26 October 2019 | New Scientist | 53The back pages Feedback
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[email protected]Engineer Steve Webb castigates Twisteddoodles for New Scientist
the architectural profession for its
love affair with the environmentally
unsound materials steel and
concrete, writing: “If I drive a Range
Rover to the supermarket I produce
about 400g of CO₂. Should we
measure environmental morality
in Range Rover Shopping Trips –
RSTs? An RST is an ugly spectacle:
me a paunchy middle aged guy,
my wrap-around shades, in a
‘commanding’ driving position,
nonchalantly palming my giant
car between trolley-pushing
pedestrians in the Sainsbury’s
car park.”
“Quite the visual, isn’t it?”
says Hue. If you think that’s bad,
it is nothing compared with the
half a billion RSTs Webb says were
committed for the steel-vaulted
new Terminal 5 building at
Heathrow Airport in west London.
What better impetus for change
than imagining millions of paunchy
men in Range Rovers navigating a
Sainsbury’s car park?Warm words
A Japanese student of ninja
history has aced her homework
assignment by handing in a blank
essay. The AFP Tokyo bureau
reports that 19-year-old Eimi
Haga, who is a member of a club at
Mie University that is devoted to
studying the tactics of stealth and
espionage embraced by the ninja
warriors of Japan’s feudal period,
concocted her own invisible ink
made from soybean paste. The
essay included instructions on
how to reveal the message by
heating the paper.
As well as creating the ink,
Haga experimented with three
different types of paper to find
one that could absorb the ink
but resist heating long enough
for the message to be revealed.
In retrospect, Feedback reflects,
a message that bursts into flames
after reading would be great for
secret communications.
Haga’s instructor, Yuji Yamada,
commended her work, telling
reporters that “by learning
about ninja... we can apply theirknowledge and ways to modern
society”. Quite so: next time your
boss asks if you have typed up the
latest sales figures, simply hand
them a blank sheet of paper with
a knowing nod.Much better than one
Feedback previously noted a
marked increase in the number of
heads per animal body, particularly
among snakes (21 September).
This trend appears to be escalating,
as reports slither in of a seven-
headed snake on the move in
Kanakapura in southern India.
The snake itself is still in hiding, but
residents say a cast-off skin found
near Marigowdana Doddi village
shows seven papery bonnets.
Snake expert Ramu P. has scaled
back expectations, though, telling
The Times of India that “nowhere inthe world is there any record of
a seven-headed snake”. Strange:
Feedback distinctly recalls being
read a tale about something similar
before bed, once upon a time. This
was, however, a very long time ago.Heat treatment
Nominative determinism
forsworn, at least for one week.
Oh, go on then, a small one won’t
do any harm. A colleague writes:
“I just discovered a consultant
urologist whose surname is Burns-
Cox, and this made me laugh more
than it reasonably should.” Shame
on them – mind you, long-time
Feedback readers will remember
that our fascination with
nominative determinism
originally sprang from a pair
of urologists named Splatt
and Weedon. ❚Rebooting civilisation
Between escalating geopolitical
tensions and the spectre of climate
catastrophe, the world often
feels like it is going to hell in a
handbasket. Good news for those
selling handbaskets, less so for the
rest of us trying to block it all out
with a round of Candy Crush.
But how to keep your streaks
going after the fall of civilisation?
That is where Collapse OS comes
in: an operating system created
specifically for use in a post-
apocalyptic world. Software
engineer Virgil Dupras has
designed the system to run on
Z80 8-bit microprocessors, which
can be easily scavenged from Old
World items such as cash registers,
calculators, musical instruments
and more.
Dupras has said that Collapse
OS could also run on a slightly
more advanced piece of obsolete
hardware, a Sega Mega Drive.
He is currently seeking out
“collapsniks” to help develop the
code. Like-minded preppers can
visit the project at collapseos.org.
We wish them all the best, and will
sleep easier knowing we will still
be competing to beat the Jelly
Queen even as irradiated wolves
gnaw at the door of our bunker.
Eggcrobatics
The packaging on the quiche that
Roger Pither bought for his supper
informs him it is made with 100
per cent “Free run Eggs”. “Should
I feel bad about those free running
eggs being killed for the quiche
I have just enjoyed?” he asks. The
answer, presumably, depends on
how hard-boiled you are. We find
ourselves posing a different
question: however do they
catch them in the first place?
Don’t all scramble to answer.
Heavy metal
The no-doubt artistic Hue White
spots a new unit for measuring
the carbon footprint of buildings
in the September issue of
The RIBA Journal.