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TECHNOLOGY

Prediction

ADDICTION

We often hear about new predictions
and prophecies for the future, most of
which turn out to be wrong. You know
who gets them right? A few good
books (and movies)

BY Andy Simmons
ILLUSTRATIONS BY Ryan Inzana

Hoverboard

Sure, the DeLorean sports car in the Back to the
Future movies was a cool time traveller, but it had
nothing on the levitating skateboard that Marty
McFly – played by Michael J. Fox – hopped on to
escape a bunch of thugs. Three decades later,
a 40-year-old French inventor proved the
scriptwriters’ foresight by hovering across the
English Channel. Franky Zapata strapped his
boots to a board connected to five small turbine
engines (right) and made the 35-kilometre trip
from France in 22 minutes. Unlike Marty, Zapata
was smart enough to wear a helmet.

100 april 2020

Bluetooth

In his futuristic 1953 novel
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
anticipated Bluetooth, describing
wireless earphones that allowed
for ‘an electronic ocean of sound,
of music and talk’ to be
transmitted through the air.
Imagine how thrilled he would
have been with a Bluetooth
toaster! That was the idea behind
the Connected Toaster, which
alerted you via smartphone when
your toast was done. At $100, this
baby cost a lot of bread, which
may be why it was discontinued
just two years after its launch.

101

The Smart Watch

The Apple Watch lets you chat, play games and
watch videos on a device strapped to your wrist.
Cool, huh? The Jetsons thought so ... over 53 years
before the Apple Watch was released.

Wi-Fi GPS

Nikola Tesla called it! In 1909, the Writer Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space
famed electrical engineer told The New Odyssey) saw a world in which no
York Times, “It will soon be possible to one got lost. In 1956, he wrote that
transmit wireless messages all over the satellites “could make possible a
world so simply that any individual can position-finding grid whereby anyone
carry and operate his own apparatus.” could locate himself by means of a
No doubt he was thinking of the couple of dials on an instrument
Kérastase Hair Coach brush, which about the size of a watch.” Clarke
measured brushing speed and didn’t mention that his system
employed a microphone to listen to might also track another person,
your hair, all to compute an overall hair- such as a criminal. Last year, New York
quality score sent to your smartphone. police nabbed a burglar who was
(Alas, it too is gone.) wearing a GPS ankle monitor –
because he was still on probation
102 April 2020 for a prior conviction.

WHO KNEW?

9 Things That Could Happen

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. SOURCE: RD.COM If Dinosaurs
Were Still Alive

How different would our world be if terrifying lizards
still walked among us? asks Lela Nargi

WELL, FOR STARTERS, THEY ARE. non-avian dinosaurs called thero-
pods. Theropods, “whose members
That’s right, dinosaurs do still exist, include the towering Tyrannosaurus
and they are everywhere – in the form rex and the smaller Velociraptors,”
of birds. That adorable little spar- adapted certain existing dino fea-
row on your windowsill? Dinosaur. tures (such as feathers) into the birds
The noisy cockatoo disturbing your we see today. Dinosaur extinction is
morning coffee? Dinosaur. Pigeons, just one myth scientists wish people
geese, hawks, you name it – they’re would unlearn.
all descendants of large, two-legged,

103

READER’S DIGEST

WE WOULDN’T HAVE Some or all
RECOGNISED THEM dinosaurs may
have grown into
Say that species-extinction asteroid smaller animals
hadn’t hit Mexico 66 million years
ago and life on Earth had continued Knight’s face, lived about 120 million
apace. Well-known dinosaurs like the years and 10,000 kilometres away from
Triceratops “would be totally differ- Velociraptor, the critters that ate Bob
ent than anything we know from the Peck.” So if all the extinct dinosaurs
fossil record,” science writer Brian suddenly started roaming the Earth
Switek wrote in The Guardian. Why? together at the same time … well,
They, too, would have continued to you’d have utter ecological chaos.
adapt. “There might even be new
groups of dinosaurs that didn’t exist PART OF THE CHAOS?
during the Mesozoic era.” But even DEAD HERBIVORES
extinct dinosaurs looked nothing like
what most people believed when they Plant eaters like Edmontosaurus,
were kids. snacking on the diversity of flowering
plants that exist today, would likely
IN FACT, WE MIGHT NEVER have gotten sick and perhaps even
HAVE SEEN THEM AT ALL died. At the very least, wrote Waggon-
er, they might have just spent their
Why? It’s likely that, with dinosaurs whole lives hallucinating. The chem-
remaining on our planet, humans ical makeup of modern plants isn’t
and many other mammals would anything like what dinosaur biology
not have had the chance to evolve was meant to handle. More palatable
into existence. “Even though mam- plants might have been completely
mals thrived in the shadow of the decimated by the hungry creatures.
dinosaurs, they did so at small siz-
es,” writes Switek. “And even though
the very first primates had evolved
by the end of the dinosaurian reign,
they had more in common with a tree
shrew than with you or me.”

IT WOULD NOT LOOK
LIKE JURASSIC PARK

The movie took a lot of liberties with
the possible, wrote biologist Ben
Waggoner in Forbes. “Dilophosaurus,
the critter that spits poison in Wayne

104 April 2020

If Dinosaurs Were Still Alive

HAPPY TIMES FOR SO WOULD FRUIT
CARNIVORES!
Many modern birds have adapted to
All those dead and dying herbivores eating fruit and drinking the nectar
lying around – poisoned by flowering of flowering plants – in fact, these
grasses and other plants their sys- things co-evolved so that birds would
tems couldn’t handle – would have disperse the plants’ seeds. Some non-
presented a total feeding bonanza for bird vegetarian dinosaurs could have
Tyrannosaurus rex, for example, and developed this ability as well. Some
other partial scavengers, according or all may have grown into gradually
to Forbes. Easy pickings! smaller animals thanks to the relative
ease of digestion of fruit and flowering
BUT THAT BOUNTY WOULD plants compared to the gymnosperms
HAVE BEEN SHORT-LIVED (such as cycads and conifers) of the
Cretaceous, palaeontologist Matt
That’s because the dead animals -Bonnan told BBC Future.
would run out. And when that hap-
pened, what would T. rex and friends ADAPTING TO GRASS
eat? “There were mammals alive at
the same time and place as T. rex, but In the absence of dinosaurs, mam-
none very big – and for all we know, mals slowly evolved with the ability
modern mammal flesh might be un- to eat grassland plants. Vertebrate
palatable,” wrote Waggoner. paleontologist Darren Naish specu-
lated that surviving dinosaurs would
CLIMATE CHANGE WOULD have evolved much quicker thanks
HAVE MIXED THINGS UP to evolutionary advantages they’d
already developed, like the 1000 teeth
“An event known as the Paleocene-Eo- that hadrosaurs had in their jaws,
cene Thermal Maximum, 55 million which would have been extremely
years ago, saw average global tem- well-suited to grinding grass.
peratures reach eight degrees Celcius
hotter than today’s temperatures, Physical changes to the heads and
and rainforests spanning much of bodies of these grass munchers
the planet,” according to BBC Future. would eventually have evolved. As
“In this hothouse world with abun- BBC Future pointed out, “Horses and
dant vegetation, perhaps many long- cows have flattened muzzles useful
necked sauropods might have grown for cropping tough, low-lying vegeta-
more rapidly, breeding at a younger tion.” Grass-eating, duck-billed dino-
age and shrinking in size; several saurs might have developed squared-
‘dwarf’ sauropods (some little bigger off snouts, and “sauropod necks
than a cow) were already known in the might have shortened to aid grazing
late Cretaceous [era].” at their feet.”

105

READER’S DIGEST

Main: Happo One, Hakuba,
Nagano. Insets: a shrine and
waterfall near Takayama, Gifu

106 April 2020

TRAVEL

JAPANBack Roads of
At first glance, a self-driving holiday in bustling Japan
might seem too much to conquer, but Diane Godley

found having a car gave her and her family the freedom

to explore treasures far from the usual tourist sights

“H ey, there’s a waterfall upPHOTOS: DIANE GODLEY We turned up the side road sur-
there, shall we take a look?” rounded by lush mountain forests,
I ask when I see a signpost and just as we were approaching a
on the side of the road. My corner, without warning, we were
family and I are driving along Route forced to stop. Wildlife on the road.
158, one of Japan’s national high- Now that’s something we didn’t
ways, headed for Hakuba located in expect to see in Japan.
the Japanese Alps in Nagano prefec-
ture, on Honshu, the main island of “Do you think it’s a goat?” I ask.
Japan. “No, maybe a deer,” says someone
“Why not?,” was the general consen- in the back seat.
sus. After all, we were not in a hurry. The four of us couldn’t agree what
We had less than 150 kilometres to it was we were looking at before it
drive to our alpine destination, and high-tailed into the forest. What
the mid-October autumn weather was we did agree on was that it was a
overcast and drizzling lightly. particularly unusual, dare I say ugly,
specimen of nature.

107

READER’S DIGEST

Left to right: enjoying the mountain views from an outdoor onsen; breakfast of

TYPHOON WARNING strips of the marbled meat are cooked
over a flame at your table, at around
We picked up our hire car in Takay- the princely sum of $50 for 100 grams.
ama – an historic village in the
Gifu Prefecture and the gateway Our hire car was a little (but wel-
to the Japanese Alps – on the day coming) metal box on wheels. Most
a typhoon was to hit Japan’s main Japanese cars seemed to be in this
island of Honshu. We’d spent the cube style (no doubt to fit on the
previous day wandering through its narrow roads), and although ours
narrow streets. Lined with wooden looked small from the outside, there
merchants’ houses and latticed win- was plenty of room inside for my hus-
dows, the buildings date back to the band and I and our two lanky teenag-
Edo Period (1603-1868) and are safe- ers. The boot was another story. For-
guarded against future development tunately for us, we had this in mind
by a Traditional Buildings Preserva- when we packed our suitcases back
tion Area law. in Australia, exchanging a couple of
large cases for four carry-on sized
Many of these historic houses bags. These fitted perfectly and gave
have been converted into museums us a little extra room to buy a bag for
and shops, which sell all manner of all our souvenirs.
handicrafts and delicacies from the
local Hida area, such as gyuuman As our friends and family back
(beef in soft dough buns); mitarashi home kept a nervous vigil on reports
dango (gelatinous rice formed into of the escalating scale of the typhoon,
little round dumplings); matcha it heralded its arrival in Takayama
(green tea) ice cream, sake and craft with just a bit of drizzle. However,
beer. The most famous food from this the rain didn’t dampen our spirits. As
area is Hida beef, a breed of Japa- we had a car we could drive to some
nese black cattle farmed in the clean of the attractions on the outskirts of
mountainous region. Traditionally, town and stay dry, plus we’d just had

108 April 2020

Back Roads of Japan

ramen and mitarashi dango (rice dumplings); reflections in the pond at Happo One

ten glorious hot days in the south of MOUNTAIN SPA
Honshu.
Apart from strong winds overnight,
The cancellation of the morning we woke to find Takayama was pret-
markets along the Miyagawa River ty much untouched by the typhoon,
that runs through the centre of town although unfortunately other areas of
should have given us some indication Japan weren’t so lucky. By the follow-
of how seriously the Japanese take ing day the rain had set in. One of the
their weather warnings. We headed items on my bucket list while in the
out of town to the Hida Folk Village, Japanese Alps was to visit an onsen
but it was closed. Museum Hida, (hot spring), so we couldn’t think of
closed. Even the Teddy Bear Eco a better outing on a drizzly day than
Village had shut up shop. Everything to head up into the mountains where
was quiet. In fact, there were no locals onsens are aplenty.
on the street at all, just Western tour-
ists like us wondering whether we There are two ways to drive
should be more worried. So we spent through the mountains in Japan: the
the afternoon driving through the nar- high road (the longer, scenic route),
row streets exploring. Sometimes the or the low road (through tunnels, the
roads led to a shrine, sometimes dead quick way). With low-lying clouds, on
ends, and once the start of a forest this occasion we took the quick route,
walk where we saw a flyer warning as visibility was getting poorer the
tourists, in four languages, that bears higher we drove.
had been seen in the these woods.
The first of our many hot spring
Bears? experiences was an open-air onsen
In Japan? located on the side of a river and
How did we not know that there ensconced under a pedestrian bridge.
was still wildlife roaming around Being a public onsen, there was only
pockets of Japanese wilderness? an honesty box to collect our mon-
ey. And, as this was a rather misty

109

READER’S DIGEST

From left: a mountain shrine; enjoying a hot spring foot spa; the Bear Ranch

morning, we had it all to ourselves. resist taking a look. We paid our entry
As beautiful as the location was, the fee and bought a bag of dried fruit to
water temperature was a little tepid feed the bears.
and we soon got dressed and went
looking for a more established facility. Like other Asiatic black bears, the
Japanese black bear (Ursus thibeta-
We found another onsen about ten nus japonicus) has a pale yellow cres-
minutes up the road. It had separate cent marking on its chest. Standing
bathing areas for men and wom- between one metre to 1.5 metres and
en and a variety of pools at different weighing up to 120 kilograms, it is
temperatures where we soaked up the considered small among bear species.
mineral salts for as long as we could Extinct in many regions of Japan due
handle the mostly very hot water. With to the rapid loss of habitat after World
the exception of our 16-year-old son, War II, the population of black bears
who found the nudity too confronting, on Honshu is considered healthy.
we all loved the experience and vowed
to repeat it as many times we could No road trip is complete with-
while in the alps. And at around $10 out a pit stop. Unlike anywhere else
a pop, this is one of the few things in I’ve travelled in the world, you can
Japan that is very affordable. be assured wherever you stop in Ja-
pan the toilets will be immaculate-
On our way back to Takayama we ly clean. I wouldn’t be going too far
saw a sign for a Bear Ranch. Piqued in saying that stopping at a public
by the sign we’d seen the day before convenience in Japan was a pleas-
fluttering in the wind, we couldn’t ure: warm water to wash your nether

110 April 2020

Back Roads of Japan

regions, many with air-drying facili- a river and stopped at Asahi Dam,
ties, plus never once did I find a toilet but the goal for the day was to visit
roll holder empty. Kamikochi, a nature reserve in the
Azusa River Valley said to offer Japan’s
The next day we headed further most spectacular mountain scenery.
into the alps to our next destination: Unfortunately, the drizzle had turned
Hakuba, the village that hosted the to steady rain and clouds were very
Japan 1998 Winter Olympics. We fig- low by the time we got there, so we
ured it would only take a couple of opted to press on and visit one of the
hours to get there so we made regular many free foot spas dotted around this
sightseeing stops along the way – the part of the country instead.
first being the waterfall where we saw
the odd creature on the road, which HAKUBA TREK
we later discovered was a Japanese
serow, described in Wikipedia as “a We arrived at our apartment, Haku-
Japanese goat-antelope”. ba Ski Condos, in a fog of cloud. But
according to the weather forecast, the
If we’d been driving in Australia, following day looked favourable and
the sign to the waterfall would have we told Bob, the friendly Canadian
been just a blur as we sped past. In manager, of our intentions to get up
Japan, however, there is a very good early to walk up the most popular
reason why we didn’t miss the turn mountain, Happo One (pronounced
off and why we avoided hitting the On-ay). The next morning, we had
serow; the speed limit. At 50km/h on two surprises in store for us; a view of
regional roads and 40km/h in villag- the mountain from our living room,
es (80km/h on motorways), you can and a picnic basket at our front door
enjoy a leisurely drive through the with all the ingredients to make waf-
provinces and visit out-of-the-way fles for breakfast. Bob was one spe-
places not on shinkansen (bullet train) cial manager. We were ecstatic! We’d
routes. Thanks to this year’s Summer been in Japan for nearly two weeks
Olympics, a lot of road signs are now and, frankly, we were hankering after
written in English as well as Japanese. Western food. Our moods lifted.
They also drive on the left. In fact, the
hardest part about driving in Japan is It took one gondola and two ski lifts
keeping under the speed limit! to get to the start of the walking track
for Happo One. We were starting at an
Although still misty, the views of altitude of 1800 metres. Today’s goal
the mountains were spectacular; for- was to walk to Happo-ike Pond at 2080
ested hillsides in burnt autumn hues metres. Anyone attempting to trek
threaded with long wispy clouds. They further was required to have proper
looked just like a Japanese landscape mountaineering equipment.
painting. We took a short trek along
111

READER’S DIGEST HIRING A CAR IN JAPAN

With the Japanese trekkers decked Driving in Japan is pretty
out in the latest hiking gear and boots, straightforward: they drive on the
and bells jingling on their backpacks left-hand side and from a leisurely
to scare away bears, we felt like am- 40km/h in villages to 80km/h on
ateurs. For me, the 280-metre trek to motorways. Plus signage is clear and
the pond was tough going. Not only easy to understand.
did the thin-ish air make it hard on
my lungs, but loose rocks underfoot • There are numerous car hire
where the boardwalks ended made it
hard work – less so for my teens. companies in Japan, both
international and local (Toyota
Like everyone else, we stopped at Rentacar, Nippon Rentacar, Orix
Happo-ike Pond to take photos of the Rentacar, Times Car Rental, Nissan
three mountain peaks reflected in the Rentacar and Ekiren). All charge
mirror-like water. The clouds were similar prices. We chose Toyota
well beneath us and the sun bright (www.rent.toyota.co.jp) because we
and high, creating the perfect setting weren’t required to provide credit
to photograph the mountains soaring card details up front, and it was easy
nearly 3000 metres into the sky. to organise different locations for
car pick-up and drop-off.
This is where I left my gang, who
had decided to press on up the moun- • We recommend organising
tain – without one scrap of mountain-
eering gear between them, but with your car hire before you leave,
all the food. I walked back at my own which can be done up to three
pace, ending a hard day’s climb with a months before your trip.
bowl of ramen and a soak in an onsen.
• To drive in Japan you’ll need an
Hiring a car in Japan gave us the
freedom to roam where we wanted, International Driving Permit.
when we wanted. It allowed us to
stumble upon places and have little • Our car hire for eight days cost
adventures that you won’t find in any
guide books – and avoid getting wet less than the seven-day JR Rail Pass
when it rained. We travelled to loca- cost for the four of us. Tolls are
tions not on the rail route and roads calculated by the car and paid with
less travelled by international tourists the car hire.
– giving us a more authentic cultural
experience. And, the price we paid for
a week’s car hire (plus petrol and tolls)
was comparable to a seven-day shin-
kansen pass for the four of us.

112 april 2020

QUOTABLE QUOTES

When you lead with We know what people
your nice foot want to hear because
forward, you will when we play a Beatles
win, every time. song, all the mobile
It might not be today, phones come on and it
it might not be looks like a galaxy of
tomorrow, but it stars, and when we do
comes back to you a new song, it looks like
when you need it.
We live in an age of a black hole.
instant gratification,
of immediate PAUL MCCARTNEY,
likes, and it is MUSICIAN
uncomfortable to
have to wait to see If people concentrated on the
the dividends of really important things in life,
your kindness. there’d be a shortage of fishing rods.
But I promise you it
will appear exactly DOUG LARSON, JOURNALIST
when you need it.
I believe that
KRISTEN BELL, ACTOR when people
die, they zoom
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES into the people ‘LIFE IS SHORT’
who love them. REALLY MEANS
This idea that ‘DO SOMETHING.’
it just ends and
don’t speak of CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE,
them – that’s AUTHOR

wrong.

MARTIN SHORT, ACTOR

113

BONUS READ

WHY DID A
CARGO SHIP WITH
33 CREW SAIL INTO
A FEROCIOUS STORM?
A REMARKABLE
RECORDING SALVAGED
FROM THE DOOMED

VESSEL OFFERS

BY William Langewiesche

FROM VANITY FAIR

Teeth of a
114 april 2020

Hurricane
115

READER’S DIGEST

In the darkness before dawn on October 1, PHOTOILLUSTRATION, PREVIOUS SPREAD: SHUTTERSTOCK.
2015, an American merchant captain named PHOTOS THIS PAGE: (LEFT) COURTESY OF DAVIDSON FAMILY (RIGHT) COURTESY OF ROCHELLE HAMM
Michael Davidson, 53, sailed a 241-metre US-
flagged cargo ship, El Faro, into the eye wall of a
Category 3 hurricane near the Bahama Islands.
The hurricane, named Joaquin, overwhelmed
and sank the ship. Davidson and the 32 others
aboard drowned. El Faro should have been able
to avoid the hurricane. Why didn’t it?

The story begins with the captain, strength. He was a by-the-book

Michael Davidson. He grew up in mariner with a reputation for being

Portland, Maine, and at age 16 got a unusually competent and organised.

job on a local harbour ferry. He grad- By training and temperament he was

uated from the Maine Maritime Acad- a safety-first man.

emy in 1988, then began sailing on He switched to dry-cargo ships on

oil tankers between Alaska and West the East Coast, and eventually signed

Coast ports, rising to the rank of chief on with a shipping company called

mate. TOTE. He was given a weekly run

The Gulf of Alaska is notoriously from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Juan,

rough, and Davidson sailed through Puerto Rico, and El Faro, a 241-metre

countless storms, some of hurricane US-flagged cargo ship, to command.

On Monday, Septem-

ber 28, 2015, the loading

of El Faro, which means

‘the lighthouse’ in Span-

ish, started in Jackson-

ville at 1pm and con-

tinued on Tuesday until

shortly after sundown.

The weather was balmy,

with light winds and

mostly overcast skies.

Captain Michael Davidson (left) and seaman Far out in the Atlan-
Frank Hamm struggled to get off the bridge tic, a tropical depression
had been intensifying
as El Faro went down

and progressing towards

116 April 2020

Into the Teeth of a Hurricane

the Bahamas on an unusual

southwesterly heading rath-

er than hooking back to the

north, as the meteorological

models kept expecting it to

do. A day before El Faro’s

departure, the tropical de-

pression had become a trop-

ical storm named Joaquin.

Davidson, who had been

monitoring the forecasts, had The El Faro: the 241-metre cargo ship stood little
two routes available to him. chance against the raging hurricane
The first was a straight south-

east heading past the Bahamas for two the Bahamian chain, and was slowly

and a half days and 2035 kilometres moving in that direction.

directly to San Juan. “A Good Little Plan”
The second route ran south

through the Florida Straits, then east At 5.56am on September 30, the

along Cuba through a sinewy nar- morning after departure, the digital

rows called the Old Bahama Chan- voyage data recorder first opens on

nel. This route would have placed a the bridge. Davidson was conferring

string of wave-breaking islands be- with the chief mate, Steven Schultz,

tween the ship and the storm. The 54, at the chart table. An unlicensed

problem was that it added 296 kilo- seaman, Frank Hamm III, 49, was at

metres and more than six hours the helm, monitoring the autopilot.

to the trip. The schedule would be The ship was rolling in swells ap-

thrown out of whack. proaching from the left. Schultz

PHOTO: WILLI A M HOE Y/M A RINE TR A FFIC Davidson opted for the straight said, “Got the swell,” and Davidson

shot. The forecast indicated that he answered, “Oh yeah. Probably going

could slip past the Bahamas before to get worse.”

Joaquin moved in. Schultz suggested moving south

El Faro cast off at 8.07 on Tuesday of the direct track line to San Juan,

evening, carrying 391 containers and giving the storm a bit more space. But

267 trailers and cars. Six hours later then he said, “I would wait. Get more

Joaquin became a Category 1 hurri- information.”

cane, with sustained winds greater For marine weather, El Faro’s crew

than 119 kilometres per hour. The eye had multiple options but used primar-

lay 394 kilometres east-northeast of ily two. The first was an Inmarsat C

San Salvador, the outermost island of satellite receiver that fed US National

117

READER’S DIGEST

Hurricane Center reports to a printer Schultz opened the BVS program at

on the bridge. These so-called sat-C the chart table. Because of a software

reports arrived in text form and re- glitch, the map that appeared was the

quired the plotting of Joaquin’s fore- very same map that had come in with

casted positions on a chart. The Hurri- the previous download, six hours ear-

cane Center’s mathematical predictive lier, according to the National Trans-

tools were having an unusually diffi- portation Safety Board report on the

cult time getting a handle on Joaquin’s disaster. The raw data on which it was

forecasted positions. The resulting un- based was at least 12 hours old.

certainty was expressed emphatically Davidson and Schultz decided that

in the forecasts, and Davidson was the storm would be a little too close

aware of it. for comfort when the time came to

The second source for weather in- cross its bow. Working with a GPS-

formation was a subscription service based plotter, they made a slight right

called the Bon Voy- turn, creating a

age System (BVS) RIEHM STUDIED gentle dogleg that
that processed THE WEATHER. would pass 16 kilo-
global weather data "WE'RE GONNA metres outside San
GET SLAMMED
to produce its own Salvador Island and
forecast, primar- TONIGHT," put them 80 kilo-
ily in the form of HE SAID metres from the
colourful weather hurricane’s eye. Da-
maps, which could vidson said, “I think
be animated and that’s a good little

over which a ship’s plan, chief mate.”

course could be laid. By the time the It was 6.40 in the morning, and the

data was processed, it was up to six sun was coming up. Davidson said,

hours old, which in the context of “Oh, look at that red sky over there.

Joaquin was obsolete. The BVS map Red in the morning, sailors take

gave no indication of the age of the warning.”

raw data. Davidson left the bridge and a

Davidson knew that all the forecasts fresh helmsman and the third mate

were uncertain, and that they some- showed up to stand the next four-

times disagreed. But how aware was hour watch. Schultz briefed t he

he that when he looked at the BVS third mate, Jeremie Riehm, on the

maps he was looking into the past? weather and the diversion; if worse

He went to his stateroom, and when came to worst, he explained, they

he returned to the bridge he said, “All could turn behind the outer islands

right, I just sent up the latest weather.” and escape through one of several

118 April 2020

Into the Teeth of a Hurricane

Left to right:
chief mate
Steven
Schultz,
second mate
Danielle
Randolph,
helmsman
Larry Davis

PHOTOS (LEF T TO RIGHT) COURTESY OF: SCHULT Z FAMILY; L AURIE BOBILOT T; CARL A NEWKIRK deepwater gaps to reach the Old navigation plan. Speaking of the cap-
Bahama Channel. tain, she said, “He’s telling everyone
down there, ‘Ohhh, it’s not a bad
After Schultz left the bridge, Riehm storm. It’s not so bad. It’s not even that
continued to study the weather. He windy out. Seen worse.’”
said to the helmsman, “We’re gonna
get slammed tonight.” Now alone on the bridge with Da-
vis, Randolph returned to the subject
Stacked high with containers, of Davidson. She mimicked him. “It’s
the massive ship rolled with a slow nothing, it’s nothing!” She backed off
rhythm through swells coming in from the mockery and said, “If it’s nothing,
the east. The sky was mostly clear. The then why the hell are we going on a
wind was warm and slowly increasing. different track line?”

When Davidson returned to the Davis said, “We’re getting sea swells
bridge, his mind was on the storm. He now.”
said, “Just gotta keep the speed up so
we get goin’ down. And who knows? The swells slowed the ship. In his
Maybe this low will just stall … Just stateroom Davidson sent a report
enough for us to duck underneath.” to the TOTE office giving an ETA for
San Juan of 8am on Friday, 44 hours
But the opposite happened. ahead. Then he came to the bridge
and said, “Damn, we’re getting killed
Category 3 with this speed.”

Shortly before noon, the second mate, Randolph answered him a little
Danielle Randolph, 34, arrived with a rebelliously: “I think now it’s not a
relief helmsman, Larry Davis, 63, to matter of speed. It’s ‘When we get
stand the next watch. Randolph was there, we get there,’ as long as we ar-
from Rockland, Maine, and like Da- rive in one piece.”
vidson and three others aboard was
a graduate of the Maine Maritime A gulf seemed to be opening
Academy. Riehm briefed her on the between Davidson and the crew on

119

READER’S DIGEST

El Faro actual route National Hurricane
Center got the cur-
FLORIDA N rent location of the
eye about right.
El Faro planned route
She said, “So at two
CUBA in the morning … it
should be right here.”
Alternative route (rejected) She indicated a po-
sition just outside of
Captain Davidson thought El Faro, heading southeast, San Salvador Island.
could avoid Hurricane Joaquin, heading southwest Randolph did some
calculations and be-
gan to chuckle. “We’re
going to be right there
with it. Looks like the
storm is coming right
for us.”

the bridge. He may not have noticed it. Staying the Course PHOTO COURTESY NOAA
Later, Davidson instructed
Schultz and Hamm returned from
Randolph to start keeping hourly logs dinner, and Davidson showed up
of the weather. Wind direction and around sundown. To Schultz he said,
force, barometer. The wind would “I just sent you the latest weather.” It
have to be estimated because the was the BVS product depicting a fore-
ship’s anemometer had been in disre- cast based on old data, with addition-
pair for weeks. al errors cranked in due to forecasting
models. It was not exactly a fiction,
The wind was increasing, the sea but it was a poor tool for attempting
was covered with whitecaps, and a close pass across the bow of a hur-
the swells from the east were rising. ricane.
Around 4pm, the sky started cloud-
ing over. Schultz, the chief mate, and They decided to turn the ship ten
Hamm, his helmsman, came onto the degrees to the right, widening away
bridge to take the next watch. from the storm for a second time. The
new course would take them to the
At 4.46pm, Randolph and Davis west of San Salvador Island, which
returned to allow Schultz and Hamm for a while would offer some protec-
to go to dinner. The sat-C printer de- tion from the hurricane’s waves. They
livered the latest weather, and Ran- made the turn at 7.03pm.
dolph began to plot it out at the chart
table. This information from the With its engine running at near

120 April 2020

Into the Teeth of a Hurricane

maximum speed, El Faro was riding to 220. It was moving south-southwest

comfortably through large swells com- at nine kph. By eight in the morning,

ing in from the northeast. Davidson it was expected to be sustaining winds

was pleased. For the next 45 minutes, of 200 km/h, with gusts to 250.

he and Schultz calculated GPS way- Riehm plotted the storm’s predict-

points and courses, and laid out a tidy ed position and looked at the escape

plan for the rest of the trip, including route, which would involve a strong

a strong left turn in the open waters right turn to the south into the pas-

beyond San Salvador Island, and a sage past Crooked Island and on to

straight shot across the bow of the the Old Bahama Channel beyond. He

hurricane. called Davidson and said, “So at 0400

Riehm and his helmsman appeared we’ll be 35 kilometres from the centre,

on the bridge for their 8pm-to-mid- with max winds 185 km/h and gusts

night. Schultz gave Riehm a quick to 220 and strengthening.” The option

briefing. that we do have –

Later Riehm in- RANDOLPH from what I can see
vited the helmsman PROPOSED THE – is at 0200 we could
over to look at the ESCAPE ROUTE head south, and
TO THE SOUTH.
BVS. He said, “Let’s that would open it
see how this thing DAVIDSON up some.”
goes. We can’t out- REJECTED IT
run it, you know. It’s Davidson dis-
more powerful than missed the plan and
we thought. This is did not come to the
bridge. Evidence

supposed to hook suggests that he was

right here. It’s supposed to make this still showing a preference for the ani-

stop. What if it doesn’t?” mated BVS graphics, which indicated

“What if we get close?” the helms- the storm progressing more slowly.

man asked. “We get jammed in those The swell was growing; the ship

islands there, and it starts comin’ at was moving more heavily now. At one

us?” point Riehm said, “We don’t have any

Riehm responded, “That’s what options. We got nowhere to go.”

I’m thinking. Maybe I’m just being a “Hello, Joaquin”
Chicken Little. I don’t know.”

At 10.54pm the sat-C printer deliv- Just before midnight, Randolph

ered the latest from the National Hur- arrived with Davis to stand watch. In

ricane Center. Joaquin had exploded the partial shelter offered by San Sal-

into a Category 3 with maximum sus- vador Island, about 32 kilometres to

tained winds of 185 km/h, and gusts the east, the ship was moving more

121

READER’S DIGEST

easily. Riehm explained the situation. breaking and flying away. On Deck 2,

As always, Randolph tried to keep below the main deck where the con-

things light. She said, “This is the tainers were stacked, water began

second time we changed our route, washing in through openings on the

and it just keeps coming for us.” sides, swirling around the wheels of

At 1.18am, the ship started to pitch the cargo trailers secured there and

more violently. Davis recommended washing out just as fast. This was no

slowing down. They were approaching reason for concern because the deck

the waypoint where Davidson’s route was sealed off from the engine room

plan called for the significant turn to and the cargo holds below.

the left, taking the ship, as the captain The ship kept smashing ahead. At

believed, across the path of the hurri- 1.55 Randolph said, “Wooo! That was

cane a safe distance from the eye. a good wave. Definitely lost some

Randolph did not want to do it. She speed.”

called Davidson on Davis said,

the house phone THE FIRST “Damn sure don’t
and proposed the OF THE REALLY want to lose the
escape route to the BIG WAVES plant.” He meant
REARED.
south and a smooth “OH MY GOD!” the ship’s engine.
sail on to San Juan. RANDOLPH SAID The captain
He rejected her
suggestion. Despite wanted full speed
the uncertainties in in order to cross
the forecast, he was the storm a good
distance from the

convinced of his eye. In the North-

strategy. He had not yet downloaded ern Hemisphere, the circulation

the latest BVS package, emailed to his around hurricanes runs counter-

computer at 11pm. clockwise. The winds right now were

When Randolph got off the phone, northerly and coming at the ship

she said to Davis, “He said to run it.” from the left side. If the BVS map

She meant the course as planned. was correct, the eye lay ahead and

She said, “Hold on to your ass!” and well to the left. According to that

laughed. model, the winds would become

El Faro entered a squall. Over the northwesterly (directly astern) as

next hour, the conditions deteriorated, El Faro passed abeam the eye, and

and the ship began to labour, unable would shift to southwesterly and

to exceed 30 km/h. By now, the stress- then southerly (on the right side)

es on the ship were enormous. Objects as the ship steamed beyond it. But

exposed to the wind were banging, this never happened – the ship was

122 April 2020

Into the Teeth of a Hurricane

heading towards the storm, not away Not long afterwards, Davidson en-
from it. tered the bridge. He said, “There’s
nothing bad about this ride … I was
Up on the bridge at 2.42am, Ran- sleepin’ like a baby.”
dolph had to sit to keep from falling
down. Then the first of the really big Schultz said, “Not me.”
waves reared just ahead. Randolph Davidson said, “Well, this is every
said, “Oh, my God! Ahhh!” Solid wa- day in Alaska. This is what it’s like.”
ter – green water – was coming over Speaking of the wind, Schultz said,
the bow. “Can’t tell the direction. Our forecast
had it coming around to starboard.”
The ship kept getting knocked off “It will,” Davidson said. “Eventually.”
coarse. A steering alarm would sound, Here’s a rule of thumb for the
and the autopilot would slowly regain Northern Hemisphere: whether you
control. are travelling by ship, plane, car or
horse, if you have a wind from the
At 3.20am a wave clobbered the left you are moving towards lower at-
stern. The ship veered briefly out of mospheric pressure – and that means
control. moving towards worsening weather.
Davidson left the bridge to check
The helmsman said, “We’re getting on the galley. Immediately afterwards
into it now.” the sat-C printer spat out the latest
missive from the National Hurricane
Randolph said, “Hello, Joaquin.” Center. It contained a reasonably
accurate report on the eye’s current
Rule of Thumb position. Schultz retrieved the page
but did not have time to plot the co-
At 3.45am, Chief Mate Schultz arrived ordinates.
for the next watch. He said, “So you The house phone rang. It is not
can’t see a thing?” clear who the caller was, but the con-
versation was about problems with
Davis answered, “Yeah. If anybody’s cargo on the second deck – the one
out there, they gotta be a damn fool.” the seas were sweeping through. The
ship was listing to starboard, which
The ship was drifting south of the was mentioned as a factor. Schultz did
track line. Schultz ordered a heading not seem too concerned, and said he
correction to the left. Hamm showed would inform the captain.
up for his turn at the helm. Schultz No sooner had he hung up than
said, “Don’t like this.” the phone rang again. This time it
was the chief engineer down in the
A huge wave reared up. Hamm said,
“Hold on!” The ship slewed when it 123
was hit, and the steering alarm sound-
ed. The waves were coming about
every 13 seconds, and the autopilot
was having a hard time keeping up.

Hamm said, “How much longer of
this?” and Schultz answered, “Hours.”

READER’S DIGEST

engine room. The conversation was Hamm was having a hard time
brief. Schultz rang the captain in the keeping his place at the helm. David-
galley. “The chief engineer just called son said, “Stand up. Hold on to that
… Something about the list and oil handle. Just relax, everything’s gonna
levels.” be just fine.”

The time was 4.41am. The hurri- The recording was difficult to make
cane was raging. Davidson returned out, but Schultz then appears to have
and got on the phone to the engine reported the list at 18 degrees. Think
room. After he got off he said, “Gonna of the angle of a wheelchair ramp and
steer right up into it. Wants to take the then multiply by four.
list off.” He intended to feel his way
upwind until the aerodynamic pres- Flooding in Three-Hold
sures were sufficiently reduced that
the ship would come closer to level. It is unlikely that Davidson ever fully
Beyond the windows all was blackness understood that he had sailed into the
and driving spray. He did not know eye wall of Joaquin, but he must have
the wind’s direction except that it was realised by now that he had come
coming from the left. much too close.

Hamm started a slow turn into At 5.43am, the seriousness of their
the wind. Davidson had been on the predicament suddenly became clear.
phone again with the engine room. Up on the bridge the house phone
When he got off, he said, “Just the list. rang. Davidson answered and listened
The sumps are actin’ up. To be expect- for 15 seconds. He hung up and said to
ed.” The sumps had pumps that sup- Schultz. “Go down to three-hold and
plied lubrication to the main engine. start the pumping right now. Water.”

They had turned 35 degrees to the Three-hold was a vast space be-
left. Hamm was now doggedly steering low the second deck, just in front of
to the northeast. The sea conditions the engine room. It was loaded with
were atrocious. They were no longer cars. The problem was a series of scut-
normal for Alaska. tles – heavy watertight hatches – that
allowed access from the second deck
The ship was pointed almost direct- to the cargo holds below. The crew
ly into the wind, but Davidson had no had secured them the day before, in
way of knowing it. On a clean upwind preparation for the storm. But if one
direction, any list caused by the winds had been overlooked or had failed, the
should have come to an end; the list, flooding would be severe.
however, continued and, if anything,
was steeper than before, suggesting The house phone rang. Davidson
that something besides wind was answered. It was an engineer calling
causing it – such as flooding. in. The bilge pump was not keeping
up – water was continuing to rise. The

124 April 2020

Into the Teeth of a Hurricane

source of the water was unknown. get it closed. Randolph showed up on

El Faro had a closed system of two the bridge. Davidson said “Hi!” with

interconnected ballast tanks – one on a rising inflection. He was obviously

the left, one on the right – that were pleased to see her there.

used to balance the ship during car- Before long, Davidson got word that

go-loading operations by means of the scuttle had been secured. But the

water transfers. Davidson ordered ship continued to list badly – now to

the engine room to start transferring the left. Water must still be coming in

water from the starboard tank to the from somewhere.

port tank in order to lessen the list, Then, suddenly at 6.13am, the ev-

thereby distributing the flood waters er-present tremors of the ship’s pro-

more evenly. pulsion stopped. Davidson said, “I

Five minutes later the chief engineer think we just lost the plant.” Three

rang with the news that the source did minutes later, the chief engineer

indeed appear to be called. The prob-

an open scuttle on IT WAS MORNING lem was with lubri-
the starboard side. TWILIGHT, AND cation-oil pressure
Access would be THE SCENE at this angle of list.
COMING INTO
difficult unless the SIGHT WAS He said they were
flood waters could CALAMITOUS trying to bring the
be lowered. David- engine back online.
son said, “I’m going Meanwhile, the
to turn the ship and ship had plenty of
get the wind on the standby power for

starboard side, get running the pumps

everything on the starboard side, give and electrics.

us a port list, and see if we’ll have a It was mor n i ng t w i l ig ht, a nd

better look at it.” the scene slowly coming into sight

It was an audacious plan. In a badly was calamitous, with huge break-

wounded ship, he was going to use the i ng waves, chu r n i ng foa m a nd

hurricane itself as a tool for damage wind-driven rain and spray. The

control. He said to Hamm, “Put your hull lay below the bridge, taking a

rudder left 20.” El Faro began to turn. pounding from the storm. There was

The winds had further intensified. The a sound of multiple thuds in rapid

seas were mountainous. succession. Davidson said, “That’s

The hurricane shoved El Faro into why I don’t go out there … That’s a

a port-side list. Water was now pour- piece of handrail, right?”

ing out of the open scuttle. When it Randolph decided that this was the

stopped, members of the crew would time to grind some gourmet coffee.

125

READER’S DIGEST

She said, “Coffee? Cream and sugar?” starboard sides, open to the sky, ex-

She added, “Sugar is fine with the cap- tremely difficult if not impossible to

tain, right?” Hamm said, “Give me the launch from a listing ship in hur-

Splenda, not the regular sugar.” ricane-force winds, and certain to

In reply to a question, Davidson capsize in breaking waves. It also

said, “Should get better all the time. had five inflatable life rafts that were

Right now we’re on the back side of easier to launch but more difficult to

it. OK? board, and nearly as vulnerable in

But they were not on the back side the storm. The only hope was to take

of the storm, and conditions were not to the life rafts.

going to improve. They were in the Davidson radioed to Schultz, who

northern eye wall, and getting pushed was somewhere on the ship trying to

to the southwest. Joaquin, meanwhile, monitor the flooding. He said, “Just a

was intensifying into a Category 4 hur- heads-up. I’m gonna ring the gener-

ricane. al alarm. Get your

Davidson called A LOW RUMBLING muster while you’re
the engine room. BEGAN. IT WAS down there. Muster
The chief engineer THE SOUND OF all, mate.”
EL FARO
explained that he Schultz answered,
would not be able to GOING DOWN “Roger.”
get the lubrication
pumps going until Davidson called
the engine room

El Faro gained more and got a junior of-

of an even keel. ficer. He said, “Just

Full daylight had come. The chief want to let you know I am going to

engineer called, and Randolph told ring the general alarm. You don’t have

him there was nothing more that to abandon ship or anything just yet.

could be done from the bridge about All right, we’re gonna stay with it.”

the list. Davidson instructed her to When he got off the phone, Da-

send an emergency message to the vidson shouted loudly, “Ring it!” A

Coast Guard and the company via the high-frequency bell could be heard

security alert system. everywhere.

Speaking of the outside world, he Schultz called Davidson on the ra-

said in an urgent tone, “Wake every- dio. He said, “Everybody starboard

body up! Wake ’em up!” side.” The starboard side was the high

“Everybody Get Off!” side, to windward.
Davidson answered, “All under-

El Faro had two outdated lifeboats stood.”

hung from davits on its port and Hamm was trying to climb the

126 April 2020

Into the Teeth of a Hurricane

slanted deck of the bridge, but he let up. It was the sound of El Faro go-
was exhausted from steering. He said, ing down. The last words heard on
“Can’t come back over!” the bridge are Davidson’s. He is
crying out to Hamm: “It’s time to
Davidson said, “Hold on a sec. Take come this way!”
it easy there.”
FROM VANITY FAIR (APRIL 2018), © 2018
A radio call came in, possibly from BY WILLIAM LANGEWIESCHE
Riehm. “Cap’n, you gettin’ ready to
abandon ship?” The sinking of El Faro, 685 kilometres
southeast of Miami, was the worst
“Yeah. What I’d like to make sure US maritime disaster in three
everybody has their immersion suits decades. A massive search over the
and, uh, stand by. Get a good head following week turned up life rafts,
count.” The radio said, “Mustered, sir.” immersion suits and other debris
from El Faro, but no bodies were
Randolph yelled, “All right, I got ever recovered. The ship was found
containers in the water!” resting 4695 metres beneath the
surface and the data recorder was
Davidson said, “Ring the abandon eventually retrieved.
ship.” The bell sounded: seven pulses
followed by an eight-second ring. A US National Transportation
Safety Board investigation concluded
Davidson said, “Bow is down. Bow that a combination of factors
is down.” contributed to the catastrophe,
including Captain Davidson’s
Davidson radioed, “Everybody get reliance on outdated weather
off! Get off the ship! Stay together!” reports, the failure of crew members
to assert their concerns about the
Hamm said, “Cap! Cap!” He was ship’s course, and lack of adequate
having a hard time climbing the deck safety training for crew members
Clinging to the high side, unable to by the shipping company.
reach Hamm, Davidson kept urging
him to try.

Hamm said, “You gonna leave me?”
Davidson answered firmly, “I’m not
leaving you. Let’s go.”

A low rumbling began and did not

Word Play

An aptronym is a name especially suited to the profession of its
owner. Real-life examples include barber Dan Druff, Felicity Foote for
a dance teacher, James Bugg for an exterminator, and meteorologists
Dallas Raine, Sara Blizzard and Amy Freeze. More famously, we have

William Wordsworth, the poet. WWW.WORDSMITH.ORG

127

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The Wandering We Need to Talk I Am C-3PO:
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Puzzle Answers See page 138 SUDOKU

THE GOOD LIFE THE RAINBOW GAME 953416827
178329546
Luca is taking a nap, 1/28. 624857193
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ears scratched, Nutmeg A-TO-L FIT-IN 246735981
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Pepper is burying a JLF 591674238
chew toy and Bear is EHC I 437582619
playing catch. BKAGD 862193475

133

READER’S DIGEST

THE
GENIUS
SECTION

Sharpen Your
Mind

WAKE UP PHOTOS: MATTHEW COHEN
YOUR
BRAIN

The secret to keeping
everyday life from
becoming boring is
surprisingly easy

BY Juli Fraga

ADAPTED FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

134 april 2020

ast spring, I started a new The Genius Section
exercise class. As some-
one who dislikes doing with adjusting to adversities such as
jumping jacks, burpees losing a loved one or a job. But be-
coming immune to positive events
L and push-ups, I found can prove detrimental. Think about
the workouts surpris- the last time you received a pay in-
ingly enjoyable, at least for a while. crease, bought a car or moved house.
But after several months, my hobby At first, these experiences can bring
began to feel like watching the same immense joy. But over time, they
episode of a sitcom on repeat. I was become part of the routine. We are
overly familiar with the class rou- ready for the next new thing to excite
tine, and my excitement had been us. Think of it as a hedonic treadmill.
replaced with boredom. While boredom can be a downer
when it drains the pleasure from our
A 2016 study estimated that 63 per lives, it can provide a sort of service.
cent of us suffer from boredom reg- “If our emotional reactions didn’t
ularly. And research shows that weaken with time, we couldn’t rec-
chronically bored people are more ognise novel changes that may sig-
prone to depression, substance use nal rewards or threats,” Lyubomirsky
and anxiety. says. In other words, we’d overlook
cues signalling us to make important
Even though we all feel apathetic decisions about our relationships
from time to time, according to Mary and safety.
Mann, author of Yawn: Adventures
in Boredom, it’s often seen as being It’s not unlike how our reactions
self-inflicted. ‘Only boring people get change when we fall in love or expe-
bored’ is a popular belief. rience loss. Being caught in the glow
of happiness or the web of sadness
But boredom isn’t a character flaw. can make us distracted or forgetful.
It’s a state brought on by something We may miss signals that indicate
called hedonic adaptation, or the whether we’re about to make a smart
tendency to get used to things over move – or a disastrous one. The good
time. This explains why activities – news is that understanding the con-
and even relationships – that were nection between hedonic adaptation
initially gratifying can sometimes and boredom can help us manoeuvre.
lose their lustre.
A study published in 2018 in the
Humans are remarkably good Personality and Social Psychology
at growing accustomed to chang- Bulletin showed that finding quirky
es in our lives, both positive and ways to interact with familiar people,
negative, according to psychology places and things can make everyday
Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky. This experiences feel exciting. In other
is a good thing when we are faced
135

READER’S DIGEST

words, sometimes you’ve just got to The same old, same old is a sure path to
shake things up! Need some fresh boredom. Try mixing things up
ideas for keeping life fresh? Read on.
ous about others can make us more
While you’re working engaging to be around, too.

Spending too much time in the When you’re eating
same environment can keep us from
achieving ‘flow’ – being immersed in Eating foods in unconventional ways,
an activity with full energy and enjoy- such as using chopsticks to pick up
ment. Changes don’t have to be big to kernels of popcorn, can respark the
make an impact, according to leader- excitement we feel when something
ship coach Rachel Loock. Buy some is brand new. Consider the chop-
flowers for your desk, she suggests. sticks a metaphor for shaking up any
Move your home office to the library familiar habit.
or a coffee shop a few days a week.
Approach a routine task in a new way. During your commute
For instance, if you’re charged with
leading a Monday meeting, try start- If you drive, take a different route or
ing it with meditation or a discussion listen to a new podcast. If you walk
that’s not work-related. or use public transport, greet a
stranger or put away your phone and
With your partner do some people watching. “Simply
observing one’s surroundings may
“Boredom is an emotional state and seem boring, but done mindfully, it
happens when couples stop taking the can become interesting and even
opportunity to grow and deeply con- potentially profound,” says Dr Tim
nect with each other,” says Dr Venus Lomas, a lecturer in positive psy-
Nicolino. Look for new challenges to chology. Just remember, whatever
take on together. Try mixing up dif- you do to quell boredom today, try
ferent sets of friends to do something something different tomorrow – and
creative, such as a group cooking les- the day after that.
son or a themed dinner.
NEW YORK TIMES (MARCH 29, 2019), © 2019 BY NEW
Instead of “How was your day?” YORK TIMES, NYTIMES.COM.
try asking “What are you looking
forward to today?” or “Is there any-
thing I can help you with this week?”
Our curiosity can remind people that
we’re interested in who they are, and
that’s the key to maintaining inti-
macy. Studies show that being curi-

136 April 2020

The Genius Section

FAMILY FUN

Spot the Difference

There are seven differences. Can you find them?

Around in Circles

Around and around goes the maze. Can you find your way to the centre?

Entry
V

Check your answers for Family Fun on page 142.

137

READER’S DIGEST

PUZZLES

Challenge yourself by solving these puzzles and mind
stretchers, then check your answers on page 133.

The Good Life Easy CLUES:
• Pepper is either playing catch
Five neighbourhood dogs are each
enjoying one of their favourite or burying a chew toy.
activities. Based on the clues, can you
figure out which pet is doing what? • Neither Ginger, Luca nor Bear
is on a walk.
DOGS ACTIVITIES
LUCA Getting ears scratched • One of the dogs named for
GINGER Playing catch a spice is getting her ears
NUTMEG Taking a nap scratched (and loving it).
PEPPER Burying a chew toy
BEAR Going for a walk • A dog who is not named for
a spice is playing catch.

• Bear is getting some exercise.

The Rainbow Game (THE RAINBOW GAME) DARREN RIGBY
Difficult

I shuffle eight cards: one with each
of the six main colours of the
rainbow and two grey. I lay them
out face down. You select cards
one by one. If you can pick all the
colours of the rainbow before you
pick a grey card, then you win.
What’s the probability of winning?

138 april 2020

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(A-TO-L FIT-IN) FRASER SIMPSON; (THE GOOD LIFE) SUE DOHRIN; (DOG IMAGES) ISTOCK.COM/UFIMTSEVAV 24 81 0.a5ndmm

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1 347

Sudoku To Solve This Puzzle

Put a number from 1 to 9 in each empty square
so that: every horizontal row and vertical column
contains all nine numbers (1-9) without repeating
any of them; each of the outlined 3 x 3 boxes has
all nine numbers, none repeated.

J
EHC

A-to-L Fit-In Moderately difficult

Insert the letters from A to L, one per square, so that
no two consecutive letters in alphabetical order are
in squares that touch, not even at a corner. Four
letters have been placed to get you started.

READER’S DIGEST

TRIVIA

Test Your General Knowledge

1. What geothermal Icelandic site 7. What Scottish poet’s works

has the same name as a 1980 movie? inspired the book titles Of Mice

2 points and Men and Catcher in the Rye?

2. Which European country 2 points

technically shares a border with 8. In a 2010 study, people found

Brazil, because one of its ‘overseas more mistakes when they marked

departments’ does? 2 points essays with a pen of what colour?

3. What ‘finger-lickin’ good’ 1 point

company piloted a chicken-flavoured 9. Name the South Korean film

nail polish? 1 point awarded best picture at this year’s

4. In printing, it’s the colour black. Oscars, becoming the first non-

In chemistry, it’s potassium. English language film to take the
Which letter is it? 2 points top prize. 1 point

5. Samuel Tilden, Grover 10. Which has more landmass:
Cleveland, Al Gore and Antarctica or Canada? 1 point

Hillary Clinton share what 11. In Swedish, a skvader

distinction among US is a fictional rabbit with

presidential candidates? what unusual feature?

2 points 2 points

6. What Indian 13. In 2017, the 12. At least 40 bottles PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM/JFMDESIGN
mausoleum was called of sunscreen per
a “teardrop ... on the site Bachtrack.com month were needed to
cheek of time” by Nobel determined the ten most protect what popular
Prize in Literature performed ballets in the 1990s TV show’s cast
world. What composer

gave us three of them,

laureate Rabindranath including the first? from sunburns?
Tagore? 1 point 2 points
1 point

16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon

ANSWERS: 1. The Blue Lagoon. 2. France, because of French Guiana. 3. KFC. 4. K.
5. They won the popular vote but lost the electoral college vote. 6. The Taj Mahal.
7. Robert Burns. 8. Red. 9. Parasite. 10. Antarctica. 11. Wings. 12. Baywatch. 13. Peter Ilyich
Tchaikovsky. Number one was The Nutcracker.

140 april 2020

The Genius Section

WORD POWER

A Bug’s Life

Terms from the fascinating world of insects

BY Linda Besner

1. proboscis – A: reproduction by 8. nocturnal – A: burrowing.
laying eggs. B: ability to skate on B: active at night. C: able to live
water. C: tubular feeding organ. on water or land.

2. pheromone – A: Egyptian 9. apiarist – A: creature capable of
scarab beetle. B: sticky exterior of camouflage. B: insect collector.
a chrysalis. C: chemical secretion C: beekeeper.
prompting a response from others.
10. larva – A: liquid secreted by
3. entomophagy – A: practice of aphids as they feed. B: immature,
eating insects. B: releasing one recently hatched form of an insect.
species to control the population of C: nest of rotten leaves.
another. C: dye made from cochineal
bugs. 11. metamorphosis – A: rapid
transformation into an adult form.
4. myrmecologist – A: insect- B: habit of feeding on fungi.
call expert. B: mealworm glue C: mosquito-borne malady.
manufacturer. C: ant expert.
12. sericulture – A: social order
5. biomass – A: network of biological organised around a queen.
interactions. B: total mass of B: shedding an exoskeleton.
organisms present. C: weight a C: silkworm farming.
creature can lift divided by its
own weight. 13. beetling – A: scurrying like
a beetle. B: identifying beetles.
6. arachnophobia – A: fear of spiders. C: making beetle-like clicking
B: fear of home infestation. C: fear of noises.
being stung.
14. histamine – A: compound
7. alate – A: covered in scales. released during inflammatory
B: born in springtime. C: having reactions. B: mating season.
wings. C: travelling in swarms.

141

READER’S DIGEST hatched form of an insect. The
Hercules beetle larva can grow up
Answers to 11 centimetres long.
11. metamorphosis – A: rapid
1. proboscis – C: tubular feeding transformation into an adult form.
organ. The butterfly used its proboscis The metamorphosis from caterpillar
to suck nectar from the garden’s to butterfly is fascinating.
flowers. 12. sericulture – C: silkworm farming.
2. pheromone – C: chemical secretion In China, where silk cloth was first
prompting a response from others. developed, sericulture is still an
Bolas spiders trick male moths important industry.
into approaching by producing 13. beetling – A: scurrying like a
pheromones that resemble those of beetle. The toddler was beetling along
female moths. the footpath after her parents.
3. entomophagy – A: practice of 14. histamine – A: compound
eating insects. Entomophagy is released during inflammatory
catching on in Germany, with stores reactions. Mosquito bites are itchy
offering insect-based foods. because the body is trying to defend
4. myrmecologist – C: ant expert. itself with histamines.
Pulitzer Prize–winning sociobiologist
Edward O. Wilson began as a Family Fun Answers See Page 137
myrmecologist.
5. biomass – B: total mass of
organisms present. Since the 1970s,
the biomass of insects in Puerto Rico’s
tropical rainforest has plummeted.
6. arachnophobia – A: fear of spiders.
Claudette’s arachnophobia made her
hesitant to travel to Australia.
7. alate – C: having wings. Alate
termites aren’t strong flyers and can
travel only short distances.
8. nocturnal – B: active at night. The
nocturnal habits of fireflies produce
romantic glimmers on summer
evenings.
9. apiarist – C: beekeeper. Amateur
apiarists are well advised to wear
protective gear.
10. larva – B: immature, recently

VOCABULARY RATINGS 5-8: Fair 9–10: Good 11–14: Word Power Wizard

142 APRIL 2020

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