The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that anywhere from 140,000 to 500,000 birds are killed annually in the United States due to wind turbine collisions. But Norwegian researchers found that simply painting a single turbine blade black cuts down on motion blur and reduces fatalities. "As birds have a narrow front field of view and are often using their peripheral vision to look for prey and predators, anything that can better signal a moving object would theoretically cut down on incidents.
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Phrase origin
Where does the phrase "To Have An Albatross Around Your Neck" come from? "This popular idiom is an allusion to English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798), in which an albatross is shot by the eponymous mariner, bringing feelings of insurmountable guilt upon him and disaster upon his crew:
"Ah! Well-a-day! What evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung,"
Now these words have been repurposed as an accusatory phrase, often used to describe an unfortunate mishap or mistake.The poor decision has been an albatross around his neck for years."
