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Filling the silences in family stories − how to think like a historian to uncover your family’s narrative

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrea-kaston-tange-1417052">Andrea Kaston Tange</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macalester-college-2632">Macalester College</a></em></p> <p>Great-grandmothers. We all have them. But most of us will never know them except through glimpses of fading bits of paper: sepia photographs, recipe cards, letters in handwriting traced by a fountain pen dispensing cocoa-colored ink.</p> <p>What does it take to build coherent stories out of such tantalizing fragments of lives? I face this question routinely in my career as a <a href="https://www.macalester.edu/english/facultystaff/andreakastontange/">professor of 19th-century literature and culture</a>. Recently, I’ve turned that experience to writing a book about my own family.</p> <p>When I inherited my great-grandmother’s diary, a repurposed teacher’s planner in which she chronicled the family’s 1926 move from Michigan to Miami, I found a wedding portrait tucked inside. The angled profile showcases her youthful skin and a dress too elaborate for a Midwestern schoolteacher’s daily wear. It is easy to imagine that she took pleasure in inscribing her new name on the picture’s reverse: Faith Avery.</p> <p>I stared at her beautiful image for years, as if details of her satin gown could explain why a woman widowed in 1918 would, for the rest of her life, refuse to admit to having had that first husband and yet carefully preserve this portrait.</p> <p>And then, because archives have been at the center of my scholarly work, I turned to research. I located marriage records and draft cards, pored over maps, found family members in censuses and obituaries. Within those documents lay answers both surprising and poignant.</p> <p>What did I look for? How might anyone with a half-told family story begin to uncover more truths? And what does it take to make sense of them?</p> <h2>The digging</h2> <p>Questions that begin with “why” can rarely be answered easily. Researchers thus often prefer to start with “who” and “when” and “how,” locating a person in one spot and then tracing them through time. This adventure down a rabbit hole follows a method.</p> <p>Make a list of unknowns. These may be facts or enticing tidbits of incomplete family lore. My mother, trying to be helpful, told me things like, “Faith always said there was a horse thief in the family, but she was too mortified to reveal his name” and “I think Aunt Harriette (Faith’s sister) was married once briefly.”</p> <p>Do precise, not general, searches. Typing “horse thief Avery” into Google yields nothing useful, but many other sources contain rich information about old-fashioned exploits. The New York Public Library’s <a href="https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/03/25/genealogy-guide-books">guide for family research</a> introduces some options. The <a href="https://www.loc.gov/pictures/">Library of Congress print and photograph collection</a> can also help you envision your ancestors’ world. Physical libraries contain historic photographs, maps, local records and digitized newspapers not available online. Historical societies and state universities typically allow free, in-person use of their collections.</p> <p>Know that sometimes you will fail and need to change course. I spent several days looking for the horse thief to no avail, much to my mother’s disappointment. But when I turned to Aunt Harriette’s marriage, I found a character no less fascinating, one I now think of as “Four Wives Frank.”</p> <p>Read old documents knowing they were produced by a patchwork of individuals who took information on trust. The handwritten birth, death, marriage and <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/census/about">census records</a> of past centuries relied on self-reported data that required no verification. They can be plagued by carelessness in the name of efficiency.</p> <p>One hurried census-taker recorded Faith’s mother Cara as “Cora,” another renamed her brother Horace “Harris.” Frank offered up a variety of birth years, countries of origin and maiden names for his mother as he worked his way west. He must have been charming. Who but a charming man could have convinced woman after woman to marry him, each thinking she was, at most, his second wife? Marriage register officers and census-takers, not to mention his trail of brides, were none the wiser.</p> <p>Which leads me to this: Cross-check information. I knew I had the right Frank because he had the same three sons in multiple records. Inconsistencies across those records, in conjunction with the trajectory of his life, made this conclusion inevitable: The man purposefully reinvented himself.</p> <h2>The assembly</h2> <p>My academic work has taught me that most <a href="https://doi.org/10.2979/victorianstudies.63.2.02">archival answers lead to more questions</a>. As a result, I expect multiple phases of collecting. I gathered everything I could find about Faith’s early life, in hopes something might explain her reticence about her first marriage. As her story emerged, I periodically hit holes in the narrative that sent me back for more digging.</p> <p>Understanding people is easier if you are familiar with their world. For background, I read histories of Miami in the 1920s and researched details in Faith’s diary that might reveal her personality or motivations. Exploring her reading lists showed me a woman who enjoyed popular entertainment, such as 1926’s blockbuster “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016598/">Aloma of the South Seas</a>.” Primers of <a href="https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1920-1929">1920s wages and prices</a> explained the family’s economic worries.</p> <p>As I got to know Faith, I revisited documents with new questions. To figure out whether Harriette’s husband Frank had anything to do with Faith, I made timelines for both sisters. To ponder the emotional underpinnings of those events, I reread Faith’s diary, paying particular attention to entries about Harriette and about Faith’s second husband.</p> <p>Because every pile of documents contains multiple stories, the key to a coherent narrative is locating a through line that addresses the biggest conundrums while identifying the tangents. I let go of the horse thief.</p> <h2>The results</h2> <p>The detective-style plots of what I call “<a href="https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/lilly-dancyger-memoir-as-detective-novel">investigative memoir</a>” may inspire you to do your own family research. Genealogy sites such as <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/">Ancestry.com</a> and <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/en/united-states/">FamilySearch.org</a> can help.</p> <p>But it’s worth remembering that secondary reading will add richness to any family story. And local librarians are extraordinary at helping patrons navigate the search process.</p> <p>Improbable as it might seem, Four Wives Frank helped me understand the extent of Faith’s secrets and that she harbored them in hopes that her children’s lives would be easier. Such self-sacrifices are common for mothers. And yet, their particulars are as individual as the faintly silvered portrait of the soft young woman who married Harold Avery in 1911, and whose story requires an entire book to tell properly.<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/234341/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrea-kaston-tange-1417052">Andrea Kaston Tange</a>, Professor of English, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macalester-college-2632">Macalester College</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/filling-the-silences-in-family-stories-how-to-think-like-a-historian-to-uncover-your-familys-narrative-234341">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Family & Pets

Almost half the men surveyed think they could land a passenger plane. Experts disagree

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/guido-carim-junior-1379129">Guido Carim Junior</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-campbell-1414564">Chris Campbell</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elvira-marques-1362476">Elvira Marques</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nnenna-ike-1490692">Nnenna Ike</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tim-ryley-1253269">Tim Ryley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a></em></p> <p>Picture this: you’re nestled comfortably in your seat cruising towards your holiday destination when a flight attendant’s voice breaks through the silence:</p> <blockquote> <p>Ladies and gentlemen, both pilots are incapacitated. Are there any passengers who could land this plane with assistance from air traffic control?</p> </blockquote> <p>If you think you could manage it, you’re not alone. <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/01/02/fd798/3">Survey results</a> published in January indicate about one-third of adult Americans think they could safely land a passenger aircraft with air traffic control’s guidance. Among male respondents, the confidence level rose to nearly 50%.</p> <p>Can a person with no prior training simply guide everyone to a smooth touchdown?</p> <p>We’ve all heard stories of passengers who saved the day when the pilot became unresponsive. For instance, last year <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbMoyWukjbs">Darren Harrison</a> managed to land a twin-engine aircraft in Florida – after the pilot passed out – with the guidance of an air traffic controller who also happened to be a flight instructor.</p> <p>However, such incidents tend to take place in small, simple aircraft. Flying a much bigger and heavier commercial jet is a completely different game.</p> <h2>You can’t always rely on autopilot</h2> <p>A pilot spends about 90% of their time monitoring autopilot systems and making sure everything is working as intended. The other 10% is spent managing problems, taxiing, taking off and landing.</p> <p>Takeoffs and landings are arguably the most difficult tasks pilots perform, and are always performed manually. Only on very few occasions, and in a handful of aircraft models, can a pilot use autopilot to land the aircraft for them. This is the exception, and not the rule.</p> <p>For takeoff, the aircraft must build up speed until the wings can generate enough lift to pull it into the air. The pilot must <a href="https://youtu.be/16XTAK-4Xbk?si=66yDo5g5I086Q2y2&t=65">pay close attention</a> to multiple instruments and external cues, while keeping the aircraft centred on the runway until it reaches lift-off speed.</p> <p>Once airborne, they must coordinate with air traffic control, follow a particular path, retract the landing gear and maintain a precise speed and direction while trying to climb.</p> <p>Landing is even more complicated, and requires having precise control of the aircraft’s direction and descent rate.</p> <p><a href="https://youtu.be/u_it9OiTnSM?si=xNZrLB9ZH870LEa3&t=360">To land successfully</a>, a pilot must keep an appropriate speed while simultaneously managing gear and flap configuration, adhering to air traffic regulations, communicating with air traffic control and completing a number of paper and digital checklists.</p> <p>Once the aircraft comes close to the runway, they must accurately judge its height, reduce power and adjust the rate of descent – ensuring they land on the correct area of the runway.</p> <p>On the ground, they will use the brakes and reverse thrust to bring the aircraft to a complete stop before the runway ends. This all happens within just a few minutes.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nyx4NyMrvOs?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Both takeoff and landing are far too quick, technical and concentration-intensive for an untrained person to pull off. They also require a range of skills that are only gained through extensive training, such as understanding the information presented on different gauges, and being able to coordinate one’s hands and feet in a certain way.</p> <h2>Training a pilot</h2> <p>The journey from student to commercial pilot is a long one. It normally starts with a recreational licence, followed by a private licence, and then a commercial licence (which allows them to fly professionally).</p> <p>Even before stepping into a cockpit, the student must study aerodynamics, air law and flight rules, meteorology, human factors, navigation, aircraft systems, and performance and flight planning. They also need to spend time learning about the specific aircraft they will be flying.</p> <p>Once the fundamentals are grasped, an instructor takes them for training. Most of this training is conducted in small, lightweight aircraft – with a simulator introduced briefly towards the end.</p> <p>During a lesson, each manoeuvre or action is demonstrated by the instructor before the student attempts it. Their attempt may be adjusted, corrected or even terminated early in critical situations.</p> <p>The first ten to fifteen lessons focus on takeoff, landing, basic in-flight control and emergency management. When the students are ready, they’re allowed to “go solo” – wherein they conduct a complete flight on their own. This is a great milestone.</p> <p>After years of experience, they are ready to transition to a commercial aircraft. At this point they might be able to take off and land reasonably well, but they will still undergo extensive training specific to the aircraft they are flying, including hours of advanced theory, dozens of simulator sessions and hundreds of hours of real aircraft training (most of which is done with passengers onboard).</p> <p>So, if you’ve never even learned the basics of flying, your chances of successfully landing a passenger aircraft with air traffic control’s help are close to zero.</p> <h2>Yet, flying is a skill like any other</h2> <p>Aviation training has been democratised by the advent of high-end computers, virtual reality and flight simulation games such as Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.flightsimulator.com/">Flight Simulator</a> and <a href="https://www.x-plane.com/">X-Plane</a>.</p> <p>Anyone can now rig up a desktop flight simulator for a few thousand dollars. Ideally, such a setup should also include the basic physical controls found in a cockpit, such as a control yoke, throttle quadrant and pedals.</p> <p>Flight simulators provide an immersive environment in which professional pilots, students and aviation enthusiasts can develop their skills. So if you really think you could match-up against a professional, consider trying your hand at one.</p> <p>You almost certainly won’t be able to land an actual passenger plane by the end of it – but at least you’ll gain an appreciation for the immense skill pilots possess.<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/218037/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/guido-carim-junior-1379129"><em>Guido Carim Junior</em></a><em>, Senior Lecturer in Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-campbell-1414564">Chris Campbell</a>, Adjunct Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elvira-marques-1362476">Elvira Marques</a>, Aviation PhD candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nnenna-ike-1490692">Nnenna Ike</a>, Research Assistant, Griffith Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tim-ryley-1253269">Tim Ryley</a>, Professor and Head of Griffith Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: </em><em>Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/almost-half-the-men-surveyed-think-they-could-land-a-passenger-plane-experts-disagree-218037">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Travel Trouble

Why you shouldn’t worry if the plane cabin fills with fog

<p dir="ltr">A savvy traveller has shared why plane cabins can fill with fog, and why you need not to worry about it. </p> <p dir="ltr">Passenger Savannah Gowarty posted a video of the suspiciously looking inflight mist and condensation on a domestic US flight, with the video garnered over 13.1 million views, and amazing and confusing commentators questioning what was going on.</p> <p dir="ltr">In response to the viral video, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesperson told <em><a href="https://cnn.com/travel">CNN Travel</a></em> what it means. </p> <p dir="ltr">The short answer: it's a natural occurrence that usually only lasts a short while, and it's nothing to worry about.</p> <p dir="ltr">"On hot and relatively humid days, cold air from the aircraft's air conditioning system mixes with the warmer, humid cabin air and lowers it to the dew point, creating fog," the spokesperson said. </p> <p dir="ltr">"The fog is generally short-lived as the cooled air quickly warms above the dew point."</p> <p dir="ltr">When an airplane is waiting on the ground pre-departure, the aircraft cabin air is kept cool "either from an external ground air conditioning unit or the aircraft's own Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)," as the FAA spokesperson explains.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Both provide cold air (usually much cooler than the ambient temperature) which can temporarily lower the dew point of the aircraft cabin air enough to create fog."</p> <p dir="ltr">Climate scientist Indrani Roy emphasised that neither mist nor any resulting condensation is "cause for alarm."</p> <p dir="ltr">The FAA spokesperson went on to explain that "aircraft cabin fog usually dissipates very quickly."</p> <p dir="ltr">"This is due to the colder air (which lowered the cabin air temperature to its dew point) quickly warms back above the dew point. Once that happens, the fog will disappear.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many times, the fog only appears as it comes out of the vent, exists for 1-2 seconds and then is gone."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Travel Trouble

Airport worker steals half a million dollars of personal items

<p>A trusted worker at Sydney Airport has been jailed for two years after stealing more than $450,000 worth of personal items from airport cargo. </p> <p>The 38-year-old man from Western Sydney, who was a freight handler at the airport, was identified as a potential suspect when the thefts of personal electronic items were first reported in February 2022.</p> <p>Several months later, he was found with $189,000 cash in the boot of his car, according to Australian Federal Police. </p> <p>The AFP then found that a further $261,000 had been transferred into the man’s personal bank accounts, after a number of stolen devices had been “sold, gifted, or kept for personal use”.</p> <p>“This money, which totalled $450,000, was criminal proceeds generated from the sale of the stolen electronic devices,” AFP said.</p> <p>The man was charged with receiving stolen property and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime, while his partner, a 45-year-old woman, was charged with two counts of dealing with money or other property reasonable to be suspected of being proceeds of crime under $100,000.</p> <p>The pair pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2023, and on Wednesday the man was sentenced to three years and four months in jail, with a non-parole period of two years.</p> <p>The woman was to an intensive corrections order of 70 hours community service.</p> <p>AFP Sydney Airport Police Commander Morgen Blunden said the pair was “motivated by profit and greed”.</p> <p>“People with trusted access in an airport precinct are critical to the successful operation of Australia’s tourism and trade sectors,” Blunden said.</p> <p>“But the AFP will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute those who abuse this trust. AFP has zero tolerance for those to abuse their access to air-side operations for their illegal pursuits.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Trouble

"A Duck-Filled Platypus?!": Wheel of Fortune contestant's $10k mistake

<p>A Wheel of Fortune contestant has made a hilarious mistake that cost her US$7250 ($10,900) with viewers blasting her on social media for not knowing the painfully obvious answer. </p> <p>During an episode of the American game show this week, Floridian contestant Kimberly Wright failed to complete the puzzle when she picked the wrong letter, according to <em>Fox News</em>. </p> <p>The puzzle board read “D U _ _ – _ _ L L E D PLATYPUS,” and Wright chose to spin the wheel which landed on the Express wedge. </p> <p>“I’m going to call an F,” she said, which elicited groans from audiences in the studio. </p> <p>Wright believed that the answer was “duck-filled platypus”, when it was “duck-billed platypus" an animal native to Australia, and many fans were in disbelief over her "painful" mistake. </p> <p>“I have never been more enraged watching wheel of fortune,” one fan wrote in response to a clip of the viral moment. </p> <p>“Oh my, that was painful. F?? She thought the platypus was filled? with what exactly?” another tweeted. </p> <p>“F***** brutal,” a third agreed. </p> <p>“Where did this lady think an F was going to go in this puzzle?" a fourth asked, while another wrote: “wheel of fortune puzzle was clearly duck-billed platypus and the lady asked for an F she’s like reverse autocorrect.”</p> <p>“A Duck-Filled Platypus!?” another chimed in. </p> <p>“Oh, I hope Red isn’t on social media. She gonna get blasted for missing that puzzle,” wrote another viewer. </p> <p><em>Image: News.com.au/ Wheel of Fortune</em></p>

Almost half of Moon missions fail. Why is space still so hard?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gail-iles-761554">Gail Iles</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p>In 2019, India attempted to land a spacecraft on the Moon – and ended up painting a kilometres-long streak of debris on its barren surface. Now the Indian Space Research Organisation has returned in triumph, with the Chandrayaan-3 lander <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-counts-down-crucial-moon-landing-2023-08-23/">successfully touching down</a> near the south pole of Earth’s rocky neighbour.</p> <p>India’s success came just days after a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02659-6">spectacular Russian failure</a>, when the Luna 25 mission tried to land nearby and “ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the lunar surface”.</p> <p>These twin missions remind us that, close to 60 years after the first successful “soft landing” on the Moon, spaceflight is still difficult and dangerous. Moon missions in particular are still a coin flip, and we have seen several high-profile failures in recent years.</p> <p>Why were these missions unsuccessful and why did they fail? Is there a secret to the success of countries and agencies who have achieved a space mission triumph?</p> <h2>An exclusive club</h2> <p>The Moon is the only celestial location humans have visited (so far). It makes sense to go there first: it’s the closest planetary body to us, at a distance of around 400,000 kilometres.</p> <p>Yet only four countries have achieved successful “soft landings” – landings which the spacecraft survives – on the lunar surface.</p> <p>The USSR was the first. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9">Luna 9</a> mission safely touched down on the Moon almost 60 years ago, in February 1966. The United States followed suit a few months later, in June 1966, with the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/1966-the-real-first-moon-landing-118785850/">Surveyor 1</a> mission.</p> <p>China was the next country to join the club, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_3">Chang'e 3</a> mission in 2013. And now India too has arrived, with <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2023/aug/23/india-chandrayaan-3-moon-landing-mission">Chandrayaan-3</a>.</p> <p>Missions from Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, the European Space Agency, Luxembourg, South Korea and Italy have also had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_the_Moon">some measure of lunar success</a> with fly-bys, orbiters and impacts (whether intentional or not).</p> <h2>Crashes are not uncommon</h2> <p>On August 19 2023, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced that “communication with the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02659-6">Luna 25 spacecraft</a> was interrupted”, after an impulse command was sent to the spacecraft to lower its orbit around the Moon. Attempts to contact the spacecraft on August 20 were unsuccessful, leading Roscosmos to determine Luna 25 had crashed.</p> <p>Despite more than 60 years of spaceflight experience extending from the USSR to modern Russia, this mission failed. We don’t know exactly what happened – but the current situation in Russia, where resources are stretched thin and tensions are high due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, may well have been a factor.</p> <p>The Luna 25 failure recalled two high-profile lunar crashes in 2019.</p> <p>In April that year, the Israeli <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beresheet">Beresheet lander</a> crash-landed after a gyroscope failed during the braking procedure, and the ground control crew was unable to reset the component due to a loss of communications. It was later reported a capsule containing microscopic creatures called tardigrades, in a dormant “cryptobiotic” state, may have survived the crash.</p> <p>And in September, India sent its own Vikram lander down to the surface of the Moon – but it did not survive the landing. NASA later <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/dec/03/indias-crashed-vikram-moon-lander-spotted-on-lunar-surface">released an image</a> taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing the site of the Vikram lander’s impact. Debris was scattered over almost two dozen locations spanning several kilometres.</p> <h2>Space is still risky</h2> <p>Space missions are a risky business. Just over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/success-rate-of-lunar-missions-is-a-little-over-50-as-per-nasa-database/articleshow/101774227.cms">50% of lunar missions succeed</a>. Even <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190002705/downloads/20190002705.pdf">small satellite missions</a> to Earth’s orbit don’t have a perfect track record, with a success rate somewhere between 40% and 70%.</p> <p>We could compare uncrewed with crewed missions: around <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230518-what-are-the-odds-of-a-successful-space-launch">98% of the latter are successful</a>, because people are more invested in people. Ground staff working to support a crewed mission will be more focused, management will invest more resources, and delays will be accepted to prioritise the safety of the crew.</p> <p>We could talk about the details of why so many uncrewed missions fail. We could talk about technological difficulties, lack of experience, and even the political landscapes of individual countries.</p> <p>But perhaps it’s better to step back from the details of individual missions and look at averages, to see the overall picture more clearly.</p> <h2>The big picture</h2> <p>Rocket launches and space launches are not very common in the scheme of things. There are <a href="https://www.pd.com.au/blogs/how-many-cars-in-the-world/">around 1.5 billion cars</a> in the world, and perhaps <a href="https://www.travelweek.ca/news/exactly-many-planes-world-today/">40,000 aeroplanes</a>. By contrast, there have been fewer than <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/launchlog.html">20,000 space launches</a> in all of history.</p> <p>Plenty of things still go wrong with cars, and problems occur even in the better-regulated world of planes, from loose rivets to computers overriding pilot inputs. And we have more than a century of experience with these vehicles, in every country on the planet.</p> <p>So perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect spaceflight – whether it’s the launch stage of rockets, or the even rarer stage of trying to land on an alien world – to have ironed out all its problems.</p> <p>We are still very much in the early, pioneering days of space exploration.</p> <h2>Monumental challenges remain</h2> <p>If humanity is ever to create a fully fledged space-faring civilisation, we must <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/02/space-is-cold-vast-and-deadly-humans-will-explore-it-anyway/">overcome monumental challenges</a>.</p> <p>To make long-duration, long-distance space travel possible, there are a huge number of problems to be solved. Some of them seem within the realm of the possible, such as better radiation shielding, self-sustaining ecosystems, autonomous robots, extracting air and water from raw resources, and zero-gravity manufacturing. Others are still speculative hopes, such as faster-than-light travel, instantaneous communication, and artificial gravity.</p> <p>Progress will be little by little, small step by slightly larger step. Engineers and space enthusiasts will keep putting their brainpower, time and energy into space missions, and they will gradually become more reliable.</p> <p>And maybe one day we’ll see a time when going for a ride in your spacecraft is as safe as getting in your car.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Correction: a typing error in the original version of this article put the Surveyor 1 mission in 1996, rather than its actual year of 1966.</em><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/211914/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gail-iles-761554">Gail Iles</a>, Senior Lecturer in Physics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/almost-half-of-moon-missions-fail-why-is-space-still-so-hard-211914">original article</a>.</em></p>

International Travel

Christmas in July sale: Sleep soundly with these half price mattress deals

<p dir="ltr">When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, the last thing you want is an uncomfortable mattress.</p> <p dir="ltr">Even when you’re getting a bad night’s sleep, the tossing and the turning is just unbearable and we all know you’ll be waking up in a mood.</p> <p dir="ltr">And if you’re putting off getting a great mattress for your back just because it's expensive, it’s your lucky day.</p> <p dir="ltr">For a limited time, Emma Mattress is having a <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christmas in July sale</a> with many of their popular mattresses reduced to a nice sum.</p> <p dir="ltr">It doesn’t even matter what your sleeping pattern is, <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Mattress</a> has something for everyone and helps with spinal alignment through its patented technology.</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out what’s on offer:</a></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-diamond-hybrid-mattress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Diamond Hybrid Mattress</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/orange-bed.jpg" alt="" width="1062" height="705" /></p> <p dir="ltr">Enjoy a stunning 55 per cent off the <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-diamond-hybrid-mattress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Diamond Hybrid Mattress</a> going for $809.55, down from $1,799.00.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Emma Diamond Hybrid Mattress is a foam and spring hybrid one, featuring the patented technology which will help with your spine.</p> <p dir="ltr">It also has the 7-zone dynamic support on each layer which is sure to help keep you in a deep sleep.</p> <p dir="ltr">A bonus is the machine washable covers so that’s one less thing you need to stress about.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-comfort-mattress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Comfort Mattress</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">You know it’s got to be good when a mattress has won an award and the <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-comfort-mattress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Comfort</a> has done just that.</p> <p dir="ltr">Twice in a row, the Emma Comfort has been dubbed the Top Scoring Mattress 2021 AND 2022 by CHOICE.</p> <p dir="ltr">Emma Comfort Mattress is perfect for all types of sleepers and thanks to the innovative airocell helps regulate body temperature.</p> <p dir="ltr">The high-quality foam also adapts to your body ensuring that your sleep remains uninterrupted.</p> <p dir="ltr">It also has 50 per cent off going for $499.50, down from $999.00.</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-boxbed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Emma Signature Bed</strong></a></p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/emma-boxbed.jpeg" alt="" width="1337" height="761" /></p> <p dir="ltr">May as well go all out with this incredible sale and buy a new bed while you’re at it!</p> <p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-boxbed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Signature Bed</a> is extremely easy to assemble with a step-by-step instruction booklet.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is made from the most durable and premium materials and the bed base uses patented FlexiSlats technology giving ultimate support and breathability.</p> <p dir="ltr">The bed is usually sold for $999.00 but thanks to 50 per cent off it is $499.50 for a limited time.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-foam-pillow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Foam Pillow</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/emma_foam_pillow.jpeg" alt="" width="1062" height="705" /></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-foam-pillow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Foam Pillow</a> is designed to ensure you have the most comfortable headrest.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is also customisable for maximum comfort and designed for any sleeping position.</p> <p dir="ltr">For just $100, this is sure to help you get the best sleep.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-cloud-hybrid-pillow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Cloud Hybrid Pillow</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-cloud-hybrid-pillow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Cloud Hybrid</a> is described as “Like Sleeping on Cloud-9” and is able to be adjusted in height.</p> <p dir="ltr">The removable memory foam core will work perfectly with those who sleep on their backs, side and even stomach.</p> <p dir="ltr">You’re guaranteed to sleep cool and soundly with its breathable and hypoallergenic design.</p> <p dir="ltr">There is 50 per cent off the Emma Cloud Hybrid Pillow selling for $175.00.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-mattress-topper/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Flip Topper</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-mattress-topper/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Flip Topper</a> is a nice addition to your mattress providing you with the necessary comfort for a better night’s sleep.</p> <p dir="ltr">There is extra support thanks to the ZeroGravity foam and extra comfort from the Breathable Airgocell Foam.</p> <p dir="ltr">The UltraDry cover also helps with keeping you at the right temperature all while you’re enjoying your rest.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Emma Flip Topper has been reduced by 25 per cent for $201.75.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-all-seasons-duvet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma All Seasons Duvet</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/emma-quilt-_detail-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" /></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Made from 100% cotton the<a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-all-seasons-duvet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Emma All Seasons Duvet</a> lives up to its namesake.</p> <p dir="ltr">It will make you want to stay in bed all day, or just that tiny bit longer as it helps you keep warm through those chilly autumn nights and cool in summer.</p> <p dir="ltr">You can save 25 per cent off the duvet which is currently being sold for $179.25.</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-mattress-protector/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Emma Mattress Protector</strong></a></p> <p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.emma-sleep.com.au/emma-mattress-protector/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emma Mattress Protector</a> ensures your mattress is protected from any spills or messes.</p> <p dir="ltr">It will protect you from dust mites and allergens while at the same time is 100% water, moisture and spill proof.</p> <p dir="ltr">Enjoy 25 per cent off the Emma Mattress Protector for $126.75.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;">Editor's note: When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, Over60 may earn a small commission. We do not accept money for editorial reviews, and we only write about products we feel comfortable recommending to our readers. Thank you.</em></p>

Money & Banking

Millions of Aussies to be eligible for half-price medicines

<p>Massive changes are underway for millions of Aussies as the federal government is moving to cut the cost of prescription medicine.</p> <p>Health minister Mark Butler announced that patients will be able to double the number of scripts they can receive, from one month’s supply to two months.</p> <p>From September 1, general patients will be able to save up to $180 a year if their medicine can be prescribed for 2 months, concession card holders will save up to $43.80 per year on medicine.</p> <p>Under the reform, which is to be included in May’s budget, 320 different medicines treating chronic conditions such as cholesterol, heart disease and hypertension will be dispensed in 60-day doses rather than the current 30.</p> <p>They will still be subject to the current price caps, so instead of paying a maximum of $30 for a 30-day medicine supply, those affected will pay $40 at most for a 60-day supply.</p> <p>One of the ideas behind it is that Aussies won’t have to visit a doctor or pharmacist as often.</p> <p>The federal government said the change will bring Australia into line with other countries, including New Zealand and the UK, where patients already have access to multiple month medicines on a single prescription.</p> <p>"Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health.</p> <p>"This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians' hip pockets and most importantly good for their health.”</p> <p>The overhaul of prescriptions has long been supported by the Australian Medical Association and was recommended by the indecent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in 2018.</p> <p>However, pharmacists have opposed the reform, with Pharmacy Guild saying the change would cost community chemists $3.5billion.</p> <p>Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey said the change does little to acknowledge a massive shortage in medications.</p> <p>“I'm all for cost-of-living relief and a cost-of-living measure but this, unfortunately, is just smoke and mirrors,' he told ABC TV.</p> <p>“If you don't have the medicine in stock, how do you give double nothing? Double nothing is still nothing.”</p> <p>Instead, the federal government needed to boost local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals to fix the medicine shortage, Twomey said.</p> <p>Dr Nick Coatsworth also agreed that the new policy could lead to major medication shortages for patients across Australia.</p> <p>“The medication shortage issue is not made up.</p> <p>“This policy could lead to Australians turning up to pharmacies and being turned away for medications they've been on for five-to-10 years,” he told Today.</p> <p>“I'm actually worried about this, it looks good at face value but I knew a lot about supply chains in Covid and Australians probably aren't quite aware of how ropey those supply chains are.</p> <p>“If we start giving people 60 days of medications instead of 30, people will miss out.”</p> <p>Opposition leader Peter Dutton has supported the Pharmacy Guild’s stance in an online video.</p> <p>"Many, particularly older Australians, but families as well, really rely on the relationship with their local pharmacist," he said.</p> <p>"The government's proposal at the moment is going to make it harder for pharmacists to do that work and have that relationship with their patients.”</p> <p>Nationals leader David Littleproud said regional, remote and rural Australians risked being impacted by the changes.</p> <p>"Thousands of Australians who need medications could suffer as a consequence, because doubling scripts for some might mean others miss out," he said.</p> <p>However, the reform has been supported by the Australian Medical Association, a doctor’s body, with vice president Danielle McMullen welcoming the change.</p> <p>“At the time we're talking about so many cost-of-living pressures, this will really ease the burden on patients across Australia,” she told Sunrise.</p> <p>“There are some situations of shortages in medicines at the moment but there will be a staged approach to this announcement to ease the burden on the shortages.”</p> <p>Health Minister Mark Butler said the changes will be launched in three states, each introducing around 100 medications.</p> <p>The first stage will commence on September 1 2023, with the second on March 1 2024, and the final on September 1 2024.</p> <p>Butler said the new prescriptions will reduce how often those living in rural areas need to travel for treatment and shed light on the issue of Aussies delaying or going without medicines they need due to high costs.</p> <p>“Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health,” he said.</p> <p>“This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians' hip pockets and most importantly good for their health.”</p> <p>Butler rejected the idea that the scheme will cause widespread shortages, noting only seven medications on the list are currently scarce.</p> <p>From September 1, 60-day scripts will be available for the six million people prescribed the eligible medications.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Money & Banking

Gen Z grew up in a world filled with ugly fashion – no wonder they love their Crocs

<p>In 2017, Julia Hobbs of British Vogue <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/crocs-sandals-christopher-kane-trend-test">declared</a> Crocs “have an unrivalled ability to repel onlookers and induce sneers”.</p> <p>But over the two decades since the notoriously ugly shoes were released, the clogs seem to be going from strength to strength. </p> <p>No longer just the comfortable, easy-to-wear boat shoes they were designed as, now they’re being worn by celebrities like <a href="https://www.vogue.com/vogueworld/article/ariana-grande-crocs-controversial-shoe-trend">Ariana Grande</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-10-13/justin-bieber-crocs-bad-bunny-post-malone">Justin Bieber</a>, <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20220531141686/the-view-whoopi-goldberg-divides-fans-backstage-photo-concern-for-safety/">Whoopi Goldberg</a> and Drew Barrymore, who has her <a href="https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Drew-barrymore-launches-crocs-collection,943183.html">own collection</a>.</p> <p>Bedazzled white Crocs are being worn with <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/brides-mocked-for-wearing-blinged-out-crocs-on-their-big-day/">wedding dresses</a>, #crocs has more than 7.3 billion views <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crocs?lang=en">on TikTok</a>, and diehard fans can buy <a href="https://www.carousell.sg/p/preorder-mini-crocs-jibbitz-accessory-charms-fun-quirky-1174036132/">mini Crocs</a> to decorate their Crocs with.</p> <p>Even supermodel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-LLMIjIQM">Kendall Jenner</a> admitted on the <em>Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon</em> that she is not ashamed of her comfy Crocs.</p> <p>But the most common place you’re likely to see Crocs today is on the feet of Generation Z. They grew up with ugly fashion, and are now making it their own.</p> <h2>A brief history</h2> <p>Crocs’ ancestors are the clog: a cheap, comfortable, lightweight, practical wooden shoe popular in medieval Europe and Scandinavia. </p> <p>Traditional wooden clogs were easy to clean, non-slip, protected the wearer’s feet and kept them warm and dry. </p> <p>The oldest surviving pair found in Holland <a href="https://isgeschiedenis.nl/reportage/geschiedenis-van-de-klompen">date to 1230</a>.</p> <p>Crocs premiered their shoe at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in 2002. Made from a tough form of injection-moulded ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, which moulds to the wearer’s foot, all 200 pairs at the show sold out. </p> <p>Crocs were easy to clean, non-slip, could easily be pulled on and off, and would not suffer from continued exposure to water. </p> <p>But they weren’t popular in all corners. Time magazine included Crocs in their 2010 list of <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1991915_1991909_1991743,00.html">the 50 worst inventions</a>.</p> <p>And from the outset, even Crocs’ cofounders considered them <a href="https://www.parents.com/kids/style/fashion/crocs/">ugly</a>. </p> <h2>Ugly fashion</h2> <p>The 21st century’s love of deliberately ugly fashion can be traced to 1996, with Miuccia Prada launching her <a href="https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-1996-ready-to-wear/prada">“Bad Taste” collection</a>. </p> <p>The early 2000s gave us ugly comfort dressing in the form of the bright, velour <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2014/06/70125/juicy-couture-stores-closing">Juicy Couture</a> tracksuit. Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s <a href="https://people.com/style/britney-spears-justin-timberlake-matching-denim-moment-20th-anniversary/">iconic matching double denim moment</a> at the 2001 American Music Awards embodied the era’s ugliness.</p> <p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/">Generation Z</a> grew up in this ugly fashion world. Many rocked their first brightly coloured pair of Crocs as toddlers. </p> <p>This generation also learned to express themselves online, where <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470412914544516">Internet Ugly</a> – a deliberately grotesque, anti-authoritarian and amateurish aesthetic – is a key look of memes. </p> <p>Memes celebrate ugliness as a relatable, authentic foil against the slickly perfect images generated by filters, Hollywood and self-serious corporate design. Memes evolve, but the images, templates and looks of memes stays similar and the ugly aesthetic continues to spread and be enjoyed.</p> <p>Crocs are, in a sense, wearable memes for Gen Z. </p> <p>Like memes, Crocs have changed and returned through nostalgic affectation. </p> <p>In the two decades since their launch, Crocs have constantly reinvented themselves. There have been new colours and collaborations with popular brands, including <a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/collab/minecraft">computer games</a> and high fashion houses like <a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/p/liberty-london-x-crocs-classic-clog/206447.html">Liberty of London</a>.</p> <p>Each generation rediscovers the objects of its youth and replicates these objects in new ways. The resulting objects – in this case, Crocs – are passed around and either made uglier or beautified in the eye of the beholder. Every pair of Crocs can be customised with “<a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/c/jibbitz">Jibbitz</a>”, a small ornament that fits into the holes throughout the shoe to beautify Crocs for their owner. </p> <p>In the United Kingdom, Crocs <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/fashion/primark-shoppers-hysterics-hideous-9-25693380">paired with</a> fast-fashion retailer Primark and high-street bakery Greggs to create ugly, fur-lined, black £9 Crocs with Greggs’ logo. </p> <p>At the other end of the budget, you can buy <a href="https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/g36656071/croc-collaborations/">Balenciaga’s lime green Crocs</a> with a black sole and black stiletto heel.</p> <h2>Crocs and the pandemic</h2> <p>Ugliness lets viewers laugh and release tensions in situations where they <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674024090">are helpless to act</a>.</p> <p>Adrian Holloway, Crocs’ general manager, told <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/crocs-rubber-shoe-trend">Vogue, "</a>In times of stress and uncertainty, consumers seem to want comfort […] Everything was so heavy and scary, it felt good to treat yourself to something cheerful and inexpensive, but also practical and comfortable."</p> <p>The COVID pandemic left Gen Z unable to participate in important social rites of passage like graduations, milestone birthdays, weddings and funerals. </p> <p>Global lockdowns also left people feeling a strange blend of shock, boredom and irritation. </p> <p>Like laughing at ugly memes, laughing at cute, ugly Crocs helped release feelings of powerlessness. </p> <h2>Here to stay</h2> <p>Popular predictions of <a href="https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/june-2022/clothes/comfort-or-style/">post-pandemic fashions</a> suggest there are two options: we will continue to dress for comfort, or we will embrace eye-catching colours and patterns and strange silhouettes. </p> <p>The popularity of Crocs among Gen Z suggests a third option: a combination of the comfortable with the crazy.</p> <p>Worn today, these shoes signal the wearer’s capacity for casualness, irony, rebellion, and a desire to forge their own fashion rules in an Internet Ugly world. </p> <p>Crocs are <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g41416862/spring-2023-shoe-trends/">here to stay</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/gen-z-grew-up-in-a-world-filled-with-ugly-fashion-no-wonder-they-love-their-crocs-200718" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Beauty & Style

Almost half of Australians don’t know how to talk about inheritance

<p dir="ltr">It’s no secret that having conversations with family about money are often very awkward and difficult to have. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, when it comes to talking about inheritance, these are conversations that can’t be put off. </p> <p dir="ltr">New research has revealed that over 40 percent of Australis are yet to have important and proactive conversations with their loved ones about inheritance, despite 74 percent saying these conversations are necessary.</p> <p dir="ltr">Australia is currently in the midst of the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in history, with baby boomers set to hand over $3.5 trillion to the next generation.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite this, the new research shows that 20 percent of people don’t know how to broach the discussion with their families, even though 48 percent of people agree that having the conversation about a legacy before a person passes away will cause less conflict amongst beneficiaries.</p> <p dir="ltr">The research, commissioned by financial educator and communicator Vanessa Stoykov, reveals the compelling need for Australians to be confident and comfortable having conversations with family about money.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The time is now for Australians to become more financially literate and break down unhelpful beliefs about money and talking about it. This is about equipping ourselves with financial skills and independence,” says Ms Stoykov.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It can be tricky to navigate difficult conversations around money, but everyone needs to have a dialogue with their partners, parents, children and grandchildren. This is not just about whether someone is leaving money, but also the financial legacy that you pass on to your children," Ms Stoykov said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Talking openly to them is a legacy and gift in itself.” </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Retirement Income

Real reason boy struggled to breathe for over half his life

<p dir="ltr">A young boy who from the age of two began to struggle with his breathing must now undergo major surgery after being misdiagnosed by doctors.</p> <p dir="ltr">Marley was just two years old and had a lingering cough, which his parents didn’t think much of until a few years later when it got considerably worse.</p> <p dir="ltr">The young boy was eventually diagnosed with asthma, the treatment for which was expected to help him breathe.</p> <p dir="ltr">Unfortunately, Marley’s condition kept getting worse and his father Jay Enjakovic wanted to get to the bottom of it.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Enjakovic explained that his son was playing football and basketball and his health “went downhill pretty quick”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He couldn’t run out his games, coughing a lot more, bringing a lot of food up, bringing water up every time he ate,” the worried father said on <em>The Today Show</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then, together with his wife Skye, the pair were determined to find out what was wrong with their son, who was struggling for more than half his life.</p> <p dir="ltr">The now eight-year-old was in and out of hospitals when his condition turned critical in December 2021.</p> <p dir="ltr">X-rays of Marley’s oesophagus and trachea were done and it was there the family were shocked to be told that their son possibly had tracheoesophageal fistula.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tracheoesophageal fistula is when the oesophagus is connected to the trachea which makes food, drink and saliva enter from the trachea.</p> <p dir="ltr">Doctors were ready to do a surgery on Marley but were unable to due to the inflammation.</p> <p dir="ltr">They then decided to do another X-ray, which is when they were even MORE shocked to see that something was in fact lodged in the young boy’s throat.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A few hours later I received a phone call to meet his surgeon at recovery where they pulled a piece of plastic, an arts and craft plastic flower, from his airway,” Ms Enjakovic said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I honestly couldn’t believe it! This was the whole cause of everything! I was relieved I finally had an answer.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are unsure how long this price of plastic was lodged in his airway, but my guess is at least five years as that’s when we started noticing small issues, which became worse over time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The flower has since been removed and Marley is due to undergo further surgery to help repair the airway and oesophagus.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: The Today Show</em></p>

Body

Mum’s fool-proof hack to dry your clothes in half the time

<p dir="ltr">A clever mum has shared the ultimate laundry tip that will ensure your clothes air-dry in no time. </p> <p dir="ltr">With surging energy bills crippling households, air drying items is a much more efficient way of doing laundry. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, colder winter months can sometimes mean clothes and linen may take days to dry in the fresh air. </p> <p dir="ltr">One mum has found the answer to this problem, sharing her hack on the Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/mumswhoclean">Mums Who Clean</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I have recently been staying with my elderly parents. While there, I did some washing for them," she says. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Mum said to me, 'Don't forget to do an additional spin cycle after the cycle has finished.'”</p> <p dir="ltr">"Her response was that it wouldn't take as long for the washing to dry on a cold winter's day when there isn't as much sun.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"And guess what, she was right!"</p> <p dir="ltr">The mum tried it for herself when she got home, saying it helped to dry her clothes in half the time.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Since returning home this week to Sydney and the rain, I tried this on a load of towels (bath sheets) before putting them in the dryer," she says.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Normally, the load would take one and a half to two hours to dry, and they took just under 60 minutes."</p> <p dir="ltr">Other group members were impressed with the hack, with many saying they would give it a go. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Oh wow, I'm going to give this a go!" said one person. </p> <p dir="ltr">Others said they’ve been doing this hack “for years”, and were happy others were going to try the handy tip. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Home & Garden

"Joy has filled our hearts": John Legend and Chrissy Teigan's big news

<p>John Legend and Chrissy Teigan have announced they are expecting another child after reportedly doing IVF treatments since Feburary 2022.</p> <p>This news follows the couple’s heartbreaking tragedy in October 2020 where their baby was a stillborn at 20-weeks.</p> <p>“The last few years have been a blur of emotions to say the least, but joy has filled our home and hearts again,” Teigan began her Instagram announcement on Thursday morning.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgz_10nv_Dn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgz_10nv_Dn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“1 billion shots later (in the leg lately, as u can see!) we have another on the way.</p> <p>“Every appointment I’ve said to myself, ‘ok if it’s healthy today I’ll announce’ but then I breathe a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat and decide I’m just too nervous still.</p> <p>“I don’t think I’ll ever walk out of an appointment with more excitement than nerves but so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I’m feeling hopeful and amazing,” she said.</p> <p>“Ok phew it’s been very hard keeping this in for so long!”</p> <p>The couple already has two children, a daughter named Luna, six, and a son Miles, four.</p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

Couple book non-stop cruises for two-and-a-half years

<p dir="ltr">A couple who missed out on the joys of cruising during lockdown are now bunkering down and cruising non-stop for two-and-a-half years.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jessica and Marty Ansen left Brisbane on Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess on June 16 for the beginning of their exciting adventure.</p> <p dir="ltr">They have previously sailed on 31 cruises with Princess with a whopping 1,173 days at sea and when the resumption of cruises they were ready to get started again. </p> <p dir="ltr">From now until August 2024, the loved up couple will be holidaying on the high seas and on a staggering 53 different cruise ships! </p> <p dir="ltr">“Cruising offers the ultimate holiday experience. You go onboard, you only unpack once, and you have all this amazing entertainment, exceptional food, great company and you can see the world. And, the crew deliver incredible service - that’s why we cruise,” they said. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Ansens booked their two years of back-to-back cruises (795 sea days) - including two round-the-world cruises in 2023 and 2024 – with Brisbane-based family-owned travel agency Clean Cruising.</p> <p dir="ltr">Martine Hero, the Senior Consultant at Clean Cruising, said the Ansens had always been passionate about cruising and were keen to be back on the water again. </p> <p dir="ltr">“For the last two years Marty frequently mentioned all he and Jessica wanted to do was to go cruising again,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Since the announcement of the resumption of cruising we have had an influx of interest and bookings, including those of the Ansens. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This extended trip has been in the works for a long time, as have those of many other cruisers. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We want to thank our cruise fans for their patience as we get them back doing what they love most.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: The Today Show</em></p>

Cruising

Cut your wait time in half with this sneaky baggage claim trick

<p dir="ltr">One airport worker has shared a handy little tip that could save you the time otherwise spent doing one of the most annoying things – waiting for your luggage at baggage claim.</p> <p dir="ltr">Guests could often wait over 45 minutes for their suitcases to appear, and that is the last thing you’d want to be doing after a 20-hour flight. </p> <p dir="ltr">Thomas Lo Sciuto is a ramp worker and gate agent at a regional airport in the US and said getting your bag early can depend on when you check in.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Your best option is to be one of the last passengers to check your bags," he <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/18722529/travel-expert-luggage-hack-airport/">shared</a> on an online thread.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Bags will always be loaded front to back on the bag carts so if you check in last your bags will be in the last bag cart, which will make them the last on the aircraft, and the first off the aircraft at your destination.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Same logic goes for the other end. If they are the first off the aircraft they will most likely be the first on the bag carts and then the first to be unloaded at baggage claim."</p> <p dir="ltr">Of course, you don't want to risk missing your flight though, so don't leave check in too late simply for the sake of this advice. </p> <p dir="ltr">It comes after a flight attendant revealed a 'sneaky' trick they often use to get <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/international-travel/flight-attendant-s-hack-to-get-more-carry-on-luggage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional carry on baggage</a> on board when they travel.</p> <p dir="ltr">Flight attendant Miguel Muñoz said he "always" does this as a passenger, calling it the 'duty free hack', as duty free bags don't count as carry on baggage.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Ask for one at the duty free shop and you place whatever you want in the shopping bag," he said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6160f5b8-7fff-7e24-8edd-3a7c86b0bc32"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Another popular hack to sneak extra items onto the plane that has been doing the rounds on TikTok involves hiding items inside your travel pillow.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Travel Tips

“So filled with pride”: Lisa Marie Presley shares thoughts on new Elvis movie

<p dir="ltr">Lisa Marie Presley has praised the new film about her late father Elvis Presley, and reflected on how her children’s reactions moved her to tears.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 54-year-old shared her thoughts in a lengthy Instagram post where she opened up about the grief she feels for her late son, Benjamin Keough, who she thinks “would have absolutely loved” the movie too.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole,” Presley wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It breaks my heart that my son isn’t here to see it. He would have absolutely loved it as well.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8333be6d-7fff-8863-bd2f-d3c2dc9b719e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Benjamin passed away in 2020 aged 27, leaving behind his sister, Riley Keough, and half-siblings, Harper and Finley Lockwood.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/By8tI88F-Eo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/By8tI88F-Eo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Lisa Marie Presley (@lisampresley)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Amidst the grief, Presley highly praised the “absolutely exquisite” film and its director, Baz Luhrmann, for the “pure love, care and respect for my father throughout”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You can feel and witness Baz’s pure love, care and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever,” Presley wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-27e3359b-7fff-a6e7-9b39-c2eb6dfd5657"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“What moved me to tears as well was watching Riley and Harper, and Finley afterwards, all 3 visibly overwhelmed in the best possible way, and so filled with pride about their grandfather and his legacy in a way that I have not ever experienced.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdjV23APIrq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdjV23APIrq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Lisa Marie Presley (@lisampresley)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The King of Rock and Roll’s daughter also had plenty to say about Austin Butler, who plays her father in the movie, and joked that she would “eat her own foot” if he didn’t win an Oscar for it.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Austin Butler channelled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully,” she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully (sic).</p> <p dir="ltr">“If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha,” she joked.</p> <p dir="ltr">Presley thanked everyone involved in the film who “poured their hearts and souls into it” and Luhrmann for creating the “beautiful” project.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Baz, your utter genius combined with your love and respect for my father and this project is just so beautiful and so inspiring,” she concluded.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know I’m being repetitive, but I don’t care.</p> <p dir="ltr">Thank you for setting the record straight in such a deeply profound and artistic way.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Love you ~LMP.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a46a7548-7fff-bdaa-7208-926ea9671cd5"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Movies

Take an art-filled tour of Auckland from anywhere in the world

<p dir="ltr">There’s a new way to explore Auckland that combines public art and marine conservation - and you don’t even have to be in the country to experience it.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9bc5803e-7fff-c053-b0e9-9ed71fd560de">The <a href="https://whaletales2022.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Whale Tales</a> project, launched by WWF-New Zealand, consists of 80 Brig Broos (large) and 80 Pēpi (mini) whale tail sculptures located throughout Auckland’s public spaces which can be explored in-person and via a virtual trail.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaydQJQlp-x/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaydQJQlp-x/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by WWF Whale Tales 2022 (@whaletales2022)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Each sculpture has been designed by artists from across New Zealand and comes with a story, accessed via the Whale Tales app, about the artist and what each artwork represents.</p> <p dir="ltr">The trail stretches from Pukekohe across to the Great Barrier and Waiheke Islands.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-687994df-7fff-e16f-29ec-cee433a51603">It was conceptualised to “capture the hearts of kiwis, near and far,” and catalyse “positive action to protect Bryde’s whales and restore our ocean’s health”, according to a <a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2202/S00427/wwf-whale-tales-goes-global-with-a-one-of-a-kind-virtual-trail.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement </a>from WWF-NZ.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZycvJyJTNd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZycvJyJTNd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Kate Hursthouse | NZ Artist (@katehursthouse)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">WWF-NZ chief executive Livia Esterhazy said Bryde’s whales are vulnerable to plastic pollution, unsustainable fishing practices, climate change, and other human activities.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Bryde’s whales are an indicator of ocean health. If our whale populations are healthy and thriving, it is a sign our ocean is also healthy and thriving,” Ms Esterhazy <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300500961/whale-tales-auckland-art-project-sheds-light-on-plight-of-brydes-whales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The tales will be on display for 12 weeks, during which time there will also be light shows on the harbour bridge, seminars, and the launch of Hauraki Broo, a children’s book about the importance of conserving marine life.</p> <p dir="ltr">At the end of the display, the Big Broos sculptures will then be auctioned off to raise funds for WWF-NZ, while the Pēpi sculptures will be returned to the schools that made them.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So not only can you own an incredible piece of art, but the funds raised will go to support WWF’s vital work to protect our ocean and marine species, like the Hauraki Gulf’s national critically-endangered resident Bryde’s whale,” Ms Esterhazy said.</p> <p dir="ltr">To view the virtual tour, head <a href="http://trail.whaletales2022.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-179b23e3-7fff-09ab-7300-07d901b945a0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @whaletales2022 (Instagram)</em></p>

Domestic Travel

90s RnB immortalised in the Super Bowl halftime show

<p dir="ltr">In an epic salute to 90s hip-hop and RnB music, a selection of industry legends took to the stage at the Super Bowl half time show in California on Sunday. </p><p dir="ltr">Leading the charge was LA’s finest Dr Dre, who promised big surprises during the set that he reportedly dropped almost $10 million on. </p><p dir="ltr">The stage was a replica of a Californian neighbourhood, with the performances taking place on the roofs and in different rooms of the enormous set that sat in centre field.</p><p dir="ltr">As the show began, Dr Dre opened with this 1995 smash hit <em>California Love</em>, which earned a roar from the native West Coast crowd. </p><p dir="ltr">Joining Dre on stage was his lifelong protege and collaborator Snoop Dogg, before rapper 50 Cent made a surprise appearance with his 2003 anthem <em>In Da Club</em>. </p><p dir="ltr">The next artist to hit the stage was Mary J. Blige, as she belted out her 2001 hit <em>Family Affair</em>, before launching into her hit track <em>No More Drama</em>.</p><p dir="ltr">Following Mary J. Blige was a newer rapper on the scene Kendrick Lamar, who shot to fame in the early 2010s after being inspired by his idols on the stage.</p><p dir="ltr">Lamar popped out of a cardboard box for his performance while being surrounded by dancers who donned “Dre Day” sashes for their epic choreographed dance routine. </p><p dir="ltr">Last to the stage was rap legend Eminem, who launched into his 2002 epic song <em>Lose Yourself</em>, making the crowd go wild over this motivational anthem.</p><p dir="ltr">As the performers joined together for a final moment on the stage, the 15 minute performance ended with a standing ovation from the 80,000-strong crowd of the SoFi stadium. </p><p dir="ltr">The 2022 show was the first year the epic NFL event has fully embraced a hip-hop act for the half time entertainment. </p><p dir="ltr">"We're gonna open more doors for hip hop artists in the future and making sure that the NFL understands this is what it should have been a long time ago," Dr. Dre said at a press conference before the show.</p><p dir="ltr">"We're gonna show exactly how professional we can be, how dope we can be on stage and how exciting we are going to be to the fans."</p><p dir="ltr">Check out the performance <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdsUKphmB3Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. </p><p><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-0310ebbe-7fff-fcbb-6595-bd320d47f248">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Music

Rich countries donating half their COVID vaccine supply would be a “win-win”

<p>The message emerging from expert dialogue on the trajectory of COVID is increasingly clear: this show won’t be over until the whole world is vaccinated. The appearance of <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid/omicron-update-170122/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Omicron</a> on the scene, with <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/son-of-omicron-victoria-detects-a-handful-of-covid-19-sub-variant-cases/095ee479-723b-40a9-a2ca-77e90968d6e7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">son-of-Omicron</a> (the BA.2 sub-variant) hot on its heels, has been a stark reminder that making it through one wave doesn’t mean we’ve weathered the storm – as long as there are under-vaccinated populations, this virus will continue to develop new variants that will sweep across the globe, making vaccine equity crucial to COVID defense.</p><p>Just how much should we prioritise vaccine sharing over increasing immunity within our own borders? A new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01289-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modelling study</a> published in <em>Nature Human Behaviour</em> has put firm figures to this tricky question, finding that if high-income countries were to donate up to 46% of their total vaccine supply to low- and middle-income countries, the benefits could include substantial decreases in global mortality and protection against further pandemic waves.</p><p>Using a mathematical model, the researchers projected the consequences of vaccine inequity over five years, against the backdrop of evolving strains of SARS-CoV-2 and global mobility.</p><p>The results showed that if we want to get on top of COVID, we’re going to have look beyond short-term immunity gains within our own borders and start playing a globally focused long-game.</p><p>The model indicated that increasing national vaccination rates through booster programs, such as the controversial <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid/fourth-covid-shot-wont-prevent-omicron-infection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four-dose regime</a> being rolled out across Israel, does lead to faster declines in mortality in high-income countries in the first year. But these gains are swallowed up by an increasing vulnerability to infection in subsequent years as the global threat of newly emerging strains grows.</p><p>Conversely, modelling equitable vaccine allocation strategies showed a substantial curbing of the spread of new strains, providing greater benefits to both high-income and low- and middle-income countries.</p><p>Regardless of where individual countries stand on the ethics of tending to your own flock ahead of assisting disadvantaged global populations, this model makes it clear that allocating nearly half of high-income countries’ vaccine supplies is, over the longer-term, in their own interest.</p><p>Addressing vaccine equity is a practical but highly effective variant-suppression measure that could be achieved by immediate and more-generous vaccine donations to low- and middle-income countries, but convincing governments to reframe their national COVID strategies in this global light remains a challenge.</p><p>As of 31 December 2021, more than nine billion COVID-19 vaccination doses had been administered worldwide – but the distribution of these doses remains highly imbalanced. Over 70% of people in high-income countries are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19; in low-income countries, that number is 4%.</p><p>Organisations such as COVAX, which is co-led by <a href="https://www.gavi.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.gavi.org/">Gavi</a>, <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax">the WHO</a>, and <a href="https://cepi.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://cepi.net/">CEPI</a>, are attempting to tackle the vaccine inequity problem, and announced in January that they had delivered their <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid/billionth-covax-dose/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billionth vaccine dose</a> – an admirable achievement, but well short of their 2 billion dose goal. The organisation cited hoarding and stockpiling by wealthy countries as a key roadblock to their progress. Many high-income countries have access to enough vaccines to vaccinate their populations several times over, leaving some low- and middle-income countries struggling to obtain sufficient supplies to vaccinate their populations even once.</p><p>But, as the current study makes clear, pandemics pay no heed to borders. Until there is international commitment to global vaccine equity, the waves will continue to crash in.</p><div id="contributors"><p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid/combatting-vaccine-inequity-win-win/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/jamie-priest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamie Priest</a>. Jamie Priest is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Adelaide.</em></p><p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p></div>

Body

“Really appalling” prediction for half of Australia's aged care

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A dire warning has been issued for Australia’s aged care homes, with the CEO of Aged and Community Services Australia </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/aged-and-community-services-australia-warns-half-of-all-aged-care-homes-will-soon-be-hit-with-the-virus/news-story/36bff623338e8828df3236cd855b2377" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">predicting</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that Covid will hit half in the coming week.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After recording low case numbers over the last several months, the number of aged care facilities with at least two residents or staff members who have tested positive has peaked at 124.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In NSW alone, there are 639 active cases of Covid among residents, as well as 728 among staff, as reported by </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Telegraph</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Currently, the number of deaths in aged care facilities with active cases of Covid stands at 13.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking to the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">ABC</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on Tuesday, CEO Paul Sadler shared his prediction, adding that the number of cases is likely to grow even further.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I believe there is now a risk that we will have over half of all the aged care homes in Australia with outbreaks, and that number is likely to continue to increase,” he said.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Unfortunately my prediction proved accurate. Department of Health data just released show active COVID outbreaks in 1,107 aged care homes across Australia, with over 3,200 residents infected. Exponential rise threatens over half of all aged care homes within days</p> — Paul Sadler (@PaulSadlerCnslt) <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulSadlerCnslt/status/1481926122250342402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the grim outlook, Mr Sadler defended the sector’s rollout of COVID-19 booster shots, saying third doses of the vaccine started within a week of approval.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We were ready to go once ATAGI made that decision, but what happened, of course, was that the Omicron wave began in earnest in early December, and from that point on we’ve been struggling to protect older people,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Kathy Eagar, a Professor of Health Services Research and expert in aged care at the University of Wollongong, said families with loved ones in care should be “really concerned” as cases increase.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think every family should be really concerned about what’s happening in aged care,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Forty percent of aged care homes in Australia have a Covid outbreak - that is really appalling.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though 75 percent of facilities have administered booster shots, Dr Eagar believes it may be too late to be effective at preventing the spread.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Every resident should have had the opportunity [to receive] the dose well before Christmas, and everyone was due well before Christmas,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Sadler’s prediction comes as NSW and Victoria recorded 32 and 18 deaths respectively on Wednesday, with NSW Health’s Dr Kerry Chant warning that the number of deaths would continue to climb as the full impact of last week’s case numbers are felt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NSW recorded its deadliest day on Tuesday with 36 deaths - 33 of whom were over the age of 65.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“All three of those under 65 had serious underlying health conditions and of the older people, only a handful - four - had had their boosters,” Dr Chant said.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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