these higher levels of
steps per day you reach STEPS?
better overall fitness,
physical function and physical health,
creating a ceiling effect in which ad-
ditional increases in activity will not
substantially lead to further benefit,”
says study leader Dr Amanda Pauluch.
Another study by experts at the
University of Sydney also found that
while reaching 7500 steps a day saw
a sharp reduction in the risk of dying
from any cause in the next two years,
people reaching 11,000 steps a day
only gained a further ten per cent
reduction, despite doing 46 per cent
more steps. “Our study still showed
that the more steps you do the better,
but the point is that once you get over
7500 steps, the increase in benefits
The Genius Section
becomes smaller compared to the ef-
fort involved in taking them,” says the
study’s author, Professor Melody Ding.
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do
more steps, but that it’s more efficient
to improve from 2000 steps to 4000
than from 7500 to 10,000.”
However, as Professor Vandelanotte
points out, these studies are looking
solely at longevity and, while living a
longer life is not exactly an unwant-
ed benefit, if you’re trying to achieve
some other specific
health outcomes, the
more steps the better.
“We know, for exam-
ple, that if you’re walk-
ing to help weight loss,
it takes more like 10,000
daily steps to achieve
good results,” he says.
In fact, a US study pub-
lished in the journal Obesity in 2018
found that people who lost more than
ten per cent of their body weight over
18 months were taking an average
of 9822 daily steps (roughly 3500 of
those fast ones) while those taking
under 7801 steps, and fewer faster
steps, were more likely to actually gain
weight during the trial.
This study also brings up another
conundrum – are faster steps better
than slower ones? This is something
even science hasn’t yet decided.
Dr Paulach’s trial didn’t find any clear
association with added benefits from
faster steps but research from the UK’s
University of Leicester did suggest that
rdasia.com 119
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

faster walkers lived longer than those
walking more slowly, and a second
trial from the team published in 2021
even linked faster walking to a lower
risk of developing serious complica-
tions if infected with COVID-19.
Professor Ding says it’s complex
because people who are fitter nat-
urally step faster and so it’s hard to
work out which is having the effect –
the faster speed, or the base level of
fitness that helps you achieve it.
“But generally, the more vigorous
an exercise the better – that’s what
builds strength and a body that will
support you later in life,” says Profes-
sor Vandelanotte. He said that while
there are benefits to a higher intensity
walk, what was most important is get-
ting out there and doing something
that you enjoy, because you need to
keep this up for life. “If you don’t like
walking fast, don’t – but do walk!” he
emphasised.
In fact, that’s the message that every
one of our experts went back to: every
step, no matter how fast, how slow, or
how many steps precede or follow it, is
a step that improves your health.
“If you’re currently only doing 2000
steps a day, increasing that to 4000
is going to pay huge dividends for
you,” says Professor Vandelanotte. “If
you can easily do 7000 steps a day,
it’s certainly not going to hurt to in-
crease that to 10,000 or more. But, if
not being able to reach 10,000 steps is
putting you off developing a regular
walking habit, then set a lower target.”
He suggests spending a week or so
measuring your normal step count,
then start taking 500 more steps a day
than you usually do for a few weeks.
Once that’s established, he says, then
increase it again, until you find a
number you can make into a habit.
“It’s getting moving day in day out
that really brings results.”

THREE FUN WALKS TO TRY

Your daily step goal can just mean integrating more activity into your daily
routine, like taking stairs rather than lifts and getting off the bus a stop
early. If you do want to rack up higher numbers, it can help to build in
longer walks. Here are a few ways to make that more fun.
Try a treasure hunt: Take a gratitude know well, you flip a
Make a list of ten things walk: Head out for ten coin to decide whether
to see on your walk – to 15 minutes and aim to go left or right. If
like a yellow bird or a to spot five things that you’re directionally
blue door – and keep make you feel grateful. challenged, flip before
walking until you’ve Do a coin walk: Best you leave and write
ticked them off. done somewhere you down the turns.

120 august 2022

R E A DER’S DIGE ST

PUZZLES
Challenge yourself by solving these puzzles and mind
stretchers, then check your answers on page 126.

       
Crossword

Test your general
 
knowledge.

  30 Icy pellet (9)

31 Snake (5)
      32 Entertain in a public

place (4)
  
33 A naive person is ‘wet
behind the ____’ (4)


    DOWN
1 Capital of Israel (9)
2 Started (5)

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4 Childish (9)
   5 Thaws (5)
6 Eg, Mussolini (8)
ACROSS 7 Adjoining (9)
18 Conditions that
1 Tasks (4) are possible but 8 Pivot (5)
3 Thin layer (4) uncertain (3) 9 Fix a computer
6 Expiry (5) 21 Silent (3) program (5)
10 Repentant (9) 22 Long narrow 15 Use of metaphors (9)
11 Tooth top (5) excavation (6) 17 Organisations (9)
12 Possible cause of 23 An app version still 19 Rust-resistant (9)
skin cancer (7) being developed (4) 20 And so forth (2,6)
13 Glitter (7) 25 Slackens (7) 24 Sudden burst of light (5)
14 Excess of expenditure 27 Animate (7) 25 Doctor’s replacement (5)
over income (4) 29 Serious 26 Indian form of address (5)
16 Ignominious failure (6) wrongdoing (5) 28 Violin’s bigger sister (5)

122 august 2022

 BRAIN POWER
Puzzle brought to you by
Answers
PAGES 126

8 5
9 2 3 5
5 9 6
3 4 7
1 9 7 6 4
3 5 2
4 8 1
2 5 9 8
2 6
Sudoku
HOW TO PLAY: To win, you have to put a number
from 1 to 9 in each outlined section so that:
• Every horizontal row and vertical column
contains all nine numerals (1-9) without repeating
any of them;
• Each of the outlined sections has all nine
numerals, none repeated.

IF YOU SOLVE IT WITHIN:

15 minutes, you’re a true expert
30 minutes, you’re no slouch
60 minutes or more, maybe numbers aren’t your thing

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Puzzle
FAMILY FUN Answers
PAGE 126

Spot The Difference

There are ten differences. Can you find them?

Colour
Connect
Follow the black
lines from S to F.
S F
To make it more
ILLUS TR ATION: VECTEEZ Y.COM

difficult, you may

only move from
one shape to the
next if they have
the same shape
and/or colour.

124 august 2022

 TRIVIA
Test Your General Knowledge
BY Beth Shillibeer

1. Which Chinese festival is 8. The island of Borneo is

celebrated with rice balls and boat administered by how many
racing? 1 point countries? 1 point
2. Round, waggle and sickle are all 9. Chaturanga, played in seventh-
dances performed by what animal? century India, led to what major
2 points strategy game? 1 point
3. According to the Oxford English 10. Whose journal did Bill Gates buy
Dictionary, which American author in 1994 for US$30.8 million, making
coined the terms ‘wicked’ and it one of the world’s most expensive
‘T-shirt’? 2 points books? 1 point
4. What nation made the decision 11. Jeepneys, a popular mode of
in 2021 to stop all new oil and gas transport in the Philippines, were
exploration within its originally made from
territory? 2 points what? 1 point
5. NASA launched what 12. What is the only
project on Christmas Day bird species that can fly
2021, to look back towards backwards? 1 point
the earliest events of our 13. New fossil evidence
universe? 2 points shows that Australia’s
6. Where can you stroll arid central desert
through the longest was once what type of
underwater tunnel in 15. The UK Platinum landscape? 1 point
Pudding Competition
Europe? 2 points 14. From which iconic
encouraged anyone
PHOTO: GE T T Y IMAGES/IS TOCKPHOTO

7. Sidney Poitier won the eight years old and up structure did New
Academy Award for Best to create a new dessert Zealand entrepreneur
Actor for what 1963 film? in honour of what 2022 A.J Hackett bungy jump
1 point event? 1 point in 1987? 1 point

16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon
12. Hummingbird. 13. Rainforest. 14. The Eiffel Tower. 15. Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
9. Chess. 10. Leonardo da Vinci’s journal (Codex Leicester). 11. Military jeeps left by the US after WWII.
Webb Space Telescope. 6. Valencia, Spain. 7. Lilies of the Field. 8. Three: Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia.
Answers: 1. Dragon Boat Festival Duanwu Jie. 2. Bees. 3. F. Scott Fitzgerald. 4. Greenland. 5. The James

rdasia.com 125
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

PUZZLE ANSWERS
From Page 122

Crossword

Sudoku
2 3 8 4 6 5 1 9 7
6 9 4 7 2 1 3 5 8
7 5 1 3 8 9 4 2 6

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3 8 7 5 4 2 9 6 1
5 1 2 9 7 6 8 4 3
9 4 6 1 3 8 5 7 2
4 6 3 8 5 7 2 1 9
1 2 5 6 9 3 7 8 4
8 7 9 2 1 4 6 3 5

Spot The Difference

Colour Connect

S F

126 august 2022

 The Genius Section

WORD POWER
What’s In A Name?

More than you might realise, at least in the case

of this month’s column. Each entry is a common
English word that doubles as a proper name.
For example, you might sing a carol, walk for
miles, or rob a bank.

BY Sarah Chassé

1. jimmy – A: dance a jig. B: force B: yacht’s deck. C: underachiever.

open. C: sprinkle.
2. lea – A: wreath. B: shelter.
C: pasture.
3. tad – A: small amount. B: rascal.
C: tree frog.
4. derrick – A: machine for lifting.
B: fortress. C: dirt bike.
5. jenny – A: weekend trip.
B: female bird. C: opera singer.
6. don – A: celebrate. B: put on.
C: pose as.
7. warren – A: official document.
B: maze of passageways. C: criminal
plot.
8. patsy – A: sidekick. B: pushover.
C: homemaker.
9. chad – A: cardboard piece.
10. barb – A: fence post. B: short
haircut. C: biting remark.
11. jasper – A: poplar tree.
B: billy goat. C: green quartz.
12. sally – A: float. B: tattle. C: set out.
13. tucker – A: tire. B: retreat.
C: argue.
14. tiffany – A: cooking pot.
B: calm sea. C: sheer gauze.
15. harry – A: befriend. B: delay.
C: torment.
16. norm – A: hostile behaviour.
B: time constraint. C: accepted
standard.
17. glen – A: torrents of water.
B: narrow valley. C: mathematical
symbol.
rdasia.com 127
R E A DER’S DIGE ST
Answers
1. jimmy – (B) force open.
The thief used a butter knife to
jimmy the lock.
2. lea – (C) pasture. Behind the
old farmhouse is a lea dotted with
sheep and cows.
3. tad – (A) small amount.
Would you like a tad more cream
in your coffee?
4. derrick – (A) machine for lifting.
The crew used a derrick to raise
the granite blocks from the
quarry floor.
5. jenny – (B) female bird.
The jenny wren offered her chicks
a juicy worm.
6. don – (B) put on. Batman donned
his mask and cape and then raced
to Gotham to save the day.
7. warren – (B) maze of
passageways. We got hopelessly
lost in the city’s warren of
backstreets.
8. patsy – (B) pushover. “I’m
done with being the patsy of this
company, I quit!” Nick declared.
9. chad – (A) cardboard piece.
“Don’t open the hole punch over
the floor,” cried Beryl, “or you’ll
be cleaning up all the chads that
fall out.”
128 august 2022
10. barb – (C) biting remark.
The feuding pop stars traded barbs
on Twitter.
11. jasper – (C) green quartz.
Brenda’s favourite bracelet has
turquoise, jasper and silver beads.
12. sally – (C) set out. Gene and
Laurel are about to sally forth on a
cruise around the world.
13. tucker – (A) tire. You’d think an
afternoon at the water park would
tucker out the kids, but they’re still
full of energy!
14. tiffany – (C) sheer gauze.
Rachel insisted on her bridesmaids’
dresses being made of pink tiffany.
15. harry – (C) torment.
Our dog’s favourite activity is
harrying the postman.
16. norm – (C) accepted standard.
The interest in greener living
means that products like these
may soon become the norm.
17. glen – (B) narrow valley.
The picturesque wooded glen had
a brook flowing serenely nearby.
VOCABULARY RATINGS
5–9: Fair
10–13: Good
14–17: Word Power Wizard
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