ASIA S I N C E 1922

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BRAIN
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GAMES

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W O R L D ’ S

23

That Really Work

PAGE 102 16

EARTH HEROES
B E S T

Saving Singapore’s
Rarest Monkeys
L O V E D

PAGE 26

DRAMA
Swept Away
M A G A Z I N E

In Rough Sea
Without A Trace
PAGE 38

INSOMNIA & DEPRESSION

|

Fixing One May Fix The Other NOVEMBER 2021

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

PAGE 76

BLUE FLOWERS
Nature’s Great Mystery SINGAPORE $9.90
MALAYSIA RM 15
PAGE 118 PHILIPPINES P 199

w
 50
CONTENTS
NOVEMBER 2021

32 50
food on your plate parenting
Cinnamon Positive Vibes
The subject of myths Create healthy
and legends, this relationships by

26 once highly-prized
spice is now readily
available to add its
shining a light on
your children’s
good behaviour and
warm, floral aromas strengths rather
Features to our everyday than problems.
cooking and baking.
26
DR SHELJA SEN

56
DIANE GODLEY
earth’s heroes
The Monkey
Whisperer
38 environment
drama in real life Small Steps Can
COV ER I L LU S T R AT I O N: H A R RY C A M PB EL L

Living high in Swept Out To Sea Stop Harming

Singapore’s treetops A scuba diver is Our Oceans
is a small colony of swiftly pulled out We know plastic is
rare langurs. Closer to sea by strong harming marine life.
to ground, local currents, turning a Here are practical
primatologist Andie routine night dive lifestyle choices we
Ang and citizen into a terrifying consumers can make
scientists are taking ordeal. to reduce our impact.
up the challenge of DIANE GODLEY ELIZABETH YUKO
conservation.
LAM LYE CHING ON THE COVER: BRAIN GAMES – PAGE 102
 CONTENTS
NOVEMBER 2021

64
70
64 76 94
photo feature health travel
An Instant Kick How Insomnia There’s Nowhere
From dangerous & Depression Like The Outback
sports to death- Are Linked Take the ultimate
defying drops, Understanding road trip through the
these adrenaline- the connection Kimberley to national
fuelled photographs between the two parks, rocky gorges
are enough to get a conditions can help and swimming holes.
rush without even spot symptoms early BOB RAMSAY FROM
leaving home. to get the right help. CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC
CORNELIA KUMFERT LISA FIELDS

70 86 102
bonus read
then and now quiz
Brain Games
High Heels Checkmate!
Once the strict
The very best training
Line up your chess
preserve of wealthy pieces and choose
exercises to improve
gentlemen, high heels your strategy. Then your memory,
rose to new heights try our quiz to see information-
with stilettos and how much you know processing and all-
towering platforms. about the game. round thinking.
ZOË MEUNIER DORIS KOCHANEK SARI HARRAR

2 november 2021
 118
Departments
the digest
18 Pets
20 Health
24 News From The
World Of Medicine
115 RD Recommends
regulars
4 Editor’s Note
6 Letters

54
10 News Worth
Sharing HAVE YOU
12 My Story VISITED THE
16 Smart Animals READER’S
46 Look Twice DIGEST
84 Quotable Quotes FACEBOOK
91 Tell Me Why PAGE LATELY?
humour Constantly
36 Life’s Like That updated, our
54 Laughter, Facebook feed
The Best Medicine offers stories,
92 All In A Day’s Work videos, advice,
humour, quotable
the genius section quotes, cartoons,
118 The Mystery Of
The Blue Flower quirky
122 Puzzles photographs
125 Trivia and more.
126 Puzzles Answers
127 Word Power 84 FOLLOW US
@ReadersDigestAsia

rdasia.com 3
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

EDITOR’S NOTE

Clearer View Of The World

IF YOU’VE EVER TRIED to select the perfect colour
for your interior wall, you’ll appreciate how complex
colours can be. Less so for bees, it seems. This
month’s Genius article, ‘The Mystery Of The Blue
Flower’ (page 118) discusses the fascination humans
have with the colour blue, and why it so rarely
appears in the world of plants and animals. We
have our limited vision perception to blame for
not spotting the full colour spectrum – while for
bees, blue is everywhere.
This month’s ‘Then and Now, High Heels’
(page 70) unearths some historical surprises that
will add nicely to your pool of knowledge – just
perfect for any trivia night. I don’t want to give
too much away, but the fashion trend for shoes
that offer a bird’s-eye view started with a very
colourful character of French history, and has never looked back.
Puzzles are a key part of our magazine and, more than ever, they are also
viewed among health professionals as giving our brain a valuable workout.
Our Bonus Read, ‘Brain Games That Really Work’ (page 102), delves into
different types of puzzles and offers insider tips on how to solve each type.
Whether you’re a wordsmith or a number cruncher, there’s a puzzle type
to help you maintain and build mental clarity and performance.
Also, a special thank you to readers who have sent us comments
about the articles in recent times. We love receiving your feedback.
The November issue has something for every taste and interest in the
household – we hope you enjoy it.
Happy reading, LOUISE WATERSON
Editor-in-Chief

4 november 2021
 ASIA

Vol. 120
No. 705
November 2021

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Louise Waterson

Managing Editor Zoë Meunier
Chief Subeditor Melanie Egan
Art Director Hugh Hanson
Senior Art Designer Adele Burley

c o m
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Senior Editor Diane Godley
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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

LETTERS
Reader’s Comments
And Opinions
When Love Prevails
‘Will We Ever See Our Child
Again?’ (June) depicts the
traumatic, heart-wrenching
ordeal of a young couple, forced to
abandon their newborn second
daughter under China’s strict one-
child policy, 20 years ago. Their
unfailing faith was answered
resulting in a joyful reunion with
their daughter, now a well-
educated woman living across the love is life’s greatest blessing.
world. Miracles do happen when What greater pride and happiness
true, deep-seated love prevails, can there be for parents than to
transcending distances thanks to be rewarded with the success of
modern technology, social media their children, and blessed with
and some kind hearts. Family family love? VIMALA THIAGAR AJAH

Peace On Earth person would be naïve to believe

Mike Hilton’s letter (Letters, August) that humans could evolve to live on
rings with so much truth. The so- another planet. Our evolution has
called space race will not benefit us taken millions of years. As Mike says
here on Earth, except to boost the – we should be looking for peace on
ego of the boffins that are spending Earth. The world has had enough
so much money on it. The average wars as all they do is kill people.

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 november 2021
 Letters

To this end I believe that someone

of renown should address world
leaders and exhort them to live in
peace with their fellow beings. A
good motto would be, ‘Negotiation –
Not Confrontation’. NEIL KEEDLE

Lighting Up Their Lives

Salman’s Mutjaba’s story (‘The
Pandemic Lit Up Our Village’, My FINS ARE NOT AS THEY SEEM
Story, September) about how his We asked you to think up a clever
caption for this photo.
village of Shujghal came together
during the global pandemic to build Beneath the icy surface Jaws
a micro hydro power plant, was was actually a little ‘koi’.
MICHAEL GOATHAM 
a stand-out read for me. It made me
This has always got me to the front 
think of the trivial things we can
of the queue at feeding time.
anguish over, and things we take  BEVERLY HURST 
for granted in developed nations, Any fin will do.
such as the simple act of turning CLAIRE JOLLIFFE
on a tap or light switch, without Can’t seem to make any friends
knowing their source or the science since I got this new fin!
behind this. Despite suffering the MARTINA MORRISSEY

Congratulations to this month’s

winner, Beverly Hurst.
WIN A PILOT CAPLESS
FOUNTAIN PEN
The best letter each month will WIN!
win a Pilot Capless Fountain Pen,
valued at over $200. The Capless
is the perfect combination
of luxury and ingenious
technology, featuring a one-
of-a-kind retractable fountain
pen nib, durable metal body,
beautiful rhodium accents and CAPTION CONTEST
a 14K gold nib. Congratulations Come up with the funniest caption
to this month’s winner, Benita for the above photo and you could win
$100. To enter, email
Johannsen.
[email protected]
or see details on page 8.

rdasia.com 7
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

devastating loss of a loved family

member on the job, this hard-working
community persevered and achieved
CONTRIBUTE
a life-changing goal. There is indeed RE ADERSDIGESTASIA
‘strength in numbers’. SUSAN ALLEN
Anecdotes and jokes
Cool Mint $50–$100
Send in your real-life laugh for
‘Mint, The Coolest of Them All’ (I Am
Life’s Like That or All in a Day’s Work.
The Food On Your Plate, September)
Got a joke? Send it in for Laughter
is a good account of its efficacy. is the Best Medicine!
Additionally, mint improves brain
function, lessens breastfeeding Smart Animals
pain and relieves indigestion. It is Up to $100
also good for the skin as it clears Share antics of unique pets
off dead cells, removes dirt from or wildlife in up to 300 words.
pores and revamps your skin My Story $250
to a smoother tone. However, Do you have an inspiring or
people with heartburn or gastro- life-changing tale to tell?
oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) Submissions must be true,
should not eat mint, according to a unpublished, original and
2019 medical review. Peppermint 800–1000 words.
may soothe an upset stomach, but it
can also make heartburn worse. Here’s how to reach us:
SYED RIFAQUAT ALI Email: asiaeditor@readersdigest.
com.au
Ordinary To Extraordinary Write: Reader’s Digest Asia
I just loved ‘Extraordinary Uses Editorial Department
Singapore Post Centre
for Ordinary Things’ (August). PO Box 272, Singapore
Lockdown has given me the time to 914010
sort through my wardrobe – a job I Online: rdasia.com/contribute
usually don’t enjoy because more
often than not, and in spite of my best Include your full name, address,
phone number and email.
efforts, a much-loved item of clothing Letters: We may edit letters and use them in all
will always be found covered in print and electronic media.
Submissions: All submissions become our property on
mould. payment and subsequent publication in the magazine.
We may edit and fact-check submissions. We cannot
I have fashioned a dehumidifier return or acknowledge material not accepted for
as per your instructions and look publication. For terms and conditions, go to www.
rdasia.com/terms-and-conditions/submission-
forward to the results. guidelines. Figures refer to US dollars.
BENITA JOHANNSEN

8 november 2021
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

NEWS WORTH SHARING

Volunteers Rejoice At The Sound Of The Kiwi

A
fter five years of silence, the given area. The kiwi’s call is the most
distinct low growling sounds of reliable way to track them.
female kiwis and the high shrieks In the early 1990s, trapping was
of the males are being heard again introduced as a kiwi-saving action
– much to the excitement of the 150 plan to protect the national bird
volunteer bird conservationists who from introduced mammals that were
conducted the latest audio survey. Fifty flourishing on the easily caught kiwi
PHOTOS: GE T T Y IMAGES; (BUILDING)

per cent of sites that were silent in 2016 chicks. This trapping has proved
had kiwi calling in 2021. And not one successful and in 2017, two species of
site had become silent in the last year. kiwi were demoted from endangered
COURTESY HOUSE OF ONE

The survey, called the Kiwi Call to vulnerable by the International

Count, is conducted manually using Union for Conservation of Nature.
the human ear as well as listening Whangarei Heads, in New Zealand’s
devices to record population numbers north, has gone from having 80 kiwi
of New Zealand’s five kiwi species, to more than 1000 since the start of
assessing the status of the birds in any the programme.
COMPILED BY VICTORIA POLZOT

10 november 2021
 News Worth Sharing

Three Faiths Foster Dialogue

I
n the heart of Berlin, a new place
of worship will redefine the idea
of sacred space.
The purpose of House of One,
a new multi-faith centre that is
expected to be completed in four
years, is to foster community and
dialogue. The building will house a
church, a mosque and a synagogue
in three separate sections linked
by a domed communal hall in the
middle. House of One will also be
open to all other faiths, as well as Dairy Without Cows

A
secular society. nimal-free dairy may sound
A decade ago, religious leaders impossible but Australian
from three communities – St researchers are looking to
Petri-St Marien Protestant Church, replicate the creamy goodness of
rabbinical seminary Abraham milk in a way that is lactose- and
Geiger Kolleg, and the Muslim cholesterol-free. The CSIRO’s
founders of Forum Dialog – came Food Innovation Centre is
together to discuss their shared working with start-up company
dream of a peace project at a time Eden Brew to develop animal-
when religiously motivated attacks free dairy products. The process
were rising. starts with a yeast which, when
fermented, produces proteins.
While fermentation is used to
make cheese, yoghurt, beer
and wine, in this case it is more
precise. Researchers produce
the same casein and whey
proteins found in cow’s milk
to form a base which – when
combined with minerals, sugars,
fats and flavours – creates ‘milk’.
Expecting to launch in late
2022, Eden Brew’s products
will provide consumers who
want sustainable, plant-based,
allergen-free alternatives to
cow’s milk with another option.

rdasia.com 11
 MY STORY

Leaving
New
Zealand
Behind
It’s hard to say goodbye
to a home you never knew
you had before visiting

BY Nico Franks

W
HY WOULD ANYONE citizen, I’d never been to Aotearoa
in their right mind before I arrived there at the start
leave New Zealand of 2021.
right now, home to A Kiwi passport is arguably one of
Auckland, the world’s ‘most liveable’ the most sought-after items in the
city and run by a leader recently world right now and I have a small
declared by Fortune magazine as the house in Stratford, New Zealand, to
world’s greatest? thank for mine. It was here that my
It’s a question I’ve been asking mum and dad, both Brits, met in the
I L LU S T R AT I O N: G E T T Y I M AG E S

myself since I returned to the UK at 1980s. Kiwi passports followed their

the end of June; the country where marriage and a few years later my
I was born is registering over 30,000 parents decided to move back to the
new cases of COVID-19 every day north of England to be closer to my
at the moment, while New Zealand, grandparents as they started a family.
where I’d spent 2021, so far remains Thirty years later I travelled across
pretty much COVID-free. the world in a mask during a global
Despite being a New Zealand pandemic, clutching the small black

12 november 2021
 My Story

what was essentially 14 days in the

cushiest prison of all time.
My managed isolation flew by as
I basked in the summer sunshine
and enjoyed the calm that came
with relinquishing all decision-
making responsibility. I learnt how
to meditate using a show on Netflix
and pondered life’s big questions:
Why did The Chase always seem to
be on TV whenever I switched it on?
And why were the dating apps now
suddenly so full of women holding
up large fish?
On my first day of freedom, a
friend took me to Waiheke Island, a
glorious place full of vineyards and
beaches where New Zealand singer-
songwriter Lorde films her music
videos that I had no idea existed,
and part of me still thinks is part of
document that meant I could trade some elaborate fantasy.
Boris Johnson for Jacinda Ardern – I gorged myself on sparkling rosé
the political equivalent of swapping and fresh seafood, intoxicated by
a dog-eared Magikarp for a shiny the combination of alcohol and
Charizard in a game of Pokémon. sheer relief of being able to hear live
While my colleagues, friends and music, hug friends and speak freely
family understandably numbed to strangers again.
themselves to the horrors of an One dilemma I’ve faced
escalating pandemic, I guiltily throughout my time in New Zealand
collapsed into the caring kia ora of a has been how much to post on social
COVID-free utopia, beginning with media and the decision I came to
was nothing.
The urge to post pictures at times
Nico Franks is a 31-year-old journalist was unnervingly strong. But social
now based in the north of England.
His hobbies include writing about Leeds media is clearly poison. I don’t think
United, making short films and searching there’s a way of posting a picture
for the perfect hot sauce. from on top of a mountain when

rdasia.com 13
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

pretty much everyone you know is The pies are exceptional. But the
stuck indoors, without coming across best thing about New Zealand is
as unbearably smug. how te reo Maˉori and plenty more
Nevertheless, I feel like I almost got aspects of Maˉori, Pasifika and
repetitive strain injury from taking Indigenous cultures are set to have
my phone out of my pocket to snap an ever-greater presence in day-to-
photos of staggeringly stunning day life here in the coming years.
scenery as I explored the country’s And most of the country seems
North and South pretty on board with
Islands. With the their gradual but
borders closed and
PEOPLE WILL radical re-positioning
New Zealand pretty OFTEN JUST from an outpost of
much tourist free, I SMILE AT YOU Britain to one of the
had the chance to biggest islands in the
skydive, bungee jump,
ON THE STREET South Pacific, as an
swim with dolphins Auckland-based TV
and see glories like producer described it
Milford Sound, to me.
Tongariro National And yet I left them
Park and Mount for Boris Johnson’s
Taranaki without a post-Brexit Britain.
bum bag in sight. As life in the UK gets
I don’t want to make it sound like ever closer to something resembling
life in New Zealand is perfect. The ‘normal’, I’m steeling myself for the
country is plagued by an obsession grind of London life again.
with car ownership, social I am insanely lucky and privileged
inequality exists just as it does to have been able to experience life
in other countries, and everyone in New Zealand for six months.
seems to go to bed at about 9.30pm. But there’s little point in living life
But it’s not far off. without the constraints of COVID-19
For example, many of New if most of the people you love aren’t
Zealand’s public toilets would get there to do it with you. So, for me,
a better hygiene rating than the it’s so long Aotearoa New Zealand,
kitchen of my first London flat and thanks for all the pies.
share. You can confidently leave
your helmet attached to your bike Do you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay
and no one will steal it. People will cash for any original and unpublished
often just smile at you on the street. story we print. See page 8 for details
And the pies. My goodness, the pies. on how to contribute.

14 november 2021
 This air-conditioner uses R32:
Climate-Friendly Refrigerant
R410A
R32

1924 677
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

SMART ANIMALS
Protecting loved ones is a natural instinct

Simbo the Great on the banks of a lake with plenty of

USULA P. WIJESURIYA scrub jungle around.
When we decided to adopt a dog, One day, while Udaya was at
my son, Udaya, aged 12 and an avid school, I was in the living room
Enid Blyton fan, claimed this dog was writing at my desk. My youngest
going to be his version of Timmy, child, who was two at that time, was
the wonder dog from the Famous sitting on the floor beside me playing
I L LU S T R AT I O N S: G E T T Y I M AG E S

Five books. He named him Simbo with his toys. There was a gap of
and took full charge of the cross- about a metre between us. Suddenly
breed German shepherd; feeding Simbo, who was nearby, gave an
him, brushing him and allowing unusually loud growl and I looked up
him to sleep on his bed. They were
inseparable. Together they went on You could earn cash by telling us
endless treks in our neighbourhood. about the antics of unique pets or
Ours was the ideal location for wildlife. Turn to page 8 for details
adventures because our house stood on how to contribute.

16 november 2021
 Smart Animals

to see a cobra, about a metre long, go 16 kilometres away to Horsham,

slithering along between me and in regional Victoria, to do the
my child. I was stunned but Simbo shopping. My brother and I were
sprang into action. He pounced on at work and my younger sisters
the cobra, held him by the neck, were at school.
just below its outspread hood, and Suddenly, Tom, 16, our next-
began dashing it hither and thither. door neighbour of artful character,
It was a mortal battle between snake silently appeared in the lounge
and dog. room where she was resting. Tom
Foolishly, I shouted, “Simbo! didn’t know that Mum would be
Simbo!” For a moment, Simbo lost home and had let himself in to
his concentration to look over at ‘case out the joint’. My mother
me and the cobra struck him on screamed in fright, making the lad
the cheek. Both Simbo and the run for his life.
cobra died. My foolishness and his As he dashed out, he was beset
obedience cost him his life. Simbo upon by two resident magpies that
died a hero. my mother, a lover of birds, fed
and ‘spoke’ to every morning. They
dive-bombed him relentlessly
for the 500 metres back to the
boundary fence. The magpies then
returned and took up sentry duty
on the cedar tree at our front gate
until we arrived home.
Although all was forgiven on our
part, whenever the lad came over
to our place to kick the football, or
to play quoits and darts with my
brother and me, the magpies would
fly down from the tall gum tree and
take up guard on the cedar tree.
Even if we were home they would
Mother’s Guardians attack him if he came near the cedar
LESLIE W. JOHN
tree. When he was gone they would
Back in 1945, my mother was depart, too.
at home alone on our property, As the pair grew older, they
convalescing after some major continued to always protect my
surgery. It was a Friday, market mother from strangers. They were
day, and my father had left her to Mother’s guardian angels.

rdasia.com 17
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

PETS

Adding A Chicken
Coop To Your Backyard
Chickens are clean, friendly and reward you with eggs
BY Dr Katrina Warren

RAISING CHICKENS in suburban backyards is steadily

rising in popularity due to the increasing community
interest in sustainable living and people looking for
simple ways to connect with nature. Fun and useful
pets, they help reduce waste by eating food scraps and
provide their owners with nutritious, fresh eggs. While
reasonably low maintenance, chickens still have some
specific care requirements.

PERMISSION Check with your local authority as rules

Our regular differ around keeping chickens. Many do not permit
pet columnist, roosters to be kept in residential areas due to the
Dr Katrina Warren,
noise they make.
is an established
GOOD PETS FOR CHILDREN Chickens have their own
and trusted
animal expert. quirky personalities and help teach children about
the responsibility and routine needed to care for
another living creature. Handle them often and gently
from when they arrive and they should quickly
become comfortable.
HOW MANY TO KEEP? As chickens are flock birds, be sure
to get more than one. Three or four is generally a good
number for an average-sized yard. Each chicken should
have at least one square metre of space, but more space
is always better.
BREEDS Popular chicken breeds for keeping as pets are
the Orpington, Isa Brown, Pekin and Silkie.

18 november 2021
 Pets

ACCOMMODATION Chickens
need a coop and a safe
enclosed area to roam
during the day. The coop
should be secure to protect
them from predators and
extreme weather. You should
always secure them in their
coop by nightfall.
They need at least one Chickens are friendly and affectionate if
nesting box for every three treated gently from a young age
to four hens. Line nest boxes
with bedding such as quality wood helps reduce household waste. They
shavings or straw. Chickens like should not be fed avocado peel or
to roost so they will also need a pits, citrus, onion, garlic, nuts or any
perch positioned off the ground and human food that is high in fat, sugar
protected from the elements. or salt. They love to scratch in the
FOOD Chickens are omnivores. garden and will eat weeds.
They should be fed a good- MAINTENANCE Chickens bathe
quality commercial poultry pellet themselves by rolling in dust, which
appropriate for their age. This can cleans their feathers. Chickens will
be supplemented with fresh fruit usually create their own dust bath
and vegetables. Chickens enjoy table area by digging a hole in the dirt,
scraps such as pasta, rice, vegetable but you can create a spot for them
peelings and apple cores, which by providing fine sand.

SHORT CHECKLIST FOR KEEPING CHICKENS

COOP: Able to be FEEDER: Food trays or WORMER: Every
securely closed, dispensers elevated three months, worming
weather and predator from the ground to liquid can be added to
proofed. prevent soiling. their water.
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

NESTING BOX: A comfy WATERER: Clean, EXTERNAL PARASITE

place to lay their eggs. fresh water from a CONTROL: Prevent
PERCHES: Elevated drinker that attaches ticks, mites and lice
timber with space for to the coop. Their with a dusting powder
chickens’ feet to rest water should be or spray them every
comfortably. replaced daily. 2-3 months.

rdasia.com 19
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

HEALTH

Home OPEN YOUR WINDOWS

The air circulating indoors is up to
five times more polluted than what’s
Truths wafting around outside.
Pollutants include mould, building
We’ve been spending a materials and products you use
around the home. Fine particles
lot of time indoors since can get into the lungs, bloodstream
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

COVID-19 struck, and organs. Poor indoor air quality

but could we make our has been linked to asthma, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease
homes healthier? (COPD) and even lung cancer.
Ventilate your home as often as
BY Susannah Hickling possible.

20 november 2021
 Health

TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES When BEWARE FLATPACK FURNITURE

you come in from outside, you’re MDF in shelving and modern
tramping all sorts of nasties into furniture often contains
your inner sanctum. Beyond the formaldehyde, a volatile organic
ubiquitous dog mess and chewing compound (VOC) classed as a
gum, your footwear can also carry carcinogen. It’s found in the resin
unhealthy dust from traffic fumes, that binds the wood dust and scrap
oils and other harmful chemicals. together. Whether cancer-causing
Keep your slippers by the front door. or not, formaldehyde has reportedly
been linked with itchy eyes, sore
CURB HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS throats, wheezing, headaches and
Perhaps less surprisingly, cleaning runny noses. To avoid your building
products can also contain noxious becoming sick because of MDF, opt
chemicals, giving rise to asthma or for solid wood.
allergies. A Norwegian study found
that women who used cleaning CUT OUT CANDLES Reduce indoor
products regularly had a greater pollution by forgoing scented candles
decline in lung function than those and air fresheners. These release
who were less house-proud. We’re chemicals which turn into our old
not suggesting you keep a dirty friend – formaldehyde – when they
home, but you might want to opt for reach the air. Candles also give off
allergy-friendly products and avoid soot, which, again, is not good for
sprays, which release chemicals into your lungs.
the air and not just onto surfaces.
NEGLECT PERSONAL CARE
CONSIDER WOOD OR TILES I bet you never thought we’d advise
Carpets harbour germs and you to do that! It’s lovely to look
pollutants, such as dust mites, pet and smell nice, but a 2018 study
dander and pesticides, and catch found that an ingredient commonly
anything that’s floating in the air found in deodorants, shampoos and
in your home – even when you’re lotions, siloxane, gives off emissions
assiduous about vacuuming. The comparable in magnitude to traffic
materials used to make synthetic and considered harmful to health.
carpets and the compounds they Try to restrict your use of these
emit may add to indoor pollution, products or opt for ranges that don’t
triggering or aggravating allergic contain harmful ingredients. Also
reactions, respiratory and heart limit hairspray and spray perfumes,
problems. Consider wood flooring, as they also emit VOCs and contribute
linoleum or tiles. to potentially toxic air pollution.

rdasia.com 21
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

HEALTH

The Worst
Prediabetes
‘Diet’ Foods more insulin resistance” – your body
isn’t using insulin as effectively
BY Barbara Brody as it should, she explains. Highly-

I
refined grains, like those found in
f you find out you have most popular breakfast cereals, only
prediabetes, use the diagnosis compound the problem.
as motivation to get healthy.
Prediabetes dramatically raises ‘DETOX’ JUICES AND SMOOTHIES
your risk of developing type 2 Loaded with fruit, but also loaded
diabetes. But it’s not too late for you with sugar (even if it is the natural
to change course. If you lose just five kind). Plus they’re missing the key
to seven per cent of your current body ingredients of protein and fibre, which
weight, you can reduce the chances of help keep your blood sugar steady.
being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes Choose whole fruit instead.
by up to 58 per cent.
People on a prediabetes diet ‘SUGAR-FREE’ PACKAGED
should watch portion sizes, follow FOODS These processed foods –
a healthy, well-balanced eating usually snack items like energy bars
plan, and keep an eye out for these – can contain unnecessary chemicals
surprisingly troublesome foods. and extra fat to make them taste good.
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

CEREAL An easy go-to breakfast, BREAD AND PASTA Your goal is

but most cold cereals lack adequate to focus on portions. If you’re going
protein and fibre. That’s problematic to eat pasta or bread, enjoy a small
first thing in the morning, says amount of wholewheat on the side
dietitian Marina Chaparro. “When rather than making it your main
you wake up you can have a little course.

22 november 2021
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

News From the

WORLD OF MEDICINE

SLEEP APNOEA’S TOLL short-term heart rate varied. Too

ON THE HEART much of this, over time, strains the
As one of the most prevalent sleep cardiovascular system.
disorders, obstructive sleep apnoea Fortunately, there are treatments
(OSA) affects around one billion that work well for OSA. Mild cases
people worldwide. For those with may improve with lifestyle changes
this condition, the muscles in the such as quitting smoking or shedding
back of the throat relax too much excess weight. For people with more
during sleep, creating a narrowed serious cases, the most effective
passage for air and causing solution is continuous positive airway
breathing to stop and restart. When pressure (CPAP), a machine that
this happens, the sleep cycle gets pumps a constant stream of air into
interrupted. But untreated sleep your throat via a mask.
apnoea may also raise the risk of
dying from heart disease by up to BENEFITS OF REGULAR
five times. MAMMOGRAMS
A recent Finnish study explored If you’ve missed a routine breast-
one of the reasons for this by screening appointment because of
recording OSA patients’ night- the pandemic, schedule one sooner
time heart rhythms. When the rather than later. In a 2020 study of
body runs low on oxygen and Swedish women reported in Cancer,
suddenly awakens, this causes those who’d attended their last
a surge of activity in the two mammograms before a
sympathetic nervous breast cancer diagnosis
system – and releases were less likely to
stress hormones in be diagnosed with
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

the body. The longer advanced tumours.

a participant’s Screening also
breathing was substantially reduces
interrupted, the faster the risk of having a
their heart raced terminal breast cancer
and the more their diagnosis.

24 november 2021
 EARTH’S HEROES

The
Monkey PHOTOS: COURTESY DR ANDIE ANG; GET T Y IMAGES

Whisperer
Andie Ang’s personal interest in monkeys was sparked
when she was a child. Today, the primatologist is a
global expert on one of Singapore’s most delightful
primates, the Raffles’ banded langur

BY Lam Lye Ching

26 november 2021
Endemic to Singapore and
the southern Peninsular
Malaysia, only 70 Raffles’
banded langurs are left in
Singapore

rdasia.com 27
P
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

rimatologist and re- Society (ACRES). Repatriating an an-

search scientist Andie imal to its native country is a compli-
A ng , Ph D, g rew up cated and costly process. First, Ah Boy
with an extended fam- was moved to Singapore Zoo to start
ily of animals – cats, his rehabilitation. ACRES then helped
dogs, birds and fish Ang with the fundraising, paperwork
filled the family home and logistics needed to return Ah Boy
in Singapore. Then, to his native Africa, where a new home
in 1995, her father saw some sailors awaited him at the Munda Wanga
mistreating a small young monkey. Wildlife Sanctuary in Zambia.
Bringing the African vervet monkey
home, he added it to the family’s me- TURNING POINT
nagerie. In May 2004, after two years of plan-
Just ten at the time, Ang clearly ning, the day arrived for Ang and Ah
remembers her excitement on first Boy to say goodbye. It was a tearful
seeing the golden-furred little mon- parting for her and involved loads
key. She named him Ah Boy and they of photos. Later that day, Ang de-
soon became close companions. “I termined that she wanted to study
would cycle through the neighbour- primates. “The experience made me
hood and Ah Boy would tag along,” want to know more about primates,
recalls Ang. “Neighbours would stop the threats to them, and how we can
to look and comment,‘Oh, so cute!’” help,” she says.
Ah Boy ate whatever her mother After enrolling in a Life Sciences
prepared for the family’s lunch and degree at the National University of
dinner. He also quickly developed a Singapore (NUS), Ang went on to
daily routine of climbing onto Ang’s complete a PhD in Biological An-
shoulders to groom her scalp, me- thropology with a specialty in Raffles’
ticulously pulling her hair apart in banded langurs. Also known as the
search of anything that shouldn’t Banded Leaf monkey, the black-and-
have been there. “My scalp was al- white langurs are endemic to Singa-
ways clean,” she laughs. pore and the southern Peninsular
But as the years passed, the family Malaysia.
became unable to care for the mon- Critically endangered and elusive,
key, so Ang turned to the internet for langurs have black fur, ivory bands
help. Her search led her to the US- on the underside of their bodies and
based International Primate Protec- limbs, and white rings around their
tion League, who recommended she eyes. When Ang started her doctor-
contact the Singapore-based Animal ate, the species had not been studied
Concerns Research and Education for 15 years.

28 november 2021
 Today, she spends hours in Singa-
pore’s Central Catchment Nature Re-
serve, where the entire local popula-
tion of Raffles’ banded langurs can be
found, doing field research under the
shady forest canopy. However, find-
ing them has its challenges. “They are
shy, which means they usually dash
off upon seeing people,” she explains.
“There are only 70 of these langurs
left in Singapore, which means that
the chance of spotting one is quite Langurs live in upper tree canopies
low. They are found on the mid- to and are very elulsive
high canopy and rarely come down to
the ground, making observations very site to find the body. She was hoping
difficult among the foliage.” to examine it for research purposes;
to take measurements and analyse
GATHERING DATA the bones.
A typical day in the field for Ang When they couldn’t find the ani-
starts at 7.30am. She searches for the mal, they turned their search to “the
langurs by scouring under trees for next best thing” – blood. After an
any sign of droppings to analyse. She hour of searching, a team member
then follows and observes them to found a scratch on the road similar
gather information on their diet and to the one in the Facebook photo.
behaviour. When they gently dug into the soil,
“Obtaining genetic data is impor- a pebble came loose exposing some
tant to help us understand various liquid blood underneath. Dr Ang
aspects of the species,” Ang says. “We brought it back to the lab and the
extract DNA from faecal samples to recovery revealed important genetic
study the genetics of the animals, markers that she has used to com-
and to understand their diet and the pare with DNA samples from the
general health of the animal.” langur droppings.
O ver t he yea rs, A ng has had The biological samples have al-
some unexpected experiences. One lowed Ang to update the information
evening, back in 2011, a post ap- on Singapore’s local population of
peared on her Facebook feed of a langurs, report on their reproduc-
car accident involving a langur. She tive biology and infant development,
rallied five friends from her NUS lab and learn more about their feeding
and they drove out to the accident ecolog y. “This provides valuable

rdasia.com 29
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

information on the species of trees Ang published a paper advocating for

the langurs require to feed and thrive the conservation of a small patch of
for conservation,” she says. forest, at the eastern end of the Cen-
Ang’s research has also confirmed tral Catchment Nature Reserve, from
that the langurs in Singapore and further development. The citizen
those across the Johor Strait, in the scientists had revealed it was a vital
southern Peninsular Malaysia, are feeding ground.
the same subspecies. This has raised In addition, convincing residents
hope of possible trans- who live near the forests
location and reintro- BIOLOGICAL and at times have found
duction of the species SAMPLES monkeys to be aggres-
in bot h localities for
conservation. PROVIDE sive hasn’t been easy.
To help nurture a coex-
VALUABLE istence, Ang volunteers
COMMUNITY
HELP
INFO FOR at the Long-tailed Ma-

Langurs use their long CONSERVATION caque Working Group,

which organises free
tails to travel through tri-monthly guided na-
the tree canopies, and strong grasp- ture and monkey walk sessions. Long-
ing hands and feet to forage for fruit tailed macaques, which are smaller
and immature leaves. But the devel- than the langurs, are the other species
opment of the Bukit Timah Express- of monkeys found in Singapore.
way saw their forest homes broken up The working group also identified
with roads. Sadly, a number of lan- and named every monkey living in
gurs were hit by cars while attempt- residential areas. The change in the
ing to cross the road to reach other attitudes of residents was profound.
parts of the forest. They were learning more about ‘An-
In August 2016, Ang started a cit- nette’ and ‘Edgar’, and enjoyed dis-
izen science programme to help covering the monkeys’ individual
monitor the langurs. After a short personalities. They had unwittingly
training session, the citizen scien- become citizen scientists, and com-
tists helped with field observations plaints dropped dramatically.
on weekends for 24 weeks. The data As a result of Ang’s work and grow-
they collected helped local authori- ing support among locals, the com-
ties plan and construct rope bridg- munity has come to better under-
es over roadways in the area for the stand the value of native wildlife. The
langurs to cross safely. future of this small population of Raf-
In May 2020, using additional data fles’ banded langurs has become a lot
collected by the 143 citizen scientists, more certain.

30 november 2021
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

I Am The
FOOD ON YOUR PLATE

Warm, woody and a little bit floral

BY Diane Godley

H
ow do you make the ordinary With my place of birth kept top
extraordinary? Add a little secret by those who plied my trade,
sprinkle of me, that’s how. I, I was something of a mystery to the
warm, aromatic cinnamon, ancients. To fill the void of my origins,
can turn the humdrum into the strik- elaborate stories were invented. To-
ing, boring into exotic. From stewed day, one would describe the Ancient
PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

apples and porridge to rich Middle Greek historian Herodotus’s (c. 484-
Eastern cuisine, sweet buns and des- 425 BCE) account of me as pure fic-
serts, I put the razzamatazz into your tion when he wrote that I was guarded
food. So, it’s hardly surprising that I by winged serpents. Greek philoso-
was highly prized among ancient na- pher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was also
tions where I was regarded a gift wor- not afraid to use poetic licence. He
thy of kings and gods. suggested I came from Arabia where

32 november 2021
 I Am The Food On Your Plate

giant ‘cinnamon birds’ collected sticks The difference between my Ceylon

from cinnamon trees to build their and cassia families can clearly be seen
nests, which were plundered by those in the quills – if you know what you’re
who worked for the spice merchants. looking for. To make Ceylon quills,
Laughable, in retrospect. my bark is carefully peeled from cut
Hundreds of years later, Roman branches and rolled by ‘cinnamon
philosopher Pliny the Elder tried to peelers’ into metre-long quills till
make his people see this foolishness they’re 1 cm in diameter. Then they
for what it was, stating the fanciful are cut into manageable 8 cm lengths.
tale was made up by the spice traders The quills are tan in colour and made
so they could charge more for their up of many paper-thin, concentric lay-
highly desirable commodity. Regard- ers of bark.
less, the vivid image of the cinnamon To make cassia cinnamon, the tree
bird had taken hold and was believed is coppiced, or cut to ground level,
in some parts for an- and the outer layer of
other thousand years. HIGHLY PRIZED bark removed to get to
What those men
from antiquity did
AMONG ANCIENT the aromatic inner lay-
ers, which are loosened
get right was that I do NATIONS, I WAS and removed from the
come from a tree. In REGARDED A GIFT tree. After drying, any
fact, I am the inner
bark from evergreen
WORTHY OF KINGS large chips of bark
are ground into pow-
aromatic trees known AND GODS der. My small, upper
as Cinnamomum. I am branches produce me-
native to both Sri Lanka (Cinnamo- tre-long strips that, during the drying
mum verum), often referred to as Cey- process, curl inwards like a scroll, be-
lon cinnamon, and China (Cinnamo- coming cassia quills. The bark is about
mum cassia), and have close cousins 3 mm thick and hard – so don’t try
in Vietnam, Indonesia and other hot, putting it in your coffee grinder – and
humid southeast Asian countries. a deep shade of reddish brown.
You may hear people get a bit hoity It is very difficult to distinguish be-
toity when talking about me behind tween the two once ground, especial-
my back. Some suggest that Ceylon ly as some of the commercially sold
cinnamon is the only real cinnamon ground cinnamon is a combination of
because it is more delicate in flavour the two. However, 70 per cent of me
and texture. The bark of my cassia comes from two countries: China and
family may be tough, but it gives off Indonesia, so you are more likely to be
a sweet, perfumed aroma and is the sprinkling cassia over your porridge
preferred spice of bakers. than Ceylon.

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Today, I am used to add flavour to my scent helped mask the stench of

a wide variety of food and drinks. I decaying flesh.
complement fruit such as apples and But let’s not end on such a rotten
pears, am a staple ingredient in sa- note. Some claim my nutritional at-
voury dishes from the Middle East, tributes can support blood sugar man-
India and Malaysia, used in baking agement in people with diabetes and
to create strudels and other sweet my prebiotic properties improve gut
treats, and sprinkled in drinks, such health. I have long been used in Chi-
as chai tea and gluwein (mulled nese herbal medicine and in Ayurve-
wine). dic medicine to treat flatulence and
In previous times, however, I was relieve digestive discomfort. I contain
used for an assortment of other pur- antioxidants with anti-inflammatory
poses. To preserve their dead, Ancient effects, and am a good source of fibre
Egyptians added me to the embalm- – just two teaspoons provide 2.5 grams
ing ointment during mummification. of fibre, that’s equivalent to half a cup
I was also added to kyphi, an incense of raw cabbage.
which the Egyptians would burn on Freshness maximises my health
religious occasions and for medicinal benefits. When stored in an airtight
purposes. Centuries later, but before container in a dark place, I will last
refrigeration, I was used in preserv- for about a year when whole, but will
ing meat, possibly because of my start to lose flavour after a few months
antibacterial properties or because when ground. So keep me fresh!

CHAI TEA
• In a saucepan place: 1 cinnamon
quill; 2 cm sliced fresh ginger; 1 tsp
black peppercorns; 1 whole star
anise; 1 tsp cardamom pods;
1 vanilla pod; 5 whole cloves; and
3 cups of water. Bring to boil, then
simmer for 5 minutes (longer if you • Filter liquid through a sieve and
want to develop the flavours further). return to saucepan with ½ cup
• Take saucepan off the heat and of milk. Gently heat.
add ¼ cup of black tea leaves. • Pour into cups and add honey
Let it steep for 5 minutes. to taste.

34 november 2021
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

LIFE’S LIKE THAT

Seeing the Funny Side

“Sorry, we’re running a little behind.”

If Tooth Be Told Stuffing His Face

My dentist, looking at my dental My husband was most displeased
X-ray, muttered, “Where is your with the jar of pimiento-stuffed
wisdom tooth, man? I can’t see it green olives he had recently
here!” He continued to look at the bought. “They’re just not vinegary,”
CARTOON: HARLEY SCHWADRON

X-ray film and stopped at a specific he said.

shaded area and said, “Here we go. “They were vinegary enough
It is hidden down here!” when I ate them,” said our youngest
My wife, who was also waiting in son.
the room, commented, “I am not “When did you eat them?” I asked.
surprised at all, doctor. His wisdom “This morning. I sucked all the
is not immediately obvious most of red things out and put the olives
the time, to be fair!” back in the jar.”
SUBMITTED BY PAUL JOSEPH RICHARD SUBMITTED BY LINDA BENNETT

36 november 2021
 Life’s Like That

Out Of Shape
Why did I have to learn what a
rhombus is? Literally nothing is
rhombus shaped.
MARIE FAUSTIN, COMEDIAN THE GREAT TWEET OFF:
PETTY REVENGE EDITION
Toilet Training Cross with your partner? The ‘adults’
My friend George adopted an of Twitter have some ideas how to get
even with the one you love.
adorable but stubborn terrier puppy
who refused to be housebroken. I know it sounds mean, but when
Frustrated, George signed them I’m angry at my wife and want to
both up for expensive obedience lash out, I open a bottle of some
classes. condiment when there’s already
one open. @THEBOYDP
Recently, I saw man and pup
out for a walk and asked how the I now charge my wife for finding
things for her that are in plain sight.
training was going. @FATHERWITHTWINS
“Well,” George said, “I don’t poop
My husband made me angry
in the house anymore.” so for dinner I’m making him
SUBMITTED BY JANE HAMILTON O’FALLON kale and tofu salad.
@SWEETMOMISSA

Thinking about making an audio

recording of me eating cereal and
clanking my spoon on the bowl
just to send to my wife when
we are in a fight.
@SIMONCHOLLOND

The next time my linguist boyfriend

annoys me, I’m just gonna say
‘irregardless’ and see what he does.
@AUBVIOUSLYNOT

TRYING HIS LUCK

I L LU S T R AT I O N S: G E T T Y I M AG E S

Dubious claims my toddler

made this week:
• He invented the thumbs-up.
• Only ‘some’ lizards can read.
• He forgot how to eat carrots.
• His daycare allows swords.
@HENPECKEDHAL

rdasia.com 37
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

SWEPT
OUT
TO SEA

38 november 2021
 DRAMA IN REAL LIFE

A scuba dive on a wild, starless night

quickly descends into a fight to stay alive

BY Diane Godley
ILLUSTRATION BY Marcelo Baez

rdasia.com 39
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

W
hen the alarm woke Oksana Samkova
on January 12 this year, she rolled over
and looked out her bedroom window to
check on the weather. That evening she
was heading out on a night dive at Port Noarlunga in
the St Vincent Gulf, 30 kilometres south of Adelaide,
as part of her advanced scuba diving course. Instead
of the calm, sunny day she had hoped for, what she
saw was grey, blustery weather – with the wind so
strong it was sending her outdoor furniture flying.
A little panicked, Ukrainian-born
Oksana called the diving company
to find out if the night dive had been
called off. But they assured her that
the weather would settle down. The
dive would go ahead.
That evening at sunset, around
8.30pm, the group of eight divers
and two instructors gathered at the
Port Noarlunga carpark for the pre-
dive briefing. It was here where they
would be paired up into ‘buddies’, go
through their signals and make sure
everyone had all their equipment.
PHOTO: COURTESY OKSANA SAMKOVA

The wind had not died down, and

the ocean was w ild and choppy.
It was high tide, and the reef that
runs parallel to the shore at the end
of the 300-metre long jetty – where
the group was to dive – was being
pounded by waves. On a normal
mid-summer’s evening, there would
Oksana in her diving gear. Everything be lots of people about; fishing off
was black except for the fins the jetty and families eating dinner

40 november 2021
 Swept Out To Sea

on the beach. Tonight, the divers too heavy in the water and told her to
were all alone. remove some of the weights from the
The conditions made Oksana nerv- pockets of her BCD.
ous, her skin tingling with apprehen- Tonight, before grabbing her snor-
sion, and her gut feeling told her not kel, mask and fins, and walking to the
to go ahead. Realising she only had end of the jetty, Oksana did some-
one torch instead of the required thing she’d never done before a dive.
two for a night dive, Oksana spoke to She took a selfie. If something happens
the instructors, who assured her she to me, this will be my last photo, she
would be fine as her buddy had two. thought. Then she did what any sane
Aware that she was nervous, they person would do and dismissed her
assured her that once they had sub- thoughts as rubbish.

IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, THIS

WILL BE MY LAST PHOTO, SHE THOUGHT,
THEN INSTANTLY DISMISSED IT

merged, away from the choppy sur- With the wind still gusting, the di-
face, the water below would be calm. vers walked to the end of the jetty to
the steps, where they were to descend
OKSANA MOVED TO AUSTRALIA with by jumping into the churning black
her two sons five years ago to live her water below. Even with all her gear
dream, and scuba diving was part of weighing her down, the wind nearly
that dream. So she put on her new blew her off the jetty. At this point,
diving gear – a black 7 mm wetsuit Oksana realised with some alarm
to keep out the cold South Australi- that she had left her delayed surface
an water, a black buoyancy control marker buoy (DSMB) in the car – a
device (BCD) with integrated weight brightly coloured inflatable tube that
pockets, and a regulator and oxygen alerts rescuers to your position.
tank. She strapped the torch to her By the time they reached the end of
leg. She’d only dived a few times in the jetty, it was quite dark. I don’t like
her new equipment, and was still this, Oksana said to herself. Some-
modifying the amount of weight she thing was telling her not to jump. But
needed to descend. seeing most of the group in the water,
On a previous dive, on a calm, sun- she pushed on. A few divers were still
ny day, her instructor thought she was on the jetty, and Oksana asked them

rdasia.com 41
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

to wait until she was in the water be- rip current was pulling her away from
fore they jumped in. She didn’t want the jetty – and the group of divers be-
to be last. low the surface. She tried descending
With mask and fins on, regulator in once more, but again, she couldn’t
her mouth, and a little air in her BCD, get below the surface. Adrenaline was
she descended the steps. I don’t want coursing through her veins, making
to do this, she thought. But I have to. her tremble. Oksana was in full panic
The group in the water was waiting mode now and hyperventilating. The
for her to jump. So, she closed her rip current was pulling her north-
eyes and dropped into the sea. wards, parallel to the shore.
When the whole group was in the
water, they gave the ‘OK’ signal and STILL STRUGGLING to descend and
each diver started releasing the air escape the rip current, Oksana started
from their BCD to descend. Usually inhaling sea water. Gasping for air, she
they descended vertically, feet first, told herself not to panic, all the while
but Oksana was having trouble. She coughing up water.
didn’t have enough weight in the Each time she bobbed back up
pockets of her BCD, and she couldn’t to the surface after another failed

UNABLE TO DESCEND OR SWIM OUT OF

THE RIP, SHE WAS STEADILY CARRIED
AROUND THE HEADLAND

get through the tumultuous surface attempt to descend, she noticed that
water. Again and again, she tried to as well as being pulled northwards,
descend, only to find herself bobbing she was being propelled towards the
around on the surface. Each time shore.
she resurfaced, she was more out of With no way to get back to the jet-
breath and her heart was beating in- ty, Oksana made a conscious decision
creasingly faster. to head to shore. She could see the
Cloud obscured any moonlight, and shoreline and a little further ahead,
the water was jet black. The only light towards the end of the beach, the
came from the jetty. She reached for headland soaring above her.
her little torch; its light was just strong Given the foul weather, no one was
enough to see fish and to identify her- on the shore or jetty to see the faint
self underwater. Then she realised a light flashing on the surface of the

42 november 2021
 Swept Out To Sea

Port Noarlunga Reef runs parallel to the coast and is a popular spot for scuba divers. On
calm days, the 300-metre-long jetty provides easy access to underwater adventures

water. “I was about half a kilometre now about a kilometre-and-a-half

away from the jetty,” recalls Oksana. from the jetty. To save the little air left
“I was so scared.” Unable to descend, in her tank, she abandoned any more
and loaded up with all the heavy div- attempts to descend and let the rip
ing gear, she was unable to swim out take her. I’ll get out at Christies Beach,
of the rip and was steadily being car- she thought. With her faint torch shin-
ried around the headland. ing towards the shore, she hoped her
At first, she shone her torch towards dive group was looking for her.
the jetty where her group was under-
water. However, once she was too far A S A N EMERGENC Y OPER AT ING
away, she started pointing it towards nurse, Oksana is routinely exposed
the beach, hoping with all her heart to other people’s trauma. She also
that someone was out there on this teaches frontline workers how to
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

wild night and might see a light. She overcome secondary trauma. With-
had no idea how long she’d been in out even realising it, that night, all
the water. alone in a dark sea, she had begun
With the current still in full swing, to put the strategies she teaches into
she was carried past the headland practice.
towards the next beach. Oksana was “I was in survival mode,” she says.

rdasia.com 43
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

“I was thinking strategically and Beach, five kilometres from where she
practically.” started.
But once Oksana made it around She pushed the on/off button and,
the headland, the swell was even big- fortuitously, it came back to life. To
ger. Two-metre waves reared up and preserve the battery, she turned it on
crashed over her, pummelling her to the lowest setting, which meant it
like a boxing bag. Swallowing water, gave off only the faintest of light.
coughing and spluttering, she was Oksana didn’t know how long the
terrified and totally exhausted. torch would last. She’d practically run
Then the rip current changed tack out of air, and she was nowhere near
and was not only pulling her north- the beach. Any fight she had left was
wards, but also further out to sea. also draining away.
When Oksana realised her oxygen Then her thoughts turned to her
tank was close to empty, to preserve two sons, aged 15 and 12. She rallied
the remaining air for an ‘emergen- the last of her strength to keep going.
cy’, she took the regulator out of her All she wanted to do was survive and
mouth and put in the snorkel, then in- see her two boys.
flated her BCD to the max to keep her Gasping for air, she told herself to
afloat. With a black wetsuit and black breathe steadily and shone her faint

SHE HEARD A BEEPING NOISE

AND REALISED HER TORCH HAD
STOPPED WORKING

BCD, the only chance Oksana had of light towards shore. The torch failed
being found on that very dark starless again. Panicked, Oksana pressed the
night was from her faint torchlight. button over and over until the faint
Suddenly she heard a beeping light reappeared.
noise. She quickly realised her torch
had stopped working. Panicking, she DRIFTING FURTHER OUT TO SEA,
thought, This can’t be happening. Oksana saw a blue flashing light on
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!” she the shore. She had no idea what was
screamed at the torch, the only thing happening there, but she desperately
that could help her get spotted. hoped it was for her.
Oksana was now about one kilo- Then she saw a light on the water.
metre from the shore at O’Sullivan Maybe they are coming for me, she

44 november 2021
 Swept Out To Sea

“I asked what time it was,

and they said almost mid-
night. I’d been in the water
for over three hours.”
She lea r nt later t hat
when her dive group real-
ised she was missing, they
searched below the water,
the jetty, and the carpark.
When they couldn’t find
her, they rang emergency
services.
A police officer went to
the headland and, looking
out to sea, saw a faint light
being carried to the next
beach and radioed in the
Oksana was in hospital for two days where she new information.
received oxygen therapy for her weakened lungs The paramedics took
Oksana to hospital where
thought. Frantically she waved the an X-ray revealed that her lungs were
faint torch light. close to collapsing because of all the
Suddenly, a bright light appeared in water she’d swallowed. The reality of
the water. Turning her head, she saw a her ordeal really only hit her when she
boat. She had been found. She would was reunited with her sons. “I thought
get to see her kids again. I may never see them again,” says the
Volunteers with the South Austral- single mum.
ian Sea Rescue Squadron threw Ok- One month after her near-death
sana a life ring, which she held on to experience, Oksana got back in the
PHOTO: COURTESY OKSANA SAMKOVA

with all her remaining strength, and water. “I wanted to dive again. I knew
they pulled her on board. “It was the if I didn’t do it soon, I never would,”
happiest moment of my life,” she says. she says.
The volunteers took her heavy gear “I dive with more weight on me
off in the boat, and helped her ashore. now – and the weather needs to be
“I could hardly walk. I was coughing perfect.”
and couldn’t breathe,” she says. Oksana Samkova is a registered nurse and
Then came a round of concerned expert in vicarious trauma and compassion
questions. “They wanted to know how fatigue in frontline workers and first
long I’d been in the water,” she recalls. responders. www.oksanasamkova.com.

rdasia.com 45
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

46 november 2021
SEE Turn
THEtheWORLD...
page ››

rdasia.com 47
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

...DIFFERENTLY

48 november 2021
 TO KEEP THEIR FEET DRY, these
farmhands float in large boat-like
bowls near Huai‘an, China, to
harvest ‘water caltrop’ – or in the
local lingo, lingjiao. This method
has proven the best way to pick the
‘water chestnuts’, which are the
fruit of a type of aquatic plant that
grows in slow-moving marshes,
ponds or other shallow waters. A
sweet white seed is found in a pink
shell-like pod when freshly picked.
As the pod dries, it darkens and
starts to resemble a bat or a horned
bull’s head. Its sweet flavour makes
these water fruit popular snacks,
and a welcome ingredient in
casseroles – adding a rich autumn
profile to a well-prepared meal.
P H O T O S: Z H O U C H A N G G U O/ V C G
VIA GE T T Y IM AGES; (THIS PAGE) HE
JINGHUA/VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES

rdasia.com 49
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

50 november 2021
 PARENTING

POSITIVE
Energy
Start on a new note.
Help your children nurture their inner goodness

BY Dr Shelja Sen

W
hat do we typically do with lectures and nagging sessions.
when we find our chil- When none of it works – and predict-
dren doing something ably so – we end up screaming and
we don’t approve of? We dole out a punishment. And our chil-
become reactive parents. dren react with an equal measure of
We criticise, complain, compare negativity, through rebellion, anger,
(“How dare you do this? Your sister resentment and a ‘can’t-be-bothered’
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

never put us through this!”) or we’re attitude.

sarcastic (“You must be so proud of Not only do these reactive strat-
yourself!”). We also catastrophise or egies fail, I think they can be quite
make dire threats (“You will never be damaging for our children’s growth.
able to finish school!”). Buddhist Zen master Thich Nhat
Often, we pepper our reactions Hanh put it beautifully when he

rdasia.com 51
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

described how each child has both to make sure that they do this with-
negative seeds – of anger, despair, ha- out any anger or resentment.
tred, fear and violence – and whole- While on a mission to cut the nega-
some seeds – of love, happiness, com- tive, the parent looks for every oppor-
passion and forgiveness. According tunity to energise the positive in the
to him, what will blossom depends child. This is done through persis-
on the seeds that we nurture. tently appreciating the goodness in
the child in the smallest of ways. For
TRY A NEW APPROACH example, saying to them: “You were
A parenting and educational ap- really generous about sharing your
proach that’s gaining a large follow- pizza with your sister” or “I appreci-
ing internationally, ate the hard work you
called the Nurtured For example, have put into your
Hea r t Approach project”.
(NH A) by Howa rd say to them: If you observe, the
Glasser, is very much “I appreciate appreciation is not
in keeping with this
Zen approach. I have
the hard work about saying “excel-
lent”, “amazing” or
been using it with my you have put in “good”, which is really
own children and the your project” an empty praise and
kids I work with, and does not speak much
it has worked won- to the child. Qualify-
ders. The three main aspects of this ing a praise, on the other hand, gives
approach are: the child direction and they begin
• Refuse to energise negativity to understand what qualities, values
• Relentlessly energise their and strengths are appreciated. These
positives are also necessary ingredients for life
• Reset: do not react negatively skills and success.
and stay calm when the child
does something wrong. POSITIVE PAY-OFFS
Parents following this approach This approach is not merely about
commit to not saying or doing any- noticing when the child is being good,
thing that may fuel negativity in the it is about recognising the child’s
child (for example, the reactive com- worth at every step. It’s about align-
ments mentioned earlier). And any ing their energy in believing that
time the parent feels that they are they have great qualities, which are
becoming reactive, they reset, move being identified and validated by the
away, and avoid energising the child parents at every step. The basic be-
in a negative way. But the parent has lief is that when a child is energised

52 november 2021
 Positive Energy

The ‘positive approach’ involves recognising the child’s worth at every step

through regular strength-based rec- helps develop awareness and under-

ognition, they realise that there is no standing to improve the ways we in-
point choosing negativity, as there teract with others and ourselves. It
are no pay-offs in it. shines a spotlight on greatness rather
So start building your child’s inner than problems. It inspires challeng-
wealth – there is nothing to lose but ing children to focus their intensity
loads of negativity. and energy in ways that will help
them lead passionate and purposeful
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

NURTURED HEART lives.

APPROACH
The NHA focuses on creating healthy The author is a child and adolescent
relationships. It lays bare the work- psychologist, family therapist, and au-
ings of a relationship – what makes it thor of All You Need is Love: The Art
work, what makes it go awry – and of Mindful Parenting.

rdasia.com 53
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

LAUGHTER
The Best Medicine

So she whispers in his

ear, “Sir, are you sure
about this? I mean, not
considering the fact that
he’s a frog, his collateral
is a blue marble elephant.
I mean, what the heck is a
blue marble elephant?”
The bank manager
replies: “It’s a knick-
knack, Patti Whack. Give
the frog a loan. His old
man’s a Rolling Stone.”
Upjoke.com

Sounds Good
Actors who could cure

C A R TO O N: G U TO D I A S; I L LU S T R AT I O N S: G E T T Y I M AG E S
my lisp? I’m pretty sure
High Roller Anne Hathaway but I’m going to ask
A frog appears in front of Patricia Colin Firth. OLAF FALAFEL, COMEDIAN
Whack, a bank teller, and asks: “Ms
Whack, I’d like to obtain a bank Clocked Out
loan, on consideration of this blue A man’s grandfather clock stopped
marble elephant as collateral.” working. He called a repair shop to
Patricia goes to her manager, get it fixed, but they wanted $50 to
who asks to see this talking frog in come and collect it.
person. As it turns out, his name is “I’ll bring it to you,” he said. So he
Kermit Jagger, and he is the son of strapped the clock to his back and
Mick Jagger. started walking down the big hill he
The manager promptly nods lived on. Halfway down, he slipped,
in approval, and Patricia cannot and slid down the hill into the town
believe what she is witnessing. just as a lady was crossing the street.

54 november 2021
 Laughter

He barrelled straight into her and

knocked her over.
Dazed, disgruntled, and still on
the ground, she asked, “Why can’t
you just wear a wristwatch like
everyone else?!”
SUBMIT TED BY ROGER REAKOFF

Feline Funny
Mum No. 1: How on earth do you
get your sleepyhead son to wake up
in the morning?
Mum No. 2: I just put the cat on
the bed.
BREWING THE DAY
Mum No. 1: How does that help? Two neighbours live side by
Mum No. 2: The dog’s already there. side. One is rich and the other
Scout Life Magazine one is poor.
The poor neighbour has a
Crossing The Line magic lamp. Every morning, he
I work as a customs officer and rubs the lamp and a genie comes
yesterday was my yearly review. It out and intones, “Ask whatever
didn’t go very well, apparently they you want.” And the poor man
think I’m borderline incompetent. asks for a cup of tea.
Seen on Twitter
The rich neighbour, envious
of the magic lamp, offers the
WAIT FOR IT! poor man his magnificent house
People say being a waiter is a and flashy car in exchange for
bad job, but hey, it puts food the lamp.
on the table! Seen online Gleefully, the rich man takes
the magic lamp home and rubs it.
Out pops the genie, who intones,
“Ask whatever you want.”
“Can I have an even bigger
house and an even better car?”
asks the rich man.
“Sorry, sir, I only serve tea
and coffee,” replies the genie. RD

rdasia.com 55
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Small
Steps Can
STOP
HARMING
OUR
OCEANS
By 2050, by weight more plastic will exist in
PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

the ocean than fish. We can help prevent

that by changing how we use plastics

BY Elizabeth Yuko

56 november 2021
 ENVIRONMENT

Small decisions ocean. But few people realise that

with a big impact straws are among the top ten items
When we learned about risks to the found during beach clean-ups and
oceans at school, it usually involved can cause a lot of harm to seabirds,
a lesson about a large oil spill that left turtles and other marine creatures,
local wildlife – birds or marine mam- according to Dr Dune Ives, chief
mals, in particular – in a slick coat of executive officer of Lonely Whale,
dark oil. And while that is definitely a n env i ron menta l orga n isat ion
a terrible scenario, most of us won’t campaigning to protect the world’s
find ourselves in charge of a massive oceans from continued damage. “For
oil tanker anytime soon. the vast majority of us, refusing the
But we are faced with countless single-use plastic straw is the easiest
choices every day as consumers, and and simplest way to take action to-
even small decisions can do major day to address plastic pollution,” she
damage to our oceans. From the food says. “If we don’t act now, by the year
we eat, sunscreen we use, clothes we 2050 there will be more plastic in the
wear to the plastic products we use, ocean than fish (by weight).”
we could all probably do a better job
of being more mindful of the impact
we’re having on the oceans.

Driving too much

From driving our cars to powering
our homes and businesses, fossil
Single-use plastic straws fuel use has caused a significant in-
We already know that plastic bags crease in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels
and soft drink can rings are bad for in the atmosphere – and is harming
the environment and end up in the the world’s oceans. “Increased CO 2

rdasia.com 57
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

levels in our ocean makes the water – the source material of water bottles,
more acidic, and acidic waters make soft drink bottles and more – makes
it more difficult for calcifying sea an- up over 10 per cent of global plastic
imals to produce the carbonate they production. Opting for reusable water
need to survive,” says marine scien- bottles instead can not only help peo-
tist Guy Harvey. “This includes ani- ple save money, but it can also im-
mals like coral, whose reefs protect prove ocean health, as plastic bottles
the coastline and support billions are among the top five most common
of dollars of industries,” he says. Not items found in beach clean-ups.
only shellfish but plankton, the foun-
dation of the marine food chain, are
at risk. The good news is that healthy
oceans can actually help reverse
climate change. “We can help by re-
ducing energy use and supporting re-
newable resources,” Harvey suggests.

Glitter
Not only is glitter really annoying
and impossible to get out of your
house, but it’s also terrible for the
oceans. “Most glitter products used
for children’s arts and crafts are
made from plastic and when washed
Single-use plastic down the kitchen sink will contribute
water bottles to the growing problem of microplas-
Though it seems like they’ve been tics in our environment,” says Ives.
around forever, single-use plastic Microplastics are consumed by fish,
water bottles are a relatively new birds and sea turtles.
phenomenon, entering the market in One study found that microplastics
the 1990s. “Today, 500 billion plastic have even contaminated the deepest
bottles are used around the globe point of the ocean, Challenger Deep,
annually, one million single-use in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench,
plastic bottles are sold every minute she says. But you don’t have to give up
around the world yet only around 30 your children’s craft projects – instead,
per cent are recycled,” says Ives. Pol- opt for eco-friendly alternatives such
yethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic as food colouring and salts.

58 november 2021
 Stop Harming Our Oceans

Household chemical use face mask is more environmental-

Thanks to the COVID-19 global pan- ly friendly than a disposable one,
demic, we’re all probably using more and reusable utensils are safe when
cleaning products than usual. But washed appropriately,” Ives says.
household consumers need to think With a chance of more pandemics in
carefully before they pour chemicals the future, now is the time to recon-
down the drain, according to Lindsay sider how we protect ourselves and
French, a STEM education coordina- the environment, she says.
tor. “Improper disposal of chemicals
can lead to polluting our oceans and
marine life that inhabit them,” she
says. Instead, she recommends opt-
ing for sustainable alternatives – like
ones that don’t contain phosphorus
or strong chemicals that might oth-
erwise affect our water quality or
contribute to coral bleaching – and
safely disposing of household chem-
icals through recycling programmes. Eating beef
Though we may be aware of the im-
COVID-19 waste pact that eating farmed beef has on
Take a walk down any city street to- air pollution, some may not realise
day and you’ll likely see latex gloves that it has an effect on the oceans,
and face masks on the ground along- too. Raising beef uses a lot of wa-
side plastic bags and old newspapers. ter and releases methane, a green-
In other words, the coronavirus is house gas that contributes to cli-
changing the type of waste we make, mate change, according to marine
and what could potentially end up in biologist Sandy Trautwein. “Eat less
the oceans. beef, and instead choose sustainable
“For example, a washable cloth seafood, vegetables and chicken,”

rdasia.com 59
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

she says. However, 90 per cent of the

world’s fish are caught at or above
sustainable levels, she adds. Seafood
that is farmed or wild-caught locally
is usually more sustainable than im-
ported wild-caught seafood.

travel for many kilometres and pollute

even the most pristine places, as well
as our oceans,” says Ives. Balloons are
the highest-risk plastic debris item for
seabirds – 32 times more likely to kill
than ingesting hard plastics, according
Eating non-sustainable to Ives. Instead, she suggests using
seafood sustainable options like sky lanterns,
The idea that there are always ‘plenty paper streamers or wildflowers.
of fish in the sea’ is not only a terrible
way to approach dating, it’s also not a
great mindset when it comes to sourc-
ing food. For starters, we know today
that fish and shellfish consume large
amounts of plastics and microplastics.
To protect the ocean and yourselves,
Ives advises that we choose plant-
based diets and know where your fish
is coming from. “When ordering, ask
from where the fish was harvested and
how it was harvested,” she says. Some sunscreens
Putting on a thick layer of sunblock
Releasing balloons is good protection for your skin, but
A balloon release is a popular way to picking the wrong one can harm our
end a memorial or celebration, but oceans. Specifically, some sunscreens
as lovely as the balloons symbolically contain harmful chemicals to our
floating into the sky might be, it’s terri- reefs’ ecosystems, including oxyben-
ble for oceans. “Released balloons can zone and butylparaben. “Oxybenzone

60 november 2021
 Stop Harming Our Oceans

disrupts coral reproduction, causes

coral bleaching and damages coral
DNA,” French says. Butylparaben is
a preservative ingredient shown to
cause coral bleaching. When selecting FAST FACTS
a sunscreen, consumers should try to
consciously purchase products such •theRubbish has been found on
deepest seabed on Earth,
as biodegradable, non-toxic, ‘reef- 11 kilometres below the surface.
safe’ sunscreen.
• Litter that doesn’t sink to the
ocean floor ends up on shorelines
or one of five offshore plastic
accumulation zones.
• The largest of these zones,
the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
(GPGP), is three times the size
of France.
• 1.8 trillion plastic pieces are
estimated to be floating in the
GPGP – that’s equivalent to
250 pieces of debris for every
Purchasing clothing human in the world.
made out of plastic
A lot of the clothing we wear is made
• An estimated 100 million
tonnes of plastic is currently found
from fabrics made of synthetic fibres. in our oceans, equivalent to
And it’s not just apparel: towels and 480,000 blue whales.
bedsheets can be made of plas-
tic-based materials, too. “These plas-
• The amount of plastic in the
ocean is predicted to outweigh fish
tic pieces are found within strands of by 2050 unless action is taken.
fibre and can break off into tiny piec-
es for even the smallest organisms • In 2013, 18-year-old Boyan Slat
from the Netherlands founded
down the food chain (plankton) to The Ocean Cleanup to rid the
eat,” French says. For example, poly- world’s oceans of plastic.
ester, which is found in a variety of
clothing, is a type of plastic in a fibre • Today, The Ocean Cleanup
comprises engineers,
form. “Upon washing polyester mate- researchers, scientists and
rials, these tiny fibres make their way computational modellers who
down the washing machine drain have built and are trialling the
and unfortunately into the ocean,” world’s first ocean clean-up
she explains. system in the GPGP.

rdasia.com 61
 L
THE OCEAN,
ONE PILOT PEN AT A TIME
Pilot Pen has been showing and packaging containers,
the world its green credentials abandoned on land and blown or
ever since it introduced its washed into the sea. Plastic is light,
eco-friendly BeGreen pens in moisture-resistant and mostly non-
the early 2000s. The first range biodegradable, and therefore will
of sustainable writing instruments, survive for hundreds of years.
the BeGreen range is refillable and Every year, 8-12 million tons of
made of at least 70% of recycled plastic is released into the sea.
plastic. The refillable pens allow Without action, plastic in the ocean
consumers to save up to 95% of is predicted to outweigh fish by 2050.
CO2, as soon as the pen is refilled By providing a diverse range of
three times, thanks to the use of eco-friendly writing materials, Pilot
recycled plastic. Products in the is inspiring individuals to make a
BeGreen range are priced similarly positive environmental impact by
to its regular range of products to making the ‘write’ choice and opting
ensure that conservation efforts for pens that are created from
do not result in additional costs for recycled materials.
customers. By making small changes in our
This year, Pilot has gone one lives, we can make the Earth and
step further by introducing its our oceans a more beautiful place
latest eco-friendly product, the to live in. That is something Pilot
Pilot Super Grip G Ocean Pen, had in its sights when developing
which is made from recycled its Pilot Super Grip G Ocean Pen,
marine plastic waste as well as made from materials recuperated
other recycled plastic. from oceans, beaches, rivers and the
One of the biggest sources of banks of waterways.
ocean plastic pollution comes “Sustainability has always
from litter, such as PET bottles been key for Pilot Pen and we are
 ADVERTORIAL PROMOTION

constantly looking for ways to new R to its sustainable approach,

innovate and set new standards in that is embodied by its 4-R policy:
the creation of eco-friendly writing RECUPERATING: Using materials
instruments,” said Benjamin Teh, recovered from the oceans means
General Manager of Pilot Pen less plastic to reduce pollution.
Singapore. “When the alarming RECYCLING: Using recycled plastic
problem of the increasing amount materials to manufacture its pens
of plastics in our oceans came to means less waste going to landfills
our attention, we knew we wanted and turning old into new.
to do our part to change this,” he REFILLING: Making most of its
said. “With the introduction of the product ranges refillable to reduce
Pilot Super Grip G Ocean Pen, we landfill and extend the product life
hope to do our part in reducing duration means less disposables.
ocean plastic waste and hopefully REDUCING: Using preferably
inspire consumers to join us in the recycled carton materials in its
fight against plastic pollution.” packaging means less plastic to
With this initiative, PILOT adds a reduce waste.

The Pilot Super Grip G Ocean Penblma^g^qmlm^ibgIbehmI^glchnkg^r

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hgma^ieZg^m%Zg]\hgmkb[nm^mhma^_b`amZ`ZbglmieZlmb\iheenmbhg'
The Pilot Super Grip G Ocean PenblZk^_beeZ[e^hbe&[Zl^][Zeeihbgmi^g
maZmnl^lk^lbg_khffZkbg^ieZlmb\pZlm^%Zlp^eeZlhma^kk^\r\e^]fZm^kbZel%
fZdbg`bmZg><HF:KD&\^kmb_b^]ikh]n\mmaZm\hfieb^lpbmama^CZiZg^l^>\h
EZ[^e_hkpkbmbg`bglmknf^gml'Ma^g^per]^o^ehi^]`kb]`kbi_^Zmnk^]bgma^
i^gZeehpl_hkZfhk^l^\nk^`kbi%ghfZmm^kahprhnahe]bm'
The Pilot Super Grip G Ocean Penk^mZbelZmL*'/)!bg\e@LM"'

Ikh]n\mGhm^3=n^mhma^
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]^i^g]bg`hgma^h\^Zg
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 PHOTO FEATURE

An Instant

Adrenaline, a stress hormone,

boosts our bodies to peak
performance to get us out of
danger – if so desired!
BY Cornelia Kumfert

64 november 2021
P H O T O : © R E T O N Y F F E N E G G E R / T F A /A S C E N T/ G E T T Y I M A G E S

Wingsuit BASE jumping is one of the most dangerous sports

in the world. Extreme athletes hurl themselves from planes,
helicopters, mountaintops or skyscrapers and plunge to the
depths below. They can reach speeds of up to 250 kilometres
per hour during their breathtaking manoeuvres, depending
on what type of wingsuit they are wearing. But such a rush of
adrenaline comes at a price – no other extreme sport has a
higher number of casualties every year.

rdasia.com 65
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

P H O T O S : ( S P A C E ) CHRISTOPHE BOISVIEUX/GETTY IMAGES; (BOYS) JAY NEMETH/GLOBAL NEWSROOM EDITORIAL/PICTURE ALLIANCE/DPA;

fThe whole world
held its breath when
Felix Baumgartner
plummeted down to
Earth from an altitude of
39 kilometres in 2012.
His fall from the edge of
the stratosphere lasted
four minutes and 19
seconds. Reaching a top
speed of 1,342.8 km/h,
the Austrian broke the
sound barrier
completely unaided.
(BIKES) SIJORI IMAGES/BARCROFT INDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

66 november 2021
 An Instant Kick

cThese three boys are on their way to school in

Indonesia. In 2015, heavy rain destroyed the suspension
bridge connecting their village to the outside world. Not
wanting to miss class, the students shuffled across what
was left of the bridge every morning.

eThis wooden attraction is in

the Indian region of Bihar and
known as the Well of Death.
Motorbikes and even cars defy
gravity in the steep-walled
arena. Riders collect their prizes
for their daredevil feats from the
spectators at the end of every
performance. The vehicles are
able to sustain its grip on the
wall by virtue of friction and
centrifugal force.

rdasia.com 67
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

fThe highest and fastest

roller coaster in Europe is in
Salou, Spain. Anyone daring to
ride on the 112-metre-high
‘vertical accelerator’ needs
nerves of steel and a good
stomach because the Red Force
accelerates to 180 kilometres per
hour in just five seconds.

TNothing stands a chance

if it gets between these jaws. With a
bite force of up to 1.8 tonnes, the
great white shark is arguably one of
the most powerful living creatures
in the world. In fact, it could
probably even tear this shark cage
apart. It is just as well that the shark
in the photo seems totally
uninterested in taking a bite.

68 november 2021
P H O T O S : ( S H A R K ) D A V I D W A L L /A L A M Y S T O C K P H O T O ; ( R O L L E R C O A S T E R ) D A V I D C A R A V I A S /A L A M Y S T O C K P H O T O ;
( B U N G E E J U M P) A N A G I O T I S K O T S O V O L O S /A L A M Y S T O C K P H O T O

cJumping off the 43-metre-high Kawarau Gorge Suspension

Bridge in New Zealand takes a lot of courage. Yet, every year,
hundreds of people with hearts pounding and pulses soaring line
up to bungee jump off this structure. All that keeps them safe is the
elastic cord tied around their ankles – which makes sure the
jumpers are catapulted back into the air before they hit the ground.

rdasia.com 69
 THEN AND NOW

HIGH
HEELS
There comes a time in a woman’s life – usually
after she’s been wearing them for several hours
– when she wonders why high heels were ever
invented. Allow us to enlighten you ...

BY Zoë Meunier

I
t seems we can point the finger horses, heels became a debonair dis-
waaay back to the Persian cavalry play of just how rich one was.
in the tenth century. Yes, the first Persian couture spread to Europe
heels in history were a strictly male at the turn of the 17th century, when
PHOTO: GET T Y IMAGES

phenomenon. As those manly Per- charismatic Persian king Shah Abbas I

sian horsemen galloped across the sent a delegation of soldiers to Russia,
plains, wielding their bows and ar- Germany and Spain to gain support in
rows, they found that wearing a deli- defeating the Ottoman Empire. ‘Per-
cate heel kept their feet stable in their sia-mania’ ensued, as a boom of in-
stirrups. Since only the wealthy owned terest in Persian goods saw European

70 november 2021
rdasia.com 71
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

aristocrats embracing heels, hoping to be unconcerned with sullying his

some of that virile Persian mascu- shoes, but also powerful enough to
linity would rub off (along with, in- crush his enemies underfoot.
advertently, the skin on the backs of Being a king (and perhaps slightly
their heels). egotistical), Louis passed an edict in
As the heel trend gained legs, men 1670 stating that only nobility could
donned heels for the same reason wear red heels – disobedience meant
many women wear them today – the potential beheading, a fairly strong
lovely shape they bestowed upon disincentive. Artworks of the time
one’s calf. Male fashion became all show exactly who was in the King’s
about emphasising the legs: high favour – the higher the heel of the
heels were teamed with tight, colour- courtier, the closer the kinship.
ed stockings and loose breeches. The So what had women been up to
look was particularly popular among while all this male one-upmanship
rich courtiers and kings – none more was going on? While not wearing
so than King Louis XIV. heels as such, as early as the begin-
Much like Christian Louboutin, ning of the 16th century, the women
who later became famous for his of Europe had been staggering around
towering heels with a red sole, Lou- in towering platform shoes, some as
is’s signature look was tight-fitting high as 60 cm.
shoes with a red heel. Heels of any Known as ‘chopines’, these mon-
kind in the French court at Versailles strosities are believed to have origi-
were an important status sym- nated with Venetian prostitutes
bol, but the red Louis heel for ‘heightened’ sex appeal,
was especially sy mbolic WELL but soon became popular
– meaning its owner was HEELED among aristocrats for their
not only wealthy enough Stepping out abi lit y to prevent t heir
through the
ages

16th Century 1670s 1920s

CHOPINES LOUIS XIV HEEL PUMPS

72 november 2021
 High Heels

clothes dangling in the filth that cov- exceptions – such as cowboys (who
ered the streets. wear heeled boots for the same rea-
Of course, there’s no use keeping sons as the Persian cavalry); rock stars
your clothes out of muck if you end up (The Beatles rocked ‘Beatle boots’ fea-
falling face-first into it, so to keep from turing pointed toes and Cuban heels,
keeling over on their mini-stilts, these while glam rockers from David Bowie
Euro aristocrats would use maids, to KISS to Motley Crue broke all kinds
male servants and noblemen as hu- of heel barriers); and vertically chal-
man crutches. As for disembarking lenged actors and politicians, from Al
from a gondola, don’t even ask. Pacino to Vladimir Putin.
Accidents did invariably occur, and As women legged it into the 20th
while women were apparently happy century, heeled boots were hugely
to risk life and limb, chopines were popular – especially ones with buttons
eventually legislated against. lining the side of the leg, although
With the exception of French Queen floor-trailing fashions meant they
Catherine de Medici in the 16th cen- could barely be seen.
tury, who at 150 cm tall wanted some As hemlines rose in the 1920s,
additional height for her wedding, it women did the Charleston in pumps.
wasn’t until the start of the 18th cen- These featured elongated toes and
tury that women adopted more tra- thick heels, detailed with bows or
ditional high heels for themselves. crisscrossed straps, but they stayed
European noblemen took this as a chunky-looking until after World War
personal affront to their masculinity II, which introduced the ultimate high
and began abandoning their heels in heel – the stiletto.
droves. By the 1730s, heels had all but Named after an Italian knife with a
disappeared from men’s fashion, nev- needle-sharp point, the stiletto was
er to return again but for a few notable engineered sometime between 1948

1990s 2000s 2020s

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD MANOLO BLAHNIK CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

rdasia.com 73
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

and 1954, when techniques invented Throughout the bra-burning 1970s,

for aircraft carriers were applied to many women rejected heels altogeth-
shoe construction. er, thanks to their incompatibility with
The stiletto’s genius was a small long skirts, daisy-picking and festivals
metal ‘shank’, which joined the in- in paddocks. But as power dressing
side of the shoes so the heel and foot asserted itself in the 1980s, the bold
of the shoe could operate separately, working woman needed a shoe that
while the use of aluminium and in- complemented her razor-sharp shoul-
jection moulding to fuse metal and der pads and sky-high perm, so stilet-
plastic made it possible to raise heels tos rose to the fore again.
higher than ever. In the 1990s, the high
At first, stilettos caused GLAM ROCKERS end of fashion also saw
some controversy, as FROM DAVID the high end of heels.
they began creating little BOWIE TO KISS In 1993, super model
holes in great ballrooms BROKE HEEL Naomi Campbell took
everywhere, but this de- BARRIERS to the catwalk in a pair
sign flaw was overlooked of Vivienne Westwood
when women realised just pl at for m he el s t h at
how good they looked in nearly put chopines to
them. The structure of the shame – and proceed-
shoe elongated the legs, ed to fall in a big heap
thrust the chest forwards moments later. Where’s
and tilted the bottom a human crutch when
backwards, accentuating you need one?
feminine curves. A similar fate befell
The stiletto’s reputation as a weapon another ambassador for sky-high
in a woman’s seduction arsenal was heels – fictional character Carrie Brad-
aided by movie stars, not least screen shaw in TV’s Sex and the City. Manolo
icon Marilyn Monroe, whose famous Blahnik-loving Carrie discovered how
wiggly walk was not just honed by the treacherous heels could be when she
10 cm heels she wore, but also her se- became ‘fashion roadkill’ after her
cret trick of cutting half a centimetre own spectacular catwalk tumble.
off one heel to double the sway factor. And today? Protracted coronavirus
By the 1960s, women had a new lockdowns have seen many a heel
style icon – Audrey Hepburn, whose gathering dust in the back of a cup-
kitten heels in Breakfast at Tiffany’s board, as ugg boots became the stay-
would see many women adopting a at-home footwear de jour. Only time
lower heel again, the balls of their feet will tell which direction heels will
breathing a silent sigh of relief. take next.

74 november 2021
76 november 2021
 HEALTH

How
INSOMNIA
&
DEPRESSION
Are
LINKED
The good news is that treating
one can improve both
BY Lisa Fields

rdasia.com 77
T
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

homas Muller-Rorich fell into a

depression while on holiday with his
family back in 1992, when he was 38.
Thomas found himself inexplicably
unhappy, irritable and tense. He yelled
at his children for playing noisily and picked
fights with his wife over nothing.
After returning home, his mood Globally, both insomnia and de-
didn’t lift; he lost his appetite and pression affect hundreds of millions
couldn’t concentrate at the electrical of people of all ages. Approximately
engineering firm that he ran. Two one-third of the population in Sin-
years later, he was formally diag- gapore and Malaysia have reported
nosed with depression. experiencing insomnia as a medical
Shortly after he began experienc- condition that impacts their sleep.
ing insomnia, waking at 4am with The World Health Organization
anxious feelings that prevented him (WHO) estimates 264 million people
from falling back asleep, making it globally experience depression. And
even harder for him to be productive. some people experience both insom-
“The combination of depression nia and depression simultaneously.

A L L I L L U S T R AT I O N S: © O L LY K AVA /I S T O C K /G E T T Y I M A G E S P L U S
and insomnia definitely made things “Sleep disorders and depression
worse,” says Thomas, now 67. “I felt often occur together,” says psycho-
empty and numb, and that everything therapist and somnologist Dr Hans-
I had done in life was wrong.” Gunter Weess. “Up to 80 per cent of
It’s becoming increasingly clear depressions are accompanied by
that insomnia and depression are sleep disorders. They’re like siblings.”
linked. A widely cited 2011 German And about half the number of peo-
meta-analysis showed that insom- ple with insomnia report symptoms
nia doubles the risk of developing of depression. “Their risk of develop-
depression compared with those ing depression is up to three times
who have no sleep difficulties. And higher, compared with people with-
in 2020, follow-up research found out sleep disorders,” adds Dr Weess.
that the conditions have a bi-direc- Both conditions can negatively
tional relationship, and that early affect health: people with chron-
treatment for insomnia may help to ic insomnia are more likely to have
prevent depression, although more weaker immune systems and get sick
study is needed. more often, and they’re at greater risk

78 november 2021
 How Insomnia & Depression Are Linked

of high blood pressure, type 2 diabe- brain and all relevant brain centres
tes and heart disease. People with go into a sleep state. We assume that
chronic depression are more likely in insomnia, some parts of the brain
to experience stress, chronic pain or do not sleep as deeply.”
weight gain, and they may be at risk Repeatedly losing sleep this way
of misusing drugs or alcohol. can affect mood.
People may not always know which “In your wak ing hours, you’re
came first, insomnia or depression, more likely to be irritable, a bit ex-
but it isn’t necessary to be sure. Re- hausted, a bit less likely to want to
s e a r c h s ho w s t h a t interact socially,” says
treating one condition Dr Chisholm.
may improve sy mp- If you find yourself
toms of both. WITH staring at t he clock
“It’s not so much a CHRONIC all night, panick ing
case of the chicken or INSOMNIA, that you’ll be a wreck
the egg, what caused YOU FEEL tomor row, you may
what,” says Dr Da n HELPLESS, feel powerless to help
Chisholm, programme WHICH IS you rsel f. “We w a nt
ma nager on menta l
TYPICAL OF to have control over
health for the W HO.
DEPRESSION, ever y t hing, but you
“The things that might
help are going to help
TOO c a n’t c on t r ol y ou r
sleep; sleep is involun-
both of those condi- tary,” Dr Riemann says.
tions.” “Chronic insomnia means feeling
helpless. And feeling helpless is a typ-
Why insomnia may ical feature of depression.”
increase the risk of
depression Why depression may
People w ith insomnia may have increase the risk of
trouble shutting down their minds at insomnia
bedtime. One classic symptom of depression
“They have very frequent, brief is altered sleep habits. Many people
wake-reactions all the time,” says with depression experience insomnia
clinical psychophysiologist Dr Diet- as a matter of course.
er Riemann, founder of the Europe- “Often, depression is diagnosed
an Insomnia Network. Dr Reimann through a checklist, and that in-
co-aut hored t he 2011 a nd 2020 cludes sleeplessness as well as irrita-
studies mentioned earlier. “Usually, bility, feelings of sadness and so on,”
if you’re a good sleeper, your whole says Dr Chisholm. “There’s a clear

rdasia.com 79
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

relationship, in that sense, between treatment for both conditions. “If you
depression and one of its underlying have severe depression coupled with
symptoms.” insomnia, you should not neglect the
Sometimes, traumatic life circum- insomnia,” Dr Riemann advises.
stances elicit such strong responses “Many doctors will say, ‘Okay, I’ll
that people may experience both de- give you a sleeping pill for a week or
pression and insomnia. so.’ But there’s no special attention
“Someone may be in a state of psy- paid to it. It’s good to have an eye
chological grief or stress that causes on both.”
depression symptoms Treatments for one
and insomnia symp- condition may help to
toms,” says Dr  Alex- alleviate both, but this
a nder Sweet ma n, a TECHNIQUES, isn’t always the case.
resea rch associate SUCH AS This is why doctors
who studies insomnia PHYSICAL recommend treating
at Flinders University AND MENTAL bot h i nsom n ia a nd
in Adelaide. RELAXATION depression, if you real-
“The pandemic has AND ise that you have both
led to an increase of THOUGHT- conditions. If you don’t
mental health prob-
STOPPING, realise that you have
lems cover i ng de-
pression and insom-
CAN HELP both, treating one dis-
order may still help.
n i a ,” D r R i e m a n n
adds. “It’s fear-associated: can I get Experts recommend:
infected? The lockdown. The so- Catch insomnia early. The 2011 Ger-
cial consequences. The econom- man study suggests insomnia may be
ic consequences. And many peo- an early sign of depression, and that
ple have worked from their home, people with chronic insomnia may
so the structure of their lives was double their risk of developing de-
altered.” pression.
“There is some evidence that iden-
Treatments are available tifying and treating insomnia symp-
for both conditions toms early can reduce depression
Coping with insomnia or depression symptoms and also prevent them
by itself may seem draining; hav- from becoming worse in the future,”
ing both problems simultaneously Dr Sweetman confirms.
may feel like a great challenge. But Make lifestyle changes. Modest
there are many resources to help you changes may reduce depression risk
find relief. Whenever possible, seek and protect against insomnia. “You

80 november 2021
 How Insomnia & Depression Are Linked

don’t need to rush off to see a spe-

cialist; some people might end up
there, but there are other things we
can do to take care of ourselves,” says
Dr Chisholm. “Physical exercise is
very important for good sleep and
protection against depression, as are
healthy eating habits and staying off
alcohol. Be active and go back to the
things that interest you and give you
pleasure.”
Opening up to a trusted friend
about your struggles with insom-
nia or a depressed mood may help.
“This can often be very therapeutic
in its own way,” Dr Chisholm says.
“If there are still issues, then you
might need, and want, to seek
help from a health professional.”
Limit sleep medication. Sleep-
ing pills should be taken only for
a short time, if at all, because you
may develop a dependence. Plus, the administer CBT-I may suggest that
medicine won’t address underlying you stop napping, create a calming
causes of your insomnia. bedtime routine, avoid looking at the
“A hy pnotic works well in the clock while you’re in bed, use your
short term,” says Dr Riemann, but it bed only for sleep and sex, get out of
doesn’t do anything to address sleep bed to read or do something relaxing
issues in a sustained way. “It only if you can’t fall asleep, and always get
helps you when you take it.” up at the same time each morning.
S e e k co gnit ive b e havioural Consider therapy and antidepres-
therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). sants. For depression coupled with
Learning techniques to help you insomnia, going for talk therapy and
sleep more effectively may help with taking antidepressants may improve
both insomnia and depression. CBT-I both conditions. Sedative antidepres-
involves thought-stopping and phys- sants taken in the evening have prov-
ical-and-mental-relaxation tech- en to be effective in the treatment of
niques and can have a positive effect depression with insomnia.
on both disorders. Therapists who Not all antidepressants have the

rdasia.com 81
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

OLDER ADULTS: IS IT DEPRESSION?

It may be difficult for older adults don’t have follow their daily
older adults to this experience. routine. They may also
recognise that they’re Instead, they feel more experience difficulty
depressed. Many tired, irritable or thinking clearly or
people equate restless than usual. concentrating.
depression with a They may have trouble Fortunately, seeking
constant feeling of making decisions, or treatment can alleviate
sadness, but some feel unmotivated to these symptoms.

same impact on insomnia. The most depression once more in the early
common t ype of antidepressant, 2000s but recovered again with the
selective serotonin reuptake in- help of doctors and medication.
hibitors (SSRIs), may cause sleep “I was happy to see that depres-
problems in some people. sion – and insomnia – are treatable,”
“Some of them may induce insom- he says. “I became myself again, was
nia, maybe in 20 to 30 per cent of sub- able to show my love for my family,
jects,” Dr Riemann points out. and enjoyed work.”
“You shouldn’t take these drugs If you’re experiencing insomnia
at night. Take them in the morning and depression, struggling with sleep
so that there’s not so much effect on and with your emotions, it doesn’t
sleep.” matter which problem developed
Thomas Muller-Rorich found re- first; seek treatment from your doctor
lief from his depression and insom- and know that self-care can also help
nia after getting psychoanalysis and you get through it.
taking antidepressants and sleeping “Things can and do get better,”
pills. He experienced insomnia and adds Dr Chisholm.

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number, meaning it has infinite decimal places. WWW.LIVESCIENCE.COM

82 november 2021
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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

QUOTABLE QUOTES

We lift our gazes I am not the richest,

not to what stands smartest or most
between us but what talented person in
stands before us. We the world, but
close the divide I succeed because
because we know to I keep going and
put our future first, going and going.
we must first put our SYLVESTER STALLONE,
ACTOR
differences aside.
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out REMEMBER,
our arms to one TODAY IS THE
another. We seek
harm to none and TOMORROW
harmony for all. YOU WORRIED
AMANDA GORMAN,
SPOKEN POET AND ACTIVIST
ABOUT
YESTERDAY.
DALE CARNEGIE,
WRITER

Listen to If a rich man

your body. is proud of
I listen to mine his wealth, he
should not be
PHOTOS: GET Y Y IMAGES

and every day praised until it

it tells me not is known how
to do Zumba. he employs it.
SOCR ATES,
AMY SCHUMER, COMEDIAN
GREEK PHILOSOPHER

84 november 2021
 TA L K S

WHAT’S NEW IN
RD TALKS

Join the happy readers who have downloaded our podcasts over
140,000 times. Each story guaranteed to thrill, engage and inspire.
READ BY Zoë Meunier

BUT WE’RE ALIVE! BOYS TOGETHER WHO KILLED

“How I nearly died at Simon Stephenson’s SUE SNOW?
4.34pm on a very older brother walked the The answer was surprising,
ordinary Tuesday.” world ahead of him. the motive... chilling.
Listen to this harrowing But when Dominic is Discover what was behind
retelling of what it’s like caught by tragedy, how a carefully planned
to be at the mercy of can the younger brother poisoning case that
the ocean. learn to take the lead? shocked the world.

TO LISTEN GO TO:
www.rdasia.com/podcasts
 QUIZ

Checkmate! Around the world, no board game

fascinates more people than chess

BY Doris Kochanek

QUESTIONS b. having the inventor’s head cut

off

1
According to legend, the inventor c. giving his daughter as a wife to
of chess asked his ruler for grains the inventor instead of rice
of rice as a reward. One on the first d. dying before fulfilling the wish
square, two on the second, on all fur-

2
ther squares twice as many as on the During the 18th century, chess
PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

preceding one. His wish was initially grew quickly in popularity in

granted. Then it turned out an unim- Europe. Chess clubs and so-
aginably large amount of rice – 18 tril- called chess cafés were founded,
lion grains – would be needed for this where like-minded people met to
reward. The ruler got out of this by: play. The most famous was proba-
a. ordering the inventor to count bly the Café de la Régence in Paris,
the grains of rice where boards could be rented. Who

86 november 2021
rdasia.com 87
 R E A DER’S DIGE ST

is said to have met there for either made it from orphan to world chess
the first or second time? champion. What is a Queen’s Gambit
a. Camille Claudel and Auguste in chess?
Rodin a. an opening move
b. Karl Marx and Friedrich b. a game that is broken off
Engels c. a defensive strategy
c. Marie and Pierre Curie d. an attacking move
d. George Washington and

5
Thomas Jefferson The chess board is a square
shape with a total of 64 smaller

3
Today, chess computers regular- squares. How much of the board
ly defeat even the best players in remains free if all pieces are placed at
the world. In 1996, a computer the start of the game?
managed to win a game against a a. a quarter
reigning world champion for the first b. one-third
time. Who was playing against whom c. half
at that time? d. two-thirds
a. Big Bird against Magnus

6
Carlsen In 1984 Benny Andersson und
b. Deep Blue against Garry Björn Ulvaeus, who rose to
Kasparov fame as members of the pop
c. Red King against Boris Spassky group Abba, released their album
d. Tiny Tim and Jan Timman Chess. What is the plot of the musical
of the same name, to which Benny

4
The Queen’s Gambit is a hit se- and Björn composed the music?
ries on Netflix. The main char- a. Richard Nixon’s visit to China
acter is a young woman who in 1972
b. the rivalry of two chess players
Chess musical: Björn Ulvaeus (left), lyricist during the Cold War
Tim Rice (centre) and Benny Andersson
c. a game of chess between
Churchill and Stalin
d. the rivalry between two
elderly chess-playing Moscovite
neighbours

7
With a pawn a player is allowed
to advance only one square –
except for the opening, where
he is allowed a double move. What

88 november 2021
happens to a pawn that reaches the
opponent’s baseline?
a. It falls out of the game
b. It captures two freely chosen
pawns of the opponent
c. It is exchanged for a queen,
bishop, knight or rook of the
same colour
d. The player earns a new pawn Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen’s Gambit

8 10
Napoleon called chess an im- In Harry Potter and the Phi-
perial game, Goethe a touch- losopher’s Stone, the famous
stone of intellect, Freud called sorcerer’s apprentice and his
it noble. What did the brilliant Al- friends have to win a game of chess.
bert Einstein think about the game? W hat special feature did author
He reportedly said that chess was: J.K.  Rowling come up with for the
a. the fastest game in the world magical version of the game?
b. the combination of art and a. the pieces are alive
science b. the kings are invisible
c. a child’s pursuit c. the rooks keep changing colour
d. a fool’s folly d. the pieces speak

9 11
Tournament players all over the Many experts consider Bobby
world can recognise the pieces Fischer to be the best chess
at a glance even in the middle player of all time. At the age
of a game, thanks to the so-called of only 15, he became the youngest
Staunton design. The Internation- grandmaster, and in 1972 the US-born
al Chess Federation, commonly re- player won the world title. But Fischer
ferred to by its French acronym FIDE, was also considered a difficult charac-
adopted this appearance of the pieces ter. What is true about him?
as a standard when FIDE was found- a. he repeatedly made anti-
ed in 1924. What caused the Staunton Semitic statements
figures to become established? b. he sometimes made eccentric
a. their designer was a sponsor demands at tournaments
of FIDE c. he was wanted by arrest
b. they lie particularly well in the warrant in the US after 1992
hand d. all of the above
c. they could be mass produced
d. all of the above >> Turn to page 90 for quiz answers

rdasia.com 89
 ANSWERS TO CHESS QUIZ

1 a. According to legend, the ruler’s

arithmetician advised his master
to order the inventor of the game to
7 c. When a pawn reaches the op-
ponent’s baseline, it turns into a
queen, bishop, knight or rook. Usual-
count the grains of rice if he wanted ly the queen is chosen because she is
them. the most powerful piece in the game.

2 b. Revolutionaries and life-long

friends Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels are said to have met for an
8 a. According to Einstein, chess is
the fastest game in the world be-
cause you have to arrange thousands
aperitif in the Café de la Régence in of thoughts every second.
Paris in August, 1844.

3 b. In 1996, Deep Blue beat world

champion Garry Kasparov in a
9 c. T he desig n of t he pieces,
named after the British chess
master Howard Staunton, originated
game. The computer was developed in the middle of the 19th century. It
by the IBM group. The following prevailed because the pieces could
year, after further improvements, – among other things – be mass-
Deep Blue won a match of six games produced at low cost.
3½–2½ under tournament conditions
against Kasparov.
10 a. In magic chess, the piec-
es are alive. In the game that

4 a. The Queen’s Gambit is an

opening in chess in which the
pawn makes the first move before
Harry, Ron and Hermione play they
are also life-size.

the queen.
11 d. The fact that his mother was
Jewish did not prevent Bobby

5 c. In the starting position there

are 32 pieces on the board. This
leaves 32 squares free, which is half
Fischer from making anti-Semitic
statements. In 1975, he lost his world
title to Anatoly Karpov after refusing
of the board. to defend it because he could not
agree with FIDE on the terms of the

6 b. The musical Chess is about the

rivalry of two chess players during
the Cold War. During this period,
match. The US issued a warrant for
Fischer’s arrest in 1992. He had par-
ticipated in a match in Yugoslavia
games between Soviet and Western and violated sanctions of the US gov-
players were often stylised into con- ernment. Fischer never entered his
frontations of the political systems. home country again.

90 november 2021
 TELL ME WHY...

Toothpaste Is
MINT
Flavoured
While chocolate toothpaste might
sound delicious, there is a reason for the refreshing taste
BY Kelly Bryant

W
ho decided the BCE. This was long before the tooth-
default flavour of brush as we know it today was in-
toothpaste should vented in 1938. Similarly, around 500
be mint? The an- BCE, Ancient Greeks and Romans
swer lies some- were also believed to have started
where back in history, with a range using some form of toothpaste, but
of hits and misses of other flavour it was the Chinese who got creative
options. with the stuff, using an array of dif-
“People prefer mint to other ingre- ferent substances to freshen their
dients because it has a high content of mouths, like ginseng, herbal mints
a key active ingredient – menthol,” ex- and salt.
plains Colgate spokesperson Catalina “Be thank ful for f lavouring in
Lee. “Menthol tricks the brain, send- toothpaste,” says Lee. “Brushing is a
ing a signal that creates a sensation boring routine, and flavour engages
that you have ice in your mouth. It’s a people in their brushing. And with-
PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

refreshing and clean taste.” out mint or other flavours, today’s

In Colgate’s case, the brand be- toothpaste would taste unpleasant,
gan using peppermint and spear- bitter, astringent and metallic.”
mint oil to f lavour its toothpaste If you’re interested in taking a walk
in the late 1800s. According to Lee, on the wild side, she notes that there
the Egyptians were the first to use are other flavour profiles to consider
a teeth-cleaning paste around 500 such as clove, anise and citrus oils.

rdasia.com 91
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

Humour On The Job

“Scotch and toilet water?”

C A R TO O N: L E O C U L L U M/C A R TO O N C O L L E C T I O N S .C O M
Cows Theory Quickly realising that the injury
My professor once went to hear would require sutures, he voice-
the esteemed French philosopher texted his nurse: “My mum has a bad
Jacques Derrida speak. The entire cut. I’m on the way to the office to
talk was about cows; everyone was sew her up.”
flummoxed but listened carefully His ‘smart’ phone transcribed the
and took notes about … cows. There last part of his message: “I am on the
was a short break, and when Derrida way to the office to sober up.”
came back, he announced, “I’m told SUBMITTED BY TERRY KELLEN
it is pronounced ‘chaos’.” @pmgentry
Pushing The Envelope
Wrong Thread What happens when you rearrange
While out walking with my son, a the letters of MAILMEN? They get
doctor, I fell and cut my hand. really upset. @DADSAYSJOKE

92 november 2021
 All In A Day’s Work

Bigger And Boulder

This Twitter alert from the police
sheriff’s office in San Miguel,
Colorado, leaves no stone unturned:
“A large boulder the size of a large
boulder is blocking the southbound
lane of Highway 145.” @SheriffAlert

Isn’t It Obvious?
Teachers share questionable
questions they’ve been asked: DON’T CALL US,
• “What are those pyramid-shaped
things in Egypt called?”
WE’LL CALL YOU
• “If the patient has a brain These human resource
haemorrhage, can we tie a managers shared the oddest
tourniquet around the neck to job candidates they’ve
stop it?” interviewed.
• “Well, I’ve taken this test twice,
but everyone else in here hasn’t “What about the job
taken it, so am I taking my test for interests you?”
the first time or the third time?” “What job do you mean?”
• “How old was the average 18 year “This job, the job you
old in 1942?” Reddit.com
applied for...”
Physical Distancing “What job is this again?
What do you do here?”
I coughed and my wife, who’s also
working from home, broke out the
tape measure to make sure I was two She listed all of her
metres away from her. ex-boyfriends who currently
VIC TAFUR, SPORTSWRITER worked there and said she
couldn’t wait to see the looks
I L LU S T R AT I O N: G E T T Y I M AG E S

The Customer Is Always Right on their faces when she

I had an angry couple return a new showed up to work.
microwave to our store because it
was ‘blue’ and they hadn’t ordered a “And what do you think
blue one. I had to open the packaging you could bring to this role?”
in front of them, peel off the blue “Hire me and find out.”
protective plastic cover and reveal ... Reddit.com
their silver microwave. @OhOlivera

rdasia.com 93
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Travellers on Western
Australia’s backroads
need to be prepared for
rough conditions, and to
bring plenty of water

94 november 2021
 TRAVEL

There’s
NOWHERE
Like The
OUTBACK
A road through a remote Australian region
leads to glorious landscapes and insights
into the First Nation’s ancient culture

BY Bob Ramsay
FROM CANADIAN GEOGR APHIC

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

WE WERE LUCKY.
We got our flat tyre as we drove 34,000 people. And in May 2018, we
into the Mount Barnett Roadhouse got the chance to visit.

PHOTOS (PRE VIOUS SPRE AD AND THIS ONE): GE T T Y IMAGES

on Western Australia’s notorious The Gibb is an iconic, tyre-rip-
Gibb River Road. Luckier still, three ping gravel road that runs 660 kilo-
burly guys changed our tyre, with metres through the region along, as
dire warnings to get to the Over The its name suggests, the Gibb River. In
Range service station to fix it, pronto. the May-through-October dry season,
Otherwise, well ... I guess that’s why it’s hot and desolate. Still, your four-
our rented four-wheel drive came wheel drive better have an air-intake
with a satellite phone, an emergency snorkel so it can ford the dozens of
locator and 40 litres of water. rivers you’ll cross. Oh, and watch
My wife, Jean, and I had wanted to out for the ‘road trains’, those linked
experience one of the English-speak- trucks that can measure up to 53 me-
ing world’s most remote places that tres – and take three kilometres and
non-explorers can navigate on their clouds of blinding dust to pass.
own: the Kimberley region, an area In the wet season, don’t even think
in the northwestern corner of Aus- of driving the Gibb. You’ll drown in
tralia, much bigger than Germany the rain-flooded plains that for half
or Japan, with a population of just the year are bone dry.

96 november 2021
 There’s Nowhere Like The Outback

The only way to explore the Kimber- his flying hours in the oil sands in
ley is by this very bad road, or by air. northern Alberta. He also flew in the
We did the latter first, taking the lay of forests of Papua New Guinea, Malay-
the land from the sky before we set off sia and Indonesia before returning
down the Gibb on four wheels. To do home and rising to be, at age 30, the
that, we went to the jumping-off point chief pilot of a company whose 25 hel-
for helicopter tours in the Kimberley: icopters are opening the Kimberley to
the HeliSpirit hangar in Kununurra. visitors drawn to dramatic, relatively
“You from Canada, mate?” asks untouched landscapes.
James Bondfield, our young helicop- During the next two days, Bond-
ter pilot. field, like any great guide, takes us
“Uh, yes, I am.” When we Canadi-
ans open our mouths in Australia,
we’re almost always mistaken for
Americans.
“I worked in Canada,” says Bond-
field, explaining that he had built up

The Kimberley region’s many

attractions include (from top to
bottom): blue-winged kookaburra
and other wildlife, the Pentecost
River, and the King George Falls

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

where we want to go, then shows us us. And so, the next morning at
his own secret places there. We first dawn, we land on a ledge of a trib-
picnic atop King George Falls in the utary of the Berkeley River, feeling
Balanggarra Indigenous Protected safe in Bondfield’s charge. And it
Area, a one-million-hectare home- doesn’t matter that the one barra-
land of First Peoples in Australia mundi I hook gets away. What mat-
and whose rock art, dating back ters is the thrill of watching the sun
more than 40,000 years, is drawing rise over one of the most ancient
global attention. landscapes on the planet.
Bondf ield lands us near some
caves covered in the ochre images LATER THAT DAY, BONDFIELD drops
of ancient plants and animals. Their us back in Kununurra, the starting
brightness is barely faded despite point for our journey on the Gibb.
tens of thousands of years of tor- W hile drivers often carr y t wo
rential weather. We spares because
crawl into crevices tyres get shredded,
all afternoon, snap
THE CAVE not just f lattened,
photos and return PAINTINGS ARE on t he Gibb, t he
with shots of paint- rental company we
ings that are among
AMONG THE hire our four-wheel
the oldest made by OLDEST MADE drive from assures
humans any where
in the world.
BY HUMANS us we’ll be fine with
just one.
From t here, we ANYWHERE Three days later,
f ly to t he remote
Berkeley River
IN THE WORLD after we got our flat
changed by those
Lodge, a 20-cabin three burly men, we
resort on the Kim- limp into Over The
berley Coast. Over dinner of grilled Range, the garage seemingly at the
barramundi, Bondfield asks if we’ve end of the universe, to get the tyre
had a chance to go fishing in Aus- fixed. It looks like a junkyard, filled
tralia yet. No, we have not – not with with hollowed-out tyres and skele-
local rivers filled with ‘freshies’ and tons of cars.
‘salties’: fresh- and salt-water croc- Owner Neville Hernon – who looks
odiles. The former may attack you, like the Mad Max of tyre repair – lives
while the latter will. on-site with his wife. Their leaflet,
“Well, if you want to get up before pinned up at every roadhouse along
sunrise tomorrow, I can f ly you to the Gibb River Road, says: “Drop in
my favourite fishing hole,” he tells to our depot for advice, have a look

98 november 2021
 There’s Nowhere Like The Outback

The Berkeley River Lodge is so remote that it can’t be accessed

by road – visitors have to be flown in

at our Wet Season photos, or just to Aussie Outback wrangler. John Ben-
say hello.” nett is tall, dust-tanned, with tall
As we wait for Hernon to fix our flat, leather boots that even the fangs of
we do have a look at those wet season the local, lethal king brown snake
photos. All the scraggly desert sur- surely couldn’t pierce.
rounding us was under water. Every- “Howdy,” Bennett greets us. “How
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BERKELEY RIVER LODGE

where. Hernon soon approaches with are y’all?”

a grim smile and bad news: the tyre Hmmm ... Aussie wranglers don’t
has to be replaced. talk that way. Texas cowboys do. It
It takes him 15 minutes to do just turns out that Bennett, CEO of the
that. And so we continue to our next local Imintji Aboriginal Corporation
stop, happy as clams that we had to and manager of a campsite and arts
drive only 20 kilometres to reach the centre for tourists, came to Austral-
Over The Range garage, and know- ia in 2005 from Waco, Texas, where
ing the law of supply and demand is he had been a mining supervisor.
working perfectly in the Outback. Bennett was drawn to the area by
When we arrive in the tiny settle- the love of a woman. Of Cherokee
ment of Imintji, we are greeted by a descent, he understood first-hand
man who appears to be the perfect the hardships of Indigenous people,

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

and in 2011 he started working for is working with the regional and
a group of Aboriginal people in the federal governments to make sure
Kimberley area whose ancestors are local Aboriginal peoples, specifical-
believed to have been the first people ly the Imintji, Tirrilantji and Yulm-
in Western Australia. bu, get the rights, grants and respect
they’re entitled to.
IMINTJI, WHICH MEANS ‘THE PLACE Bennett and local artist Edna Dale
TO SIT DOWN’ in the Ngarinyin lan- are the public faces of the rise of Ab-
guage, was established as an outsta- original tourism in Western Austral-
tion in the 1950s. Outstations are ia. Dale is the daughter of the late
small communities on traditional community elder Jack Dale Menge-
land, and this one serves as an im- nen, one of Australia’s most revered
portant stop-over place along the Aboriginal artists and a custodian of
Gibb River Road. A big part of Ben- the folklore and stories of his people.
nett’s job as CEO of the community Edna learned to paint at her father’s
feet. Her work as an interpreter of
John Bennett, CEO of the Imintji ancient rock art is sold at the Imint-
Aboriginal Corporation, and David ji Art Centre and regional museums.
Bradman, a member of the Imintji arts The centre is both a gallery and a
community, examine Aboriginal rock art
school – during our visit, half a doz-
en artists are at work, nearly all do-
ing rock art.
That tradition is kept alive today
through the Camping With Custodi-
ans programme, which lets visitors
stay on Aboriginal land and learn
from locals; the camping fees stay
in the community.
During our time in this dusty little
art-outpost near the middle of the
Gibb, we run into a huge subculture
of Australian travel known as ‘cara-
vanning’. The variety of recreation-
PH OTO: BO B R A M S AY

al vehicles and people we encoun-

ter along the Gibb – from wealthy
retirees in super-deluxe caravans
to impoverished students in beat-
en-up Volkswagen vans – speaks
to the allure of this lifestyle. A few
 There’s Nowhere Like The Outback

Above: A Camping With Custodians

art class; (right) some of the artwork
created in the class based on Aboriginal
rock art techniques and themes

caravanners stay overnight at small

campgrounds, such as the one in
Imintji; many more stay at big ones
like El Questro, which can hold 850
people. They may spend a week on
the road or, as thousands do each
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CAMPING WITH CUSTODIANS

year, drive the 15,000-k ilometre

Highway 1, which rings the country.
Bennett is eager to get more of as it serves time-starved, demand-
these caravans to stay overnight at ing visitors like us. Bennett is cer-
Imintji. Not that it’s short on busi- tain that it can.
ness. Almost everyone travelling the “It’s easy to think Aboriginal peo-
Gibb stops there for fuel and drinks, ples and tourists have nothing in
and maybe to buy some art. common, except curiosity for the
Before we rattle away from Imint- tourists and paying work for the Ab-
ji and on to Derby, the coastal town original peoples,” he tells us. “Sure,
with the highest tides in Australia, it starts that way, but I’ve seen it
at the end of the Gibb River Road, we grow into real mutual respect.”
wonder if First Peoples tourism in FROM CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC (SEPTEMBER 10,
the region can continue to prosper 2020), © 2020 BY RAMSAY INC.

rdasia.com 101
102 november 2021
 BONUS READ

G
1

BRA I N
2

M
E
T HAT
S REALLY WO R K
Researchers know more than ever about how
puzzles and twisters keep your mind sharp.
(Hint: Start with games that are tough!)
BY Sari Harrar

ILLUSTRATIONS BY Harry Campbell rdasia.com 103

R E A DER’S DIGE ST

T onya Brigham could never

resist a good sudoku – or any sudo-
u nex pec ted: her bra i n seemed
sharper and more focused. “I didn’t
ku. The 50-year-old smoothie-shop have much, if any, brain fog during
owner and mother of two wrestled menopause,” she says. At work, she
with the puzzles while waiting in found she could easily put togeth-
lines and raced to solve them in re- er employee work schedules in her
cord time using strategies plucked head. “A lot of stores use an electron-
f rom YouTube v ideos. “I f it ’s a ic scheduling tool, but I have all the
30-minute puzzle, I try to figure it data in my mind,” she says. “I can
out in 12,” she says. “Sudoku lets me very quickly see the holes and how
challenge myself, take a breather, to fill them. It’s the same with in-
and then go back into the world’s ventory. I think I have that capacity
chaos.” because of the game.”
After several years of playing su- We call them games, but for many
doku, Brigham noticed something people, brainteasers and challenging

104 november 2021

 Brain Games That Really Work

puzzles are serious busi-

ness. American football
legend Tom Brady cred-
its his seven Super Bowl
championships – his most
recent aged 43 – in part to
high-tech brain training 2
games he performs on an
app called BrainHQ. Queen
Elizabeth reportedly keeps
a crossword puzzle stashed
in her royal handbag. In a
2
2019 University of Michi-
gan survey, half the midlife
and older adults said they
played mentally challeng- 1
ing games to maintain or
boost memory.

GAMES SEEM TO WORK „CHALLENGE 1: LATIN SQUARE

In one 2020 University of Edinburgh WHY IT MAY WORK: Latin square puzzles
study, researchers found that 1091 involve shading in blocks in a grid
women and men who f requent- according to a set of specific rules. In a
ly played cards, bingo or chess or University of Sydney study, doing
did crossword puzzles had sharper difficult Latin square puzzles activated
thinking and memory skills – equiv- brain regions that hadn’t been activated
alent to an IQ up to 5.6 points higher in participants when they were working
– than those who rarely did. on easier versions of the puzzle.
The study doesn’t prove that the PLAY IT: Shade in exactly seven of the
puzzles directly led to the higher empty squares in this grid so that: (1)
IQs, but it does show that even peo- there is only one shaded square in
ple who increased their game-play- each row and in each column, (2) no
ing in their 70s seemed to get brain shaded squares touch each other,
benefits within a few years. even diagonally, and (3) the number
“In our older sample, it appears of shaded squares bordering on the
that the cognitive exercise provided squares containing figures is equal to
by playing everyday games staved off the figure in each particular square.
a bit of the natural process of cogni- Answer on page 139.
tive ageing,” says lead study author

rdasia.com 105
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

2
„CHALLENGE 2:
PATH FINDER 3
WHY IT MAY WORK:
We use visuospatial skills
4
constantly, for instance,
when navigating the
supermarket, using a
map, or figuring out how
to use a tool. In a recent
study from Japan’s
University of Tsukuba, 5
people who did visual
reasoning exercises
regularly for several
5
weeks improved their
thinking skills.
PLAY IT: Draw a path
that leads from one of
6 3 4
the maze’s openings to black numbers tell you indicate the total
the other. The path can how many cells the number of cells the
move up, down, left, or path passes through in path passes through in
right but not diagonally that single horizontal both its vertical and
and can pass through or vertical line of boxes. horizontal lines.
any cell only once. The The red numbers Answer on page 139.

Drew M. Altschul, a research psy- exercise keeps our bodies strong,”

chologist at the university. says longevity expert and psychia-
Exactly how games sharpen mem- trist Dr Gary Small. “And now scien-
ory and cognitive function is still tific evidence suggests that mental
something of a mystery. But advanc- exercise keeps our brains young and
es in neuroimaging allow research- limber, too.”
ers to study how the brain reacts to
all sorts of outside stimulation, edg- EXERCISE IS KEY
ing them closer to understanding To get significant cognitive bene-
how brain challengers work. “We’ve fit, you need to tackle a variety of
known for many years that physical word, number and spatial-reasoning

106 november 2021

 Brain Games That Really Work

puzzles, and they need to be tough. But low-dimensional challenges

Does Brigham’s sudoku habit really aren’t tough enough to grow your
deserve the credit for her powerful brain. “Choose challenges that make
memory? Perhaps. you think harder,” says University
But for the activity to be really of Sydney neuroscientist Dr James
effective, you have to up the diffi- Shine. “I know that’s not easy. It’s
culty level pretty consistently. Our uncomfortable and frustrating. We
brains are pretty smart. They adjust make mistakes. Stress hormones
to problem-solving patterns quick- kick in – and that’s actually help-
ly and easily slip into a kind of au- ful for getting your brain onto new
tomatic pilot. That default mode, routes.”
which researchers call ‘low-dimen- Learning happens, he says, when
sional manifold’, is great for helping you feel a little uncomfortable – in
us take care of daily business, such that zone where you get some things
as folding laundry or catching a ball, wrong, but it’s not so difficult that
without having to figure out each you can’t get anything right.
time how to do the task. That said, the challenges don’t

„CHALLENGE 3: BUBBLE MATHS

WHY IT MAY WORK: In a 2019
University of Exeter study of people
aged 60 to 93, researchers found
that those who did number puzzles
at least once a day scored
higher for working memory, 17
11
verbal reasoning and
learning than those who
tried them once a month
or less. 10

PLAY IT: Assign exactly one 8

whole number from one to
seven to each of the seven
bubbles. Each number occurs
only once. The sums of some of
the numbers are revealed in the
areas where their bubbles overlap.
Answer on page 139.

rdasia.com 107
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

have to be the kind of high-tech, squares in the grid rather than in-
personalised games that Tom Brady serting numbers.
uses. For instance, a sudoku fanatic A few years ago, 60 women and
could benefit by switching things men in Australia completed Latin
up and trying a game called Lat- squares as part of a study. As the puz-
in square, in which players shade zles grew more difficult, with fewer
clues in each grid, players slowed
down and made more mis-
takes. That’s when Dr Shine
FEET M H and his team discovered
something surprising: the
players’ brains had
made a shift. “More
H regions of the brain
got involved, espe-
cially in the prefrontal
cortex, an area involved
R D R P with problem-solving, judge-
ment and memory,” Dr Shine
says. “The brain was moving
„CHALLENGE 4: WORD WORM out of the usual patterns we follow
every day, exiting the major highways
WHY IT MAY WORK: In a 2019 UK it normally takes when solving prob-
study, regular word puzzlers bested lems, and taking less-travelled back
those who rarely try these brain twisters roads.”
on 14 tests for attention, information
processing, executive function PLAY WITH FRIENDS
(planning and decision-making), Another easy way to up your brain
working (short-term) and episodic (a game is to play with friends. When
type of long-term) memory. University of Pittsburgh research-
PLAY IT: Join the hexagons by ers performed detailed brain scans
creating words that are only one of 293 older adults for a 2020 study,
letter different from the connecting they found healthier grey matter in
words. Each hexagon must connect the orbitofrontal cortex, middle fron-
to exactly two adjacent ones, tal gyrus and temporal pole – areas
as shown with FEET and R _ _ D. where cell loss contributes to age-re-
The result forms a continuous loop. lated dementia – in those who spent
Answer on page 139. the most time doing brain-stimulat-
ing activities with other people.

108 november 2021

 Brain Games That Really Work

Those who met seven times a week crossword puzzle with a cup of cof-
with friends, neighbours and family fee and Mozart playing on the smart
for activities such as playing board speaker in his study. Brody, who does
games; going to lectures, concerts three or four puzzles a day, says he
or movies; or just chatting had fewer relishes the head-spinning diffi-
tiny holes and spaces in these pink- culty of cryptic crossword puzzles.
ish-grey clumps of cells. “The feeling of accomplishment is
Brains without holes are healthi- wonderful when you get that aha
er. They process information faster, moment and see the cleverness of
are more flexible, and are linked to the person who constructed the puz-
sharper memory in older adults. Ger- zle,” he says.
iatrician Dr Cynthia Felix thinks that Brody also enjoys Words With
brain-stimulating social activities – Friends, an app that lets you play a
even once a week – may encourage Scrabble-like game online with oth-
the growth and maintenance of con- er people. He hopes his puzzle habits
nections between the cells because will help forestall age-related think-
the activ ities keep brain signals ing and memory declines that have
moving. Online virtual get-togethers affected others in his family. “Every-
may help, too. one has moments when they can’t
Kent Brody, a 73-year-old lawyer, come up with a name, but I want to
exemplifies the game-player who avoid bigger problems,” he says.
incorporates his habit into a full life. A word about fun: while specific
By 6.30am he is hard at work on a games seem to tickle specific parts

rdasia.com 109
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

of our brains, researchers have long „CHALLENGE 5:

touted the more general benefits POINTS OF VIEW
that come from giving the mind an
enjoyable time-out. “You have to play WHY IT MAY WORK: Playing all sorts
because it is relaxing and enjoyable, of brain games at home for fun boosts
and it challenges you at the same memory, thinking speed, and other
time,” Dr Small says. mental skills, according to a large 2016
“There are neurochemical chang- UK review of 19 studies. And you don’t
es involved in every mental experi- have to play on a computer. Some
ence. A positive mood is better for research suggests using paper and
brain health. In contrast, depression pencil engages the brain in more ways
and stress increase risk for cognitive than using a keyboard, and that could
decline. That’s why, when playing a have memory benefits.
game, you have to ask yourself, Is PLAY IT: Put the pictures in the grid so
this fun?” that the descriptions on the edges are
true for the first picture in each row or
TAKE A PAGE FROM GAMERS column in the direction of the arrow.
If you’re willing to put down your There can’t be more than one picture
pencil for something more high- per cell, each picture is used once, and
tech – and potentially more effective some cells remain empty.
– take a page from gamers. Two neu- Answer on page 139.
roscience studies found that adults
young and old who played the Super The study also found that a soli-
Mario 3D World video game for 30 taire app did nothing to affect mem-
minutes a day for two to four weeks ory and that the older study volun-
improved on tests of associative teers who played the simpler game
memory, which includes remember- Angry Birds got only a little boost.
ing things such as what you had for W hat’s so super about Mario?
lunch or what you told your spouse Dr Stark believes t hat complex,
a few hours earlier. three-dimensional video games have
“Associative memory is a kind of the same effect as when our brains
memory that starts declining in our are forced to navigate new, immer-
20s and is associated with Alzheim- sive environments.
er’s disease later in life,” says the lead Another study of his, published in
author of the study, Dr Craig Stark, a 2020, found that people who went on
professor of neurobiology and behav- scavenger hunts – following clues for
iour. “The change we saw in older signs, benches, towers and gates in
adults in memory ability was equiv- several parks – scored significant-
alent to someone 15 years younger.” ly higher for memory skills. Both

110 november 2021

 Brain Games That Really Work
plant has often
life windows flies sits on water

found found in
on land nature

in animal has
kingdom wheels

is attached is human-
by a stem made

goes stays in
underwater one place

can have is alive made has wings

people inside of metal

house submarine birchbark duck airplane tree fish bird leaf

canoe

experiences seem to stimulate the GOOD NEWS AND BAD

sea horse-shaped hippoca mpus, There is both good and bad news
which plays a starring role in learn- related to these findings. The good
ing and memory. Ageing and chronic news: “Even just carefully looking
health conditions such as high blood around you at everything in a room,
pressure and diabetes diminish its at where objects are placed in rela-
powers, contributing to age-related tionship to one another, can help. So
lapses and even dementia. can getting outdoors and going to
Dr Stark thinks that exercising new places,” says Dr Stark.
the hippocampus could counteract The bad news: Doing a crossword
these things. He’s seen something puzzle once a week won’t do for you
similar in studies on mice and other what putting yourself in a new en-
animals that play with new toys and vironment can, he says. “Humans
then experience a boost of chemicals didn’t develop a whole hippocampus
that carry signals from one brain cell and memory system to sit on a deck
to another. playing crossword puzzles.”

rdasia.com 111
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

with different conditions that

can affect brain health,
such as diabetes and heart
d i sea se. “T he resu lt s
could help brain scien-
tists build better brain-fit-
ness programmes and aid
consumers in choosing
brain challenges best suited
for them,” Professor Seitz says.
That data is sorely needed.
“Finding out how games and
brain trainings work and exact-
ly how much they help is com-
Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean plicated,” Dr Small says. A game may
your preferred puzzle isn’t helping train you only to play that game better,
you. Truth be told, there is consid- not to remember the grocery list or
erable debate in the world of neuro- your new neighbour’s name.
biology about what does and doesn’t And studies of brain benefits for
work to grow our brains. long-term game players may not fully
People don’t respond to physical factor out other habits. “People who
exercise programmes or diets in the play games regularly also tend to have
same way, says Professor Aaron Seitz, more education and be more likely to
director of the Brain Game Center exercise, eat a healthy diet and not
for Mental Fitness and Well-Being smoke,” Dr Small says. “All those fac-
at the University of California, Riv- tors also influence brain health.”
erside. “We have evidence they don’t
respond to brain challenges in the PAMPER YOUR BRAIN
same way either. One type of game One fact all researchers embrace:
or training may work well for some your brain loves pampering. If your
people but not for others,” he says. goal is to slash the risk for dementia,
Professor Seitz is in the process of ongoing research suggests that your
recruiting 30,000 volunteers across little grey cells will work better if you
the US for what may be the world’s eat well, exercise and pay attention
biggest brain-game study. It will look to artery health in addition to play-
at the effects of a variety of games ing brain games.
and trainings on working memory in According to a 2015 Finnish study,
people of various ages, personality following a Mediterranean-style diet
types, level of game experience and packed with produce and good fats,

112 november 2021

 Brain Games That Really Work

getting regular exercise, maintain- In fact, Dr Small suggests that if

ing healthy blood pressure and body you find yourself debating whether
weight and playing brain-training to spend the next 20 minutes taking
games, slashed the risk of think- a walk or playing a brain game, you
ing-and-memory declines associat- should choose the walk. Physical ac-
ed with dementia. Participants in the tivity can help keep the arteries that
study also boosted memory by 40 per deliver oxygen and fuel to your brain
cent and increased mental process- cells healthy and can even promote
ing speed by 150 per cent. the growth of new brain cells and
Dr Small agrees that an all-around connections between them. “If you
brain-health strategy can be powerful. do one thing to help your brain, I’d
In research at the University of Cali- say it’s exercise,” he says.
fornia, he found that just two weeks “Reducing stress and getting good
of eating and sleeping better made sleep and a healthy diet are also im-
volunteers’ brains function more effi- portant,” he says. “Brain games work
ciently. “There was less activity in cer- best as part of a whole package of
tain areas,” he says. “The brain didn’t brain-healthy strategies.” And re-
have to work as hard.” member: a little fun never hurts.

ANSWERS TO BRAIN GAME CHALLENGES

2
3 6 7

4 17
2 11

2 4 5
10
2 5 8
5

1 3 1
6 3 4
Challenge 1: Latin Square Challenge 2: Path Finder Challenge 3: Bubble Maths

FEET MEET HEAT

FEED REED MEAT HEAR

READ REAR PEAR

Challenge 4: Word Worm Challenge 5: Points of View

rdasia.com 113
 RD RECOMMENDS
Non
Fish Of The Day Fiction
Clarke Gayford & Mike Bhana
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE

N
ew Zealand’s first man of fishing, Clarke
Gayford, and his buddy and film maker,
Mike Bhana, take us on an epic voyage
across the oceans to the world’s best fishing
spots. Packed with beautiful images, including
underwater photography that gives you
front-row viewing of the fishing action, this book
covers 25 fabulous locations in New Zealand,
Vanuatu, Tahiti, Hawaii and Australia. And
because it pays to know the best way to cook your
catch, the pair have compiled 35 seafood recipes
from top chefs, making this a must-have for
anyone who loves fish and fishing.
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE NEW ZEALAND
PHOTO: MIKE BHANA; PUBLISHER:

COMPILED BY DIANE GODLEY

rdasia.com 115
 Eternals Superhero

E
Movies ternals is the latest superhero picture from Marvel Studios.
It follows an immortal alien race who were created by
Celestials and have lived on Earth in secrecy for over 7000
years. When the Deviants, monstrous creatures long thought lost
to history, mysteriously return to Earth, the Eternals are forced
to reunite to defend humanity from these evil creatures. Based
on the 1970s Marvel Comic, the movie is directed by Chloé Zhao,
the Oscar award-winning director of Nomadland, and stars actors
from around the globe including Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians),
Richard Madden (Rocketman) and Angelina Jolie (Maleficent).

Last Night In Soho

Psychological thriller

E
loise (New Zealander Thomasin
McKenzie) is an aspiring fashion
designer with a strange sixth sense.
When she mysteriously slips back in time
to London’s swinging ’60s, she finds
herself transported into the body of her
idol, Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s
Gambit) a dazzling wannabe singer. Here,
she falls in love with singer Jack (Matt
Smith, the 11th Dr Who), but 1960s London
is not what it appears, and time seems
to fall apart with shady and horrifying
consequences. A British psychological
horror film directed by Edgar Wright.

116 november 2021

 RD Recommends

Podcasts
Monkeys Out On The Town
Do yourself a favour and make time to listen to this
hilarious RD Classic about the day 100 monkeys
escaped from a pet store and ran amok through
the streets and buildings of New York. They lead
everyone on a merry chase, getting up to all sorts
of monkey business in the most unlikely places.

West Cork
Praised by critics and listeners alike, West Cork is an
insightful examination into the murder of French TV
producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in a coastal Irish
village in December 1996. The podcast carefully
pieces the evidence together and looks at how the
event still haunts the close-knit Irish community.

Something Rhymes With Purple

If you’d like to enhance your vocabulary, hosts Gyles
Brandreth and Susie Dent delve into topics around
the English language in this award-winning podcast.
They expand on the meaning and origins of words
you may not be aware of and share insights and
quirky anecdotes.

The Wind In The Willows

Enter the magical world of Ratty, good-
natured Mole, wealthy Mr Toad of Toad
Hall, and the elusive Badger in Kenneth
Grahame’s much-loved book. Suitable Audio
for all but the very young, it is a timeless Book
and enchanting story about friendship.
You can find it in Apple Podcasts.

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

‘West Cork’, 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
 A
t a dinner party, or in the

THE schoolya rd, t he ques-

tion of favourite colour
GENIUS frequently results in an

SECTION answer of ‘blue’. Why is it

that humans are so fond of blue? And
Sharpen Your why does it seem to be so rare in the
Mind world of plants and animals?
We studied these questions and
concluded blue pigment is rare at
least in part because it’s often diffi-
cult for plants to produce. They may
only have evolved to do so when it
brings them a real benefit: specifi-
cally, attracting bees or other polli-
nating insects.
We also discovered that the scarci-
ty of blue flowers is partly due to the
limits of our own eyes. From a bee’s
perspective, attractive bluish flowers
are much more common.

The Mystery A history of fascination The an-

Of The cient Egyptians were fascinated with

blue flowers, like the blue lotus, and
went to great trouble to decorate

BLUE objects in blue. They used an entranc-

ing synthetic pigment (now known

FLOWER
as Egyptian blue) to colour vases
and jewellery, and semi-precious
blue gemstones, such as lapis lazuli
The story of how nature’s and turquoise, to decorate impor-
PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

tant artefacts, including the Mask of

rare colour owes its Tutankhamun.
existence to bee vision Blue dye for fabric is now common,
but its roots lie in ancient Peru, where
an indigoid dye was used to colour
BY Adrian Dyer cotton fabric about 6000 years ago.
F R O M T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N Indigo blue dyes reached Europe from

118 november 2021

 The Genius Section

India in the 16th century, and the dyes need to attract bees and other insects
and the plants that produced them be- to move their pollen around, we start-
came important commodities. Their ed to see some blue.
influence on human fashion and cul- This shows blue flowers evolved for
ture are still felt today, perhaps most enabling efficient pollination. Even
obviously in blue jeans and shirts. then, blue flowers remain relatively
Renaissance painters in Europe rare, which suggests it is difficult for
used ground lapis lazuli to produce plants to produce such colours and
dazzling works that captivated audi- may be a valuable marker of plant
ences. Today many blues are created pollinator fitness in an environment.
with modern synthetic pigments or We perceive colour due to how our
optical effects. The famous blue/gold eyes and brain work. Our visual sys-
dress photograph that went viral in tem typically has three types of cone
2015 not only shows that blue can still photoreceptors that each capture light
fascinate – it also highlights that col- of different wavelengths (red, green
our is just as much a product of our and blue) from the visible spectrum.
perception as it is of certain wave- Our brains then compare information
lengths of light. from these receptors to create a per-
ception of colour.
Why do humans like blue so For the flowers pollinated by in-
much? Colour preferences in hu- sects, especially bees, it is interesting
mans are often influenced by impor- to consider that they have different
tant environmental factors in our lives. colour vision to humans. Bees have
An ecological explanation for humans’ photoreceptors that are sensitive to ul-
common preference for blue is that it traviolet, blue and green wavelengths,
is the colour of clear sky and bodies of and they also show a preference for
clean water, which are signs of good ‘bluish’ colours. The reason why bees
conditions. Besides the sky and water, have a preference for bluish flowers
blue is relatively rare in nature. remains an open field of research.

What about blue flowers? We Why understanding blue flow-

used a new online plant database to ers is important About one-third
survey the relative frequencies of blue of our food depends on insect pol-
flowers compared to other colours. lination. However, world popula-
Among flowers which are pollinat- tions of bees and other insects are
ed without the intervention of bees or in decline, potentially due to cli-
other insects (known as abiotic polli- mate change, habitat fragmentation,
nation), none were blue. agricultural practices and other
But when we looked at flowers that human-caused factors.

rdasia.com 119
 R E A DER’S DIGE ST

BLUE FLOWERS
EVOLVED FOR
ENABLING
EFFICIENT
POLLINATION

The capacity of flowering plants to Knowing more about blue flow-

produce blue colours is linked to land ers protects bees Urban environ-
use intensity, including human-in- ments are also important habitats for
duced factors like artificial fertilisa- pollinating insects, including bees.
tion, grazing and mowing that reduce Having bee-friendly gardens with
the frequency of blue flowers. In con- flowers, including blue flowers that
trast, more stressful environments ap- both we and bees really appreciate,
pear to have relatively more blue floral is a convenient, pleasurable and po-
colours to provide resilience. tentially important contribution to
For example, despite the apparent enabling a sustainable future.
rarity of blue flower colours in nature, Basically, if you plant and maintain
we observed that in harsh conditions, a good variety of flowers, the pollinat-
such as in the mountains of the Hima- ing insects will come.
laya, blue flowers were more common
than expected. An Associate Professor at RMIT
This shows that in tough environ- University in Melbourne, vision
ments plants may have to invest a lot scientist Adrian Dyer is interested
to attract the few available and essen- in how the brain of a bee performs
tial bee pollinators. Blue flowers thus complex cognitive thinking.
appear to exist to best advertise to bee
THIS ARTICLE IS REPUBLISHED FROM
pollinators when competition for pol- THECONVERSATION.COM
lination services is high. UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENCE.

120 november 2021

 ONLINE
FIND THESE UNIQUE READS AT

RDasia.com
HEALTH

Hidden signs you’re not

as healthy as you think
From gassiness to muscle
cramps, subtle symptoms
you shouldn’t ignore.

HANDY HOME HINTS

DIY projects and home
improvement
Go to the website for hundreds
of tips to help you make the best
of your home and garden.

HEALTH = FOOD

5 HEALTHIEST NUTS
Great sources of healthy
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PHOTOS: GET T Y IMAGES

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R E A DER’S DIGE ST

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

       

 

Crosswise
 
Test your general
knowledge.


   

   DOWN
2 Boozy (9)
    3 Saint -----, London

cathedral (5)
 
5 Ulcer (7)
6 Tense (4)
7 Old ocean liner,
 
perhaps (9)
8 Icon (5)
ACROSS 19 Paper-cutting 9 Depression (9)
1 Baby’s garment (5) instrument (8) 14 Cleansing agent (9)
CROSSWORD: CROSSWORDSITE.COM

4 Bizarre (9) 21 Uncover (6) 16 Brother of

10 Liverpool English; 22 Transport (5) Hannibal; Carthaginian
Liverpudlian (6) 24 Magyar (9) general (9)
11 Cooking pot (8) 27 Sheath for a sword (8) 18 Got going again (9)
12 Spoke quietly (9) 28 Degrees in a right angle (6) 20 Tremble (7)
13 Yellowish-brown colour (5) 29 Hard water weather 23 Capital of Ghana (5)
15 Dated (3,3) event (9) 25 Regenerate (5)
17 Tender of sheep (8) 30 Root vegetable (5) 26 Agreement (4)

122 november 2021

 BRAIN POWER
Puzzle brought to you by
Answers
PAGES 126

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

"Write, Erase, Rewrite"

R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Puzzle
FAMILY FUN Answers
PAGES 126

Spot The Difference

There are ten differences. Can you find them?

Shape Bricks
What shape should be the top brick?

124 november 2021

 The Genius Section

TRIVIA
Test Your General Knowledge

1. Which fast-food chain is the rich source of potassium: lentils,

largest in the world? 1 point radishes, bananas or avocados?
2. If having no religious affiliation 2 points
were to be counted as a religion, it 8. How would you write the
would be the second largest in the decimal number 8 as a binary
world. True or false? 2 points number? 2 points
3. Is it possible for a human to get 9. Which are more numerous:
scared to death, literally? 1 point birds, humans or cattle? 1 point
10. Did Neanderthals know how to
4. In October 2020, what was born
make fire? 1 point
from an embryo that had been
11. Which of Newton’s Laws states
frozen for 27 years? 2 points
that ‘for every action, there is an
5. The 17th-century artisan equal and opposite reaction?
Antonio Stradivari made musical a) calculus of infinitesimals.
instruments that now sell for very b) third law of motion.
high prices. What kind c) law of universal
of instruments did he gravitation. 2 points
make? 2 points 12. What is the
6. Which Egyptian romanised Arabic
pharaoh was entombed word for ‘moon’?
with a dagger made 1 point
PHOTO: GE T T Y IM AGES/IS TOCKPHOTO

from meteorite iron? 13. Brunei shares

1 point a border with
14. How do emperor
7. Which one of penguins tell each other Malaysia. True or
these foods is not a apart? 1 point false? 1 point
16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon
Borneo. 14. By listening to each other’s unique calls.
and 1.5 billion cattle. 10. Yes. 11. b) The third law of motion. 12. Qamar. 13. True. On the island of
6. King Tutankhamun. 7. Radishes. 8. 1000. 9. Birds. There are 400 billion birds, 7.7 billion humans,
3. Yes, but it is very rare. 4. A baby girl. 5. Stringed instruments, particularly violins.
ANSWERS: 1. McDonald’s. 2. False. It would be the third largest, after Christianity and Islam.

rdasia.com 125
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

PUZZLE ANSWERS
From Page 122

Crosswise
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
N A P P Y F A N T A S T I C
9
Sudoku
L A D B A T M
10 11
S C O U S E S A U C E P A N 9 3 1 8 2 5 7 4 6
O L J C T A G
12 13 7 5 8 1 4 6 2 3 9
W H I S P E R E D A M B E R
O C S
14
D S
2 4 6 3 9 7 5 1 8
15
O L D
16
H A T
17
S H E P H E
18
R D 8 1 9 5 6 2 4 7 3
19
I A I
20 21
T I E 3 2 4 7 1 8 6 9 5
S C I S S O R S E X P O S E
6 7 5 9 3 4 8 2 1
D N H R T
22
C
23
A R R Y
24
H U N G A
25
R I A N
4 9 2 6 5 1 3 8 7
C U
26
P D E E R 1 6 7 2 8 3 9 5 4
27 28
S C A B B A R D N I N E T Y 5 8 3 4 7 9 1 6 2
R A C E T E E
29 30
H A I L S T O R M S W E D E

Shape Bricks Spot The Difference

AN OCTAGON: Each shape has the same

number of sides as the sum of the sides of the
two shapes below it. If the number is over 10,
then the last digit is used instead. For
example, 9+8=17 so the brick above is 7-sided.
The top shape is an 8-sided octagon because
there are two 4-sided shapes below it.

126 november 2021

 The Genius Section

WORD POWER
Sink Or Swim

Any leaks in your vocabulary?

Set sail with this quiz of ocean terms and find out
BY Rob Lutes

1. aphotic – A: without buoyancy. 8. floe – A: zone of nutrient-rich

B: relating to an ocean zone lacking water. B: strong current.
light for photosynthesis. C: sheet of ice floating on the sea.
C: dispersed throughout shallow 9. welter – A: rise and fall with the
waters. waves. B: sink. C: erode.
2. seagirt – A: surrounded by the 10. reef – A: ridge near the surface
sea. B: in flight above the ocean. of the water. B: crude wooden
C: powered by tidal energy. watercraft. C: strong current
3. atoll – A: ring-shaped coral hazardous to swimmers.
region. B: raised deep-water plateau. 11. salinity – A: cloudiness.
C: strong ocean breeze. B: saltiness. C: acidity.
4. tsunami – A: flightless seabird. 12. nekton – A: seaweed. B: cold
B: tidal wave. water at ocean floor. C: animals that
C: area of warm tropical water. move freely in the ocean.
5. breaker – A: severe ocean storm. 13. flotsam – A: shipwreck debris
B: shipwreck. C: wave crashing into on the ocean surface. B: narrow
foam at the shore. sandbars formed by ebb tide.
6. foreshore – A: shore area C: large waves caused by earth
covered and uncovered by the tide. tremors.
B: ocean mooring. 14. whelm – A: engulf. B: raise from
C: exclamation at land sighting. seabed. C: make seaworthy.
7. benthic – A: relating to extreme 15. tidal bore – A: edge of a tide that
water turbulence. pushes up a river. B: underwater
B: free of living organisms. cavern excavated by tides. C: tedium
C: occurring in ocean depths. induced by watching the tide.

rdasia.com 127
R E A DER’S DIGE ST

Answers
1. aphotic – (B) relating to an 9. welter – (A) rise and fall with
ocean zone lacking light for the waves. Niamh watched the raft
photosynthesis. Once at sea, welter in the choppy seas.
Rupa gazed down and dreamed 10. reef – (A) ridge near the surface
of exploring the aphotic darkness of the water. Fred’s boat was just
below. one of many that were wrecked on
2. seagirt – (A) surrounded by the the reef.
sea. Despite its historic connections 11. salinity – (B) saltiness. The
to Europe, England was always a study revealed that higher ocean
seagirt nation, set apart from the salinity is linked to a lower freezing
continent. temperature.
3. atoll – (A) ring-shaped coral 12. nekton – (C) animals that move
region. Far from desolate, the freely in the ocean. Ocean animal
remote atoll was lush with tropical life can be broadly divided into
plant life. plankton – the drifters, and nekton –
4. tsunami – (B) tidal wave. Abigail’s the swimmers.
dive shop was obliterated by the 13. flotsam – (A) shipwreck debris
tsunami. on the ocean surface. Malene
5. breaker – (C) wave crashing into walked along the shore collecting
foam at the shore. While the adults flotsam left by the tide.
relaxed on the beach, the kids 14. whelm – (A) engulf. The
frolicked in the breakers. enormous waves threatened to
6. foreshore – (A) shore area whelm Dyson’s lifeboat.
covered and uncovered by the tide. 15. tidal bore – (A) edge of a tide
Antoine searched the foreshore for that pushes up a river. A group
hermit crabs. gathered to watch the tidal
7. benthic – (C) occurring in ocean bore race upriver against the
depths. Many benthic organisms current.
are seldom seen by humans.
8. floe – (C) sheet of ice floating on
VOCABULARY RATINGS
the sea. Gabriel carefully guided 5–8: Fair
his vessel past the large floe on the 9–11: Good
starboard side. 12–15: Word Power Wizard

128 november 2021