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Watching the World

The Mystery of the Canine “Suicides”

The people of Rosario, Argentina, are seeking a credible explanation for what appears to be a wave of attempted canine “suicides” in that city. The problem has been observed mainly at Rosario’s popular park known as Parque de España. A promenade in that park looms some 90 feet above the Paraná River. Over a one-​year period, there have been some 50 instances in which dogs suddenly pulled away from their owners, ran straight to the edge of the promenade, and jumped to almost certain death. According to experts, however, dogs are not capable of deciding to kill themselves. Rather, veterinarians think that the dogs are lured by ultrasounds or by the movement of birds or boats in the river. They dash toward the edge, but before realizing it, they find themselves flying down into the cleft.

Personal Security Devices

According to The Toronto Star, more Canadians are obtaining portable security devices for protection. Among popular items are the “noisemakers” or “screamers”​—personal alarms that emit high-​frequency sounds. Also available are vials containing malodorous chemicals designed to discourage the attacker and aerosol dyes that facilitate the later identification of the attacker, who has been sprayed green. The Star acknowledges, however, that “personal security gizmos cannot guarantee that a person will not become a victim of violent crime. Common-​sense precautions, according to police, can be more important than technology.”

Health Risks of Farming

Fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides have helped farmers reduce the loss of their crops. However, a report by the International Labor Organization says that agricultural chemicals are directly responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 farm workers each year. It is estimated that these chemicals seriously affect the health of another 3.5 million to 5 million persons.

Anglican Priests and Their Man-​Made God

Recently the Church of England dismissed one of its clergymen. The priest was openly teaching disbelief in a supernatural God, in the authority of the Bible, and in Jesus as a savior. Despite his open disregard for Bible teachings and church doctrines, his dismissal triggered a sympathetic reaction from other priests. Seventy-​five Church of England clergymen signed a public letter requesting that the man in question be allowed to continue as a priest. Some priests claim that there are hundreds of fellow Anglican clergymen who do not believe in a supernatural God.

Global Insecurity

In connection with the upcoming World Summit for Social Development in March 1995, the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) released a newsletter expressing its concern over human security. The newsletter, basing its report on the Human Development Report 1994, noted that “at the beginning of this century, about 90 per cent of war casualties were military. Today, about 90 per cent are civilian​—a disastrous shift in the balance.” The UNDP acknowledges that human security is threatened regardless of where you live. The Human Development Report added that “famines, ethnic conflicts, social disintegration, terrorism, pollution and drug trafficking are no longer isolated events, confined within national borders. Their consequences travel the globe.”

Roaming Pit Bulls

Many Eastern cities in the United States are experiencing an increasing problem with dangerous pit bulls roaming the streets, according to The New York Times. Tom Simon, an official for the Canine Control Office explains that not all pit bulls are necessarily dangerous. He said that “if they are trained properly, they really can be a gentle dog and make wonderful pets.” But the harsh reality is that the dangerous dogs mentioned above have been inbred and trained to be ferocious fighters. Some dogs are being cruelly tortured “to make them more crazy,” one expert explained. After participating in violent and savage dogfights, many dogs are unable to fight again. When this happens, often the owners merely abandon the pit bulls to roam the streets.

New Ecumenical Church Body in Australia

In 1946, a number of churches in Australia formed the Australian Council of Churches. The Roman Catholic Church did not become a member but did have observer status for many years. Now, nearly 50 years later, the council has been given a new name, the National Council of Churches in Australia. Its membership has increased by just one​—the Catholic Church. The Lutheran Church was invited to join the new body, but it declined, since not enough of its own members were in favor of the move. The Sydney Morning Herald noted that David Gill, who was nominated to be general secretary of the new council, spoke of them as “praying like mad,” and he added: “I suppose that in itself is a bit of a change.” He was referring to the previous council’s “somewhat political image.” “The emphasis,” it was said, “seemed to be on social justice rather than spreading the Good News.” The paper added: “Failure to embark on what evangelicals call ‘gospel issues’ has created a major rift, which is still unresolved.”

Unclaimed Luggage

What happens to all the unclaimed luggage left with major U.S. carriers? It is sold to a Scottsboro, Alabama, company called Unclaimed Baggage Center. There it is opened, cleaned, checked for cash, and resold to the public. “One look inside Unclaimed Baggage is enough to convert even the most trusting air traveler to stick to carryon,” says The Wall Street Journal. “Four mammoth sales floors feature everything from fur coats and fishing rods to T-shirts and cameras. . . . You also can find toasters, cosmetics, moose antlers, Hungarian folk tapes, even a casket.” Airlines handle some two million bags a day, and although they misroute or misplace about 10,000 to 20,000 of them, fewer than 200 are not reunited with their owners. Travelers are given three months in which to claim lost bags before they are shipped off. “While the airlines say they can’t find the owners of items sent to Scottsboro, clerks there say they spend hours peeling and scraping names and addresses from merchandise before putting it up for sale,” the Journal states.

The Jackpot Shrine

A small, relatively unknown island in southern Japan has suddenly become famous, thanks to the name of a local Shinto shrine. Its name, Hoto, means “strike treasure,” and a civic promotion group has utilized this with results exceeding their wildest dreams. They arranged for the shrine to sell bags in which people could put their lottery tickets. Using these “lucky bags” bought at the shrine, they said, guarantees good fortune in the lottery. Since then, “people hoping to strike it big in the lottery have been descending in droves on Hoto Shrine,” says Asahi Evening News. It is not these “droves,” however, but the shrine, selling bags at $10 and $30 a piece, that has hit the jackpot.

Egypt Has Oldest Paved Road

Research geologists have mapped out a 7.5-mile [12 km] paved road across the desert 43 miles [69 km] southwest of Cairo. The ancient road, paved with slabs of limestone, sandstone, and even some petrified wood, has been dated about 2600 to 2200 B.C.E., during the period of the Old Kingdom. It has an average width of six and a half feet. [2 m] The road was built to facilitate the transportation of heavy stones from a large basalt quarry to the shore of an ancient lake that was linked to the Nile at flood stage. The lake no longer exists. The dark stones were favored by the ancient Egyptian rulers for their sarcophagi and for pavements inside the Giza mortuary temples. “Here is another technological triumph you can attribute to ancient Egypt,” said geology professor Dr. James A. Harrell. A flagstone road in Crete, dated no earlier than 2000 B.C.E., was previously the oldest known paved road.