CONTENTS 64
OCTOBER 2022
28
PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS: (THIS PAGE) GETTY IMAGES; (COVER) K. SYNOLD/TMB STUDIO Features 48 74
28 drama in real life humour
entertainment The Perfect Storm What’s Your
Weird Phobia?
And The Show Seven fishermen
Goes On in a small boat Bears? Not a problem.
are dwarfed by But don’t pull out the
Mick Jagger on the life-threatening cotton wool balls...
Rolling Stones. monsoonal waves.
PATRICIA PEARSON
TORSTEN GROSS CHITRA SUBRAMANYAM
78
32 54
photo feature
health food for thought
Pumpkins
The Placebo Debate Wontons
From beer to boats,
Could a placebo ever A type of dumpling, there is more to
be as effective as real eating wontons has this ‘fruit’ than
drugs? LIA GRAINGER been likened to the average
‘swallowing a cloud’. jack-o’-lantern.
40
DIANE GODLEY MARKUS WARD
art of living
64 84
A Bunny At My Door
health relationships
A rabbit proved to be
the symbol of new life Pain, Shake It Off Banding Together
this family needed.
Could a series of A simple Facebook
STACEY MAY FOWLES six exercises be all search started an
that’s needed to unlikely friendship.
78 offset chronic pain?
EMMA TAUBENFELD
HELEN FOSTER AND PAUL ROBERT
ON THE COVER: THE PLACEBO DEBATE - PAGE 32
readersdigest.com.au 1
CONTENTS 12
OCTOBER 2022
90 114 the digest
20 Pets
nature health 22 Health
26 News From The
The Beauty Of Anti-Migraine Diet
Night Blooming World Of Medicine
Flowers Food is a common 141 RD Recommends
trigger. JEN BABAKHAN,
Witnessing these regulars
flowers unfurl has LISA MARIE CONKLIN 4 Editor’s Note
become something AND JESSICA MIGAL 6 Letters
of a status symbol.
120 10 News Worth
LIGAYA MISHAN FROM THE Sharing
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE travel
12 My Story
96 The Slow Train 17 Smart Animals
To Spain 58 Look Twice
art of living 102 Quotable Quotes
What better way to
How To Learn travel? PAUL ROBERT humour
From Your Regrets 46 Life’s Like That
128 62 Laughter,
Use life’s rear-view
mirror to grow in a relationships The Best Medicine
new direction. 94 All In A Day’s Work
My Husband’s
ARTHUR C. BROOKS Secret Life the genius section
FROM THE ATLANTIC 146 Why Happiness
Unexplained phone
104 calls make a new wife Can Be Hard To
suspicious. NANCY FRENCH Find
motoring 150 Puzzles
FROM WASHINGTONPOST.COM 153 Trivia
Behind The Wheels 154 Puzzle Answers
132 155 Word Power
For this motoring
journalist, it’s not the art of living
car that’s interesting,
but the people behind Instead Of University,
the steering wheels. I Read These Books
SIMON HEPTINSTALL A teacher’s reading list
taught her everything
2 october 2022 she needed to know.
TOM HALLMAN
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READER’S DIGEST PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
EDITOR’S NOTE
Where Our Journeys Meet
WITH THE WORLD HEALING FROM COVID, and travel back on the
agenda, the idea of taking a long, leisurely train journey through Europe is
once again possible. In ‘Slow Train To Spain’ (page 120), Paul Robert offers
an inspiring alternative to racing from point A to point B when he sets out
to travel from Amsterdam to Málaga, in southern Spain, on Europe’s local
train networks. Along the way he learns
to embrace the characters, sights and the
unexpected that play a gentle but persistent
havoc on his plans – something which is
synonymous with travel.
This issue offers a number of solutions for
challenges we all commonly face; starting
with regret. Feeling regret is a very normal
human emotion, but it can also influence
our behaviour, holding us back and warping
our confidence. In ‘How To Learn From Your
Regrets’ (page 96) we offer ways to settle the
mistakes of past regrets, so you can move
forward in life. In ‘Shake It Off’ (page 64) we
discuss a new treatment called Trauma Release Exercise that can
help manage pain. ‘What’s Your Phobia?’ (page 74) takes a playful look
at the vast array of both common and obscure fears that ordinary people
face every day. We also probe into the mystery of placebo medicines
(‘The Placebo Debate,’ page 32) that has, in some cases, sparked a healing
body-brain response.
The October issue has these stories and much more for your reading
enjoyment.
LOUISE WATERSON
Editor-in-Chief
4 october 2022
AUSTRALIA
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October 2022
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READER’S DIGEST
LETTERS
Reader’s Comments And Opinions
A Barrel Of Laughs
How do you do it? I was in fits
of laughter reading Daniel
Steinberg’s article, ‘Laughing
Matters’ (August). I am a student
and rarely get stress-free
moments, but since my father
subscribed to Reader’s Digest, I’ve
loosened up and turned my frown
upside down. Whenever a new
issue arrives, I immediately flip to
the humour pages and laugh till
my face turns red. Hats off to you
guys for making my day every
month. AKSHAY PRAKASH
The Joy Of Kites recalled three outhouses where he’d
Noor Brara’s ‘The Ancient Magic of attempt lift-off, all without success.
Kites’ (August) was a fascinating
insight into the history of kites, and Years later, this same lady, my dear
had me smiling as I remembered
stories my father told me of how Nana, helped me build a kite from
his mother used to let him fly kites
from the roof of the family outhouse brown paper, glue, string and balsa
(outdoor toilet). As his family moved
three times in the same street, he wood. And although the ‘launching
site’ changed from outhouse to
beach, my kite also never took to
the skies – but I did enjoy running
along the sand. JUDITH CAINE
Let us know if you are moved – or provoked – by any item in the magazine,
share your thoughts. See page 8 for how to join the discussion.
6 october 2022
Human Kindness Letters
The news compilation ‘Human HOT HEAD
Kindness Amid War’ (July) was a
heart-warming read, especially since We asked you to think up a funny
all the information about the Ukraine caption for this photo.
war in the newspaper and TV is of
destruction, death and disability. I said, “Beam me up, Scotty,”
not “Preen me up!”
CAPTAIN THOMAS
RUTH FELLOWS
Beating The Odds
It’s a hair-raising experience!
Thank you for sharing the deeply
moving story, ‘When All They MARTIN NEW
Had Was Love’ (July). The couple’s
tenderness and tenacity in the face I liked it better when my
of overwhelming odds was amazing. granddaughter wanted to make
Late last year our then five-year-
old grandson was diagnosed with mud pies.
acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, so
I resonated with all the emotions SALLY MCLACHLAN
expressed in the story. Through
hospitalisations, chemotherapy and Sorry, I can’t hear you over the
constant drugs and tests, our Elijah volume of my hair.
WIN A PILOT CAPLESS CLAIRE VAN ANDEL
FOUNTAIN PEN
Foiled again!
The best letter each month will
win a Pilot Capless Fountain Pen, WENDY KIRIFI
valued at over $200. The Capless
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of luxury and ingenious winner, Wendy Kirifi.
technology, featuring a one-
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pen nib, durable metal body,
beautiful rhodium accents and CAPTION CONTEST
a 14K gold nib. Congratulations
to this month’s winner, Akshay Come up with the funniest caption
Prakash. for the above photo and you could win
$100. To enter, email
[email protected]
or see details on page 8.
readersdigest.com.au 7
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NEWS WORTH SHARING
A Place Where Seniors Feel Valued
E very year, about ten million and stimulation, and feel valued while PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
people worldwide develop interacting with other workers and
dementia. In fact, many countries volunteers.
will see a doubling of the dementia
rate between 2018 and 2050, reports Director of the Federation of Dutch
non-profit Alzheimer Europe. The Care Farms, Maarten Fischer, says,
Netherlands is one of them. It’s also “They’re providing the same care as
a leader in an innovative addition to an institution would, but it doesn’t
nursing homes: ‘care farms’. feel like an institution.”
The Netherlands has more than Care farms, which have been around
1300 care farms, one third of which since the 1970s, also serve people with
cater to people with dementia. They developmental disabilities, addictions
allow people to spend two or more or criminal records.
days a week in a natural setting
tending chickens or harvesting “Giving is important for self-esteem
vegetables, among other activities. It and for healing, but most people who
allows them to be active, get fresh air receive care are no longer in a position
to give,” Fischer says. “On a farm,
everyone contributes.”
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MY STORY
Flying In
The
1950s
It may have taken three
days, but the journey was
a priceless experience
BY Keith Knott
Back in the ’50s, flying flight was at an average altitude of ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES
involved some great 914 metres, we could see everything
sightseeing, a fact that I happening down below. The first
discovered just after taking thing of interest was the Zambesi
off from Salisbury, now Harare, (the fourth longest river in Africa).
in Zimbabwe at 8am one Sunday
morning in April, 1956. I was bound Then we flew across Katanga
for London. Province, in the bottom right-hand
corner of the Democratic Republic
The plane was a Viking and of the Congo, and on to Tabora in
belonged to Central African Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
Airways and the ticket cost around
one hundred pounds. I was given The Serengeti Plains were
the single seat right at the rear swarming with game – huge herds of
just inside the door. This was the buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, gazelle,
longest journey by air I had taken groups of elephants, rhino families
and I was excited. and graceful giraffes looking down
on all the rest with disdain while
The first leg was to Ndola, in what they nibbled the choice leaves that
is now Zambia and, as the whole no other animal could reach.
12 october 2022
My Story
In the late afternoon we landed A subtle change of colour started
at Nairobi, Kenya, which had a to unfold below us. Greens slowly
magnificent little game reserve changed to browns as we crossed
adjoining the city. It was our first into South Sudan for the next
of three overnight stops, but there refuelling stop at Juba – what is now
was no time for sleeping in. At 5am referred to as the Mountain Nile.
we took off before the air got too
hot and thin. We enjoyed excellent It was a long hop from there to
views of Lake Victoria to our left and Sudan’s capital Khartoum, where
Mt Elgon, Uganda’s highest peak at we saw the desert taking over the
4321 metres, to the right. landscape and a camel caravan of
about 30 animals approaching the
Keith Knott met his Australian wife in luscious palms around the Malakal
Zimbabwe. The pair recently celebrated oasis.
their 57th wedding anniversary. They live in
Bundaberg, Queensland, and enjoy doing When we arrived at Khartoum,
jigsaws and feeding native butcher birds we had to wait for the runway to
while lunching in their garden gazebo. be swept before we could land –
there had been a sand storm. Being
nearest to the door and needing
a good leg stretch, I was the first
out into what felt like an oven.
However, there was ‘shade’ in the
building and plenty of warm orange
juice. We were on the ground about
every three or four hours. Our next
stop was Wadi Halfa, in the north
of Sudan and near the Egyptian
border – which is now under the
Aswan High Dam. As we started our
descent, we wondered where the
airport was, and then we saw black
patches in the sand – the runway.
We landed and waited. There were
no buildings, nothing. Then a bus
arrived from behind a sand dune.
It was an open-sided gharri (horse-
drawn carriage) driven by a very
young-looking Arab.
We squashed in and held on.
Fortunately the driver knew where
readersdigest.com.au 13
READER’S DIGEST
the road was, even though we complete military hospital with red
couldn’t see it, and soon we were in crosses on the roofs.
the town for the night. We landed for more fuel and saw
We stayed at a magnificent hotel a sign saying ‘Welcome to Egypt’.
that resembled a white castle in Then we were on our way again,
scented orange groves, where we across the vivid blue sea to the
ate dinner. I was asked whether I’d island of Malta, which was awarded
like to sleep in the annex by the the George Cross for its war heroism
river and as soon as I saw it, I didn’t during World War II.
hesitate. We were just in time for a
The SRS Thebes, a retired Nile sumptuous lunch and we had the
River Steamer, was whole afternoon to
linked to the hotel AS WE explore the catacombs
for all amenities, STARTED OUR – a cooling experience
and my cabin was on DESCENT, WE after the desert stops.
the top deck with a We watched the
gentle breeze blowing WONDERED local women making
through the screen WHERE THE exquisite lace articles
door all night. AIRPORT WAS. and then had a really
THEN WE SAW good sleep before our
Before turning last day’s flight.
in, some of us (the
plane held about 28 PATCHES OF We flew past the
passengers) went out RUNWAY IN tip of Sicily, across
to see the town. THE SAND Sardinia to the French
Riviera and had a final
Apart from the hotel
and the usual bazaars, fuel stop at Marseilles.
all there seemed to Then, after a dash
be was the police force – which over the English Channel, we were
comprised one policeman and his finally in London.
donkey. Although there’s no comparison
We flew across even more desert between my first flying adventure
the next morning to Mersa Matruh and today’s super speedy flights, the
on the Egyptian Mediterranean experience inspired a lifelong love
coast. This area had been a major of travel.
war zone a decade earlier and the
battle remains were clearly visible Do you have a tale to tell? We’ll pay
– a scrap metal dealer’s paradise. cash for any original and unpublished
There were tanks, guns and other story we print. See page 8 for details
vehicles without any rust, and a on how to contribute.
14 october 2022
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SMART ANIMALS
Little beasts can generate an enormous amount of joy
ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES Quincy The Goat The tiny kid was too adorable to
resist. I named him Quincy and
CYNTHIA MCBRIDE with the help of some experienced
friends, bottle-fed him in my
A few years ago, I was leaving the bathroom.
dog shelter where I worked and
found a baby goat at the end of Quincy proved to be quite
the driveway. The shelter’s owners intelligent. After a week, I tapped
are known animal rescuers, and I my fingers on the bathroom floor
figured someone dumped him over and said, “Lie down”. I was amazed
the fence.
You could earn cash by telling us
The kid was visibly nervous but about the antics of unique pets or
stood perfectly still as I approached. wildlife. Turn to page 8 for details
on how to contribute.
I’m an animal lover and I’ve
brought home dogs, cats, horses, readersdigest.com.au 17
chickens and fish, but never a goat.
READER’S DIGEST
when he dropped down. I was even Not too long afterwards, I heard
more amazed when he did it three a currawong calling, then read that
times in a row. they are often heard around areas
where echidnas forage. Every time
With training, Quincy learned to I hear this bird call now, I wonder
lie down, bow and turn in a circle in if I’ll catch a rare sighting of an
no time. He is house-trained, jumps echidna.
in the back of my four-wheel-drive
when I say “load up”, and spends the In the backyard, long grass has
day roaming with my dogs, whom sprung up after all the recent
he considers his herd. He even joins heavy rain. Across it there is a
us for trips to the dog park. little echidna-sized pathway. I’m
hoping to catch another echidna
It’s hard to believe that the goat sighting soon, and maybe it will be
kid nobody wanted turned out to be announced again by my dog Polar
one of the smartest and most good- Bear.
natured animals I’ve ever had.
ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES
He’s by far the sharpest of my
bunch – just don’t tell the dogs!
A Rare Sighting
KAY CAMPBELL
Last spring, I heard strange
excited noises from my little dog,
a Bichon Frisé named Polar Bear.
When I investigated, I found him
standing looking quite alarmed.
He was indicating to me there was
‘something’ outside on the path.
I dashed out, fearing the worst
– maybe a snake? I’d heard red-
bellied black snakes had been
found close by. But to my delight
I saw an extremely unusual sight:
an echidna wandering around in
the inner suburbs of Brisbane. This
friendly little animal, who didn’t
seem worried at all by my presence,
was trying to find a way through the
enclosed backyard.
18 october 2022
ADVERTORIAL PROMOTION
READER’S DIGEST
PETS
Dog Park Decorum
Not all dogs are suited to off-leash dog parks
BY Dr Katrina Warren
Our regular ONE OF THE JOYS OF DOG OWNERSHIP can be
pet columnist, watching your four-legged buddy playing with other
Dr Katrina Warren, dogs. It’s no wonder off-leash dog parks are popular.
is an established Apart from offering the opportunity to exercise and
and trusted socialise your dog, they’re also a great way to meet
animal expert. other dog owners. While off-leash parks can offer a
fun outing for well-socialised and trained dogs, letting
20 october 2022 your dog off-leash with a group of dogs you don’t know
can be potentially dangerous. Veterinarian Dr Katrina
Warren shares her top five safety tips to take into
account when venturing off-leash with your dog.
1 SUPERVISION Pay attention at all times when your
dog is off-leash. Put your phone away – it’s all too easy
to miss your pet defecating if you’re on your phone.
Always clean up after your dog and make sure your dog
doesn’t eat anything inappropriate. Most importantly,
always watch their interaction with other dogs.
2 TEACH RECALL Don’t let your dog off their leash
if they don’t reliably come back when you call them.
This is important not only for their safety, but also the
safety of other animals and people. You must be able
to call your dog back to you at all times, which can be
difficult with young and untrained dogs that are easily
distracted. It’s unrealistic to expect a puppy or young
dog to be able to recall, so
don’t allow young dogs the
freedom of running off-leash
unless you are in a dog park
that is fully fenced.
3 AVOID BALLS AND
TOYS Chasing balls can be
great fun for your dog and a
good way to expend some of Off-leash parks aren’t suitable for every dog
their energy, but you need
to be careful when you’re approaching you, give them space
around dogs you don’t know. and don’t encourage your dog to
Balls and toys can create an ‘say hello’. You have no idea of the
opportunity for dogs to display nature of the dog on the lead and
possessive behaviour and the often an owner will keep a dog on
potential for fights. the lead if they know it may react
4 DON’T BE A BOTHER Just badly with other dogs.
because someone is in the same 5 BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR DOG
park as you doesn’t mean they want Some dogs simply shouldn’t visit
your dog interacting with theirs. off-leash dog parks. If your dog plays
Always ask the owner if they are rough or has previously started
happy for the dogs to play together. fights, then be responsible and don’t
Remember, no matter how friendly take them to an environment where
and easygoing your dog is, the other this may happen again. If your dog
dog may be reactive and might not is timid or scared of other dogs, a
play nicely. If someone is walking dog park can be terrifying for them
their dog on a lead and is not and is best avoided.
MORE DOG PARK ETIQUETTE
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Don’t take your Retractable leads to get into trouble.
puppy. Dog parks can don’t offer good Ask before giving
be an overwhelming control. A dog at the treats. Always ask
and dangerous end of a retractable the other owner before
environment for a leash may still get far you give another
puppy. enough away from you dog treats.
readersdigest.com.au 21
READER’S DIGEST
HEALTH
Celebrate Your Siblings
Having brothers and sisters continues to affect your
health and wellbeing, even as an adult
BY Susannah Hickling
WHAT’S THE BET you fought like healthier BMI. Given that childhood ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES
cat and dog when you were younger? weight issues can turn into adult
But studies have found that brothers weight problems, it might be worth
and sisters can actually boost your having been annoyed at a younger
physical and mental health. sibling for stealing your toys.
Having a younger sibling might Sisters can protect you from
make you slimmer. A University of depression. Sisters, whether
Michigan study found that children younger or older, help prevent their
who were six or under when a new adolescent siblings from feeling
brother or sister arrived had a guilty, unloved, lonely, self-conscious
22 october 2022
Health
and fearful, according to a study with brothers and sisters when
from Brigham Young University in you’re older can lead to greater life
the US. That can only be a bonus satisfaction, greater psychological
when you reach adulthood. wellbeing, higher morale and fewer
depressive symptoms. That bond is
Having brothers and sisters makes vital as you enter old age.
you more charitable ... The same
research, which looked at 395 families, Siblings can help you have a
found that having siblings made healthier lifestyle. A multinational
you twice as likely to do good deeds. survey of more than 15,000 people
Could it be that having GOOD SIBLING found that 43 per cent
a same-generation RELATIONSHIPS of people credited
relative looking out for CAN LEAD TO their family and
you prompts you to GREATER LIFE friends for having
think about others? SATISFACTION the biggest impact on
their health. Siblings
… and more empathic. are readily available
A study of more than fitness and healthy-
450 Canadian families eating buddies.
found that if a sibling was warm and
kind, the other sibling was likely to They help you live longer. In a study
display the same qualities. from the American Sociological
Association, older adults who
Brothers and sisters improve your described themselves as being
chances of a happy marriage. ‘extremely close’ to the family
Research from Ohio State University members they listed as their closest
found that the more siblings you confidants, had a six per cent chance
had, the lower your chance of getting of dying over the next five years,
divorced. In fact, for each additional compared to a 14 per cent risk for the
one, your risk of marital breakdown people who didn’t.
was three per cent less. Researchers
speculated that having brothers and Having good friends can bring
sisters made you better at negotiating many of the same benefits. We
the tricky situations that occur in don’t all have brothers and sisters,
close relationships. or you might be estranged from
yours. Don’t panic; research also
They’re a morale booster in later shows that having close friends can
life. Research has found that boost your health, wellbeing and
having a meaningful relationship longevity.
readersdigest.com.au 23
READER’S DIGEST
HEALTH
A Peek At trouble,” says Alex Frangi, scientific PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
New Eye director of the University of Leeds
Science Centre for HealthTech Innovation.
Eventually, the technology may also
Smart contact lenses predict neurological conditions
may do far more than such as Alzheimer’s disease,
multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s
correct vision disease and stroke.
BY Denise Mann Researchers are also developing
smart contact lenses that do far more
T o update an old saying, the than correct vision. “Some smart
eyes truly are the window to contacts release medication, others
... the entire body. Artificial may monitor important vital signs,
intelligence (AI) and and others still may promote wound
other new technologies now allow healing,” says optometrist Janelle
ophthalmologists to predict and treat Davison.
diseases affecting the heart, brain
and other organs. The US Food and Drug
Administration recently gave the nod
A new field called oculomics to the first contact lens – Acuvue
combines big data and eye scans to Theravision – that emits
diagnose and predict heart disease. antihistamines to ease itchy eyes
One new AI system identifies people caused by allergies. Smart contacts
who are likely to have a heart attack are also being developed to monitor
in the next year based on the pattern glucose levels in diabetics, help eyes
of tiny blood vessels in their retinas heal faster after eye surgery or
– the light-sensing layers of tissue in corneal abrasions, and even provide
the back of the eyes. information to help improve athletic
performance.
“If there are reductions in the
density of these blood vessels or they
appear wavier, it’s usually a sign of
24 october 2022
READER’S DIGEST
News From The
WORLD OF MEDICINE
COFFEE AND TEA LOWER to help patients with weak T-cells by PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
DEMENTIA RISK increasing the effectiveness of their
immunotherapy (a treatment that
As well as helping you wake up in the uses the body’s immune system to
morning, moderate consumption fight cancer).
of coffee and tea may also lower
your risk of cognitive decline. In WHY YOU SHOULD NAP LIKE
fact, a study published in the journal THOMAS EDISON
PLOS Medicine, which followed over
350,000 people living in the UK, found When inventor Thomas Edison sought
that those who drank two to three inspiration, he adopted a novel
cups every day had a 32 per cent lower napping technique: falling asleep
risk of stroke and a 28 per cent lower while holding a small object in his
risk of dementia compared to people hand. When the object fell to the floor,
who drank none. If you’ve already he’d often wake with a new scientific
suffered a stroke, taking up a caffeine solution in mind.
habit now could lower the chances of
developing vascular dementia. As it turns out, there’s a scientific
basis for his method. A French study
MRNA TECHNOLOGY NOW suggests brain activity between
USED TO FIGHT CANCER sleep and wakefulness lends itself
to connecting spontaneous, dream-
Due to COVID-19, the world like perceptual experiences with
has become familiar with mRNA recent events while awake. Nearly
technology, which was used by
Pfizer and Moderna. This 83 per cent of participants
type of vaccine instructs who napped for ten
the body to make a minutes were successful
protein that triggers at solving a maths
an immune response problem presented
against the virus. earlier, compared to
Now, researchers at 30 per cent of subjects
the Mayo Clinic are who stayed awake and
using mRNA technology 14 per cent of those who
fell into a deeper sleep.
26 october 2022
ENTERTAINMENT
And The
SHOW
GOES ON
Mick Jagger has been on stage with the
Rolling Stones for an amazing six decades
– and he is not thinking of quitting
By Torsten Gross F R O M D I E Z E I T
T his year the Rolling Stones “I was born in a crossfire hurricane”: PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/ETHAN MILLER
toured Europe – once is how ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’, one of the
again. In an interview Rolling Stones’ most famous songs,
with Mick Jagger, the rock begins. It is a reference to the fact that
star – whom the Queen Keith Richards and you were born in
Dartford in 1943, while the city was
has long since elevated to knight- repeatedly the target of German air
raids. Later, your generation gave
hood status – talks about new songs, birth to the peace movement.
the death of his friend Charlie Watts
and his plans for the future.
28 october 2022
readersdigest.com.au 29
READER’S DIGEST
Mick Jagger: For my gen-
eration, it’s hard to under-
stand. Our parents used to
talk about the war constant-
ly at the dinner table; that
was the dominant theme of
my childhood and youth. As
a result, we were indirect-
ly but lastingly shaped by
the two world wars. Against
this background, I would
not have thought it possi-
ble that something like this
could happen again in my
lifetime. Through our par-
ents, we have been taught all
our lives what suffering wars
cause. Now we have one right
on our own doorstep. At the
moment, of course, it’s a to- Friends and long-time bandmates: Jagger and
tal horror for the people in drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021
Ukraine, that’s what gets you down.
recorded some really nice stuff.
War seemed to be a relic of times Then Charlie [Watts, the Stones’
past, was the West too naive? drummer] died... There are some
It seems puzzling to me what purpose good recordings that he’s still on,
this war is supposed to serve. I really but none of them are really finished.
don’t see how it would benefit anyone. Keith and I recently had a writing
Obviously it doesn’t benefit Ukraine, session where we had some good ide-
but it doesn’t benefit Russia either, so as again. But before all these pieces
what exactly is Putin getting out of this can really become an album, we still PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/SCOTT GRIES
war right now? No one is getting any- have a lot of work ahead of us.
thing out of it. Like most wars, this one
is completely pointless. Many people have been fans of the
band for so long that the death of
For six years there has been talk of a Charlie Watts felt like the loss of a
new Stones album. Any news? family member to them.
It hasn’t been so easy for us lately. For us, he definitely was a close
We had written a lot of songs and family member ... He was just there
30 october 2022
And The Show Goes On
from the beginning. Even longer: I hadn’t had a booked tour coming up,
was playing with Charlie in London which had already been postponed
clubs before the Rolling Stones even for a year due to the pandemic. But
existed. So he was one of my oldest it was already clear before Charlie’s
musician friends. death that we would play this tour
without him. We wouldn’t have done
Privately, we were also very good it if he hadn’t asked us to. But Char-
friends and had many common in- lie said, “Please play this tour with-
terests. We often went to cricket out me, I’m afraid I can’t go.”
matches or just enjoyed spending
time together. We also joined forces Sixty years have passed since you
on things like the designs of our stage first stood on stage with the Rolling
set-ups. Stones.
That’s an unimaginable number.
Some people didn’t understand Above all, it sounds like a very long
when you announced that the Roll- time to spend in one and the same
ing Stones would continue without band, in which, to top it all off, I still
Charlie Watts. Was there a moment play. But that’s what I do, I’m still in
when you thought: OK, that’s it, the that band, there’s no denying that.
Stones are history?
Well, that could have happened if we But you know what? I’ve not only
accepted it, but I’m enjoy-
STONES STATS ing it. Let’s see where this
takes us.
Mick Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, in How much longer can the
Dartford, England. Together with his Rolling Stones keep going?
childhood friend Keith Richards and second Oh my God. When I was
guitarist Brian Jones, the singer founded the first asked this question, I
Rolling Stones, playing their first gig in was just 33 years old.
London in 1962. With hits such as ‘(I Can’t Honestly, I had no idea then
Get No) Satisfaction’, ‘Street Fighting Man’ and I still don’t know now.
and ‘Paint It Black’, the band achieved Clearly, not forever. But as
worldwide fame. The Jagger/Richards long as you enjoy it and are
songwriter team is one of the most successful still able to do it, we just
of all time. Jagger has been married twice keep doing it. So you see:
and has eight children from five The answer has always re-
relationships. In 2003, he was knighted for mained the same.
his ‘services to popular music’. Since then he
enjoys the title Sir Michael Philip Jagger.
DIE ZEIT (APRIL 7, 2022) © DIE ZEIT
readersdigest.com.au 31
32 october 2022
PHOTOS: (THIS PAGE) GETTY IMAGES; (OPPOSITE) K. SYNOLD/TMB STUDIO HEALTH
THE
PLACEBO
DEBATE
Could fake medicine be as
effective as the real thing?
BY Lia Grainger
MICHAEL WHARRAD held the envelope in his hands, certain
of what the paper inside would tell him. The then 72-year-old
former investment banker from England had been diagnosed
with Parkinson’s disease nine years earlier. It was now 2017,
a year since he had been in a trial at the National Hospital for
Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.
readersdigest.com.au 33
READER’S DIGEST
Researchers were testing whether a happens when the brain convinc- PHOTOS BY K. SYNOLD/TMB STUDIO
drug approved to treat type 2 diabe- es the body that a fake treatment is
tes could also ease Parkinson’s symp- authentic, which stimulates relief.
toms. Wharrad received a daily dose Doctors have known of it for centu-
of either the drug or a placebo, but he ries, but in the past 50 years neurol-
didn’t know which. ogists have uncovered the molecular
mechanisms and pathways at play
During the trial, Wharrad had when a sham treatment creates real
thrived. His joints ached less and he healing.
could get up from a chair more easi-
ly and take walks around the block. To a large extent, the phenomenon
Friends and family commented on is still a mystery, but scientists have
his obvious improvement. And his confirmed that simply perceiving
score on a Parkinson’s assessment that you’re being treated affects the
tool improved significantly. same part of our brain that process-
es physical sensations such as symp-
“My wife and I were convinced I toms. They have also confirmed that
was taking the drug,” says Wharrad. measurable improvements can occur
when only a placebo is administered.
But at his end-of-trial meeting with
one of the researchers – who also “We can observe spikes in brain
didn’t know whether Wharrad had activity and changes in neural dis-
been on the drug or not – he got a sur- charge with a placebo treatment,”
prise. When he opened the envelope says Luana Colloca, a medical doc-
to find out what he’d been taking, he tor and a professor at the University
read the word ‘placebo’. of Maryland’s department of anaes-
thesiology. Researchers have also
Wharrad’s reaction was disbelief. seen that in medical trials to prove
“I was speechless,” he says. “I had drug effectiveness, fewer drugs were
been feeling so much better.” beating the placebo groups – as if the
placebo effect were growing stronger.
HOW PLACEBOS WORK A 2021 Danish meta-analysis showed
that more than half of the treatment
A placebo can be a sugar pill, a saline effect in some 180 drug trials could
injection or a glass of coloured water: be attributed to the placebo.
inert treatments that shouldn’t pro-
duce a physiological response. But Placebo research is now its own
often they do; Wharrad’s case is not area of study, and experts say we
unusual. In fact, placebos are in- should harness the strategies that
creasingly proving to be more pow- generate the most powerful placebo
erful than active drugs in trials – and effects in drug trials and incorpo-
they may just be the key to reducing rate them into clinical treatments
our dependence on medications.
The so-called placebo effect
34 october 2022
The Placebo Debate
for patients suffering from a range of review published in the journal Pain
chronic conditions. found that in many studies, patients
Since the body-brain response given several doses of a real painkill-
that controls the placebo effect is er followed by a placebo responded
neurological, placebos work best on to the placebo as if they had received
conditions like pain, irritable bowel the analgesic – though they were nev-
syndrome, depression and Parkin- er told which one they were given.
son’s disease – all controlled by the Dr Colloca says this can result in
neurological system. Placebos can’t the strongest placebo effect. “When
change things like a viral infection; we start with an active treatment or
they won’t lower your cholesterol, intervention, the placebo effect is
shrink a tumour or reduce a cold’s larger and more durable,” she says.
duration. Studying this across a range of con-
Research has shown In some ditions, Dr Colloca
that when placebos do has observed via fMRI
work, expectations play trials, real scans and other objec-
a significant role: if you medications tive measurements that
think a pill can cure placebos use the same
you, it is more likely to no longer neurological pathway
do so. In a 2004 Lan- outperform of the brain that the
cet review of placebo placebos medication did.
studies, researchers
“The placebo re-
described one study sponse is like a phar-
in which post-surgery macological memo-
patients were given morphine for ry activating the same part of the
pain. For some, the medication was brain,” she says.
delivered secretly with a hidden This specificity means that placebos
pump, while others received it from for depression activate serotonin, and
a physician who explained it would those replacing painkillers reduce ac-
make them feel better. The patients tivity in the brain centres responsible
expecting the drug and its positive for pain while activating the pleasure
effects experienced far greater pain centres. Your brain is tricked into gen-
reduction than those who were un- erating a drug response.
aware they had received it.
Placebos can also work as a result JUST AS GOOD AS MEDS?
of ‘pharmacological conditioning’ – Placebos are so powerful that they’re
when clinicians teach a patient how to a f fec t i ng t he w ay med ic at ions
respond to a placebo by first admin- get tested. To prove a drug works,
istering an active treatment. A 2015 scientists must show it performs
readersdigest.com.au 35
significantly better than a placebo in major development. It was testing the PHOTOS: K. SYNOLD/TMB STUDIO
a randomised, double-blind, place- drug Lumateperone as a bipolar disor-
bo-controlled trial (in which neither der treatment; it had performed well
the researchers nor the participants in earlier trial phases, and the compa-
know who is receiving what). ny’s scientists were expecting success.
Over the past two decades, scien- Yet in the American arm of the tri-
tists and drug companies have no- al, patients who received the drug
ticed that placebos are helping pa- and those who received the placebo
tients so much that some drugs can both experienced significant im-
no longer outperform them – not be- provement. When Intra-Cellular re-
cause the drugs are less effective but leased its findings showing the drug
because the power of mind over body had failed to consistently outperform
seems to be growing. a placebo, its stock dropped 22 per
cent – although the drug was later
While this increase is not well un- approved in the US due to successes
derstood, says Lene Vase, a professor in other countries.
of neuroscience and psychology at
the Aarhus University in Denmark, Professor Jeffrey Mogil of McGill
it’s presenting a problem for drug Universit y in Montreal isn’t sur-
companies. “Some drugs that were prised; he published a study that
approved in the past would not beat found the placebo effect has indeed
a placebo today,” she says. been increasing, particularly in the
US. “Maybe these drugs work,” says
This phenomenon seems to be Professor Mogil, “but we can’t prove
strongest in the US. For example, in it because they can’t beat the placebo
2019, the pharmaceutical company response, which has been amplified.”
Intra-Cellular was on the verge of a
36 october 2022
The Placebo Debate
Why? He posits that because Amer- a 60 per cent improvement to their
ican drug trials are often well-funded condition, while those receiving no
and hosted in nice clinics, the patient treatment improved only 35 per cent.
is conditioned to believe that since It may sound unlikely, but the ef-
the company is spending a lot on the fectiveness of ‘open-label placebos’
drug, it must work. – sometimes also called ‘pure pla-
Neuroscientist A lexander Tut- cebos’ – has also been shown in nu-
tle, a co-author of the McGill study, merous other studies. “The key ingre-
hypothesises that advertising also dient to successful treatment with a
plays a part: Americans who view placebo is honesty, not tricks,” asserts
ads depicting patients Professor Kaptchuk.
helped by pharmaceu- “Use of open- A l r e ad y, w it hout
ticals could be more label placebos telling patients, some
likely to believe the doctors are prescrib-
pill they take in a trial could reduce ing something that
will heal them. The US the medication they know is unlikely
is the only country be- used for some to treat their patient’s
sides New Zealand that ailment – a vitamin or
allows pharmaceutical conditions” antibiotic, for example
companies to advertise – but that may gener-
prescription medica- ate a placebo effect. In
tion directly to consumers. fact, a 2018 review of studies from
A CASE FOR HONESTY 13 countries found that anywhere
from 15 to 89 per cent of physicians
But can placebos work if patients reported using placebo treatments at
k now t he y ’re t a k i ng one? Ted least once a month. Doctors surveyed
Kaptchuk, director of Harvard Uni- said they sometimes do this to treat
versit y’s Programme in Placebo non-specific complaints, or to satisfy
Studies and Therapeutic Encounter, patients’ demands that something be
has been a trailblazer in the field for prescribed. The hope, then, is that
decades, and in 2010 he explored open-label placebos could replace
this question. “All my colleagues this ethically murky practice.
said, ‘You can’t tell a person they are “Use of open-label placebos would
receiving a placebo and expect it to reduce the amount of medication we
work,’” he says. use for common conditions,” says
Professor Kaptchuk’s team gave Professor Kaptchuk. But he and oth-
some patients with irritable bowel ers have found that for open-label
syndrome inactive pills labelled ‘pla- placebos to do their job, the patient
cebo’. Those patients experienced must trust their doctor. This, alongside
readersdigest.com.au 37
READER’S DIGEST
the rituals of medical care – the visit to informing patients about placebo ef-
the clinic, the act of paying for a pre- fects, fostering warm, trusting and em-
scription – make the treatment work. pathetic patient-doctor relationships,
Fabrizio Benedetti, a placebo stud- and training doctors to communicate
ies expert and professor of physiology in a way that maximises placebo ef-
and neuroscience at the University of fects. The goal is for the recommenda-
Turin in Italy, agrees the doctor-pa- tions to be put into practice by health
tient relationship “can make a huge organisations worldwide. “What we
difference in therapeutic outcomes”. are proposing is that the placebo is a
He believes it’s the most immediate legitimate therapy if it’s honest, trans-
way we can incorporate the placebo parent and has informed consent,”
effect into practical treatments. says Professor Kaptchuk. “That’s a
Knowingly taking a faux treatment radical shift in medicine.”
is clearly not for every- “What we The lives of some
one – Wharrad, for in- people who have par-
stance, isn’t convinced are proposing ticipated in open-la-
bel placebo studies
he would have expe- is that the are already being im-
rienced the improve- placebo is proved. Troy Mack, a
ments in his Parkin- a legitimate 57-year-old man from
son’s symptoms had he
known he was taking therapy” the US, had been suf-
a placebo during his fering for two decades
drug trial. But a 2016 from intense pain in
American study pub- his face, neck and jaw
lished in BMJ Open found that up to from temporomandibular (TMD)
85 per cent of the 853 respondents felt joint disorder. When University of
it was acceptable for doctors to treat Maryland researchers, including Dr
with open-label placebos in various Colloca, announced a study of an
scenarios. experimental TMD treatment, Mack
In 2017, Professor Benedetti, Pro- was told that based on his medical
fessor Vase, Professor Kaptchuk, history he might be a good placebo
Dr Colloca and 26 other placebo responder.
researchers gathered in the small That prediction turned out to be
Dutch city of Leiden to begin devel- correct. After just a week of knowing-
oping official recommendations for ly taking a placebo, most of Mack’s
doctors’ use of open-label placebos, jaw pain disappeared. His face felt
some of which were published in more relaxed, and the joint no longer
the journal Psychotherapy and Psy- cracked when he yawned. He was fi-
chosomatic last year. They include nally experiencing relief.
38 october 2022
ADVERTORIAL PROMOTION
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40 october 2022
PHOTO: LJSPHOTOGR APHY/AL AMY S TOCK PHOTO ART OF LIVING
After trying to conceive for over
three years, the bunny we adopted
was a welcome distraction from our
struggles with infertility
A BUNNY
AT MY
DOOR
BY Stacey May Fowles
readersdigest.com.au 41
By April 2017, my husband, We Called Him Easter
Spencer, and I had been
trying to conceive for over During that first weekend the bunny
three years. Diagnosed with stayed with us, we tried our best to
a condition infuriatingly called ‘un- spread the word that we’d found him.
explained infertility’, we had hovered Given how adorable he was, surely a
hopefully over dozens of pregnan- family was out there missing him, a
cy tests only to see them come back family who would see our ‘FOUND
negative. I was near-constantly con- RABBIT’ tweets or come across the
sumed by the painful disappointment posters we affixed to lampposts
of not having a baby – that is, until the throughout the neighbourhood.
Easter weekend of 2017, when a rabbit
showed up on our front lawn. In the meantime, we named the
rabbit Easter and gave him his own
My neighbour spotted the impos- bedroom. We moved our dog’s old
sibly fluffy creature first, finding crate from the basement into our
him nestled in the grass while she spare room – the one I’d planned to
was walking down our street. She turn into a nursery – and filled the
scooped the bunny up, wrapped him crate with soft blankets and a special-
in a worn bath towel and, along with ty hay I found at the local pet store. I
a comically large chunk of carrot, sat the bunny on my lap and fed him
placed him in a clear plastic bin. She lettuce, spinach and kale. I peeled
then carried him up my steps and bananas and watched him nibble
knocked on my door. away at them. Sometimes I would let
him bounce around on my bed while
“Is this your rabbit?” she asked. I read books or watched TV. Other
I had to laugh. He was not my rab- times I would cradle him like a baby
bit. However, covered with pristine and stroke his tiny head while his tiny
white fur freckled with pale grey pink nose twitched.
spots and marred with only a small
nick on one of his ears, he was very At the time the bunny showed
likely someone’s rabbit. up, I was in my late 30s and I knew
My neighbour was going away that my chances of conceiving were de-
weekend, and since the bunny decid- creasing. I had already seen multi-
ed to take up residence on my lawn, I ple specialists and had been subject
felt a genuine sense of responsibility to invasive medical questions, tests
for him. With three rescued animals and procedures. I also knew that the
– a dog and two cats – already calling process, and the despair of not being
my house home, it was predictable I’d able to have a baby, was taking its toll
volunteer to take care of this particu- on my mental health.
lar stranger, at least for a few days.
I often tell people that the experi-
ence of infertility is like a grief over
42 october 2022
something you’ve lost but had never plush, velvety breed that originated
known – a grief that won’t end until in France in 1919. I learned that it’s
you finally give up the hope of ever very common for rabbits to be aban-
knowing it. It’s a kind of mourn- doned, especially around Easter,
ing that people simply can’t under- when they’re procured for amuse-
stand unless they’ve experienced ment and then simply ‘let go’.
it. And while friends and family did And, lastly, I learned that rabbits
their best to comfort us, as the years live in groups, and that the instinc-
passed, it became tive thumping they do
easier to carry those INFERTILITY with their back legs is a
feelings alone than to way to warn the rest of
continually attempt to IS LIKE A the warren of danger.
explain them. GRIEF OVER I discovered this first-
How many times SOMETHING hand because, despite
YOU’VE LOST how safe and comfort-
– and how many ing I tried to make this
months – can you miss
a hypothetical child, a BUT HAD rabbit’s world – I badly
child that you cannot NEVER KNOWN wanted him to stay –
have, before that long- the three other pets in
ing destroys you? How my household terrified
long before you have him.
to move on, if you even can? After delaying his departure as
A New Home long as we could, we finally contact-
ed a nearby animal rescue shelter
A few weeks after we’d taken Easter about finding Easter a forever home.
in, no one had responded to our post- A few days later – after staying a
ings, but lots of people had come to month with us – on a Saturday morn-
visit, each wanting an opportunity ing in May, we passed our bunny to a
to hold the rabbit in their arms and couple of women who would arrange
scratch him between his ears. Sever- an adoption. We struggled as we said
al people even offered to adopt him, goodbye and scratched bet ween
but each had to back out at the last those upright ears a final time.
moment – a partner with an allergy, It’s funny how you develop a quick
an impending trip, a fear of too much affection for things that were nev-
responsibility. er really yours, how you fall in love
I learned a lot about rabbits during with ideas and lives you may have
the time our visitor stayed with us. I lived. As much as I wanted to keep
learned that this bunny was indeed the rabbit, as much as it hurt to fold
domestic – a Rex, to be specific; a up the crate and sweep the hay from
readersdigest.com.au 43
the bedroom, it also felt good to have still healing that open wound that
taken Easter in, to have given him a left me so vulnerable, still missing
safe home until a better one came her even though she’s right here in
along. If anything, our surprise house my arms.
guest had given me a break from the
thoughts that I couldn’t shake, a re- Though the grief of infertility
prieve from yearning, a place to put remains, so does the hope I refused
my attention and care. to let go of through all of those dis-
appointing, painful months without
And within a week of letting him go her.
and saying goodbye, I was pregnant.
It turns out that my unending faith
Holding Onto Hope did not cause my grief but instead
helped me endure it. It’s what kept
My daughter turned three this year me looking to the future, believing
and sleeps in the same room in which that things could and would get bet-
the rabbit lived during the month she ter – no matter what that future end-
was conceived. Sometimes when she ed up looking like.
wakes up in the middle of the night
I lift her from her bed and hold her I’m not sure I believe in magic,
body tight to mine, still feeling that omens or even good-luck charms, but
ache I had for all those years without when I hold my daughter close to me
her. It’s as if the grief I carried with in the middle of the night, I think of
me for so long still lingers, like I am the rabbit we took in that year, and I
know I still believe in hope.
Blowing Bubbles
Physicists in France have figured out a way to extend the short
lifespan of bubbles. The typical bathtub or dish detergent bubble
lasts just moments before popping due to the ‘gravity-induced
drainage and/or the evaporation of the liquid’ inside the sphere,
according to the University of Lille researchers. But when
researchers formed bubbles with a high concentration of glycerol
— a compound commonly used in a host of foods and medicines —
the compound was highly effective in staving off the sphere’s
inevitable death by pop. One bubble apparently lasted for
465 days. While the French bubble achievement could seem
needless to a layperson, a New York maths professor said there
could be some very real applications to be drawn from it. NBC NEWS
44 october 2022
READER’S DIGEST
LIFE’S LIKE THAT
Seeing The Funny Side
Comes With Cape
I noticed my neighbour
was pregnant again and,
out shopping one day, I
met her and her small
son. I asked her young
son whether he wanted
his mummy’s baby to be
a boy or a girl. He looked
at me very intently and
retorted, “I want the
baby to be Batman!”
SUBMITTED BY J. AITCHISON
Lessons Not Required Wishful Thinking CARTOON BY DAVE COVERLY/SPEEDBUMP.COM. ILLUS TR ATION: GE T T Y IMAGES
I picked my sons up from school and My eight-year-old sister
stopped to get petrol. I invited them gave our grandmother
to get out of the car and learn how a wish list. It included
to do it. gymnastics clothes, a
slime box, a robot to
Afterwards, my 11 year old said: help her colour in, pyjamas, bath
“Thanks for the life lesson but I’ll bombs and $15,000.
never drive a petrol car!”
Seen on REDDIT.COM
My 13 year old said: “This is like
the time you showed us how a pay Ticketed!
phone works!”
My uncle is a frugal man. He
@AlanaDiMario once told the woman at the movie
box office that since he couldn’t
remember if he’d seen the film, he
wouldn’t buy a ticket until he was
sure. And with that, he marched
inside and found a seat.
46 october 2022
A half hour later the manager, THE GREAT TWEET OFF:
followed by two police officers, TAKING CARE OF PLANTS
found him. As they escorted him
out, my uncle shouted, “I’m still not The ‘plant parents’ of Twitter like to
sure whether I saw this!” watch them grow. Mostly.
SUBMITTED BY MARY ANN VERGETIS Managed to keep my house plant
alive for three weeks this time.
Think About It I think I’m ready to be a mum!
A classmate was surprised when @MDOB11
she noticed that my driver’s licence
indicated that I was an organ I think my plant is dying. What
donor – so much so that she asked, should I do? I give it water and
“Which organ did you donate?” sunlight. Please help, it doesn’t
@LE X A DELG AY have health insurance.
Hitting A Low Note @CAUCASIANJAMES
While my friend and I were waiting I started talking to my plants
in the lobby of a hotel, we spotted because it is good for them. But
opera great Andrea Bocelli. My that has resulted in the most painful
friend was so excited that he ran small talk. It was like “Hi... so you’re
up to Mr Bocelli, grabbed his hand, growing! That’s great. That’s great.
and started pumping it vigorously,
all the while proclaiming, “I am a Alright, well, yeah...”
huge fan of yours, Mr Pavarotti!”
Thankfully, Mr Bocelli saw the @JULIOTHESQUARE
humour.
I wonder if house plants ever look
SUBMITTED BY DEB WEIDENHAMER around and think, How did my life
Be Nice To Your Smart Device decisions lead me here?
I wake up to Alexa every morning @APARNAPKIN
before my wife is up. But one
morning, I must have been in a deep I think I’d be good at politics. Like,
sleep because my wife had to chime I just told one of my house plants
in to get Alexa to stop. “I wonder
why Alexa didn’t stop when I told that it’s my favourite but it’s
her to,” I mused. totally not.
“Because you didn’t tell Alexa to @KENDRAGARDEN
‘stop’,” my wife said. “You told her to
‘shut up’.” SUBMITTED BY PHILLIP SIENNA readersdigest.com.au 47
The Perfect
48 october 2022