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Denis Rooke, retiring president of the British Association, had some
harsh words for the media at the conference’s final press conference in
Plymouth. Science journalists only reported what they wanted to hear, not
what he actually said in his speech, he complained. For the record, this
is what he went on to say journalists left out: ‘Britain could become a
world-class economic power without any more scientific research . . . (economic
recovery) has got nothing to do with astronomy or anything like that.’

* * *

South West Water, meanwhile, gave a remarkably dispassionate paper at
Plymouth on water quality. To take but one example, it said that out of
2000 samples taken from customers’ taps 98.6 per cent met the standards
for aluminium in water (of 200 micrograms per litre). Aluminium ‘continues
to be the subject of public debate, but it is not widely recognised that
this element is also derived from natural sources – it is the third most
abundant element in the world, as well as being used to aid the removal
of impurities in some water treatment processes’.

There seems to be a word missing from this impressive outline of achievements:
the word is ‘Camelford’.

* * *

Not everyone in the London area welcomes the new Canary Wharf tower
building. As it grew it blocked the TV signal to over 10 000 homes in Poplar
previously served by the Crystal Palace transmitter. There is now a small
local transmitter which relays the signal, but viewers must reposition their
aerials to point at it.

This does not help viewers in the Lea Valley area who now find that
they get two pictures for the price of one. The tower acts like a radio
mirror, creating a virtual image of the Crystal Palace transmitter which
beams delayed echo signals at their aerials. These appear on screen as an
infuriating ghost image.

The popular press has latched onto the idea of painting the Canary Wharf
tower with the same kind of material that the US military uses on its Stealth
aircraft to fool radar systems. Stealth cladding absorbs radio energy instead
of reflecting it. The idea is by no means new. The Japanese company TDK,
now famous for recording tape, tried coating boats with ferrite material
before the Second World War. The material was so heavy that the boats sank.

Some car owners in the US have tried coating their cars with similar
material to evade radar traps. But it looks so awful that most people prefer
to drive slowly.

The BBC is now reminding journalists pursuing the Stealth theory that
there is one very good reason why it is not feasible to make the tower invisible
to radio waves. A large part of the wall area is made up from metallised
glass windows. These reflect radio waves and cause the echo problem. But
cladding them with absorptive material would leave everyone inside in permanent
darkness.

* * *

Still on Stealth, Britain’s Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in
Malvern, Worcestershire, has a poster pinned up in its main reception offering
parents and children trips in what are described as the ‘original’ Stealth
aircraft. It is totally quiet and invisible to radar. And its costs a fraction
of the high-tech American bomber. Yes, the Malvern Hills are ideal for gliding.

* * *

The hottest pet in Australia is cool, green, and slippery. Sales of
the green tree frog, Litoria caerulea, are booming. In three months, the
Pets World chain sold 1200 of the trendy amphibians in New South Wales alone.
Known as White’s tree frog in Britain and the US, the palm-sized Australian
native is leaping up the ladder of pet success because it is cute, harmless,
and the ultimate no-fuss companion. Tree frogs are also value for money.
They live 20 or 30 years, and are sturdy housemates.

Martyn Robinson of the Australian Museum in Sydney says that the creatures
‘will eat anything’, from jumbo Aussie cockroaches to tasty mealworms and
Wamberoo Mix, a line of dietary supplements prepared especially for Australian
animals.

Many frog species around the world are in decline. Fortunately, Litoria
caerulea has adapted to life in the suburbs. The water breeding land frog
can be found happily trysting in chlorine-free backyard swimming pools along
the northwest and east coast of Australia as far south as Sydney.

But Robinson has a word of advise for potential green tree frog enthusiasts
– get a female. Males have a deep, dog-like ‘bark’ and frequently make a
late-night beeline for empty buckets or the toilet bowl in order to show
off their fine calls. And how do you tell the girls from the boys? Easy,
male green tree frogs have a ‘six o’clock shadow’ of darker skin under their
chin.

* * *

Nude scientists! So began the press release from Health and Efficiency,
fresh from a survey, which continued: ‘nearly 1 in 20 readers give their
occupation as ‘engineer’. The actual figure of 17 per cent of our readers
contrasts with the 3 per cent to 6 per cent in other occupations.’ Confused?
Who wouldn’t be?

‘It was also discovered that 5 per cent of Health and Efficiency readers
also read New Å®ÉúСÊÓƵ.’ There’s proof for you. Not many women read H&E,
but ‘one was a microbiologist’. The survey’s analyst even claims to know
that ‘some of the staff of New Å®ÉúСÊÓƵ itself are naturists!’. Really?

* * *

Apology time (not ours, this is from The New York Times): ‘On Aug. 29,
Sydney Drell was quoted in this space as saying that the ‘physics community’
had formed a ‘strong consensus’ in favour of the Superconducting Supercollider.
He actually spoke of the ‘high-energy physics community’. The error is regretted.’
Now, that’s quite enough community strife, thank you.