READER’S DIGEST
THEBESTSTORYTELLINGbringsupsurprisesandmakesthereader
raisea fistinsupport.Thiswasmyinitialresponsetoreadingabout
theworkofAustralianphysicistProfessorBrianO’Brien,anexpert
onmoondust.‘TheMoondustDiaries’(page110)byCeridwenDovey
tellsthebackstoryofoneoftheweirdest,thoughlargelyunreported,
challengesfacedbythe 12 astronautswhowalkedonthemoonsurface
from 1969 to1972.Moondust!Thedustonthemoonissuper-fine,super-
stickyand,accordingtoO’Brien,isanextremelyfascinatingsubstance.
Today,agedinhis80s,heisconsideredtobetheworld’sleadingexpert
onmoondustandstillcontributestofuturemoonexplorations.
Thismonth’sissuehassomeexcellentreadingonoffer,includinga truecrimethatforceda familytofleetheirnewlyrenovatedhome
(‘TheHauntedHouseNextDoor’,page92),a man’sbizarreyetlife-
alteringencounterwitha snake(‘ASnake’s
Revenge’,page78),thelatestinformationonthe
globalcrisisofantibacterialresistance(‘Let’s
KeepAntibioticsWorking’,page50),aswellas
a heartwarminglovestoryover 60 yearsinthe
making(‘INeverForgotYou’,page70).
We’dlovetohearfromyou,sodon’thesitatetowriteandtellusyourthoughtsaboutany
ofthearticlesfeaturedinthisissue.
Happyreading,The Elements of Surprise
LOUISEWATERSON
Editor-in-ChiefEDITOR’S NOTE
4 march 2020