64 | NewScientist | 31 August 2013

FEEDBACK

HATS made from tinfoil have become almost synonymous with paranoia about electromagnetic radiation – spies implanting voices into victim’s brains, and all that. Their linguistic usefulness, however, is not matched by their commercial potential, because it’s so easy to make one for yourself. In the UK you can purchase enough aluminium kitchen foil for 30 hats for a mere £1.50.

Feedback is delighted, then, to be alerted by Terry Arnold to www.quwave.com. It asks: “Are you constantly being: Treated like a Targeted Individual? Attacked by Psychotronic Weapons? Subject to Remote Brain Manipulation?”

The conventional answer might well be: “some of the newer ‘atypical’ antipsychotic drugs could help, but you’ll have to watch your weight” (8 March 2008, p 18). These enterprising people have a different answer: “You might need the QuWave Defender.”

What’s that, then? First, it costs $297, plus $39 shipping from the US to our UK address: much better business.

Linda Kopf sends a photo of a sign seen in the village of Salunga in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, saying: “Private Sign. Do Not Read”

Second, it apparently generates a “Scalar Field”: Feedback has noted the growing popularity of these in fruitloop prose (27 February 2010).

Third, not only does this product wonderfully merge the realms of conspiracy theory and non-standard nostrums, but it also illuminates both: “Solfeggio Waves,” the website says, “convert electronic and psychic attacks to positive energy and strengthen the human Bio-field”.

Keen to expand our vocabulary, we looked up “solfeggio”. Among hundreds of results promising mystical healing properties was a more mundane definition: it is a technique to teach singing pitch, commonly using the syllables “doh, ray, me, fah, soh, la, te”. Hence “doh, a deer, a female deer”. The hills are alive with the sound of cash.

WHILING away a tea break, Feedback was, initially, relieved to read that the flavourings used in chocolate cake slices from UK supermarket Sainsbury’s “are made from natural

sources”. But that made us wonder: which cakes use flavourings from unnatural sources? What would those be? Get thee behind us, unnatural demon with your satanic sauce. Say no to Ghoul Scratchings!

FREQUENTLY frustrated by the difficulty of finding gadgets with decent instructions, Robin McKellar was delighted by a recently bought doorstop. It came with detailed instructions, in English and French, on how to insert the small end first, “just in case I was confused”.

YOU have been warned. Searching for “lead acid battery thermal runaway” after he had made the mistake of topping up a fully-charged battery that had plates exposed to the air, Steve Collins found an alternative energy website with a section on batteries at www.bigginhill.co.uk/batteries.htm.

This told him that “Lots of hoses interconnecting battery cells and batteries can pose a serious safety threat…” Eeek! How? “If one of the cells goes into thermal run-away,” it continues, “ignition from one cell will almost instantaneously result in ignition in all the rest of the cells as the tubes will fill very quickly with hydrogen gas which is extremely combustible and explosive, i.e. like the H bomb!”

“From now on,” says Steve, “I’ll take extra care with the jump leads.”

WOODY GUTHRIE lives. Brian Robinson bought a compilation CD of the great folk singer, who was born in 1912 and died in 1967. It is entitled Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center.

WE SUSPECT that Geoff Mann is not overly fond of politicians and bankers. Commenting on our report (6 July) of an announcement at London’s Victoria station that “unofficial pickpockets are operating,” he suggests: “Official

pickpockets can certainly be found on the Underground, most frequently at the Westminster and Bank stations.” These serve, respectively, the Houses of Parliament and the City of London financial district.

ACCORDING to Frontier News, a newsletter produced by oil company Total, “The Laggan and Tormore fields hold one trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the same volume as 120 billion cups of coffee.” Thus our catalogue of unusual units is expanded, although we’re not sure how these convert to blue whale units.

Ian Napier is impressed, but he has spotted a flaw in Total’s calculation: “The figures suggest more than 8 cubic feet (227 litres) per cup of coffee, which seems on the large side” – even for certain café chains.

FINALLY, Feedback regrets that only now can we tell you of a job with Erewash Borough Council, the closing date for which was 26 August. Judging by your correspondence, a minority of you would have enjoyed working as an “anti-social behaviour co-ordinator”.

Derek Woodroffe comments: “It surely is bad enough having them working alone, without them getting assistance from the Council”.

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130831_Op_Feedback.indd 64 23/8/13 15:47:54