Search

From cauldrons to cardigans - the lurking prejudices behind the name ‘Granny’

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-burridge-130136">Kate Burridge</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-barrett-12661">Catherine Barrett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a> <blockquote> “Honestly, I can’t wait to have grandkids and spoil them — but I don’t want to be called ‘Granny’” (overheard on the No. 96 tram in Melbourne) “I love it. It’s not the word that needs to change, it’s our culture” (Deborah, proud granny) </blockquote> <h2>What’s wrong with “granny”?</h2> From its debut in the early 1600s, “granny” has been more than an affectionate term for grandma — and a cursory glance at its history tells a depressingly familiar story. First, the instability and decline of words associated with women. “Granny” joins a long list of words, particularly for older women, that that have acquired negative meanings — spinsters were originally spinners; sluts were untidy people; slags and shrews were rogues; scolds were poets; bimbos were men, and so on. Many started life referring to men, but quickly narrowed to female application — and with this sexual specification came further decline. Right from the start, grannies were also people engaged in trivial (often self-serving) chatter; in other words, grannies were gossips, tell-tales and nosy parkers. In the 1700s, more negative meanings piled on — grannies became fussy, indecisive or unenterprising persons, and in many places stupid as well. The online crowdsourced Urban Dictionary now has a flourishing of additional disparaging senses for “granny” that have yet to make it into more mainstream collections. In sport, grannies refer to those who perform poorly, or they’re a kind of dead leg injury (which leaves you “<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Granny">hobbling around</a> like an old granny for the rest of the day”). <h2>“Don’t be a granny”!</h2> Tellingly, the negative uses of granny have never been restricted to women — one <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Folk_speech_of_South_Cheshire.html?id=_6ETAAAAQAAJ&redir_esc=y">19th-century dictionary</a> defines “granny” as “a simpleton: used of both sexes”. It’s another telling asymmetry in our lexicon. Terms for women are insulting when used of men (“Dad, don’t be such a granny”), but terms designating men when used of women have little or no affront. If you were to call a women a grampa or an old man, there’s really no abuse — it just seems odd. Unflattering “granny” compounds are plentiful in English: a “granny knot” is one that’s inexpertly tied, while “granny gear” is an extremely low first gear. New ones are arriving all the time: “granny weed” is low-quality marijuana that is old or dried out; “granny shot” is said of a basketballer with little skill; “granny mode” in video games is a slower speed than normal, “granny pants” (like other “granny-like” items) are naff “old lady” styles (in the fashion world, the phrase ‘not your granny’s’ describes edgy or trendy clothes — not fashion choices made or worn by grandmothers). The Oxford English Dictionary gives 29 “granny” compounds, but provides not a single compound with “grandpa”, “grampa” or “gramps”. These terms for one’s grandfather have also been remarkably stable over time. This dictionary gives a single definition: “One’s grandfather. Also used as a familiar form of address to one’s grandfather or to an elderly man”. Even Urban Dictionary, not known for its politeness, has little in the way of slangy senses for “grandpa” or “gramps” — the closest are playful entries referring to older men or grandfathers. You might compare “codger” or “geezer” — sure, they’re not exactly flattering, but they don’t pack anywhere near same punch as do “crone”, “hag”, “battle-axe”, “old bat”, “old bag” and so on. <h2>Granny goodness and greedy granny</h2> Current films, comics and games reveal another way words for women evolve. To set the scene, consider the fate of “witch”, now a slur for older women. Originally, witches could be male sorcerers, but when used of women they became something very nasty — witches were females who had dealings with the devil. Our jokey image of witches these days can’t capture the potency of this word in early times, but it has never completely shed its connotations of evil. We still retain abusive epithets like “(old) witch” and also expressions like “witches’ cauldron” to describe sinister situations. And now here’s granny in the very same cauldron. <a href="https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Granny_Goodness_(DC)">Granny Goodness</a> is one of the most well-known evil grannies in entertainment. Known for her cruelty and manipulation, this super villain hides under a façade of grandmotherly affection. <a href="https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Granny_(Granny)">Granny</a> is a survival video game where the main antagonist, Granny, is a hideously sadistic serial killer who locks people in her house and taunts them for days before brutally killing them. Then there’s <a href="https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/Vera_Moray">Granny Rags</a>, a mad, decrepit old woman whose vulnerable and destitute appearance conceals a very dark nature underneath. Of course, there are sometimes dark older male figures too, but they’re not explicitly grandfathers (for example, Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars or Dr Wily, an older, mad scientist who creates robotic menaces to achieve world domination). And they’re not in the same league as those decrepit, old, malicious women — the “witches” of pop culture. And now there’s the <a href="https://www.bigw.com.au/product/greedy-granny/p/89891">Greedy Granny</a> toy for the little ones. The aim is to steal from this grasping grandma and get away with it. <h2>Words make worlds</h2> Words are declarations of social attitudes and belief systems. Through the way we speak, the words we use and our interactions, the language reveals and reinforces psychological and social roles — status, power dynamics and relationships. Here is some context for grannies: • older women are <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2437426/HILDA-SR-med-res.pdf">the lowest income earning family group</a> • 34% of single older women <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2437426/HILDA-SR-med-res.pdf">live in poverty</a> • 60% of older women <a href="https://officeforwomen.sa.gov.au/womens-policy/womens-employment-and-economic-status/superannuation">leave paid work with no super</a> and women with super have <a href="https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/au/pdf/2021/addressing-gender-superannuation-gap.pdf">28% less than men</a> • 60% of older women rely entirely <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Economic_security_for_women_in_retirement/Report/c09">on the old age pension</a> • 40% increase in <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report/contents/older-clients">homelessness for older women</a> • older women are more likely to <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/speeches/safety-and-security-older-women">experience workplace discrimination</a> • 23% of women aged 60 years+ have experienced <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-08/22-01_prevalence-of-elder-abuse.pdf">intimate partner violence</a>. <h2>Don a granny cardy</h2> Negative senses of expressions have a saliency that will dominate and eventually expel other senses. This transformation has a name: <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Forbidden_Words.html?id=b2rCLYHjDMgC&redir_esc=y">Gresham’s Law of Semantic Change</a> (“bad meanings drive out good”). So what can be done to help drag “granny” out of this semantic abyss? Many older women are giving themselves the term and doing this playfully or as a way to reclaim power (for example the <a href="https://www.pastagrannies.com/">Pasta Grannies</a> and the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-30/granny-grommets-albany-western-australia-middleton-beach/102398172">Granny Grommets</a>). Reframing expressions in this way may not neutralise them, but it can make us more aware of the lurking prejudices. And why not slip into a cardigan? September 22 marks the world’s first <a href="https://www.celebrateageing.com/cardiganpride.html">Cardigan Pride Festival</a>. Australians around the country will don cardigans in a call to combat the inequalities older women face — and to show they’ve got older women’s backs (and shoulders) covered.<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/238200/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-burridge-130136">Kate Burridge</a>, Professor of Linguistics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-barrett-12661">Catherine Barrett</a>, Director, Celebrate Ageing Ltd, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</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/from-cauldrons-to-cardigans-the-lurking-prejudices-behind-the-name-granny-238200">original article</a>. </div>

Family & Pets

Only in Florida! Woman's shocking find lurking in backyard pool

Florida woman Lynn Tosi was not the only one who wanted to stay cool during the summer. Tosi came home to an unwanted guest: a 3.5 m alligator that had busted through her screened-in porch and was vibing in her pool. “I just kind of circled around, not knowing what I was going to do next. I sure wasn’t going outside,” Tossi said. The crook-a-dile waddled through a nearby forest to try and find water, and struck gold when he found Tossi’s pool. Without a care in the world, the insti-gator left a large hole in Tosi’s screened-in porch. “He busted right through there, kind of like the Kool-Aid man, you know,” Tosi shared. As the weather gets warmer, Alligators are becoming increasingly active, and Tosi, who has learned from this wild encounter, encouraged all homeowners to double-check their pools and lakes before diving in. “The professional coming to take him out was actually pacing and got on the phone and was really surprised by what they were up against,” Tosi recalled. In another image, the Alligator can be seen restrained, and they were lucky it didn’t snap. This encounter is one of three reported in Valusia County over the last five days. Trappers have reminded residents that the alligators are most active at dusk and dawn. Image: Lynn Tosi, NBC, CNN

Real Estate

We studied the ‘bibles’ of jazz standards – and found sexism lurking in the strangest place

We are two female jazz singers, jazz researchers and lovers of jazz. And we have discovered jazz gave us another shared experience – sexism. We’d both experienced garden variety sexism. Wendy was asked by a male school principal if her recent marriage meant she would resign from teaching to start a family. Melissa received passionate advice from a male audience member to swap her comfortable outfit with a “glamorous dress” when she sang jazz. But as university music students, neither of us imagined something as innocent as a key signature in a textbook might be a symptom of gender discrimination. A <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/key-music">key</a> tells musicians which set of notes a song uses. In singing, a key affects whether the notes will be sung in the low, middle or high part of the voice. But when we looked at what keys the “bibles” of jazz standards used, we found a hidden form of sexism. <h2>The Real books</h2> This unusual story begins in 1975 at the Berklee College of Music in the United States. Two music students, tired of reading shoddy, error-filled song sheets, created The Real Book to accurately notate jazz songs. Sold illegally to avoid copyright fees, it was a phenomenal success. After years in surreptitious worldwide circulation, publisher Hal Leonard transformed The Real Book into a <a href="https://officialrealbook.com/history/">legal edition</a>. In 1988, Sher Music joined the act and produced The New Real Book. Despite similar titles, Sher’s book was unrelated but mimicked the idea of clearly notating jazz songs. Together the two books cornered the market. The real books remain the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/arts/pop-music-flying-below-the-radar-of-copyrights.html">bibles of jazz musicians</a> everywhere because they contain hundreds of songs called <a href="https://www.jazzstandards.com/overview.definition.htm">standards</a>. Standards are common jazz songs jazz musicians are expected to know. Knowing them is your ticket to participating in jazz ensembles, and so universities use these books to train students. However, few educators realise one decision in 1975 about notating standards cemented a practice excluding women. Jazz is valued as a “conversational” style of music where musicians express personal ideas and real stories. “Authentic” jazz singing is associated with the lower voice we use when speaking. The human voice is a <a href="https://soundbridge.io/human-voice-instruments/">biological musical instrument</a> coming in a variety of sizes, with the male larynx (or voice box) generally larger than the female. This means men generally sing (and talk) in lower pitches, and keys that sit in the middle of the male voice are usually too low for women to sing. When our Berklee students and Sher Music notated songs, they chose keys used by jazz musicians. And during that era, male instrumentalists and male singers dominated the jazz community. So, when the real books were being developed, the editors didn’t choose keys that suited female voices. <h2>What’s in a key?</h2> <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Jazz-and-Gender/Reddan-Herzig-Kahr/p/book/9780367534141">Our research</a> examined the recordings of 16 renowned female jazz vocalists, including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ella-Fitzgerald">Ella Fitzgerald</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/search?query=sarah+vaughan">Sarah Vaughan</a>. We sampled 20 songs from The Real Book and 20 songs from The New Real Book and compared the keys in the books with the keys of the female recordings. Less than 5% of 248 recordings fully matched the printed key. If women sing songs straight from The Real Book or The New Real Book, they are likely to be singing too low for their voices. And if they shift the male key up one <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/octave-music">octave</a>, it will be too high. Consequently, female jazz vocal students are disadvantaged. If they comply with the keys of the iconic texts, they won’t sound as “authentically jazz” as male students. The male voice will produce the conversational tone we have come to expect from jazz; the female voice will be too low or too high for this conversational style. The female professional singers we studied <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposition_(music)">transposed</a> the standards to keys that suited a jazz style. But this skill takes time for students to learn. Transposing requires understanding music theory and having confidence to advocate for your needs as a singer. Experienced jazz singers inevitably acquire these skills, but what about novice female singers? For many young female singers, their introduction to jazz is coloured by keys ill-suited to their voices. Place them in a band where the instrumentalists are predominantly male with little understanding of voice production, and it is an uncomfortable situation for aspiring singers. Fortunately, technology has advanced to a point where many standards are available on phones and can be transposed instantly. But this won’t happen until music teachers and jazz musicians understand and respect female singers by using the appropriate keys. So, can a key signature be sexist? Yes, it can when it’s presented as the only choice of key for female students learning jazz standards. It’s time to update our jazz bibles with sources including keys used by Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, and acknowledge sexism has been hiding in the strangest place. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-the-bibles-of-jazz-standards-and-found-sexism-lurking-in-the-strangest-place-189553" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Woman shares disgusting discovery lurking in her hairbrush

A woman on TikTok has shared her disgusting discovery she made when she decided to wash her hair brushes for the first time, and has warned others not to make the same mistake. The woman shared the video of her deciding to wash her brushes after seeing a salon owner cleanse her hair tools in order to prevent your hair from getting greasy. She placed her hair brush in her bathroom sink with hot water and shampoo for a deep clean. After leaving the brushes for an hour, the woman returned to the bathroom to find the water had gone brown. “Oh my god, that’s disgusting,” she exclaimed. "Ladies, don't forget to wash your hairbrushes. I didn't even know that was a thing. Look at the state of that." The video has been viewed over 3.8 million times, with her followers also sharing their shock at the results. "I'm buying a new hair brush and starting from scratch," one person commented. "Goes and washes hair brushes now," another said. While most people were shocked at the idea, some were surprised that this didn’t seem to be a well known fact. "This confuses me that people didn't know this. It's the same as washing your makeup brushes," one person pointed out. The salon owner who posted the original video said that a dirty hairbrush could be the reason people suffer from greasy hair. As you use your brush, the grease and oil from your hair builds up and sits in your brush until it’s next use, and ends up getting transferred back to your hair. So, go and wash your hair brushes and see if you can see the difference in your hair. Image credits: TikTok @everythingtidy

Beauty & Style

Cruise ship workers reveal the “evil” lurking on board

Cruise ships host millions of people each year and thousands on a single vessel. While it is a holiday filled with relaxation, comfort and ease - there are a variety of different personalities that make their way onboard, and cruise staff must cater to each of these cruisers needs. While it can be an enjoyable experience to make sure guests are satisfied, one former senior cruise ship officer Jay Herring told <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/travel/cruise/1132937/cruise-2019-cruises-ship-social-evil-cheating-infidelity-crew-passengers">express.co.uk</a> there is a clear “social evil”permeating through the cruises. In his book, The Truth About Cruise Ships, the former Carnival Cruise Lines employee said some experiences left a sour taste in his mouth, especially amongst passengers. “For me, there was social evil on board the ship. “I’m speaking, of course, about rampant infidelity. “On land, I am probably surrounded by more unfaithful people than I realise. Jay also noted his wife, who worked abroad casinos on the same ship, saw “multiple affairs in progress every day.” “It bothered me not just because I witnessed it, or it existed, what bothered me was that it was so commonplace and so frequent that its came to be considered normal behaviour,” she said.

Cruising

The world's most dangerous spider that is lurking in your home

Australians are being warned to keep an eye out for funnel webs during this spell of warmer weather. They’re not just found in gardens though – the world’s deadliest spiders can quickly find their way into your home as they search for cool, damp places to spend the night. Summertime is funnel web mating season, and you’ll most likely find them in the cooler evenings when you’re outside for your family BBQ. Speaking to news.com.au, Paul Hare, the Invertebrate Keeper at Taronga Zoo, said, “This time of year we find the males in the evenings when it's cooler, walking around looking for females.” They are particularly attracted to cooler places in the home like bathrooms, the laundry and pools. In fact a funnel web can survive being underwater for several days, so don’t assume a spider in the pool is dead. “If you do get bitten you will feel the effects very quickly,” continues Mr Hare, “it can make you very, very sick.” Symptoms of a funnel web bite include severe pain at the site of the bite, abdominal pains, difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting, dizziness and sweating. These creatures have a venomous bite that can kill a human in just 15 minutes if left untreated. In the case of a bite, you are advised to call an ambulance immediately (most hospitals will have anti-venom) and apply a pressure immobilisation bandage. Keep the patient calm and still to avoid the venom travelling through the body. After a few days in hospital, most patients are sent home safely. Have you seen any funnel webs in your home or garden? Share your story in the comments below.

Retirement Life

Can you spot the snake lurking in this Queensland garden?

Even if you’re out in the suburbs, with <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/home-garden/2017/10/seven-deadly-snakes-found-in-five-year-olds-bed/" target="_blank">no shortage of dangerous animals</a> calling our country home living in Australia isn’t for the faint of heart. In case you needed more proof, look no further than this picture from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SunshineCoastSnakeCatchers/" target="_blank">Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers</a>. The snake removal company posted the following picture on Facebook this week, asking users to spot the serpent and name the species. But many users were stumped. Can you spot the snake? <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSunshineCoastSnakeCatchers%2Fphotos%2Fa.1483835075201616.1073741828.1483562515228872%2F1910173842567735%2F%3Ftype%3D3&width=500" width="500" height="521" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> To find the answer, scroll through the gallery above. Did you spot the snake straight away?

Home & Garden

Unlikely hidden danger lurking in Queensland boy’s water bottle

A Queensland mother was astonished after a snake fell out of her son’s water bottle as she emptied it in the sink. Snake Catchers Brisbane shared a photo of the small carpet python curled up in a sink in the family’s Ashgrove home. "She got quite a shock when she emptied her son's water bottle and this yearling fell out of the bottle!" Snake Catchers wrote on Facebook. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fwww.snakecatchers.com.au%2Fphotos%2Fa.185721661616455.1073741828.185716708283617%2F684351465086803%2F%3Ftype%3D3&width=500" width="500" height="632" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> The group were called to remove the python and said it was not harmed in the ordeal. Many Queensland residents said they will now be checking their children’s water bottles for unlikely intruders. Snake Catchers has warned locals of an increase in snakes, explaining that they have received calls to remove snakes in Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich and the Gold Coast this month. "Carpet pythons are the most obvious at this time with males actively seeking out females," the report said. "This results in a higher probability of sightings and lucky residents may even witness male/male combat at this time of year." Snake Catchers recently have removed a snake from a roof in Sunnybank that weighed 11kg. They were also called to remove a 1.5 metre red-bellied snake from a lounge room in Logan. "[We] expect to see more of these as males get more active into the month of October," they said.

Domestic Travel

Can you spot the snake lurking near the baby’s cot?

Can you see the snake lurking in this baby’s room, just centimetres from the cot? The photo, posted to Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers Facebook page, left hundreds of people scratching their heads as they searched for the snake hidden in the room. Can you spot it? Take a closer look here… <img width="453" height="340" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/41108/snake-main_453x340.jpg" alt="Snake -MAIN" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Spotted it yet? Scroll through the gallery above to reveal the answer.

Mind

Woman shocked by what was lurking in her mattress

A British woman was shocked to discover what was in her mattress after revealing she only changes her <a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/collections/bedroom?utm_source=Over60&utm_medium=in-article-link-bedroom&utm_campaign=Over60Shop&utm_content=over60-shop" target="_blank">bedsheets</a> once every three weeks or sometimes four “when things are hectic”. Karen Aldridge has come under fire after appearing on This Morning and allowing consumer expert Alice Beer into her home to inspect her bed for dirt and bugs. Alice called in a Rentokil expert to vacuum the mattress with a special machine that revealed a bucket of dirty water full of dust mites, sweat and skin cells. “That is just shocking, absolutely shocking. I can’t believe how much dirt was in there,” said Karen. <img width="495" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40038/a111_495x245.jpg" alt="A 111"/> Karen explained she and her husband had owned the mattress for three years but her son had been sleeping on his for 12 years. An examination of his bedding revealed a similar result. Rentokil expert Luke Rutterwood explained it was “not something to be ashamed of” but “just the reality of what lives inside a mattress”. “Obviously in a bed you’re going to find sweat, you’re going to find dead skin cells, there is going to be bacteria.” “One of the issues we have are dust mites. They are only tiny between 1-1.5mm and they can move down beneath the bedding and get into the mattress itself.” Luke advised viewers to vacuum their beds regularly, air out mattresses by opening windows and washing bedsheets in a hot temperature. To find your home essentials <a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/?utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=Over60Shop&utm_medium=in-article-link-o60shop&utm_content=over60-shop%20%20%20" target="_blank">head to the Over60 Shop for high-quality offerings</a>. <a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/collections/bedroom?utm_source=Over60&utm_medium=in-article-banner-bedroom&utm_campaign=Over60Shop&utm_content=over60-shop" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.oversixty.com.au/images/EditorialAddon/201706_Shopnow_EditorialAddon_468x60_Bedroom.jpg" alt="Over60 Shop - Bedroom Range"/></a>

Home & Garden

There’s a deadly predator lurking in this photo

Did you spot the hidden danger lurking in the garage? Luckily, the Sunshine Coast homeowner spotted the 1.8 metre carpet python hiding in his garage. He called Lockie Gilding, of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, who promptly disposed of it. “I just picked him up, bagged him up, and took him to nearby bushland and released him into the bush,” Mr Gilding told the <a href="https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/can-you-see-the-6ft-long-snake-in-this-picture/3188970/" target="_blank">Sunshine Coast Daily</a>. “He was pretty and happy and relaxed,” said Mr Gilding, “He would have just been happy to have a warm place.” <img width="422" height="317" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/06/14/01/4166B95200000578-4601642-Snake_catcher_Lockie_Gilding_found_the_six_foot_carpet_python_sq-a-8_1497400081218.jpg" alt="Snake catcher Lockie Gilding found the six foot carpet python squeezed in between two boxes" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" id="i-1da62a695be20c51"/>

Mind

Huge shark lurks just below fishermen’s boat

A US fisherman has captured the heartstopping moment a giant shark approached his boat. Jeremy Ballantine was fishing with friends at Barnstable Harbor in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, over the weekend when a large shark swam frighteningly close to their boat. Watch the heartstopping moment below. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YYFpyiEltqg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Video credit: Jeremy Ballantine via Storyful

Cruising

8 hidden dangers lurking in your garden

Gardening is a great pastime – it's relaxing and most of the time it's a healthy pursuit. But it can be hazardous, and it's not always the things you can see that pose a potential danger. 1. Legionellosis Most of us already know the potential is there – even the potting mix and compost bags carry warnings, and people have died from picking up the dreaded legionella bacteria that thrives in moist, warm soil. But how many of us actually bother to don a dust mask? Probably a lot more after this unfortunate episode. And maybe garden centres will finally get around to displaying masks at the checkout. Other preventative measures recommended include dampening down the soil before you start, and working in a well-ventilated area. Minimising dust and using gentle rather than forceful watering sprays are also recommended. 2. Tetanus Of course, legionellosis is not the only hazard lurking in the garden. Tetanus has long been the hidden enemy in the soil. Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is caused by the action of tetanus toxin released by a spore-forming bacillus that lives in the soil. It can be introduced to the bloodstream through the smallest of scratches. Initial symptoms of tetanus include weakness, stiffness or cramps and difficulty chewing or swallowing food. As the disease progresses, you can expect muscular rigidity and very painful contraction spasms. But the good news is you can prevent this disease by vaccination. In the meantime, keep cuts and scratches covered when you're working in the garden and make sure you wash and clean any injury straight away. Wearing gloves when gardening is also recommended. 3. Pesticides and fungicides Other potential hazards involve the use of chemical and non-chemical pesticides. These can be hazardous if used, stored or disposed of incorrectly. Chemicals should be stored in their original containers, preferably with a child-proof cap, and well out of reach of children. There is also a possible fire hazard. Oxidising agents, such as nitrate fertilisers and chlorine-based swimming pool chemicals, must be kept separate from flammable materials, such as methylated spirits and kerosene, and away from certain fungicides (EDBC) which, when wet, will generate heat. 4. Poisonous plants There are plenty of growing hazards in the garden as well. Plants can cause a variety or reactions, ranging from mild skin irritations to a severe or even fatal response, although few people die from plant poisoning. Some plants are entirely poisonous, while other plants concentrate their poison in certain places, such as leaves or flowers. Some plants are toxic to animals but not to people. Small quantities of some plant toxins can have a severe effect, while others only irritate if eaten in very large quantities. So it is best to discourage children from playing with leaves, berries, bulbs and flowers, and bulbs should also be stored out of reach of children. 5. Insect stings and bites Avoidance is your best bet when it comes to insect stings and bites. Bees and wasps are attracted to strong scents, so avoid wearing any form of fragrance of after shave when you are working outdoors. And if you do get a bee sting, try not to squeeze the bag of venom as you remove the sting. 6. Spiders And then there are the spiders. It's a good idea to wear gloves when working around wood piles and retaining walls, where you may see the spider's thick, white, sheet-like webs. 7. Garden equipment It seems we can be our own worst enemy. Using tools and machinery in the garden creates a lot of potential for accident and injury. This can include the obvious cuts to hands and feet, but also damage to hearing through noisy machinery. Using protective clothing when using machinery, and good maintenance of tools and machines will reduce risk. It also helps to ensure there are no loose stones in areas where you are using mowers, weed-eaters and trimmers. 8. Look after yourself It may seem obvious, but gardening invariably means exposure to harmful UV rays, so investing in a good sunscreen is a must. A decent hat and plenty of liquid will also help avoid sunstroke if you are spending long hours outdoors. And don't forget the potential for back injury when lifting heavy items, including removing that bag of potting mix from the boot of the car. But despite all the hazards, don't be scared off gardening – it's the good life and incredibly rewarding. Written by Colleen Hawkes. First appeared on <a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2016/02/five-year-old-girls-struggles-with-breakup/">Mature 5-year-old struggles with breaking up with kindy sweetheart</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/02/104-year-old-twins-share-secret-to-longevity/">104-year-old twins share secret to longevity</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/02/emu-cools-down-under-a-sprinkler/">Emu cools down under a sprinkler</a>

News

Our Partners

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Contests

Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Property

Games

Information

Keep up to date