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No croutons, no anchovies, no bacon: the 100-year-old Mexican origins of the Caesar salad

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garritt-c-van-dyk-1014186">Garritt C. Van Dyk</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> The most seductive culinary myths have murky origins, with a revolutionary discovery created by accident, or out of necessity. For the Caesar salad, these classic ingredients are spiced up with a family food feud and a spontaneous recipe invention on the Fourth of July, across the border in Mexico, during Prohibition. Our story is set during the era when America banned the production and sale of alcohol from <a href="https://www.atf.gov/our-history/timeline/18th-amendment-1919-national-prohibition-act">1919–1933</a>. Two brothers, Caesar (Cesare) and Alex (Alessandro) Cardini, moved to the United States from Italy. Caesar opened a restaurant in California in 1919. <a href="https://historicalmx.org/items/show/195">In the 1920s</a>, he opened another in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, serving food and liquor to Americans looking to circumvent Prohibition. Tijuana’s Main Street, packed with saloons, became a popular destination for southern Californians looking for drink. It claimed to have the “<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Satan_s_Playground/znhxImXG8e0C">world’s longest bar</a>” at the Ballena, 215 feet (66 metres) long with ten bartenders and 30 waitresses. The story of the Caesar salad, allegedly 100 years old, is one of a cross-border national holiday Prohibition-era myth, a brotherly battle for the claim to fame and celebrity chef endorsements. <h2>Necessity is the mother of invention</h2> <a href="https://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/caesars-restaurant-tijuana/">On July 4 1924</a>, so the story goes, Caesar Cardini was hard at work in the kitchen of his restaurant, Caesar’s Place, packed with holiday crowds from across the border looking to celebrate with food and drink. He was confronted with a chef’s worst nightmare: running out of ingredients in the middle of service. As supplies for regular menu items dwindled, Caesar decided to improvise with what he had on hand. He took ingredients in the pantry and cool room and combined the smaller leaves from hearts of cos lettuce with a dressing made from coddled (one-minute boiled) eggs, olive oil, black pepper, lemon juice, a little garlic and Parmesan cheese. The novel combination was a huge success with the customers and became a regular menu item: the Caesar salad. <h2>Et tu, Alex?</h2> There is another version of the origin of the famous salad, made by Caesar’s brother, Alex, at his restaurant in Tijuana. Alex claims Caesar’s “inspiration” was actually a menu item at his place, the “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190521-the-surprising-truth-about-caesar-salad">aviator’s salad</a>”, named because he made it as a morning-after pick-me-up for American pilots after a long night drinking. His version had many of the same ingredients, but used lime juice, not lemon, and was served with large croutons covered with mashed anchovies. When Caesar’s menu item later became famous, Alex asserted his claim as the true inventor of the salad, now named for his brother. <h2>Enter the celebrity chefs</h2> To add to the intrigue, two celebrity chefs championed the opposing sides of this feud. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Appetite_for_Life/sEAfuK8lDjkC">Julia Child</a> backed Caesar, and <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Essential_Cuisines_of_Mexico/gzsGAwAAQBAJ">Diana Kennedy</a> (not nearly as famous, but known for her authentic Mexican cookbooks) supported Alex’s claim. By entering the fray, each of these culinary heavyweights added credence to different elements of each story and made the variations more popular in the US. While Child reached more viewers in print and on television, Kennedy had local influence, known for promoting regional Mexican cuisine. While they chose different versions, the influence of major media figures contributed to the evolution of the Caesar salad beyond its origins. The original had no croutons and no anchovies. As the recipe was codified into an “official” version, garlic was included in the form of an infused olive oil. Newer versions either mashed anchovies directly into the dressing or added Worcestershire sauce, which has anchovies in the mix. Caesar’s daughter, Rosa, always maintained her father was the original inventor of the salad. She continued to market her father’s <a href="https://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/caesar-cardini-cafe/">trademarked recipe</a> after his death in 1954. Ultimately she won the battle for her father’s claim as the creator of the dish, but elements from Alex’s recipe have become popular inclusions that deviate from the purist version, so his influence is present – even if his contribution is less visible. <h2>No forks required – but a bit of a performance</h2> If this weren’t enough, there is also a tasty morsel that got lost along the way. Caesar salad was originally meant to be eaten as finger food, with your hands, using the baby leaves as scoops for the delicious dressing ingredients. For <a href="https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-01-30/original-caesar-salad-tijuana-100-years">presentation</a> in a restaurant, the salad was also created in front of the diners’ table, on a rolling cart, with some recommending a “true” Caesar salad was tossed only seven times, clockwise. This extra level of drama, performance and prescribed ritual was usually limited to alcohol-doused flaming desserts. To have a humble salad, invented in desperation, elevated to this kind of treatment made it a very special dish – even without any bacon.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/233099/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garritt-c-van-dyk-1014186">Garritt C. Van Dyk</a>, Lecturer in History, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-croutons-no-anchovies-no-bacon-the-100-year-old-mexican-origins-of-the-caesar-salad-233099">original article</a>. </div>

Food & Wine

Why it’s still a scientific mystery how some can live past 100 – and how to crack it

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-faragher-224976">Richard Faragher</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-brighton-942">University of Brighton</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nir-barzilai-1293752">Nir Barzilai</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/albert-einstein-college-of-medicine-3638">Albert Einstein College of Medicine</a> A 35-year-old man <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18544745/">only has a 1.5% chance of dying in the next ten years</a>. But the same man at 75 has a 45% chance of dying before he reaches 85. Clearly, ageing is bad for our health. On the bright side, we have made unprecedented progress in understanding the fundamental mechanisms that control ageing and late-life disease. A few tightly linked biological processes, sometimes called the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23746838/">“hallmarks of ageing”</a>, including our supply of stem cells and communication between cells, act to keep us healthy in the early part of our lives – with <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-to-staying-young-scientists-boost-lifespan-of-mice-by-deleting-defective-cells-54068">problems arising as these start to fail</a>. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34699859/">Clinical trials are ongoing</a> to see if targeting some of these hallmarks can improve <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31542391/">diabetic kidney disease</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29997249/">aspects of</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33977284/">immune function</a> and age-related <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30616998/">scarring of the lungs</a> among others. So far, so good. Unfortunately, big, unanswered questions remain in the biology of ageing. To evaluate what these are and how to address them, the <a href="https://www.afar.org/">American Federation For Aging Research</a>, a charity, recently convened a series of <a href="https://www.afar.org/imported/AFAR_GeroFuturesThinkTankReport_November2021.pdf">meetings for leading scientists and doctors</a>. The experts agreed that understanding what is special about the biology of humans who survive more than a century is now a key challenge. These centenarians <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/18826/number-of-hundred-year-olds-centenarians-worldwide/">comprise less than 0.02% of the UK population</a> but have exceeded the life expectancy of their peers by almost 50 years (babies born in the 1920s typically had a life expectancy of less than 55). How are they doing it? We know that centenarians live so long because they are unusually healthy. They remain in good health for about 30 years longer than most normal people and when they finally fall ill, they are only sick for a very short time. This <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27377170/">“compression of morbidity”</a> is clearly good for them, but also benefits society as a whole. In the US, the medical care costs for a centenarian in their last two years of life <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_198.pdf">are about a third of those of someone who dies in their seventies</a> (a time when most centenarians don’t even need to see a doctor). The children of centenarians are also much healthier than average, indicating they are inheriting something beneficial from their parents. But is this genetic or environmental? <h2>Centenarians aren’t always health conscious</h2> Are centenarians the poster children for a healthy lifestyle? For the general population, watching your weight, not smoking, drinking moderately and eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27296932/">increase life expectancy by up to 14 years</a> compared with someone who does none of these things. This difference <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldselect/ldsctech/183/18305.htm#_idTextAnchor012">exceeds that seen</a> between the least and most deprived areas in the UK, so intuitively it would be expected to play a role in surviving for a century. But astonishingly, this needn’t be the case. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21812767/">One study</a> found that up to 60% of Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians have smoked heavily most of their lives, half have been obese for the same period of time, less than half do even moderate exercise and under 3% are vegetarians. The children of centenarians appear no more health conscious than the general population either. Compared to peers with the same food consumption, wealth and body weight, however, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29050682/">they have half the prevalence of cardiovascular disease</a>. There is something innately exceptional about these people. <h2>The big secret</h2> Could it be down to rare genetics? If so, then there are two ways in which this could work. Centenarians might carry unusual genetic variants that extend lifespan, or instead they might lack common ones that cause late-life disease and impairment. Several studies, including our own work, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32860726/">have shown</a> that centenarians have just as many bad genetic variants as the general population. Some even carry two copies of the largest known common risk gene for Alzheimer’s disease (APOE4), but still don’t get the illness. So a plausible working hypothesis is that centenarians carry rare, beneficial genetic variations rather than a lack of disadvantageous ones. And the best available data is consistent with this. Over 60% of centenarians have genetic changes that alter the genes which regulate growth in early life. This implies that these remarkable people are human examples of a type of lifespan extension observed in other species. Most people know that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28803893/">small dogs tend to live longer than big ones</a> but fewer are aware that this is a general phenomenon across the animal kingdom. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26857482/">Ponies can live longer than horses</a> and many strains of laboratory mice with dwarfing mutations <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29653683/">live longer than their full-sized counterparts</a>. One potential cause of this is reduced levels of a growth hormone called IGF-1 – although human centenarians <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28630896/">are not necessarily shorter than the rest of us</a>. Obviously, growth hormone is necessary early on in life, but there is increasing evidence that high levels of IGF-1 in mid to late life <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18316725/">are associated with increased late-life illness</a>. The detailed mechanisms underlying this remain an open question, but even among centenarians, women with the lowest levels of growth hormone <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24618355/">live longer than those with the highest</a>. They also have better cognitive and muscle function. That doesn’t solve the problem, though. Centenarians are also different from the rest of us in other ways. For example, they tend to have good cholesterol levels – hinting there may several reasons for their longevity. Ultimately, centenarians are “natural experiments” who show us that it is possible to live in excellent health even if you have been dealt a risky genetic hand and chose to pay no attention to health messages – but only if you carry rare, poorly understood mutations. Understanding exactly how these work should allow scientists to develop new drugs or other interventions that target biological processes in the right tissues at the right time. If these become a reality perhaps more of us than we think will see the next century in. But, until then, don’t take healthy lifestyle tips from centenarians.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172020/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-faragher-224976">Richard Faragher</a>, Professor of Biogerontology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-brighton-942">University of Brighton</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nir-barzilai-1293752">Nir Barzilai</a>, Professor of Medicine and Genetics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/albert-einstein-college-of-medicine-3638">Albert Einstein College of Medicine</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-still-a-scientific-mystery-how-some-can-live-past-100-and-how-to-crack-it-172020">original article</a>. </div>

Retirement Life

The alarmingly accurate predictions made 100 years ago

A university researcher has uncovered predictions made in 1924 about what the world would look like 100 years in the future, with some of the predictions proving to be scarily accurate. The Canadian professor Paul Fairie shared a selection of headlines and articles made by newspapers in the 1920s on his X account, showing in what ways the world has changed and how it has remained the same. While some predictions made in 1924 hit the nail on the head, others couldn't be further from reality. Accurate predictions Car speedways One newspaper clipping claimed that in the future, cars would be travelling on super "speedways" that allowed them to travel faster. While cars first hit the roads in the 1880s, it wasn't until the 1920s that vehicles became more common, with cities quickly trying to build safe roads to accommodate the growth in motor vehicles. “In the city of 2024, this authority predicts there will be three-deck roads; speedways through the heart of town,” the newspaper article predicted. The article also envisaged monorail express services to the suburbs replacing cars and buses and moving sidewalks (similar to airport travelators) that moved people in all directions, “serving all railroad stations and business districts”. Women getting tattooed and dyeing their hair In the 1920s, tattoos were exclusively reserved for sailors, criminals and gangland figures until they became more commonplace. But one 1924 article predicted, incredibly accurately, that by 2024 women would be getting tattoos and dyeing their hair “all the colours of the rainbow”. “Debutantes of 1924 are shingle-haired, sleek-looking maidens with delicately rouged cheeks and provocative red lips,” the article stated. “The 1924 debutante successfully conceals her personality under paint and power." “The debutante of 100 years hence may revert to type and frankly copy her ancestors, who dyed their skins with woad; only, with the modern instinct for progress." “She may go still further and dye her complexion and hair all the colours of the rainbow.” Women becoming stronger The newspapers of 1924 also predicted that women of the future would be “physically strong, vital and alert.” One article predicted that women would spend more time in the outdoors, participate in sports, and would be “engaging by choice” in activities that were historically restricted to men. Intellectually, women would be “quick at wit and keen of judgment,” while spiritually, she would “radiate love and good will”. Remote viewing One of the most accurate predictions from 1924 was the invention of technology that would allow people to view entertainment "remotely". “Many inconveniences which the touring artist now has to suffer will no doubt be eliminated,” one prediction read. “It will not be necessary to travel great distances. The strain of the concert tour will be dispensed with. Artists may not even have to leave their homes (to perform).” Not so accurate predictions Horses becoming extinct One prediction from a 1924 newspaper believed that as cars took over as the main form of transportation, there would be no more use for horses and they would soon becoming extinct. “If a house would decrease in the same ratio as in the last ten or twenty years, it might be easy to tell when the last horse would give up his stall to an automobile,” the prediction read. Self-launching beds Another not-so accurate prediction claimed that beds would soon come with a feature that would override the use for an alarm clock, but would come with a mechanism to launch you out of bed in the morning. Describing this futuristic scenario, the reporter wrote: “My bed turns over automatically and I am deposited on the floor”. “Eight o’clock and the switch operating above the fiendish substitute for an alarm clock is operated from school, so at the moment, I am in the same predicament as the rest of the 450 scholars.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Technology

Finding joy at age 100: Talking to centenarians about living their best life at any age

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/heather-joyce-nelson-1440914">Heather Joyce Nelson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-regina-3498">University of Regina</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/beverlee-ziefflie-1445320">Beverlee Ziefflie</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/saskatchewan-polytechnic-5681">Saskatchewan Polytechnic</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paula-mayer-1445321">Paula Mayer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/saskatchewan-polytechnic-5681">Saskatchewan Polytechnic</a> Aging is seen as a period of loss, and there are unhelpful <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/10-myths-about-aging">myths about older adults</a>. Myths lead to treatable conditions being considered normal parts of aging, including cognitive decline, dementia, depression and loneliness. Some even consider exercise dangerous in older adults. At the same time, mainstream media promotes the message that <a href="https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2017.58015">being young is central to a person’s value</a>. These ideas lead to ageism and older adults being seen as lesser. After spending time with six female centenarians in assisted living facilities, our research team — which included four nursing researchers and a documentary filmmaker — learned there is plenty still worth living for. Centenarians are a small but growing segment of the population with <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/220928/dq220928c-eng.pdf?st=LrkfjZE_">13,844 centenarians in Canada</a>, and our findings debunk myths about the experience of aging. We asked the centenarians questions about what brings them joy and how they plan for the future because we wanted to learn how the very elderly plan for and find ways to live their best lives. The results of this study were <a href="https://vimeo.com/showcase/looking-forward-at-100">turned into a 32-minute documentary</a> that captures participants’ long and interesting lives and offers insight into continued meaning experienced by centenarians in their daily lives. Three of the centenarians died shortly after the interviews took place. <h2>Long and interesting lives</h2> The participants were born between the years 1919 and 1922. They were children during the Great Depression and young adults during the Second World War. One of the women helped build bullet casings and worked on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Lancaster-airplane">Lancaster bomber</a>. Another woman helped her husband protect the blueprints of the ill-fated <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/avro-arrow">Avro Arrow aircraft</a> when he brought them home from work. Two women lost their husbands when their children were small and had to go to work to support their families. They all experienced love and adventure. Our team was fascinated by their stories and wanted to further explore what their lives look like today. Betty, 101, saw happiness as a choice. “I don’t know what’s really to complain about. I went through life staying happy,” she said. <h2>Joy and challenges</h2> This study used a research method called <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/151684840/Braun-Clarke-2006-Using-Thematic-Analysis">thematic analysis</a> to find four themes: Finding Joy, Act your Age, Looking Forward and Putting Challenges into Perspective. The centenarians found joy each day and enjoyed the little things such as activities, visits and treats. Betty enjoyed cheating at solitaire and Jean, 100, played the piano. Clementina, 101, had fun gambling and Joyce, 100, continued to write stories and watch her grandchildren in music concerts. Family was central to their lives and they enjoyed spending time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Two of the women stated that raising their children was the biggest accomplishment in their lives. The centenarians also found great joy in reminiscing about their interesting lives. However, one of the challenges was that there was no one left alive who had the same shared experiences. <h2>Limitations</h2> The centenarians were constrained by the limitations of society, their bodies and their self-perceptions. “You have to act your age,” said Clementina. She physically described this phenomenon by clasping her hands together in her lap and sitting still. Some participants found life to be boring at 100 compared to their lives as younger adults. They had limited opportunities to do what they would like. “We had homes,” said Joyce, 100, describing how they had known better lives, which made it hard to accept the constraints of their current existence. In spite of these feelings, many of the participants continued to be busy and live life fully despite limitations. Jean, despite needing a wheelchair for mobility, continues to do people’s taxes for a volunteer organization, plays piano for church services and leads choirs within her facility. “I am constantly rebelling against my situation physically,” she said. The other women in this study also continued to challenge norms of what their age and disabilities meant. Joyce writes and submits short stories for publication, and has a poem in the war archives in Ottawa. Assisted living facilities often prioritize resident safety, but this can come at a cost to personal freedom. Some residents only leave their facility accompanied by a facility employee or a family member. Clementina rebelled against this restriction and at the age of 97, snuck out of her assisted living facility in a cab to go to the casino, pretending that she was going to meet her son. All of the participants put their life challenges into perspective. They all had lost spouses, friends and some had lost their children. “I was broken,” Clementina said about losing her husband. Christine, 102, was asked how she managed after losing her husband when her children were still small. “I am still here,” she said. <h2>The future</h2> Most of the centenarians had few plans for themselves for the future and were more interested in leading their day-to-day lives. Betty jokingly described the inevitability of her death and that she was “looking for the bucket.” Most described being prepared to die except for Jean, who laughed and said she didn’t have time to die. “I have too many plans.” The centenarians looked to the future of their families and the larger community and entrusted the next generation to make good choices. Participants in this study had long and interesting lives and continued to find meaning each day. This study supports the idea that older adults continue to lead engaging lives and that we need to support older adults to live their best lives at any age. This article was also co-authored by journalist and filmmaker Kelly-Anne Riess and retired nursing instructor Susan Page.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206852/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/heather-joyce-nelson-1440914">Heather Joyce Nelson</a>, Assistant Professor of Nursing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-regina-3498">University of Regina</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/beverlee-ziefflie-1445320">Beverlee Ziefflie</a>, Instructor, Nursing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/saskatchewan-polytechnic-5681">Saskatchewan Polytechnic</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paula-mayer-1445321">Paula Mayer</a>, Associate Research Scientist, Nursing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/saskatchewan-polytechnic-5681">Saskatchewan Polytechnic</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/finding-joy-at-age-100-talking-to-centenarians-about-living-their-best-life-at-any-age-206852">original article</a>.

Caring

Women forced to do shocking act for $100 rent reduction

Two women in Queensland have claimed that they were forced to use a makeshift "temporary shower" outdoors, while renovations are being carried out in the property's only bathroom. The pair, who were expecting a porta-loo style shower to use during the four-to-six weeks renovation, were horrified when they found out the makeshift shower was just a blue tarpaulin attached to the side of the house. Electrical cords and plumbing pipes can be spotted hanging down in front of the open cubicle, and has no curtain for privacy or a lock, raising questions for their privacy and safety. To make matters worse, the women revealed on Facebook that they initially tried negotiating for a rental discount of $200 per week during the renovations, but their landlord said "no way" offering only a $50 discount, "then $100 as final offer". Dr Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow in the University of NSW's City Futures Research Centre, slammed the landlord for "a bunch of possible breaches". "There is a big question about whether the temporary arrangement meets the minimum standards that apply to rented premises in Queensland under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act," he told Yahoo News. "Those minimum standards include that the bathroom and toilet facilities must provide privacy and that a premise must be weatherproof and structurally sound, and there's a standard about security," he added. He also claimed that "there's a bunch of possible breaches of the minimum standards of this temporary arrangement," as intruders could also potentially get in. The Senior Research Fellow also slammed the $100-a-week reduction in rent, calling it "grossly insufficient". "What a professional landlord who takes a bit of pride in themselves as a reputable housing provider would have done, is hire one of those portable bathrooms that come on a little trailer with a little heater and hook it up, and also do a rent reduction for the hassle of having to trot out to the trailer to shower," he said. "That would be the appropriate response." He encouraged the tenants to speak to Tenants Queensland or a local tenants advice service about what to do, adding that they could say that the current temporary arrangements could be deemed "unlivable or uninhabitable". "I suggest they should also be telling the landlord that this arrangement may place the landlord in a further breach of the agreement and for the liability for an even bigger rent reduction and the prospect of compensation if they don't do this better," Dr Martin told the publication. Images: Facebook

Money & Banking

Debate sparked over list of top 100 cities on the planet

The best 100 cities on the planet have been revealed, with three Aussie cities making the final list. The list was compiled by as part of an annual report by <a href="https://www.worldsbestcities.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Resonance Consultancy</a>, who rated major capital cities on three main factors: liveability, lovability and prosperity, with dozens of factors taken into account. These include educational attainment, GDP per capita, poverty rate, the number of quality restaurants, shops and nightclubs, walkability, the number of mapped bike routes, quality parks and museums, as well as ratings from TripAdvisor and Google. The top ten chart features four cities on the Asian continent, four in Europe and two in the U.S. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were all featured in the list, coming in at numbers 31, 35 and 57 respectively. Taking out the number one spot this year is London, dubbed the "capital of capitals" that "reigns over all global cities" as the best metropolis in the world. The study proclaims it as the most liveable and the most lovable mecca, solidified by its winning culture and education attainment. The report concludes, "Despite crippling Covid lockdowns and economic devastation. Despite Brexit. Despite a war in Europe. The city is more indomitable and part of the global discourse than ever. From the Queen's death, to last autumn's chaotic drama at 10 Downing Street that finally calmed down with Rishi Sunak becoming prime minister, only to take heavy local election losses this spring, London is rarely quiet these days." Here's the full list of top 100 cities in the world. 1 - London, England 2 - Paris, France 3 - New York, USA 4 - Tokyo, Japan 5 - Singapore 6 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates 7 - San Francisco, USA 8 - Barcelona, Spain 9 - Amsterdam, Netherlands 10 - Seoul, South Korea 11 - Rome, Italy 12 - Prague, Czechia 13 - Madrid, Spain 14 - Berlin, Germany 15 - Los Angeles, USA 16 - Chicago, USA 17 - Washington, D.C., USA 18 - Beijing, China 19 - Istanbul, Turkey 20 - Dublin, Ireland 21 - Vienna, Austria 22 - Milan, Italy 23 - Toronto, Canada 24 - Boston, USA 25 - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 26 - Budapest, Hungary 27 - São Paulo, Brazil 28 - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 29 - Stockholm, Sweden 30 - Munich, Germany 31 - Melbourne, Australia 32 - Lisbon, Portugal 33 - Zürich, Switzerland 34 - Seattle, USA 35 - Sydney, Australia 36 - Doha, Qatar 37 - Brussels, Belgium 38 - San Jose, USA 39 - Bangkok, Thailand 40 - Warsaw, Poland 41 - Copenhagen, Denmark 42 - Taipei, Taiwan 43 - Austin, USA 44 - Oslo, Norway 45 - Osaka, Japan 46 - Hong Kong, China 47 - Tel Aviv, Israel 48 - Athens, Greece 49 - Frankfurt, Germany 50 - Vancouver, Canada 51 - San Diego, USA 52 - Orlando, USA 53 - Helsinki, Finland 54 - Miami, USA 55 - Buenos Aires, Argentina 56 - Hamburg, Germany 57 - Brisbane, Australia 58 - Kuwait, Kuwait 59 - Las Vegas, USA 60 - Montreal, Canada 61 - Glasgow, Scotland 62 - Shanghai, China 63 - Rio de Janeiro, USA 64 - Auckland, New Zealand 65 - Atlanta, USA 66 - Houston, USA 67 - Busan, South Korea 68 - Philadelphia, USA 69 - Naples, Italy 70 - Denver, USA 71 - Nashville, USA 72 - Manchester, England 73 - Dallas, USA 74 - Liverpool, England 75 - Minneapolis, USA 76 - Mexico City, Mexico 77 - Minsk, Belarus 78 - Lyon, France 79 - Portland, USA 80 - Rotterdam, Netherlands 81 - Bogotá, Colombia 82 - Kraków, Poland 83 - Valencia, Spain 84 - Santiago, Chile 85 - Birmingham, England 86 - New Orleans, USA 87 - Bucharest, Romania 88 - Leeds, England 89 - Muscat, Oman 90 - Ottawa, Canada 91 - Cologne, Germany 92 - Charlotte, USA 93 - Calgary, Canada 94 - Nagoya, Japan 95 - Düsseldorf, Germany 96 - Hanoi, Vietnam 97 - Gothenburg, Sweden 98 - Sapporo, Japan 99 - Bilbao, Spain 100 - Baltimore, USA Image credits: Getty Images

International Travel

Cruise ship forced to turn back after 100 passengers injured in storm

The Spirit of Discovery cruise ship was forced to turn back after around 100 passengers were injured during a massive storm. Cruise company Saga have said that most of the injuries were minor, but five people had to be taken to hospital when the ship returned to England on Tuesday local time. One passenger told BBC News that a few passengers "feared for their lives", when the storm hit the ship in the Bay of Biscay, off the French coast. "People were writing texts to their loved ones in case we capsized," they added. "The tone of voice in our captain... he was physically scared. We had crew crying. We had many passengers in awful states of fear." The passenger also claimed that that injuries included broken bones and cuts, with reports of furniture flying around and people being knocked off their feet, as the ship stopped moving and veered dramatically to one side as part of its safety manoeuvre. Another passenger, 75-year-old Jan Bendall, told the BBC that she and her husband were "holding on for dear life", and that it was overall a frightening experience. "It was quite frightening, I'm not somebody who frightens easily," Bendall said. "We were lucky - we're quite able-bodied, but I think some of the older people and people in their own cabins were quite worried," she added. The ship itself holds almost 1000 passengers and holds cruises for people over 50. Saga told the BBC that there had been "very limited" damage and the ship had "remained safe at all times." "While the weather is clearly beyond our control, we want to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected who are now safely on their way home in calmer seas," the spokesperson said. Images: Nine News/ Facebook

Travel Trouble

A rose in every cheek: 100 years of Vegemite, the wartime spread that became an Aussie icon

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hannah-viney-1153558">Hannah Viney</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a> There are roughly <a href="https://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/vegemite">22 million jars of Vegemite</a> manufactured in the original Melbourne factory every year. According to the Vegemite website, around 80% of Australian households have a jar in the cupboard. The cultural status of Vegemite is so enduring that, in 2022, the City of Melbourne Council <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/01/smell-of-vegemite-factory-given-special-heritage-recognition-by-melbourne-council">included the smell of the factory</a> at 1 Vegemite Way, Fishermans Bend, in a statement of heritage significance. Vegemite first hit Australian supermarket shelves in 1923, but it took a while to find its feet. Indeed, the now classic spread may have failed into obscurity as “Parwill” if not for a very clever advertising campaign in the second world war. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YNiOZInvLog?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>A product of war</h2> Vegemite has German U-boats to thank for its invention. When the first world war began in 1914, Australians were big fans of <a href="https://www.marmite.co.uk/">Marmite</a>, the British yeast extract spread. As the Germans began sinking ships full of British supplies to Australia, Marmite disappeared from the shelves. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-06-2015-0019">Due to the conditions of its patent</a>, Marmite could only be manufactured in Britain. As a result, there was a gap in the market for a yeast spread. <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/walker-fred-8953">Fred Walker</a>, who produced canned foods, hired food technologist <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/callister-cyril-percy-5468">Cyril P. Callister</a> to create a homegrown yeast spread using brewer’s yeast from the Carlton Brewery. Callister’s experiments produced a thicker, stronger spread than the original Marmite. Callister’s inclusion of vegetable extracts to improve the flavour would <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08949468.1993.9966612">give the spread its name, Vegemite</a>, chosen by Walker’s daughter from competition entries. Australians were wary of Vegemite when it first appeared on grocery shelves, perhaps due to brand loyalty to Marmite. To try and combat this, <a href="https://vegemite.com.au/heritage/">Walker renamed Vegemite “Parwill”</a> in 1928 as a play on Marmite: “if Ma might, Pa will”. This rebrand was short-lived. Australians were not any more interested in Parwill than they were in Vegemite. <h2>A nutritious food replacement</h2> In the 1930s, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-06-2015-0019">Walker hired American advertiser J. Walter Thompson</a>. Thompson began offering free samples of Vegemite with purchases of other Kraft-Walker products, including the popular Kraft cheese. Kraft-Walker also ran limerick competitions to advertise Vegemite. Entrants would write the final line of a limerick to enter into the draw to win a brand new car. It would take another world war, however, before Vegemite became part of Australian national identity. The second world war also disrupted shipping supply routes. <a href="https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/work-for-victory/housewives-to-action/food-rationing/">With other foodstuffs hard to come by</a>, Vegemite was marketed as a nutritious replacement for many foods. One 1945 advertisement <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1106308">read</a>: "If you are one of those who don’t need Vegemite medicinally, the thousands of invalids and babies are asking you to deny yourself of it for the time being." With its long shelf life and high levels of B-vitamins, the Department of Supply also saw the advantages of Vegemite. The department began buying Vegemite in bulk and <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1070486">including it in ration kits</a> sent to soldiers on the front lines. Due to this demand, Kraft-Walker foods rationed the Vegemite available to civilians. Yet the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-06-2015-0019">brand increased advertisements</a>. Consumers were told Vegemite was limited because it was in demand for Australian troops due to its incredible health benefits. <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1106308">One ad told Australians</a>: "In all operational areas where our men and those of our Allies are engaged, and in military hospitals, Vegemite is in great demand, because of its value in fighting Vitamin B deficiency diseases. That’s why the fighting forces have first call on all Vegemite produced. And that is why Vegemite is in short supply for civilian consumption. But it won’t always be that way. When the peace is won and our men come home, ample stocks of this extra tasty yeast extract will be available for everyone." This clever advertising linked Vegemite with Australian nationalism. Though most could not buy the spread during the rationing years, the idea that Vegemite was vital for the armed forces cemented the idea that Vegemite was fundamentally Australian. Buying Vegemite was an act of patriotism and a way to support Australian troops overseas. <h2>Happy little Vegemites</h2> In the postwar baby boom, Vegemite advertisements responded to concerns about the nation’s health and the need to rebuild a healthy population. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vLhk_wE4l2Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> This emphasis on <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46442748">Vegemite as part of a healthy diet</a> for growing children would remain the key advertising focus of the next 60 years. <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/happy-little-vegemites-jingle-1953">The ear-catching jingle was composed</a> in the early 1950s, first for radio and then later used in the 1959 television ad. The link between Australian identity and Vegemite was popularised internationally by Men At Work’s 1981 song Down Under, with the lyrics “He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich”. The 1980s also saw <a href="https://youtu.be/h5r3HAJh8es">the first remake of the 1950s television campaign</a>, re-colourising it for nostalgic young parents who had grown up with the original. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h5r3HAJh8es?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> In February 2022, the first international arrivals welcomed back into Australia post-COVID were greeted with a DJ playing Down Under, koala plushies and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/21/today-we-rejoined-the-world-hugs-tears-and-vegemite-as-australia-reopens-international-borders">jars of Vegemite</a>. On Vegemite’s centenary in 2023, the unassuming spread is now firmly cemented as an Australian cultural icon. Love it or hate it, Vegemite is here to stay. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204917/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hannah-viney-1153558">Hannah Viney</a>, Researcher, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-rose-in-every-cheek-100-years-of-vegemite-the-wartime-spread-that-became-an-aussie-icon-204917">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

11 things people who live to 100 have in common

<h2>Centenarian similarities</h2> Living to be 100 requires a fair amount of luck, it’s true. But people who make it past the century mark also share some healthy habits that we could all benefit from. Here’s what we know centenarians have in common. <h2>They have good genes</h2> If you have at least one parent who lived to 95 or older, you have a better shot at a healthier (and presumably longer) life yourself, a 2017 study published in The American Journal of Cardiology found. Researchers reported that subjects with at least one parent living past age 95 had 29 per cent lower odds of having hypertension, 65 per cent lower odds of having a stroke, and 35 per cent lower odds of having cardiovascular disease than those whose parents died before age 95. That held true even when – and here’s the surprising thing – there were significant differences in social-economic status, physical activity, diet, and other lifestyle habits. “They were no more likely to eat low fat and only a small number were vegetarians,” says endocrinologist, Dr Sofiya Milman. While only about 25 per cent of longevity is related to genetics, that fraction seems to be the driving force behind how far those lifestyle habits (the remaining 75 per cent) can take you. <h2>But genes aren’t everything</h2> Longevity is complex. “Multiple genes are related to how long we live,” says professor of psychiatry, Dr Dilip Jeste. He’s also part of a team studying residents in Cilento, a region in Italy where the elderly live exceptionally long healthy lives. “In other words, if you have genes for certain types of fatal cancers, then the other genes that promote longevity may have less of an influence.” To hit the centenarian jackpot, an array of genes needs to be working together in your favour, but “there’s a lot more under our control than we think,” he adds. For example, take a set of twins with genes that predisposed them to lung cancer. If one smoked and one didn’t, the smoker would be 5.4 times more likely to develop lung cancer than the other, thus significantly hurting his chances at longevity. <h2>They ‘postpone’ chronic illnesses</h2> Chalk this up to those longevity genes. “Many centenarians get age-related diseases, such as cancer, at a much later age,” says Dr Milman. In a joint study between Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Boston University School of Public Health, she and a team of researchers found that the age at which their centenarian subjects experienced certain diseases were delayed between 18 and 24 years. So could escaping serious illnesses by the time you reach 100 be an indication that you’ve got some more good years ahead of you? Perhaps. In a 2008 issue of The Journals of Gerontology, researchers who examined supercentenarians (age 110 and older) found that most were independent in terms of daily life activities at the age of 100 and few were in nursing homes or other forms of assisted living before the age of 105. <h2>They stay physically active</h2> Physical activity throughout life, including your senior years, is associated not just with good health, but longevity as well. A National Institutes of Health study reports that just 2.5 hours of moderate activity a week could extend your life by 3.4 years. It turns out, some of the regions around the world with standout longevity are close-knit communities in rural areas. For these folks, work is often more physical than a desk job, and they’re probably not spending hours in a car every day. The Okinawa Centenarian Study, which followed residents of the Japanese village that boasts one of the world’s highest centenarian ratios, notes that regular physical activity throughout most of the centenarians’ lives (in conjunction with other healthy habits) allowed them to have “impressively young, clean arteries.” They didn’t lift weights or run 5Ks; they simply made fitness part of their lifestyle, whether it was taking strolls or tending to the garden. And in Villagrande, Sardinia, where men live about as long as the women (which is a rarity – typically, women outlive men), researchers attribute their day-to-day physical activity – most were shepherds in this mountainous region – to the men’s impressive longevity. <h2>They don’t overeat</h2> Places brimming with 100-year-olds have an unspoken custom: eat mindfully. “I’m stuffed” is just not something you’d hear at the table. They also tend not to eat alone and instead share their meals with family and friends, notes Dr Jeste. In Okinawa, for example, elders may even say, before a meal, “Hara hachi bu,” a Confucian concept that means “eat only until your stomach is 80 per cent full.” The upshot? The elderly Okinawans consumed about 7900 kilojoules a day throughout their lives. Australians consume an average of 8700 kilojoules. Why is that a problem? It seems that over-eating over-stresses our metabolic systems, while kilojoule restriction (as long as we get the necessary nutrients) is associated with lower levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and other conditions that speed up the ageing process. In fact, as authors of a joint Harvard-Salk Institute paper write, “At present, calorie restriction remains the most robust [i.e., evidence based] strategy for extending health and lifespan in most biological models tested.” <h2>They eat healthy foods</h2> The diets of these regions populated with healthy older people are different, but what they do have in common, says Dr Jeste, is what they don’t eat. “You don’t see a lot of high-fat or high-sugar foods.” For example, in Sardinia, the Mediterranean diet prevails; it’s rich in fish, fruits, vegetables, and healthy oils, all typically locally sourced. This is also true in Cilento, which boasts a diet especially rich in olives and rosemary. While Western foods have infiltrated Okinawa in recent years, its diet traditionally consists of only a little fish and pork, and plenty of vegetables, beans, tofu, seaweed, and complex carbohydrates, particularly purple and orange sweet potatoes. <h2>They feel connected</h2> In areas with higher-than-usual concentrations of centenarians, seniors are often an integrated part of their community. For some, church provides that connection. In Loma Linda, California, the only Blue Zone town (locations around the globe known for longevity and good health) in the United States, the seniors are Seventh-day Adventists; in Sardinia, they tend to be devout Roman Catholics. Religion encourages its believers to carve time during the week to go to church, which is not only a chance to strengthen their connection to God but to mingle with family and friends. As centenarian women interviewed in the Sardinia study repeatedly mentioned, it’s their ties to their family and God that’s kept them alive and kicking for so long. Maintaining quality social bonds, whether with fellow parishioners, family, or friends, have been linked to better health, while social isolation has been associated with an increased risk of inflammation in adolescents and worsened hypertension in old age. Studies published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and Cancer have also associated a strong social network (of the real, as opposed to virtual, kind) with better recovery from disease, including breast cancer and heart attack. <h2>They feel respected</h2> It’s probably not a coincidence that in areas with an unusually high number of centenarians, the culture is one that truly respects the elderly. In Sardinia, seniors are part of everyday society, not shuttled off into retirement and nursing homes. As a child of an elder interviewed in Cilento told researchers: “We always come to our father. He is still our point of reference and an example for us, for the way he takes things.” <h2>They enjoy the outdoors</h2> Part of the advantage of living in a rural, close-knit community is that you have open land, perfect for gardening or strolling. You can walk to a neighbour’s house (or even to work or run errands), and the air is fresh and clean. It’s pleasant. And while Loma Linda, California, is hardly a rural village, it’s populated by Seventh-day Adventists, who specifically promote getting outside in their official manual: “…we live intelligently in accordance with health principles of exercise, respiration, sunshine, pure air, use of water, sleep, and rest.” Why is being outside so helpful? “Multiple factors come into play,” says Dr Jeste. While some may partly credit vitamin D from sunshine for lengthening life, he believes that other factors may have more to do with it. “When you’re outdoors, you’re being active,” he says, whether you’re gardening or walking to or from somewhere. “You’re also looking at trees and nature. You’re more apt to interact with other people than feeling isolated. All this can promote happy feelings.” That, in turn, promotes a positive outlook on life. This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/11-things-people-who-live-to-100-have-in-common" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. Images: Getty

Retirement Life

Million dollar baby! Video of newborn covered in money sparks outrage

The bizarre moment a new father covered his newborn child in $100 bills has gone viral, sending social media into a frenzy over the strange act. The video shows a sleeping newborn in a crib in a hospital's nursery, while an adult covers the baby boy in $100 bills. Despite a blanket covering the baby's body, many were quick to point out just how many germs and bacteria live on cash notes, with many worried about the child picking up an infection from the dirty money. According to <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1914560_1914558_1914544,00.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">TIME</a>, paper money can reportedly carry more germs than a household toilet - and hundreds of species of microorganisms can live on the cash for days. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Man covers his new born baby with hundreds 😳 <a href="https://t.co/AFEYajIY6N">pic.twitter.com/AFEYajIY6N</a> — Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyLoud/status/1650660162930196485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2023</a></blockquote> People took to Twitter to show their outrage at the germs, with one person saying, "Bro just created a bacteria blanket for a newborn." Another shared the same sentiment, writing, "Unless those are brand new bills straight from the bank, he just covered his baby in a blanket of germs." Another person said, "Very very unhygienic I hope baby doesn't get sick..." while a fourth added, "Money is full of pathogens, I wouldn't compromise the baby's health." Others cut the happy parent some slack, saying it was a strange decision to shower the baby with money, but said they could understand the person's excitement over the bundle of joy. One person said, "Probably a proud first-time father and isn't thinking about how ridiculous this is. Down the line he'll show his baby the picture and they'll have a good laugh out of it." Another wrote, "An unusual way to wish prosperity to the newborn but again different stroke for different folks!" Image credits: Twitter

Family & Pets

“100 is just a number”: Centenarian’s sweet solution for a long and happy life

When Shirley Goodman reached the milestone age of 100 years old, the last thing on her mind was slowing down. And the centenarian, who lives in Florida, has shared her advice for living a long and happy life - though what she had to say has taken many by surprise. Rather than stressing the importance of getting enough rest and following a strict diet, as we so often hear, Shirley believes her passion for having fun, doing what she enjoys, and eating her share of well-deserved treats to be the secret of her success. As Shirley told Today, “I feel great. 100 is just a number to me.” This is despite the two open-heart surgeries she has undergone - including a bypass, and the installation of a pacemaker and a stent. Shirley also experiences difficulties with her vision and her hearing, but nothing will keep her from embracing life and doing what she loves: dancing. “My legs are still working,” she said. “I’m an optimist. I try to do positive thinking all the time. That’s very important. I have a bracelet that says ‘Positivity’ on it. “I wear it every day and I try to stay positive.” She started dancing when she was just eight years old, even opening up her own dance school at 17. And while she did close down her business after marrying, she never gave it up, following her heart - and her dancing feet - in her free time instead. And in recent years, Shirley has taken that same passion to a whole new realm, establishing herself on the internet as ‘The Dancing Nana’. On Instagram, her family regularly share clips of Shirley dancing, and even participating in some viral internet trends, from doing ‘the floss dance’ to ‘the Tush Push’. It was the latter that propelled her to viral heights in 2019, when a clip surfaced of a then-96-year-old Shirley enjoying herself at her nephew’s wedding reception, outshining the younger guests on the dance floor with her spectacular footwork and twirls. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwLLINgB2uX/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwLLINgB2uX/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by The Dancing Nana (@the.dancing.nana)</a> </div> </blockquote> “I would advise people,” she told Today, “if they like music at all, to keep it in their lives and don’t just sit home in a rocking chair.” “I attribute [my long life] mostly to two things. One is my family,” she later added, “I have a wonderful, devoted family. “And the jazz, the music down here in Sarasota, and my tap dancing. That’s what keeps me going.” And while Shirley has dabbled in other pursuits, dancing still holds the key to her heart, as nothing else quite took with her, with the 100-year-old confessing that she “wasn’t crazy” about golf, and played tennis until she was 90. “I only walk as far as my mailbox,” she added, “which is about five minutes.” She does, however, enjoy her share of yoga. Every morning, she FaceTimes her daughter for a session, and the two spend some mindful time together from their respective homes in Florida and New York. Another thing Shirley very much enjoys is a sweet treat. And as some longevity experts admitted to Today, many who reach impressive ages like Shirley don’t often focus on their recommended share of vitamins and other ‘healthy’ snacks. “I don’t eat healthy food,” Shirley admitted. “My kids would holler at me … but when I hit 90, they stopped bothering me.” As Shirley’s 71-year-old daughter Joan added, they all just assumed Shirley was going to outlive them, but that “you would not want to write a cookbook based on her nutritional recommendations. I think the secret is to enjoy what you’re eating.” Top of Shirley’s most loved menu is “anything that’s cooked in batter”, or some chocolate and other sweets of the like. She enjoys a piece of chocolate after each of her meals, and views breakfast as the perfect opportunity for a chocolate chip cookie - however, you won’t catch her nibbling on any dark varieties, as milk chocolate with some nuts is what she prefers to reach for. And when it comes to home cooked meals with some vegetables, Shirley isn’t a fan. “I say ‘cook’ is a four letter word, so I don’t cook very much,” said. “I eat very small portions, but I eat everything and anything I like.” Images: Instagram

Caring

Are flu cases already 100 times higher than last year? Here’s what we really know about the 2023 flu season

Alarming <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/flu-cases-australia-update-warning-vulnerable-numbers-rise-100-fold-last-year/55ccbb1d-9613-4e45-85aa-43c905efc8e6">headlines</a> and media coverage <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-flu-nearly-disappeared-during-the-pandemic-now-cases-are-soaring-in-australia/a98cybrj8">have said</a> we’ve had 100 times as many influenza cases in the first two months of 2023 compared with the same time the previous year. The coverage suggested we’re in for a bumper flu season, starting early and your best protection was to get a flu vaccine, when available. But that scary sounding 100 figure is misleading. Here’s what’s behind the figures and what we can really expect from the 2023 flu season. <h2>Comparing apples with oranges</h2> In the first two months of 2023, there were 8,474 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza. In 2022, over the same period, there were 79 cases. So it might seem this year’s figures are indeed more than 100 times higher than last year’s. But we shouldn’t be alarmed. That’s because in early 2022, influenza cases were artificially low. Strict COVID measures <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2998">almost eliminated</a> influenza outbreaks in 2020 and 2021. Shutting international borders, quarantining, social distancing and mask-wearing stopped influenza coming into the country and spreading. Many COVID restrictions weren’t relaxed until late February/March 2022. So, in January and February of that year there were fewer opportunities for us to mingle and spread the influenza virus. It’s hardly surprising there were few cases then. In fact, the rate of flu in 2023 is actually very similar to pre-COVID years (that is before 2020). As always, the reported cases represent just a fraction of the actual influenza cases. That’s because many people do not seek medical care when infected with influenza or their GP doesn’t always test them for it. <h2>How about an earlier flu season?</h2> Every year, it seems, influenza throws a new curve ball making predictions tricky. Flu rates in the northern hemisphere <a href="https://www.cnet.com/health/medical/early-signs-point-to-this-years-flu-season-being-the-worst-one-in-years/">largely peaked</a> in December 2022, two months earlier than usual. But there has been some late-season influenza B activity in the northern hemisphere this year. This is one type of influenza that causes seasonal flu. So travellers arriving/returning from the northern hemisphere have been bringing influenza to Australia for several months. So we expect more cases of influenza. Australia may even have an autumn surge. This occurred <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2998">last year</a>, where influenza cases rose sharply in May, and peaked by June. That’s two months earlier than the five-year average pre-COVID. Before COVID, influenza cases usually began to rise in April/May. This progressed to a full epidemic from June to August, often extending into September, before waning in October. <h2>So what can we expect in 2023?</h2> The start, length and severity of influenza seasons vary and are often unpredictable. Community immunity will be less than in pre-COVID times. That’s because of fewer influenza infections during COVID restrictions plus <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/influenza-vaccination-coverage-data/national-influenza-vaccination-coverage-all-people">lower influenza vaccine uptake</a> in recent years. So the 2023 flu season may be at least moderately severe. This remains speculation. Flu routinely surprises us. The severity of the coming Australian influenza season will be influenced by the types of influenza that circulate, when the surge starts and when the season peaks. The effectiveness, uptake and timing of vaccinations and the degree of remaining herd immunity will all be important. <h2>Plan to get vaccinated</h2> Only about 40% of those eligible were vaccinated against influenza in 2022, according to the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/australian-immunisation-register">Australian Immunisation Register</a> database. Rates <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/influenza-vaccination-coverage-data/national-influenza-vaccination-coverage-all-people">were highest</a> in people aged 65 or older. However, as we saw an early influenza season in 2022 (peaking in May/June) this meant many Australians were not vaccinated during the early stages of the epidemic. With this knowledge, it’s important to be vaccinated in April/May before influenza becomes common. Now is a good time to start preparing to get your flu vaccine. Ask your GP or pharmacist when you can book yourself in. Vaccination is our best defence against influenza and is recommended from the age of <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/2023-national-immunisation-program-influenza-vaccination-early-advice-for-vaccination-providers">6 months</a>. Younger infants <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/influenza-vaccination-in-pregnancy">receive protection</a> if their mum was vaccinated during pregnancy. The 2023 vaccine has been updated to protect against more recently circulating strains. There are also <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/atagi-advice-on-seasonal-influenza-vaccines-in-2023.pdf">different types</a> of influenza vaccine, some more effective in elderly people, some free under the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-immunisation-program-schedule?language=en">National Immunisation Program</a>, some not. Other vaccines are available for people with egg allergies and for small children. It’s best to discuss the vaccine options with your GP or pharmacist. Image credit: Shutterstock This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-flu-cases-already-100-times-higher-than-last-year-heres-what-we-really-know-about-the-2023-flu-season-201559" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>

Body

“Stop using it immediately”: Grim warning over infant rocker after 100 fatalities

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have urged parents to stop using Fisher-Price’s Rock ‘n Play Sleeper following revelations by US regulators that it has been linked to 100 infant deaths. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Consumers who own this product should stop using it immediately and contact Mattel via the details in the recall notice to arrange a refund and instructions to make it unusable,” said an ACCC spokesperson to 7NEWS.com.au. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sleeper was initially recalled due to fatalities caused by infants rolling "from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, or under other circumstances," causing accidental suffocation. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), despite being recalled in 2019, the product has since been linked to 100 fatalities. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"We now know of approximately 100 infant deaths in the Rock n Play, including eight that happened after the recall was announced," CPSC chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in an official <a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.cpsc.gov/About-CPSC/Chairman/Alexander-Hoehn-Saric/Statement/Statement-of-Chair-Alexander-Hoehn-Saric-on-the-Reannouncement-of-Two-Inclined-Infant-Sleeper-Recalls"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">statement</a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"And we know of 15 infants who died in the Kids2 Rocking Sleeper, including four since the announcement of the recall". <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ACCC also said that the recall for the Fisher Price Sleeper is ongoing in Australia, and they will continue to prioritise minimising the risks of these products. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #323338; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Image Credit: US Consumer Product Safety Commission

News

Dolly Parton receives $100 million from Jeff Bezos for philanthropic work

Dolly Parton has received a a $US100 million ($149 million AUD) prize awarded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for her philanthropic work. The country music start received the Bezos Courage & Civility Award, which recognises leaders who "pursue solutions with courage and civility". Bezos, along with his partner Lauren Sanchez, announced the award on Friday, with Sanchez saying in an instagram post that Dolly Parton is "a woman who gives with her heart and leads with love and compassion in every aspect of her work". "We can't wait to see all the good that you're going to do with this $100 million award," she said. Parton, in a video clip of the ceremony posted online, said, "Wow! Did you say $100 million?" "I think people who are in a position to help should put their money where their heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money," she said. The 76-year-old musician has long been known for her decades-long work as a philanthropist, as she most notably donated $US1 million to Vanderbilt University's Medical Center to help develop a vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic. Parton, who this month was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, also has founded a number charities including the Dollywood Foundation, which focuses on education as well as poverty relief. Image credits: Getty Images

Money & Banking

More than a story of treasures: revisiting Tutankhamun’s tomb 100 years after its discovery

On November 4 1922, a young Egyptian “water boy” on an archaeological dig is said to have accidentally stumbled on a stone that turned out to be the top of a flight of steps cut into the limestone bedrock. The stairs led to one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries in history and the only almost intact funerary assemblage of a pharaoh – the Tutankhamun’s tomb. A century after this discovery, it’s worth revisiting the story of Tutankhamun’s tomb and how it eventually became a symbol for Egyptian nationalism. <h2>The ‘child king’</h2> <a href="https://egyptianmuseum.org/explore/new-kingdom-ruler-tutankhamun">Tutankhamun</a> is often referred to as a “child king” and the “most famous and least important” of the pharaohs; he was almost unknown to history before the tomb’s discovery. The son of one of the most controversial pharaohs in history – the champion of monotheism, <a href="https://www.arce.org/resource/akhenaten-mysteries-religious-revolution">Akhenaten</a> – Tutankhamun ascended the throne around age six or so. After a rather uneventful reign of restoring temples and bringing Egypt out from a period of political and religious turmoil, he died sometime between the age of 17 and 19. The discovery of his tomb full of magnificent and unique objects is more than a story of treasures. This is also a tale of the “roaring 20s” in the Middle Eastern version: a story of a quintessential embrace of class, privilege and colonialism juxtaposed against struggle for political freedom and building of new national identity. Archaeology 100 years ago was <a href="https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/tutankhamun-excavating-the-archive">very different</a>. None of the three male protagonists behind the discovery – Howard Carter (the lead British excavator), Lord Carnarvon (the man behind the money), and Ahmed Gerigar (the Egyptian foreman) – were formally trained as archaeologists. Despite this, Carter is now almost always referred to as an archaeologist, but Gerigar <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/remembering-unsung-egyptians-who-helped-find-king-tut-tomb-180980074/">almost never is</a> – further entrenching colonial narratives. But Carter’s three-decade-long excavation experience, draughtsman’s talent and his meticulousness, allied with the photographic aptitude of <a href="http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/discoveringtut/burton5/burtoncolour.html">Harry Burton of Metropolitan Museum</a> and the skills of the Egyptian excavators assured Tutenkhamun’s tomb – the only discovery of its type and arguably one of the most important archaeological finds ever – was recorded in a systematic and “modern” way. <h2>The painter who became an archaeologist</h2> Howard Carter was a young painter who fell in love with Egyptian antiquities while following his father, also a painter, into the houses of London’s elite to add drawings of pets to his father’s portraits. In 1891, age 17, Carter was recommended as an illustrator to archaeologist Percy Newberry, and joined him at a dig in Egypt at <a href="https://benihassan.com/">Beni Hassan tombs</a>. From this first trip to his death in 1939, Carter spent his life mostly in Egypt with short trips back to London to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/13/howard-carter-stole-tutankhamuns-treasure-new-evidence-suggests">deal in antiquities</a>, including those allegedly stolen from Tutankhamun’s tomb. After Beni Hassan, Carter became an illustrator for one of the fathers of Egyptology, William Flinders Petrie in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna">Tell el-Amarna</a>, the capital of Tut’s father Akhenaten. Carter then worked in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_el-Bahari">Deir el-Bahari</a>, the funerary temple of queen pharaoh Hatshepsut, located right on the other side of the limestone ravine known as the Valley of the Kings. It is here, on the western bank of the Nile I also trace some of my humble early experiences in Egyptology. Walking at dawn from our base at the Metropolitan Museum house in Deir, which Carter frequented, to the temple, I followed in his footsteps and mused on how lucky he was when the “water boy” stumbled upon a staircase to the tomb. That year, 1922, was supposed to be the last season after seven fruitless years of digging in the Valley in search of Tutankhamun’s elusive resting place. After clearing the staircase, Carter found the doorway sealed with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartouche">cartouches</a> – the hieroglyphs which enclose a royal name. He ordered the staircase to be refilled, and sent a telegram to Carnarvon, who arrived from England two-and-a-half weeks later. On November 26 Carter made a “tiny breach in the top left-hand corner” of the doorway. Carnarvon asked, “Can you see anything?” and Carter <a href="https://museum.wa.gov.au/whats-on/tutankhamun-wonderful-things/">replied</a> with his famous line: “Yes, wonderful things!” Across 3,000 years, about 300 pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt. All royal tombs had been broken into by thieves. The spectacular find of Tut’s tomb was also not a fully intact discovery. The tomb had been looted twice in antiquity, and Carter estimated that a considerable amount of jewellery was stolen. But it is the only surviving almost complete funerary assemblage. Consisting of over 5,000 objects, only <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/tutankhamun/id463700741?i=1000460805430">30%</a> have been studied so far. <h2>A story of its time</h2> Following <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unilateral_Declaration_of_Egyptian_Independence">Egyptian independence</a> on February 28 1922 and the establishment of an independent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Egypt">Kingdom of Egypt</a>, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb became an optimistic symbol for Egyptian nationalists. After the initial documentation, the official opening of the tomb in early 1924 coincided with the inauguration of Egypt’s first elected parliament. Despite the new independence, colonial attitudes continued. Lord Carnarvon sold the rights to the story of the discovery of Tut’s tomb to the London Times for a significant sum. Given the delay of a couple of weeks with sending photos on the ship from Cairo to London, Egyptian newspapers and readers were only able to follow the unfolding discovery from reading delayed British press. This caused a lot of resentment among the newly independent Egyptians, especially the middle classes. Nevertheless, the discovery was very significant for nation building and new national post-colonial identity. Taha Hussein, a notable Egyptian philosopher of the time, coined a notion of “<a href="https://raseef22.net/article/1074731-are-we-arabs-pharaohs-phoenicians-or-assssyrians-a-question-raised-since-1933-by">pharaonism</a>”. This unified national identity was supposed to transcend religious and ethnic differences between Arab, Muslim, Coptic and Jewish Egyptians. It remains a tool of propaganda to this day – notably with a parade of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56508475">22 mummies moving to a new national museum</a> and a lavish re-opening of the <a href="https://grandegyptianmuseum.org/">Grand Egyptian Museum</a> soon, where much of the treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb can be found today. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-story-of-treasures-revisiting-tutankhamuns-tomb-100-years-after-its-discovery-193293" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

WWI diary returns home after 100 years

A diary containing photos that are more than 100 years old gifted to nurse will be returning to its rightful owners. On Remembrance Day, Jon Ray will board a plane with the diary of a Belgian soldier who fought in WWI which chronicles life in the trenches from 1914 to 1917, helping it make the journey back to the soldier’s family. The diary came to be in Ray’s collection and in his family’s possession for the last 100 years after it was gifted to one of his ancestors. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/11/ww1-diary1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> "The diary basically was gifted to my grandmother Clara - Clara Carter - right towards the end of the First World War by a French-speaking Belgian soldier by the name of Jules Geldoff," he told 9News. While he doesn’t know how Geldoff met his grandmother, Ray’s best guess is that it was during her time as a nurse in northern England. "We're thinking probably late '17 is probably the time he might've been injured or something's happened to him and he's obviously given it to her," he said. At the end of the war, Geldoff and his diary would end up on opposite sides of the world. While Geldoff became an architect, Carter married an Australian soldier, bringing the diary with her to Broken Hill in New South Wales. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/11/ww1-diary2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Now, the diary will be heading back to its owner’s family with the help of a researcher and the Belgian embassy. "Through assistance from a researcher in Brussels, and the Belgian embassy in Canberra, we've managed to locate his closest living relatives in a place called Muskron in Belgium," Ray said. The diary contains priceless photographs depicting life during the war, including downtime, the war-torn towns Geldoff and his fellow soldiers encountered, and being on the front line. Images: 9News

Travel Trouble

Outrage after Brittany Higgins listed on Hot 100 in popular men’s magazine

A popular men’s magazine is under fire for including rape victim Brittany Higgins in its annual Hot 100 women list. Maxim Australia released a list of its Hot 100 women for its 11th annual edition on Wednesday - day five of deliberations in the trial of Ms Higgins’ accused rapist, Bruce Lehrmann. The case however was <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/stunning-developments-in-rape-trial-of-bruce-lehrmann" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thrown out of court</a> the following day after a juror accessed information that was not presented in court. At the same time, Maxim was being rolled out for sale on newsagency shelves across the country. On the list included some of Australia’s favourite personalities including, winner Margot Robbie, followed by Sam Kerr, Ash Barty, Emma McKeon, Grace Tame, Sarah Snook, Ariarne Titmus, Duckie Thot, Delta Goodrem and Abbie Chatfield. Ms Higgins was placed 12th on the list and despite all the attention on the trial, Maxim defended its decision including her. They said Ms Higgins was a worthy candidate and the rape trial which gained national traction made her influential. Gender equality advocate Professor Catharine Lumby, chair of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney said having Ms Higgins’ name on the list was offensive. “To me, [Ms Higgins inclusion] is offensive because that list is to be read as a list of who is hot and attractive,” she said. “If it was a list of 100 people who have influenced Australia, I would have no issue with it. “A magazine such as Maxim has to be far more cautious about who they are including in that sort of list.” The rape trial was thrown out on October 27 after a juror accessed an academic paper about false rape accusations. Chief Justice Lucy McCallum notified the court as soon as she found out that a juror had accessed evidence that was not presented in court. All 12 jurors were called into the ACT Supreme Court and questioned after an academic paper that reported on how often false rape accusations were made was found. "During routine tidying of the jury room by three sheriff's officers after the conclusion of proceedings yesterday, one of the officers accidentally bumped one of the juror's document holders onto the floor," she said. She said she had no other choice but to dismiss the jurors despite warning them “at least 17 times” to only discuss the points said in court. "You must not try to undertake your own research," she said she told them. "It's going to lead to more crime": Controversial new law passes "You must rely exclusively on the evidence you hear in this courtroom. "If you are learning something about this trial, and I'm not there, then you should not be doing it." Mr Lehmann maintains his innocence and is currently on bail. He will face a retrial on February 20, 2023. Images: Instagram/Nine

Beauty & Style

It took scientists 100 years to track these eels to their breeding ground

The life of a European eel isn’t an easy one. They’re critically endangered, must travel up to 10,000 km to get to their spawning point and then when they get there they <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel_life_history#European_eel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">probably die</a>. But they’re also incredibly difficult to keep track of. In the 1920s a Danish biologist named Johannes Schmidt, discovered the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sargasso Sea</a> – due east of North America – had eel larvae. He spent the next 20 years trying to confirm his finding. But in the century since, researchers have been unable to sample either eggs or spawning adults. Now, a team from Europe has published a paper in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-19248-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scientific Reports</a> that shows the first direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to the Sargasso Sea to breed. This provides vitally needed information on the life cycle of these slippery suckers. “The European Eel is critically endangered, so it is important that we solve the mystery surrounding their complete life-cycle to support efforts to protect the spawning area of this important species,” <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ancient-mystery-of-european-eel-migration-unravelled-to-help-combat-decline-of-critically-endangered-species" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says project lead Ros Wright from the UK Environment Agency.</a> “This is the first time we’ve been able to track eels to the Sargasso Sea … Their journey will reveal information about eel migration that has never been known before.” The team attached satellite tags to 26 female eels that were in rivers in the Azores archipelago – an autonomous region of Portugal in the North Atlantic Ocean – and then waited. When tracking had been done before in areas within Europe, like the Baltic and North Sea, the migratory routes were tracked up to 5000 kilometres, but the tracking had not gone for long enough, and the eels were heading in the right direction, but never made it all the way to the Sargasso Sea. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p219813-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/nature/animals/european-eels-life-cycle-tracking-schmidt-sargasso-sea/#wpcf7-f6-p219813-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> “The data from the tags were used to identify migratory routes that extended up to 5000 km from release, and which suggested routes taken by eels migrating from different countries converge when passing the Azores,” <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-19248-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the team wrote in their paper.</a> “However, although eels were tracked for six months or more, their migration speed was insufficient to reach the Sargasso Sea for the first presumed spawning period after migration commenced, prompting the hypothesis that the spawning migration period of eels may extend to more than 18 months.” So, the team went directly to Azores to try and get the last leg of the journey, tracking 26 of the female eels with ‘X tags’. These collect data every two minutes and when the tag releases from the eel and bobs to the surface it then connects to the ARGOS satellite. Of course, not every single one worked. Only 23 tags communicated with the system; two became detached from the eels within a week. But the remainder provided a wealth of data to the team. Average migration speed was between 3 and 12 kilometres a day, and they were tracked from 40 days all the way to 366 days. Five of the eels ended up in within the Sargasso Sea boundaries while one eel made it all the way to the presumed breeding area Schmidt discovered those many years before. This isn’t the first time that eels have been tracked in this way. A study published last year, also in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02325-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scientific Reports</a>, which Cosmos covered at the time, looked at the spawning migrations of the Australasian short-finned eel. They found that the eels travelled for five months, around 2,620 km from south-Eastern Australia, as far north as the Coral Sea in Northern Queensland. The researchers in the European eel case still have much to do. The eels didn’t move fast enough to be able to make it to the spawning period on time, which means we still don’t really understand the life cycle. “Rather than make a rapid migration to spawn at the earliest opportunity, European eels may instead make a long, slow spawning migration at depth that conserves their energy and reduces mortality risk,” the team wrote. There’s also questions of what mechanisms the eels use to be able to correctly navigate to the Sargasso Sea. As usual in science, one answer has led to plenty more questions.  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=219813&title=It+took+scientists+100+years+to+track+these+eels+to+their+breeding+ground" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/european-eels-life-cycle-tracking-schmidt-sargasso-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Jacinta Bowler. Image: Getty Images </div>

Family & Pets

Why this 100-year-old woman was arrested

A 100-year-old woman was arrested after local police officers found out that it was on her bucket list. Jean Bicketon was at Narracan Gardens Residential Aged Care in Victoria when three constables arrived in a police car with their lights flashing and siren blaring to arrest her. The former WWII nurse and her fellow aged care residents were spoken to, to assure them that no one was in fact in trouble. Ms Bicketon was then arrested and officers gently placed handcuffs on her, declaring her ‘officially’ under arrest. She did not resist. Victoria Police shared the incredible moment to Facebook, showing a happy Ms Bicketon as she was arrested. “Now these kinda arrests, we’re happy to make,” their post read. “For many, getting through life without being arrested is a pretty good run. An obvious one we would like to think. “But for ex-nurse Jean Bicketon - who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, a good run in and of itself - getting arrested was on her bucket list. “So, when we heard of Jean’s wishes, our team at Moe station were ready to step in and help check it off. “While celebrating her milestone at Narracan Gardens Residential Aged Care, three young constables whirled in, lights and sirens, to make sure Jean’s birthday wishes were met. “According to Jean it was one of the best celebrations, and we’re glad we could help grant the experience. Wishing Jean a wonderful 100th birthday! “Thanks to everyone that made this possible.” Ms Bicketon said it was an exciting experience and was happy that police accommodated her wish. “I've never been arrested in my life,” she told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11132855/Ex-army-nurse-arrested-celebrating-100th-birthday.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail Australia</a>. “I said to them I've never been drunk and I've never been arrested, never lost my driving licence and never had an infringement.” Images: Facebook

Family & Pets

Albanese announces $100 million in military aid for Ukraine, pledging support for ‘as long as it takes’

Australia has given Ukraine another $A100 million in military aid, and Anthony Albanese has pledged Australia will continue support for the embattled country “for as long as it takes for Ukraine to emerge victorious”. Albanese inspected devastated areas in and around the capital Kyiv, going to the towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel, and met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit that winds up his trip to Europe. But he did not say when Australia might reopen its embassy in the war-torn country. He has indicated Australia wants to do so as soon as possible, depending on security advice. Albanese, who travelled by train from Poland into Ukraine, met with Zelenskyy for two hours on Sunday, and they held a joint news conference. The latest military aid brings to about $388 million Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine. Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine’s defence. The new package includes: <ul> <li> miliitary aid worth $99.5 million including 14 armoured personnel carriers, 20 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles and other equipment supplied by Australia’s defence industry, plus a contribution to NATO’s Ukraine assistance fund </li> <li> $8.7 million to help upgrade border management equipment, improve cyber security and enhance border operations </li> <li> duty free access for Ukrainian imports to Australia, complementing similar trade measures taken by other countries </li> <li> Australian intervention at the International Court of Justice to support Ukraine’s case against Russia </li> <li> financial sanctions and travel bans on 16 more Russian ministers and oligarchs </li> <li> prohibition of imports of Russian gold to Australia – again in line with partner countries. </li> </ul> “Russia’s brutal invasion is a gross violation of international law,” said Albanese. “I saw first-hand the devastation and trauma it has inflicted on the people of Ukraine.” “My visit to Kyiv and recent visits by other world leaders sends a clear message that democratic nations like Australia will stand side-by-side with the Ukrainian people in their time of need. "President Zelenskyy’s leadership has rallied the Ukrainian people to defend their country and inspired the world to support humanity and freedom. The road ahead is hard but I am confident Ukraine will prevail.” The prime minister described Ukraine as fighting for the international rule of law. “We saw residential buildings that have been the subject of brutal assault from missiles and other weapons,” he said. “Clearly civilian areas have been targeted by Russian forces as part of this illegal and amoral war.” This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-announces-100-million-in-military-aid-for-ukraine-pledging-support-for-as-long-as-it-takes-186291" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Images: Twitter

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