KEY POINTS:
Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to contact relatives once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live. "He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr David Dosa, who describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in the New England Journal of Medicine. The 2-year-old was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit in Providence, Rhode Island, which treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. Dosa said Oscar seemed to take his work seriously and was generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said. Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. (Source: Forbes.com)
* * *
Girl Guides say they need to know more about safe sex, assembling flat-pack furniture, how to manage debts and reduce the size of their carbon footprint, reports the Times. The subjects emerged in a survey of more than 1000 Guides, an organisation trying to keep itself relevant to young women. These were the priorities for Guides aged over 16 but practising safe sex was placed fourth, with assembling flat-pack furniture eighth. Younger Guides, aged from 10 to 15, valued more traditional skills such as cooking a healthy meal and pitching a tent. The under-10 group said they wanted to know how to surf the web safely and how to cross the road. (Source: Times Online)
* * *
Unfortunate use of cliche from Central Leader, July 25: Steve Johns from Surf Life Saving Northern says "many of those groups are struggling to stay afloat".
* * *
Chinese authorities seized 46 toy guns from a Shanghai Wal-Mart. The guns reportedly violated a law that says they must be painted bright colours. "The toy guns sold in Wal-Mart are too real, and such toys can be harmful to children by easily inducing them to violence," said one official. Wal-Mart could face fines for stocking the toy guns. (Source: Reason.com)
* * *
Jeremy Dawson writes: Stephanie Wickham complains that the Dick Smith cashier mucked about for 10 minutes to print the 8c voucher. Why not just tell them to keep the change?
* * *
