Reader's Digest AU NZ 03.2020

The Haunted House Next Door

Neighbours expressed concern that You wonder who The Watcher
the plan might require knocking
down trees and that the new homes is? Turn around idiots. Maybe you
would have aesthetically unpleasing
front-facing garages. After four hours, even spoke to me, one of the so called
during which there was little discus-
sion of the reason the Broadduses neighbours who has no idea who The
sought to tear down their dream home
in the first place, the board unani- Watcher could be ...
mously rejected the proposal.
The letter indicated revenge could
Derek and Maria were distraught. come in many forms.
“This is my town,” Maria said. “I grew
up here. I came back; I chose to raise Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire.
my kids here.” On top of the mort-
gage and renovations, the Broaddus- Maybe something as simple as a mild
es have paid more than $100,000 in
Westfield property taxes – the town illness that never seems to go away but
denied their request for relief – and
spent at least that amount investigat- makes you fell [sic] sick day after day
ing the Watcher.
after day after day after day. Maybe
Not long after, a family with grown
children and two big dogs agreed to the mysterious death of a pet. Loved
rent 657 Boulevard. The rent didn’t
cover the Broadduses’ mortgage, but ones suddenly die. Planes and cars and
they hoped that a few years of renting
without incident would help them bicycles crash. Bones break.
sell. When Derek went to the house to
deal with squirrels that had taken up “It was like we were back at the
residence in the roof, the renter hand- beginning,” said Maria. The renter
ed him an envelope. was spooked but agreed to stay. The
Broadduses continued to press the
Violent winds and bitter cold case, sending new names to inves-
tigators whenever they found some-
To the vile and spiteful Derek and his thing odd.

wench of a wife Maria, Finally, in July 2019, a buyer pur-
chased 657 Boulevard – for far less
than the Broadduses paid for it.

The prosecutor’s office has kept the
case open, but the Broadduses believe
it is unlikely the Watcher will ever be
caught. They can’t help but feel, as the
last letter taunted:

The Watcher won.

NEW YORK (NOVEMBER 19, 2018), © 2019
BY NEW YORK MEDIA, THECUT.COM.

Arch Criminal

“Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares?...
He’s a mile away and you’ve got his shoes!”

comedian billy connolly

readersdigest.com.au 99

TRAVEL

BIGSmall Country,
Attraction
What makes Europe’s smallest countries special
– and why they’re worth visiting

BY Tim Hulse

VATICAN CITY released by California’s Wine Insti- PHOTOS: DABOOS T/SHUT TERS TOCK; THE VATIC AN
tute. That’s double the average of the
AREA: 0.44 sq km inhabitants of France or Italy. This
may be a consequence of entertain-
POPULATION: around 800 ing visiting dignitaries, few children
among the residents and that wine is
They like a drop of wine in almost completely tax free.
Europe’s tiniest independent
state. Those in Vatican City But it’s art, architecture and the
consume 105 bottles a year per head Pope that draw at least five million
of population, according to figures people a year to this Roman enclave,
which can boast true wonders such as
St Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel
and countless classical paintings and
sculptures: it’s been said that if you
spend one minute looking at each
painting in the museums, it will take
you four years to see them all.

100 March 2020

Priceless art treasures draw millions to Vatican City

Pope Francis himself is also some- they don’t pay any tax – government
thing of a venerable attraction and revenue is generated from sales of
can be viewed in the flesh in St Pe- souvenirs and stamps, publications,
ter’s Square on Wednesdays, where museum admission fees and dona-
he gives a general audience, or on tions from believers around the world.
Sundays during the Angelus prayer.
Vatican City is the world’s only elect- The local currency is the Euro, but
ed absolute monarchy, and in this Vatican City issues its own special
modern-day game of thrones, the versions of Euro coins, which are
Pope plays the role of King, and ap- much sought after by collectors. If
points the citizens. There may only you’re short of cash, say ‘salve’ [hello]
be a few hundred of them (and they to a local ATM – the only ATMs in the
all work for the Pope), but they get to world that include Latin among the
have their own passports and to sing multilingual instructions.
their very own national anthem. And TOURIST APPEAL: the Pontiff and
Vatican City’s art.

101

Monaco’s Casino, that famously charges PHOTOS: REUTERS/ERIC G ALL ARD; DABOOS T/SHUT TERS TOCK
playground of the super- no income tax, making
rich – and James Bond it a handy home from
home for the super-rich.
MONACO
If you’re hoping to
AREA: 2.02 sq km join them, you could
POPULATION: around 39,000 take your chance at the
famous Monte Carlo
T hey pack the locals in tightly in Casino. It was originally
Monaco. With more than 19,000 dreamed up more than
inhabitants per square kilo- a century and a half ago
metre, this is the most densely popu- as a revenue stream for
lated sovereign state in the world. But the ruling House of
that doesn’t seem to have any adverse Grimaldi, which was
ef fects on t he Monégasques (as facing bankruptcy at
inhabitants are called): they have the the time.
world’s longest life expectancy, at just Since then, it has become the
shy of 90. premier symbol of Monaco’s wealth
and glamour, and has featured in
Nearly a third of the population are two James Bond films. It still pro-
said to be millionaires in a country vides a significant revenue stream
for the current Grimaldi ruler, Prince
Albert II, and his Zimbabwean-born
wife, Princess Charlene, who for-
merly represented South Africa as
an Olympic swimmer.
The principality is of course also
famous for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Its tight corners led former driver
Nelson Piquet to compare it to “riding
a bicycle around your living room”.
Each year a global audience of TV
viewers tunes in to see the cars whiz-
zing through the streets as billion-
aires gambol on their superyachts
moored in the harbour.
TOURIST APPEAL: see how the rich
live – and watch the roulette action at
the Belle Époque-style casino.

102 March 2020

Small Country, Big Attraction

him a letter congratulating him on

his presidency, and he very kindly

wrote back: “Although your domin-

ion is small, your State is neverthe-

less one of the most honoured in all

history.” Endorsements don't come

SAN MARINO much better than that.
Today, this most honoured country
AREA: 61 sq km
is a haven for day-trippers, who come
POPULATION: around 33,400 for the City of San Marino’s three
imposing defensive towers and the
Al a nd lo c k e d m ic r on at ion splendid views.
perched in the mountains
overlooking Rimini on Ita- The changing of the local guard
is also a major draw. Taking place

ly’s Adriatic coast, the Most Serene hourly in summer months (these

Republic of San Marino has main- are clearly guards who cherish

tained a proud independence since change), the ceremony showcases

its founding back in AD 301 – unlike the beautifully plummed Guardians

PHOTOS: VISITSANMARINO.COM; PONGSAKORN CHAINA/SHUTTERSTOCK the rest of Italy’s erstwhile city-states. of the Rock, whose brightly coloured

It is the world’s oldest republic. uniforms feature red pompoms and

San Marino is not a member of the ostrich feathers.

European Union, but it maintains an TOURIST APPEAL: it’s all about the

open border with Italy. If you’re dis- views, the medieval public square

appointed that you won’t get a stamp (and the red pompoms).

in your passport,

don’t worry: you can San Marino’s Guaita
buy one in the local fortress dates back to
tourist office. the 11th century

San Marino leads

the world in having

the highest rate of

car ownership – it

has more vehicles, in

fact, than people. In

its ornate parliament

building, t here’s a

bust of Abraham Lin-

coln. Back in 1861, the

Sammarinese wrote

103

READER’S DIGEST

LIECHTENSTEIN used by workers on that nearby con- PHOTOS: CONTEMPOR ARY LIECHTENSTEIN/AL AMY STOCK PHOTO; MRIMAN/SHUT TERSTOCK
struction site? Made by Liechtenstein
AREA: 160 sq km company Hilti. The steering column in
POPULATION: around 38,000 your car? Very possibly manufactured
by a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp in
There’s an element of the the principality, which is responsible
unknown about Liechtenstein. for the steering gear systems in one in
How many of us, for instance, four cars worldwide. Those with false
could name its capital city (Vaduz, teeth in a glass next to the bathroom
population 5625) or its largest city sink might consider thanking Schaan-
(Schaan, population 6016). Yet each based Ivoclar Vivadent, who reported-
day it’s possible that, wherever you ly can lay claim to 20 per cent of all the
are in the world, you may well spot false teeth sold worldwide.
a little piece of Liechtenstein in your
daily life. Perhaps not surprisingly, thanks to
its Alpine location between Switzer-
The bright red power tools being land and Austria, skiing is the coun-
try’s main attraction for visitors. Local
Malbun, heroine Hanni Wenzel, who won two
Liechtenstein’s gold medals and a silver at the 1980
ski resort Winter Olympic Games, no doubt cut
her teeth on the slopes of Malbun,
Liechtenstein’s single ski resort.

Away from the slopes, other
‘princely moments’, as the local
tourist board describes them,
can be found at the country’s
historic castles, hiking trails,
museums and galleries. But try
to be quiet, please. According
to an official document giving
advice to new migrants, ‘noisy
festivities’ should be avoided
at lunchtime and after 10pm.
The same goes for mowing the
lawn, but it’s unlikely this is
something you’ll need to worry
about on a brief holiday.
TOURIST APPEAL: a pocket
version of the best of the Alps.

Small Country, Big Attraction

eight-pointed cross and its fortified

capital of Valletta.

One landmark t hat’s sadly no

longer to be seen is the Azure Win-

dow, a 28-metre-high rock arch

on the coast of the island of Gozo.

MALTA Long one of Malta’s most popular
landmarks, it collapsed one stormy

AREA: 316 sq km morning in March 2017, the giant
pillar falling first, followed by the
POPULATION: around 430,000 top part of the arch. No trace of it now
remains above the sea.
E ven if you haven’t been to Malta,
it’s possible you’re familiar with On a visit to Malta before meeting
its sun-drenched landscapes or Prince Harry, Meghan Markle claimed

ancient limestone buildings from a that her great-great-grandmother had

scene in a movie or TV se-

ries. More than 100 inter-

national productions have

been made here, at least in

part, including Gladiator,

Troy and Game of Thrones.

For the film version of

Popeye, a brightly coloured

cartoon village was con-

structed, and it has now

PHOTOS: (THIS AND NEXT PAGE) SHUTTERSTOCK become one of the country’s Built as a film set,
main tourist attractions. Malta’s Popeye Village
is now a tourist attraction
Visitors flock here for the
guarantee of sunshine (at

least 3000 hours a year),

the diving (reefs and sunken ships once lived there. Other well-known

abound) and a rich and colourful his- individuals with ties to the country

tory that goes back to Neolithic times. include author and polymath Edward

Countless nations have laid claim to De Bono (born there), singer Britney

this 21-island archipelago over the Spears (maternal great-great-grandfa-

centuries, and most have left their ther) and rocker Bryan Adams (mater-

mark in one way or another – not to nal grandmother).

mention the Knights of St John, who TOURIST APPEAL: heaven for history

bequeathed the country its famous buffs (and sun worshippers).

105

READER’S DIGEST

LUXEMBOURG Those who are just passing through
come for the Michelin-starred
AREA: 2586 sq km restaurants, for the many imposing
castles and the historic charms of
TPOPULATION: around 600,000 Luxembourg City.
aking our lead from the
Eurovision Song Contest, we’re It’s a well-to-do place, with the
happy to say our 12 points go world’s highest GDP per capita. The
to Luxembourg, which has won the official languages are French, German
famous song competition no fewer and Luxembourgish. The latter goes
than five times. But we’re afraid it’s back to Frankish times and tradition-
null points for the nation’s football ally is only spoken at home. A 2013
team, which has yet to qualify for a study showed that 70 per cent of
major tournament despite nearly a people use it at work, school and/or
century of trying. home, and 56 per cent said it was their
principal language.
Luxembourg is a welcoming kind TOURIST APPEAL: the food, the
of place, and visitors tend to stay a wine, beautiful castles, the country-
while. In the past, that applied to the side, the history…
Habsburgs, Burgundians, Prussians,
Spanish, Dutch, Belgians and French, Well-fortified walls defended
who all decided to call the Grand Luxembourg City for many centuries
Duchy home. Today, visitors come
here to work, with foreigners making
up nearly half the very youthful popu-
lation, which has an average age of 39.

Did You Know?

‘Bluetooth’ technology was named after a tenth century king,
King Harald ‘Bluetooth’ Gormsson. He united Denmark and
Norway – just like the wireless technology united computers

and mobile phones. thefactsite.com

106 march 2020

ILLUSTRATION: SERGE BLOCH 13 THINGS

Soaring
Facts About

Hot-Air
Balloons

BY Jen McCaffery

1IN 1783, French brothers Joseph-
Michel and Jacques-Etienne
Montgolfier launched an unmanned
225-kilogram balloon that stayed
aloft for about ten minutes.
King Louis XVI soon wanted a
demonstration. So the Montgolfiers
sent up a sheep, a duck and a
rooster as the king, the queen (Marie
Antoinette) and 130,000 other people
witnessed the historic flight over
Versailles. The animals landed safely.

2FRANCE BECAME the epicentre
of ballooning, and Americans in
Paris, including statesmen Benjamin
Franklin, John Adams and John
Jay, jumped on the bandwagon.
“Travellers may hereafter literally
pass from country to country on the
wings of the wind,” wrote Jay, who

107

READER’S DIGEST

took time out flown in a hot-air curator of the National
from negotiating the balloon is 21,027 Balloon Museum in
Treaty of Paris to metres, nearly twice Iowa. “So you just
watch a flight. the cruising altitude of keep going up and
commercial airliners. down until you get the
3BALLOONING IS At those heights, the wind that you want.
still a big spectator people in the basket That’s all you can do,”
sport. The largest need oxygen masks. she says.
balloon event in the Another record: in
world, the Albuquer- 1991, entrepreneur 7THAT DOESN’T
que International Richard Branson and stop balloon pilots
Balloon Fiesta, in New Swedish engineer Per from doing some crazy
Mexico, USA attracted Lindstrand became the stunts. One of their
almost 900,000 people first ‘aeronauts’ (that’s favourite games is
over nine days in 2018. the official term) to called Hare and Hound.
Festivals are held across cross the Pacific Ocean. One balloon (the hare)
the world, including They set off from Japan launches first. Then all
in France, Australia, and travelled more the other balloons (the
New Zealand, Malaysia than 7672 kilometres in hounds) chase the hare.
and Taiwan. about 46 hours. There When the hare lands,
was no cheering crowd the hounds try to land
4COMMONLY made to greet them, however: as close as they can to
from heat-resistant The men landed on their prey.
nylon or polyester, a frozen lake in the
the colourful, usually Yukon in north-western 8THE MOST famous
25-metre-tall ‘balloon’ Canada, and had to be balloon hunt
part – called the airlifted out. happened during
envelope – is laid out the American Civil
on the ground to be 6DISTANCE records War. An aeronaut
partially filled with are all the more named Thaddeus
cold air. Then, to create remarkable because, Lowe convinced
the lift required for unlike aeroplanes, President Abraham
takeoff, the air is heated balloons are very hard Lincoln of the merits
by propane burners to steer. The wind at of hot-air balloon
attached below the 30 metres might be reconnaissance.
mouth of the envelope. going east, while the Lowe went on to
wind at 60 metres command the Union
5THE HIGHEST might be going west, Balloon Corps, with
anyone has ever says Becky Wigeland, mixed results. The

108 March 2020

Soaring Facts About Hot Air Balloons

Confederate Army’s crashing to the ground. that crossed an ocean
attempts to burst his All 11 people on board before safely landing
balloons earned Lowe were killed. near Charleston,
the title of ‘the most South Carolina,
shot-at man in the war’. 11THE GREATEST riveted readers.
balloon faux pas
9IT’S NO SURPRISE actually took place in The problem:
Lowe survived; a movie. Remember The story was fake
flying in a hot-air when Dorothy piles news, written by an
balloon is very safe. into one at the end ambitious journalist.
The odds of an of The Wizard of Oz to His name: Edgar
accident being fatal fly home to Kansas? Allan Poe.
are close to the The writing on
impressive safety the envelope reads 13THE REACTIONS
record of air transport. ‘State Fair Omaha’ – that balloons
which is in Nebraska. engender have led to a
10THE WORLD’S To be fair, novelist fizzy tradition. Back in
deadliest hot- Timothy Schaffert has 19th-century France,
air balloon accident pointed out that in L. balloons would terrify
occurred near Luxor Frank Baum’s novel, the locals, so pilots
in Egypt in 2013, when the wizard came packed champagne to
a balloon caught fire, from Omaha. appease people where
killing 19 people. In they landed.
2016, 16 people died 12BALLOONS
after a balloon ran seem to inspire Something similar
into powerlines and creative flights of happened one Sunday
caught fire in Texas. fancy. For instance, a morning in June last
Before then, Alice story in the April 13, year, when balloonist
Springs in Central 1844, edition of the Mark Stodolski
Australia was the New York Sun had an unexpectedly landed
scene of the deadliest intriguing headline: in the backyard of a
accident, when in Massachusetts
1989 two balloons “ASTOUNDING NEWS! homeowner. “Oh, do
collided mid-air, and you mind?” Stodolski
killed 13 people. In THE ATLANTIC asked the surprised
2012, a hot air balloon man. “No, you’re cool,”
struck power lines CROSSED IN THREE he replied. Stodolski
near Carterton, New handed a bottle of
Zealand, and exploded, DAYS! SIGNAL champagne to the
man, who then went
TRIUMPH OF MR. back to bed.

MONCK MASON’S 109

FLYING MACHINE!!!”

The tale of the balloon

BONUS READ

110 march 2020

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES THE

MOONDUST

DIARIES

As returning to the moon becomes a priority for
national space agencies and private corporations, one

question has yet to be answered: What to do about
the sticky, gritty – and possibly dangerous – dust?

The recently rediscovered work of an Australian
scientist may provide some answers

BY Ceridwen Dovey

FROM THE BOOK INNER WORLDS OUTER SPACES

111

READER’S DIGEST

I n the public imagination, the American
astronauts who landed on the moon five
decades ago were superhumans, not the
types to worry about housekeeping. But
they did, obsessively. Each time after a
moonwalk, they were shocked at how much
dust they’d tracked in and how hard it was to banish.

This was no earthly grime; it was are relevant once more. In January
sticky and abrasive, scratching the last year, China landed its Chang’e-4
visors on helmets, weakening seals probe on the far side of the moon.
on pressure suits, irritating eyes, and Two mont hs later, t he Japanese
giving some of them sinus trouble. “It Aerospace Exploration Agency said
just sort of inhabits every nook and it was partnering with Toyota to
cranny in the spacecraft and every design a six-wheeled moon rover by
pore in your skin,” Apollo 17’s Gene 2029. Around the same time, US Vice
Cernan said. President Mike Pence announced
plans to put American boots on the
Over the six moon landings, the moon by 2024. According to NASA,
Dusty Dozen fought valiantly with the goal is “to go sustainably. To stay.
their foe. They stomped their boots With landers and robots and rovers –
outside, then cinched garbage bags and humans.” India and Russia have
around their legs to stop the dust missions planned, too. The private
from spreading. They attacked it ventures like Moon Express will pros-
with wet rags, bristle brushes and a pect for water, minerals and other
low-suction vacuum cleaner, which resources to mine.
Pete Conrad of Apollo 12 called “a
complete farce”. Cernan, upon re- All of which raises a crucial ques-
turning from his last moonwalk, tion: what to do about that trouble-
vowed, “I ain’t going to do much some dust? An Australian physicist
more dusting after I leave here. Ever.” named Brian O’Brien may have the
In the end, NASA couldn’t find a solu- answer.
tion. Years after John Young com-
manded Apollo 16, he still believed O’BRIEN BECAME EARTH’S fore-
that “dust is the number one concern most authority on moondust almost
in returning to the moon”. by accident. In 1964, he was a young
professor of space science at Rice
Now, with national space agencies University in Houston, specialising in
and private corporations poised to radiation. This was during the early
do just that, the Apollo dust diaries

112 March 2020

The Moondust Diaries

phase of Apollo training, when the For many years, the data that the

astronauts were taking crash cours- early DDEs sent back to Earth was

es in all manner of subjects – vector thought to be lost. Since its rediscov-

calculus, antenna theory, the phys- ery in 2006, those in the inner circle

iology of the human nose. O’Brien’s of outer space activities have slowly

task was to teach them about the Van begun to realise that O’Brien’s detec-

Allen belts, two regions of radiation tors have a lot more to tell us about

that encircle the planet like a pair moondust. Now 85, sprightly and liv-

of inflatable pool tubes. He remem- ing in Perth, O’Brien has been wait-

bers the Apollo class of 1964, which ing half a century for the chance to

included Gene Cernan and Buzz share with the world what he knows

Aldrin, as the most “disciplined and about one of the solar system’s most

alert” cohort of students he ever had. baffling substances.

In the lead-up to the Apollo 11

launch, O’Brien persuaded NASA to O’BRIEN ALWAYS had an affinit y

include in the payload a small box for extreme environments. He took

the size of a thick bar of soap, up spelunking [cave explo-

whose main function was ration] as a teenager

to measure the accu- THE DDE and once got stuck
SOLDIERED ON
mulation of dust AND QUICKLY in the depths of
on the moon’s REVEALED THE the Yarrangobilly
surface. O’Brien Caves in NSW’s

describes it as “a Kosciuszko Na-
delightfully min- tional Park for
imalist” device. 79 hours. The

The Dust Detec- MISCHIEF DUST experience was
tor Experiment, COULD MAKE traumatising but
or DDE, was per- it didn’t put him

haps the least im- off caving. A few

pressive component years later, while ex-

of the Apollo 11 science ploring a crystal grotto,

package. But it worked well he met his future wife, Avril

enough that the agency included Searle.

modified versions of the original DDE By 23, O’Brien had completed a

on all subsequent Apollo flights. PhD in physics at the University of

Four of them are still up there, and Sydney and been appointed depu-

to this day they hold the record for ty chief physicist for the Common-

longest continually operating exper- wealth Antarctic Division. He was

iments on the moon. assigned to the icebreaker Magga

113

READER’S DIGEST

Dan and found himself gazing at the field of 90 submissions, his was one of

Aurora Australis rippling in reds, seven that got the green light. NASA

purples and greens across the polar told him that the experiment should

sky. This was in 1958, a year after include a dust cover. No one knew at

the Russians launched Sputnik and this stage just how pesky moondust

the same year NASA was founded. would be, but O’Brien figured that if

O’Brien began to dream of putting a the agency was going to the trouble of

satellite into orbit to study how ener- installing dust covers, it should also

gised protons and electrons include a dust detector.

gave rise to the south- At first, NASA

ern lights. He got his baulked. It would be

chance the follow- too difficult, they

ing year, when believed, to con-

James Van Al- struct a detector

len, discoverer that was light

of the Van Allen enough to meet

belts, got him a the mission

job at the Uni- specs and sim-

versity of Iowa. ple enough that

O’Brien and a few it wouldn’t take

students built a sat- up any of the astro-

ellite in five months. nauts’ limited time.

Other launches followed, O’Brien with his O’Brien came up with a
Apollo13 Charged Particle
and in 1963 O’Brien was design to allay their con-
offered a post in Rice Lunar Environment cerns – three tiny solar

University’s new space Experiment (CPLEE) cells mounted on a box,
science department. painted white to reflect

sunlight. As dust settled on the cells,

NOT LONG AFTER, he got a call from their power output would drop, pro-

NASA. The agency hoped to hire viding a clear record of accumulation

him as an astronaut instructor, but over time. O’Brien threw in a few

it also invited him to submit a pro- temperature sensors for good meas-

posal for a science experiment to go ure, bringing the experiment’s total

to the moon. He suggested a device weight to 280 grams. Because the

– the Charged Particle Lunar Envi- DDE was so small, it could be bolted

ronment Experiment (CPLEE) – that onto the seismometer that Aldrin and

would measure the energy spectra Neil Armstrong were setting up to

of charged particles as they rained measure moonquakes. NASA relent-

down on the lunar surface. From a ed: the DDE could go to the moon.

114 March 2020

The Moondust Diaries

Once there, it would feed its data to Apollo missions, O’Brien concluded,
the seismometer, whose antenna it would need to study the matter of
would transmit the readings back to dust-spraying thoroughly. That Au-
Earth. They’d be stored on reels of gust, he wrote proudly to an Aus-
magnetic tape for analysis. tralian colleague that “the DDE may
really have earned its trip!” But his
O’Brien, Avril and their three chil- American counterparts were not so
dren moved back to Sydney in 1968, enthused. The seismometer stopped
so he made arrangements to have the accepting commands from mission
tapes shipped to him. control, and the whole experiment –
DDE included – was shut down after
On the morning in late July 1969 21 days.
when the Apollo 11 Lunar Mod-
ule alighted on the moon, O’Brien NASA’s preliminary science re-
vividly remembers the moment port on Apollo 11 rejected O’Brien’s
Aldrin said the module was “kicking explanation for the DDE readings,
up some dust” as it came in to land, blaming the solar cells’ unexpected-
as well as Armstrong’s observation ly low output on calibration errors.
that the surface was “almost like a O’Brien says he “strongly disagreed”
powder”. With a spike of excitement, with the findings and tried to argue
O’Brien realised his DDE might very his case in the Journal of Atmospheric
well prove its worth. Physics, using one of Australia’s first
supercomputers, SILLIAC, to crunch
THE SEISMOMETER overheated and plot the data on endless ribbons
shortly after Apollo 11 left the moon. of paper. But the article was barely
But the DDE soldiered on and quick- cited by researchers in the decades
ly revealed the mischief dust could that followed.
make. As the Lunar Module took
off, two of the detector’s three solar O’Brien was forced to admit defeat
cells registered a sudden drop in in round one of the moondust wars.
output, one of them by 18 per cent. He changed careers, becoming the
This was accompanied by a spike in first head of the Environmental Pro-
temperature. To O’Brien, there was tection Authority of Western Austral-
only one explanation: the DDE had ia. The position was based in Perth,
been blanketed in dust, which, like and when Avril made the trip from
blackout blinds, kept light out and Sydney, she brought the kids and
heat in. It seemed obvious to him the 172 reels of DDE data with her.
that the seismometer had met the O’Brien asked a colleague at a local
same fate. university to put the tapes in storage.
And so, for 40-odd years, that’s where
If NASA hoped to keep its moon- they stayed.
based instruments working on future
115

READER’S DIGEST

AFTER THE FINAL APOLLO landing in and pebbles. It is thought to be about
1972, NASA lost interest in the moon. 4.5 metres thick in the plains and
There were space stations to assem- nine metres thick in the highlands.
ble, exotic planets to explore, and only The moon is constantly bombard-
so much funding to go around. Then, ed by cosmic rays and solar wind,
in 2004, President George W. Bush an- which means the dust can become
nounced the Constellation Program. electrostatically charged, like a bal-
There would be powerful new rockets, loon rubbed on hair. It also receives a
redesigned crew capsules and roomier steady hail of micrometeoroids.
lunar modules – “Apollo on steroids”,
as one NASA administrator put it. Part When the micrometeoroids hit,
of the plan was to establish a perma- they create miniature shock waves
nent “foothold” on the moon, which in the soil, causing some of it to melt
meant a renewed focus on the logis- and forming tiny pieces of glass.
tics of regular landings and long-term These pieces are, Metzger says, “jag-
settlement. ged, sharp and very frictional”. Un-
like on Earth, where wind and water
This was something that Philip would smooth them out, they remain
Metzger, a planetary scientist, this way forever. When Aldrin and
had been interested in for a while. Armstrong planted an American flag
Metzger was the co-founder of near their landing site, they struggled
Swamp Works, a tech incubator at to work the pole into the regolith,
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that stymied by its high glass content. “It
creates practical solutions to the took both of us to set it up, and it was
challenges of working and living almost a public relations disaster,”
in places beyond Earth. He’d done Aldrin recalled years later. Thanks
research on how to prevent rocket to the constant hammering by micro-
exhaust from stirring up dust and meteoroids, the soil is extraordinarily
damaging lunar infrastructure, and fine, which makes it sticky.
had scoured decades’ worth of stud-
ies on rock and soil samples brought For all of Metzger’s moondust
back by the Apollo astronauts. He expertise, there was one enigma
even had four rare vials of genuine that kept stumping him. Sitting in
moondust in his laboratory. Over the his laboratory at the Kennedy Space
years, he’d perfected a quick lesson in Center were a few pieces of an old
lunar geology for his team. spacecraft called Surveyor 3. Be-
tween 1966 and 1968, five Surveyor
It went something like this. The probes had set down on the moon,
regolith, a blanket of rocky material providing hard proof that the rego-
on top of the primordial lunar bed- lith was firm enough to land on and
rock, contains mixed-up dust, gravel allaying fears that the astronauts

116 March 2020

The Moondust Diaries

might sink up to their chins in lunar final project at Swamp Works was to

quicksand. Surveyor 3’s final resting come up with moondust mitigation

place was within walking distance strategies – magnets, reusable dust

of the Apollo 12 landing site, and the filters, artificial electrostatic charges

astronauts had been instructed to to repel the dust and make it fall off

bring parts of it home for examina- surfaces, and ‘air showers’ or ‘wands’

tion. One of them, Alan Bean, not- to blast it off suits. Even with plans

ed at the time that the probe’s for an American moon base off

bright-white surface the table, Metzger says, it

had, after two-and- had become “the con-

a-half years on the HAMMERING sensus belief” while
moon, turned a he was at NASA

tan colour. BY MICRO- that “the biggest
In 2011 METEOROIDS challenge to lu-
MAKES THE SOIL nar operation is
Metzger and FINE AND the dust”.
his colleagues
proved that “it GLASSY In 2015, long
was actually ul- after he’d given
trafine dust em- up on solving the
bedded all over mystery of the Sur-

the microtexture of veyor 3 dust deposits,

the paint”. The bigger Metzger heard about a

question was how the dust series of recently published

got there. As Surveyor 3 landed in papers by Brian O’Brien. They con-

the near-vacuum of the moon, the tained a truly remarkable theory

exhaust gas from its engine should about moondust. As he read, Metzger

have pushed dust away from the realised this was the first acceptable

spacecraft. Metzger’s team couldn’t explanation he’d found for his conun-

explain it. drum. And it was based, amazingly,

By that point, the Constellation on the data from the original DDE

Program had been cancelled. The tapes.

new rockets were over budget and

behind schedule, and the Obama O’BRIEN GOT BACK in the moondust

administration decided that this par- game by happenstance. In 2006,

ticular headache was better left to the when he was in his 70s, a friend men-

private sector. tioned reading something on a NASA

A few years later, Metzger joined website about the sorry state of cer-

the planetary science faculty at the tain Apollo tape archives. O’Brien

University of Central Florida. His decided to track down his own reels.

117

READER’S DIGEST

They turned up in a room beneath his old SILLIAC analyses and paper

the physics department at Perth’s printouts, determined to publish a

Curtin University. They were covered peer-reviewed article. It appeared in

in dust, but they were there, all 172 of 2009, almost 40 years after his origi-

them, each one containing about 750 nal moondust paper.

metres of tape. The only problem was O’Brien examined data from the

that they were in a format so obsolete DDE that flew on Apollo 12. That de-

that the data was beyond O’Brien’s tector differed from its predecessor:

reach. He sent an email to it had one horizontal so-

NASA, offering to repat- lar cell on top and two

riate the tapes, but vertical ones on the

the agency politely sides. They’d been

declined. blanketed in dust

A local ra- as the astronauts

dio journalist loped around

heard rumours on moonwalks,

of the discov- then blasted

ery and broad- partly clean

cast a story. The when the Lunar

news made its Module took off.

way to Guy Holm- Curiously, though,

es, a physicist who one of the vertical

founded Spectrum- Buzz Aldrin sets up the cells became com-
Data, which special- seismometer, with a dust pletely clean overnight.
ised in digitising large O’Brien’s explanation
volumes of data from detector attached for this was that the

old tape formats. Holmes phoned electrostatic charge of the dust – the

O’Brien and offered his help, for free. major source of its stickiness – chang-

He said he would store the tapes in a es over the course of the long lunar

special climate-controlled vault until day. When the sun is high and UV ra-

they could find the right machine diation is at its peak, the dust is extra

to decode them. O’Brien gratefully charged, and thus extra sticky. When

accepted. the sun goes down, the dust seems to

Even if Holmes succeeded in his lose some of its adhesive force. If Pete

search, O’Brien wasn’t sure he’d ever Conrad had still been on the moon at

find funding to reanalyse the data. sunset, he might have had better luck PHOTO:NASA

But he felt he had one last chance vacuuming off his suit.

to set the record straight on moon- Within two months of the article’s

dust. So he got to work revisiting publication, O’Brien had been made

118 March 2020

The Moondust Diaries

an adjunct professor at the University O’BRIEN HAD ALREADY EXPLAINED
of Western Australia. He was invited
to speak at the second annual Lu- how the Apollo 12 DDE got clean;
nar Science Forum, held at NASA’s what he hadn’t explained was how,
Ames Research Center in California. in the days following the astronauts’
The room was so packed at his pres- departure, it got dusty again. His
entation that people spilled out into and Hollick’s hypothesis went as fol-
the corridor. There was communal lows: after the astronauts set off on
disbelief among the younger moon their journey home, leaving the DDE
enthusiasts that they’d never heard behind to broadcast its readings, the
of O’Brien or his DDEs. “After that, sun went down for about two Earth
things started to bubble,” he says. weeks.

IN EARLY 2010, Holmes located an When it rose again, it showered
old IBM 729 Mark 5 tape drive in the the ‘collateral dust’ they’d kicked
warehouse of the Australian Com- up – more than two tonnes in total
puter Museum. It was the size of a – with UV radiation. This caused
two-door refrigerator and in terrible the dust particles to become posi-
condition. The museum agreed to tively charged. They began to “mo-
lend it to him. A group of Spectrum- bilise and shuffle around,” O’Brien
Data employees donated their time says, like a “ground mist swirling”.
to fix it up. The tapes were careful- Repelled by one another and by the
ly heated to draw out any moisture, moon’s surface, they levitated. This
then unravelled at extra-low speed. created a small dust storm high
Holmes says he was very emotional enough to reach the DDE. The next
during this salvage process, keenly time the sun rose, the same thing
aware of its historic importance and happened, and the next, and the
the trust O’Brien had placed in him. next. Each time, the storm got a lit-
tle smaller, until finally there was no
Eventually, the team managed to collateral dust left to feed it.
decode and extract most of the data.
An undergraduate named Monique This is still a somewhat contro-
Hollick, now a space systems engi- versial theory. Schmitt, the astro-
neer for the Australian Department naut-geologist who f lew on Apol-
of Defence, signed up to help him lo 17, is not ent irely conv inced,
analyse the resurrected data. This because most of the rocks he saw on
took them several years. By 2015 the moon were free of dust. “If fine
they were ready to unveil an even dust were levitating and redeposit-
stranger new theory about moon- ing with any lateral motion at all,”
dust. he wrote to me, “I would not expect
rock surfaces to be clean.” In his
own correspondence with Schmitt,

119

READER’S DIGEST

O’Brien suggested that those rocks from the bottom row, looking nifty in

had lost their dusty coating as the suits and ties. Beside this is a photo of

sun’s angles changed. O’Brien with Cernan during Cernan’s

The debates are ongoing. visit to Perth in 2016, the year before

“We really won’t know until we go he died. “We both look a bit different

there,” Metzger says. He feels pretty there to when I lectured him,” O’Brien

confident, though, that O’Brien is said when I stopped by his house one

right and that his theory solves afternoon in February 2019. I

the Surveyor 3 mystery. asked what they’d talked

Anyone planning a about. “Moondust,” he

moon mission, he MOONDUST IS replied with a grin.
DEFINITELY
says, should ex- O’Brien was
pect levitating gearing up for
dust storms a trip to Texas,

every sunrise WORKING ITS where he was
and dust sticki- WAY INTO THE due to present
ness during the at a NASA con-
lunar day. ZEITGEIST ference called
Microsymposium
With coun-

tries and compa- 60: Forward to the

nies jostling to set Moon to Stay. He’d

up operations in the be making the jour-

moon’s most desirable sites ney alone; his beloved wife

– mainly the lunar poles, where wa- died in 2017. O’Brien was concerned

ter ice is supposedly abundant – life about how he’d get the compression

up there could quickly devolve into stockings off on his own after the

a dusty and chaotic mess, ripe for flight, but undaunted by the thought

human conf lict. The Hague Inter- of presenting to a crowd of 200, in-

national Space Resources Govern- cluding representatives from the

ance Working Group has already US companies authorised by NASA

begun drafting recommendations to deliver payloads to the moon. He

for lunar ‘safety zones’ and ‘priority said, somewhat enigmatically, “I look

rights’. Perhaps they ought to include forward to a lot more dust detectors.”

a clause on housekeeping. On the shelves of O’Brien’s of-

fice, space memorabilia worthy of

ON THE WALL of O’Brien’s garage a major geek-out was unceremoni-

office in Perth is a signed photograph ously jumbled. I inspected life-size

of the Apollo astronaut class of 1964. models of his various DDEs, with

Buzz Aldrin and Gene Cernan smile plaques affixed describing which

120 March 2020

The Moondust Diaries

Apollo mission they flew on. O’Brien lunar research community, “I knew no-
was happy to let me play with shiny body and nobody knew me.” This time
models of China’s Chang’e-3 lander around, almost everyone knew him.
and Yutu rover on the coffee table,
so long as I first put on white gloves. He admitted that, as he wandered
They were given to him in Beijing down the long, endless corridors of
by the Chinese Academy of Space strange airports and conference com-
Technology, which got in touch after plexes, he felt every bit his advanced
he suggested that the cause of Yutu’s age. “But when I came out of the
unexplained immobilisation in 2014, Microsymposium, and for several
after its first lunar sunrise, was a dust weeks after,” he said, “I felt young
storm – and cheekily recommended again.”
that next time they equip the rover
with a dust detector. It seems that Brian O’Brien is due to return to Texas
Chang’e-3 made some dust measure-
ments, which the Chinese have confi- this year to speak at the Lunar and
dentially shared with O’Brien.
Planetary Institute’s conference, ‘The
A few days after O’Brien returned
from Texas, I called him to ask how Impact of Lunar Dust on Human
the conference had gone. Moondust is
definitely working its way into the zeit- Exploration.’ Philip Metzger has been
geist, he was happy to report. Back in
2009, when he gave his first talk to the awarded a NASA grant to research

how rocket exhaust blows dust.

FROM THE BOOK INNER WORLDS OUTER SPACES
BY CERIDWEN DOVEY © 2019 CERIDWEN DOVEY.
PUBLISHED BY HAMISH HAMILTON.
STORY FIRST PUBLISHED IN WIRED (US),
JUNE 2019, AS ‘TRUE GRIT’.

Clowning Around

A New Zealand advertising executive facing the bleak prospect
of being fired decided to inject a bit of humour into the situation

by bringing a professional clown to his final meeting, for
emotional support, instead of a colleague. Josh Thompson,
a copywriter for ad agency FCB New Zealand and a budding
comedian, revealed he had spent $200 to hire the clown,
dubbed Joe, after getting an email from superiors asking to
meet to “discuss your role”. The clown subsequently blew up
balloon animals and even mimed crying when Thompson was

handed his layoff paperwork.

NEW ZEALAND HERALD

121

READER’S DIGEST

QUOTABLE QUOTES

My grandmother AND NOW THAT
had a saying about YOU DON’T
putting in the hard HAVE TO BE
PERFECT, YOU
yards first and CAN BE GOOD.
then reaping
rewards, simply JOHN STEINBECK, AUTHOR
translated from
When I’m on a plane, Chinese, it’s ‘first
not in a movie bitter then sweet’.
theatre, I want to
watch romantic PHAEMIE NG,
comedies ... I think it’s SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR
something to do with
the altitude. I cry and Whenever PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
I guffaw, and I have it feels
the best time. uncomfortable
to tell the truth,
QUENTIN TARANTINO, that’s often the
DIRECTOR most important
time to tell it.
DON’T WAIT
YOUR TURN. JENNIFER LOPEZ,
BET ON SINGER
YOURSELF
AND HAVE THE
CONFIDENCE
TO STAND UP
AND SAY, ‘MY
TIME IS NOW’.

ROBERT F. SMITH,
BUSINESSMAN

122 march 2020

RD RECOMMENDS

Books

The jaw-dropping,
red-rock chasm of the
Grand Canyon

Lonely Planet’s Wonders of the World

Both a beautiful coffee table book and a
practical guide, Wonders of the World takes
you to 101 spectacular settings around
the globe. Every page boasts stunning
photography of iconic natural or manmade sites,
some well known, like the Egyptian pyramids,
Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway, and France’s
Mont St-Michel (the setting for the 2014 novel
All the Light We Cannot See), to lesser known locales
such as the honeycombed hills and towering
boulders of Cappadocia in Turkey, and Skara Brae in
Scotland, Europe’s best-preserved Neolithic village.
The guide also provides typical Lonely Planet tips
such as when to travel, best value itineraries, how
to get there, and where to stay and eat.

COMPILED BY DIANE GODLEY

123

READER’S DIGEST

More

Matt Preston

PAN MACMILLAN

All the President’s If you’re like me and Billion Dollar
Women want to add more Whale
vegetables to your diet
Barry Levine and but are bored at just the Tom Wright &
thought, this cookbook
Monique El-Faizy will be your saviour. Bradley Hope
Preston provides
HACHETTE AUSTRALIA over 100 scrumptious HACHETTE
vegetarian recipes
If you’re het up about with more texture, What does it take to
how Donald Trump has more colour and, most steal $5 billion? A lot
dodged the #metoo importantly, more of bravado. But that’s
bullet, even though flavour that are easy to exactly what Malaysian
there has been plenty of prepare and devour. I’ve fraudster Jho Low did
ammunition to take him made a few now and (who, incidentally,
down, then this book have been pleasantly was still at large at
will fire you up even surprised at just how the time of going to
more. Based on more tasty – and filling – each print). Low is accused
than 100 interviews, All meal has been. My only of siphoning off billions
the President’s Women criticism is that some from an investment
offers detailed accounts of the ingredients can fund, 1MDB, to finance
of Trump’s murky only be sought out in elections, buy luxury
history with women, speciality stores. real estate in New
dating back to his York and Los Angeles,
school years. It includes throw champagne
never-seen-before parties for film stars
photos and ground- and supermodels, and
breaking interviews produce Hollywood
and behind-the-scenes movies, including
reporting, by two ironically, The Wolf of
veteran journalists. Wall Street.

124 march 2020

RD Recommends

Cooking with Emerging from the
the Oldest Foods sea just 600 years
on Earth
ago, Rangitoto
John Newton Island is Auckland’s

NEWSOUTH BOOKS youngest volcano

Bush tucker has Volcanoes
begun to take hold in of Auckland:
pockets of Australia, A Field Guide
and this small tome
will help those who Bruce W. Hayward
want to embrace
the indigenous food AUCKLAND
movement but don’t UNIVERSITY PRESS
know where to start.
Newton introduces With the White Island
native foods such as volcanic eruption still fresh
lemon myrtle, wattle in everyone’s minds, this field guide is
seed, finger limes, not just for the intrepid adventurer wanting to
riberry (lilly pilly engage with Auckland’s volcanic landscape, but
berries) and warrigal for anyone wanting a greater understanding of
greens (native spinach). the science of eruptions and how Auckland’s
Each chapter includes a 53 volcanoes shaped New Zealand’s largest
brief history of the food, city. It delves into the history and explains
a practical guide and how Māori and Pākehā (white people) used
nutritional value, plus volcanoes as sites for pā (hill forts), military
a bunch of recipes you fortifications, kumara gardens, and sources of
can make at home. stone and water, and poses the million-dollar
question; will there be another eruption in
Auckland? And if so, where and when?

125

Movies

Mulan Adventure

The name may seem familiar, that’s because this is a live-action
adaptation of the 1998 animated movie Mulan. The historical
war drama is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the
eldest daughter of an honoured but ailing warrior, who masquerades
as a man to help fight northern invaders attacking China. It’s an epic
adventure with lots of flashing swords, flying arrows and martial arts in
the best of Chinese traditions. Shot in both China and New Zealand, the
cinematography of this Disney flick is as stunning as the backdrops.

Queen & Slim Romantic Drama

n their way home from a first
date, black couple Queen
(Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim
(Daniel Kaluuya) are pulled over for a
minor traffic infringement by a white
policeman. Events quickly escalate
when the officer pulls out his gun,
which ends in tragic results and the
terrified couple are forced to go on
the run. However, the incident is
captured on video which goes viral
on social media, and the unlikely
fugitives become a symbol of police
treatment of black people in the US.

126 march 2020

Military Wives Drama RD Recommends

The life of a military wife can The Invisible Man Thriller
be thankless, especially when
separated from loved ones. Trapped in a violent and
When a British military community’s controlling relationship
male folk go on a dangerous mission, with a wealthy scientist,
the women left behind live in daily Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss, The
dread of a fateful knock on the front Handmaid’s Tale) escapes and
door. Finding their collective voices, goes into hiding. But when
they discover freedom through song her abusive husband commits
and form a misfit choir that rebels suicide and leaves her a vast
against stuffy military tradition. fortune, Cecilia suspects his
Inspired by real life experiences, death is a hoax. A series of
Military Wives portrays ordinary strange coincidences that
women in testing circumstances who threatens the lives of those close
find courage and cathartic power to her cements her theory, but
through singing. Directed by Peter her sanity starts to unravel when
Cattaneo of The Full Monty fame, it has she desperately tries to prove
been lauded as the ‘feel-good movie her husband is invisible and
of the year’. haunting her. A terrifying modern
tale of obsession. The Invisible
Kristin Scott Man is written and directed by
Thomas in Australian Leigh Whannell and is
Military Wives shot in and around Sydney.

127

Podcasts

Detective Trapp Life Kit: All Guides RD Talks:
Milly’s Last Waltz
From the Los Angeles Each episode in
Times comes the the Life Kit from Both inspirational
engrossing true story NPR is essentially and touchingly sad,
of homicide detective, a how-to guide for this is the story of a
undercover cop and different challenges flea-ridden little stray
master interrogator or experiences in life. dog. She is rescued
Julissa Trapp, who Topics range from how by a couple who are
embarks on a dark to sleep and learning adamant they don’t
journey to solve the to enjoy exercise to want the responsibility
murders of women by finances, family issues, of another dog, until
a serial killer in Orange parenting, work issues Milly creeps into their
County in 2013. and much more. hearts.

HOW TO GET PODCASTS To listen on the web: Google the website for ‘Detective
Trapp’, for example, and click on the play button. To download: Download an app such
as Podcatchers or iTunes on your phone or tablet and simply search by title.

TO LISTEN TO RD TALKS GO TO www.readersdigest.com.au/podcasts or
www.readersdigest.co.nz/podcasts or www.rdasia.com/podcasts.

Puzzle Answers See page 136

FOUR IN A ROW MATCH PLAY SUDOKU

3 361958724

3 952764183
478123596
3 613592847

4 285417639
6 794386251

5 829641375

3 147235968
5433543 536879412

SORT IT OUT Group A, where the dots follow the order of the colours of the rainbow
(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) in a clockwise direction.

128 march 2020

TALKS What’s New in RD Talks

Sit back and enjoy WHERE HAVE ALL TRAPPED
the audio versions THE BUGS GONE? UNDER A TRAIN
of the most engaging
Some insect The little girl’s life
stories to have populations around was ebbing as she lay
appeared in Reader’s pinned to the track.
the world have Listen to this real-life
Digest magazine. gone into alarming drama of a young girl
decline. What does it and the heroes who
mean for the rest of
saved her.
life on Earth?

THE GREAT HOW I
LONDON FOG LEARNT TO BE

The fog that HAPPY
descended on
London in December A woman decides
1952 was no typical to boost her mood
fog. Soon the city and wellbeing by
found itself gasping signing up to an
online happiness
for air.
course.

TO LISTEN GO TO:

ww digest.com.au/podcasts

www.readersdigest.co.nz/podcasts

www.rdasia.com/podcasts

READER’S DIGEST

THE THE
RULE GENIUS
OF SECTION

1AG0E Sharpen Your
Mind
Want to find the
key to happiness?
Think about what
excited you most
when you were
young – and
do it now

BY Bruce Grierson

FROM PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

130 march 2020

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK veryone who works at The Genius Section
NASA or Google or SpaceX
got excited about science ought to be doing, somehow, for our
actual job as adults? If that’s true,
Ebefore he or she was ten he thought, then our life satisfaction
years old,” TV host Bill ‘The depends rather heavily on recalling
Science Guy’ Nye said recently. “This
is well documented. If it isn’t ten, it’s precisely what that thing was – on
11 or 12. But it isn’t 17, I’ll tell you that remembering who we were during
much.” that unique developmental stage,
where everything that’s in us shows
You can plainly see the ten year old itself for the first time.
inside Nye, who is now 63, just as you
can see the ten year old in anyone While I was researching my book
else who works at the junction where U-Turn: What If You Woke Up One
their deep happiness meets the
world’s deep needs. Morning and Realized You Were Liv-

Walter Murch, the Oscar-winning ing the Wrong Life?, a pattern emerged
film editor who likewise discovered that seemed to confirm Murch’s
his passion in childhood, followed a insight. Among the hundreds of sto-
twistier – and perhaps more typical ries of mid-life career changes I sifted
– career path than the lifelong sci- through, the ‘Rule of Age Ten’ came
ence geeks. You can’t do kid stuff for up over and again. These were lives
a living, he was told – ‘kid stuff’ in this of ‘aha’ moments decades delayed.
case meaning fooling around with a And of better-late-than-never course
friend’s dad’s tape recorder, sampling corrections, back in the direction of
snippets of sound. He was steered those early enthusiasms, following
towards more practical pursuits, such coordinates established before what
as engineering and oceanography. we ought to do (according to parents
Forty-odd years later, Murch landed and teachers and other well-meaning
in the movie business. And one day it adults) began to smother what we
dawned on him why this new job, film loved and who we were.
editing, felt so right: it scratched the
same itch that splicing audio had all The trend was so striking that after
those years ago at his pal’s house. “I I finished writing that book, I started
was doing almost exactly what excited telling everyone who was floundering
me most when I was ten,” he said. in mid-life, “Try to remember what
you were all about when you were
Murch wondered whether he’d ten. If you kept a diary, dig it out. If
stumbled on a general rule: what if you’re still in contact with friends
what we really loved doing between from that era, call them up. Ask them
ages nine and 11 is what most of us who you were.”

What’s so special about age ten?
A ten year old is a tiny superhero, at
the apex of his or her powers in many

131

READER’S DIGEST

ways. Physical coordination – as any parents: expose your kid to more PHOTO COMPOSITE: SHUTTERSTOCK
soccer parent will tell you – suddenly beauty and less tripe, for what they
gels. “If we could maintain our body learn to like right now will register
functions as they are at age ten,” said forever.) At ten, the lights come on
Leonid Gavrilov, a research scien- full beam, revealing the road ahead.
tist at the University of Chicago, “we Professional athletes choose their
could expect to live about 5000 years sport. Lifelong affiliations solidi-
on average.” Growth actually slows fy. A worldview – the beginning of
for a year or two, but only on the out- political affiliation – forms. Cornell
side. The real show is happening in University psychologists found that
the brain. a commitment to environmental-
ism often traces directly back to the
At age ten, kids graduate from being
biologists, searching for a theory of 40 yrs
life, to being philosophers, grappling
with the truth that no one escapes 30 yrs
death. The surge in bandwidth helps
ten year old kids reconcile what they 20 yrs
think with how they feel.
10 yrs
At age ten, a kid may sudden-
ly become the family’s truth teller.
“You guys are boring,” said our eld-
est daughter, casually eviscerating
her mother at dinner after being told
not to read her Harry Potter book at
the table. “Dad just talks about sport.
And you just talk about problems at
work. And Mum, your new glasses
are kinda ugly. Just saying.” Her voice
was chillingly without affect. “And
I’m not sure about the hair.”

But then, almost in the next breath,
this girl was as sensitive as a sand-
papered fingertip. Not to our feelings,
particularly, but to the idea that the
world was full of people who were
not her and who felt differently – the
beginning of empathy.

At around age ten also comes
the birth of taste. (Take a memo,

132 march 2020

The Genius Section

‘wild nature’ that kids were exposed the kerb sometime around the turn

to before the age of 11. of the millennium, but folks, grab

As kids work out who they are, a shovel. It’s time to resurrect that

they start kicking around their fu- inner child. Because the stifled voice

ture lives – sometimes in elaborate of the kid in you – specifically, the

detail. Graphic designer and pod- ten-year-old kid in you – has never

caster Debbie Millman discovered needed to be heard more.

as an adult a drawing she’d made as Age ten is a developmental sweet

a young girl. “It predicted my whole spot. You’re old enough to know

life,” she recalled recently. There she what lights you up, yet not so old

was, ten-year-old Deb- that adults have ex-

bie, on the streets of AT TEN, THE tinguished that fire by
New York. LIGHTS COME dumping more prac-
ON FULL BEAM, tical and ‘realistic’
“I’m walking with options on it. In other
my mother. There are

buildings and buses REVEALING THE words, age ten con-
and taxis and cleaners. ROAD AHEAD tains, in a sense, our
I labelled everything. source code. In the

In the middle of the past, as many as 85 per

street there’s a deliv- cent of people sur-

ery truck. The sign on the side of it veyed said they failed to find much

says ‘Lay’s Potato Chips.’ ” When she meaning in their jobs and would

found that old drawing, Millman take a pay cut in exchange for a more

was, after many career meander- fulfilling position. The water foun-

ings, drawing logos for a living in tain of the internet makes sure we

New York. drink before we’re thirsty (or maybe

Writer Mary Karr revealed she still more accurately, before we’ve decid-

has a journal from when she was ed what we’re thirsty for). The most

ten. “One of the entries says, ‘When reliable signal of what might actual-

I grow up I will write one-half poetry ly fulfil us is getting lost in the noise.

and one-half autobiography.’ I also If you really listen, though, you can

say, ‘I am not very successful as a lit- hear it.

tle girl. When I grow up, I will proba- Ten year olds are about to experi-

bly be a mess.’ ” Karr, who had an up- ence the biggest surge of intellectu-

and-down life and spent some time al horsepower in their lifetimes, as

in a mental institution, bloomed into measured by gains in executive func-

a memoirist with three acclaimed tion. But with those gains will come

bestsellers. some losses, as the divergent think-

The term ‘inner child’ got kicked to ing of childhood starts to give way to

133

READER’S DIGEST

practicality and logic. Ten year olds scale that feeling to the adult world
are transitioning, in other words, of today. How to age our childhood
from dreamers to lawyers. gifts, as the writer and podcaster
James Altucher recently put it, to give
“I was a real artist until I turned them value in our lives right now.
11,” cartoonist Liana Finck recalled
in a recent interview. At 11, she start- Even if you ripped the page out of
ed trying to be a ‘professional’. That your age-ten diary that explicitly stat-
changed everything. The person- ed your deepest desire, it’d be hard to
ality trait of openness, related to a take that to the bank today. When
childlike state of receptive curiosity, I was ten, I wanted to be in advertis-
dampens as we grow older, studies ing. My wife might have preferred if
show. So your life’s work, if you’re an I’d stuck to those marching orders;
artist, is a project of undoing. Of lift- we might be living in a house with an
ing your foot off the brake you’ve so actual yard. Then again, I’d be hawk-
painstakingly learned to feather. ing wrinkle cream. So I guess the
recipe is, you take that ten-year-old
But here’s the thing: this whole voice, run it through the filter of what
project of recovering the inner kid you can live with, and make peace
is complicated. Not just because with the result.
most of us haven’t seen that kid in
a long time. And even if we were to PSYCHOLOGY TODAY (MARCH 15 AND MARCH
perfectly remember what lit us up at 26, 2019), © 2019 BY BRUCE GRIERSON,
ten, there’s still the matter of how to P S YC H O LO GY TO DAY.CO M .

Brain Teasers

1. A boy is walking down the road with a doctor.
While the boy is the doctor’s son, the doctor is not the boy’s father.

Then who is the doctor?

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a long one. Michael J. Fox has a short one.
Madonna does not use hers. Bill Gates always uses his.
The Pope never uses his. What is it?

3. Your parents have six sons including you and each son has one sister.
How many people are in the family?

4. What makes more as you take them?

1. the doctor is the boy’s mother. 2. surname. 3. nine. two parents, six sons, and one
daughter. all of them have one sister (not six sisters). 4.footsteps.

134 march 2020

The Genius Section

TRIVIA

Test Your General Knowledge

1. In 2016, which nation’s Aichi 7. What title is shared by famous

prefecture announced it was hiring sculptures by Auguste Rodin and

six full-time ninjas to help promote Constantin Brancusi? 2 points

tourism? 1 point 8. According to the old proverb,

2. In a nod to a dystopian novel by to which European capital city do

Ray Bradbury, which HTTP status all roads lead? 1 point

code can be used for websites 9. Under most circumstances,
blocked for legal reasons? 2 points it is against the law to have a glass

3. Which multinational beverage of shiraz (or any other alcoholic

corporation’s CEO, Indra Nooyi, drink) in Shiraz. Which country

pushed it towards healthier is this city in? 2 points

offerings before she stepped 10. What composer wrote Boléro,
down in 2018? 1 point which earned an estimated

4. Who won the Nobel Peace US$57 million in royalties before

Prize in 1978 and thus became it became public domain in

the first Muslim laureate? 2016? 2 points

2 points 11. According to Biblical lore,

5. By population, what’s what innocent shepherd was

the largest national capital the world’s first murder

located in the Southern victim? 1 point

Hemisphere? 2 points 12. A former combat

6. Which American founding instructor in the Israeli

father inspired Lin- 13. Besides those in Defence Force, Gal
Manuel Miranda to Gadot now plays a
write a record-breaking captivity, all penguins comic-book superhero.
live in Antarctica. True

musical? 1 point or false? 1 point Which one? 2 points

PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM 16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon

ANSWERS: 1. Japan. 2. 451, after Fahrenheit 451. 3. PepsiCo. 4. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.
5. Jakarta, Indonesia, with over 10.8 million people. 6. American statesman Alexander Hamilton.
7. The Kiss. 8. Rome. 9. Iran. 10. Maurice Ravel. 11. Abel. 12. Wonder Woman. 13. False. They can
be found in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, among other places.

135

READER’S DIGEST

PUZZLES

Challenge yourself by solving these puzzles and mind
stretchers, then check your answers on page 128.

BY Marcel Danesi and Jeff Widderich

Sort It Out Difficult

The eight pictures below have been sorted into two groups according to a rule.
Part of this rule is that in group A’s pictures, the dots are arranged clockwise,
whereas in group B, they’re arranged counterclockwise.

AB Which group (SORT IT OUT) DARREN RIGBY; (FOUR IN A ROW) DARREN RIGBY
should this picture
Four in a Row Easy
be sorted into?
In this bird’s-eye view, each of the nested
squares represents a stack of four
blocks, with smaller ones sitting on top
of larger ones. Can you find a line of four
blocks in a row that are the same colour?
You can search in three dimensions,
meaning that not all four blocks are
necessarily sitting at the same height;
they could instead be forming a diagonal
line by spanning adjacent heights on the
same row, column or long diagonal.

136 march 2020

3 19 7 BRAIN POWER
5 48
7 brought to you by
6 Now
15
84 available in

94 65 0.4mm
0.a5ndmm
8 7
42 6
6 94 2

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.

(SUDOKU) JEFF WIDDERICH; (MATCH PLAY) FRASER SIMPSON Match Play 3
Moderately 3
difficult

This grid contains 3
matches of
different sizes, 4
any of which may 6

be completely 5
unburned, 3
partially burned
or completely 5433543
burned. Matches
burn from the head (the red end) to the tail without
skipping segments. The numbers outside the grid
indicate the number of burned segments in the
corresponding row or column. Can you shade in
the burned segments to “match” the numbers?

The Genius Section

FAMILY FUN

Spot the Difference

There are seven differences. Can you find them?

A Key Question

Which of the keys, A to F, is the odd one out?

B D F
A C E

Check your answers for Family Fun on page 140.

138 march 2020

The Genius Section

WORD POWER

Page Turners

You may recognise some of these terms if you enjoy
reading sci-fi, historical romance or detective stories

BY Samantha Rideout

1. ansible – A: spaceship to a formal gown. B: intense
engine core. B: gadget enabling but temporary passion.
instantaneous communication C: excessive praise.
over interstellar distances.
C: universal translation device. 8. assignation – A: lovers’ secret
appointment. B: arranged marriage.
2. Dyson sphere – A: structure C: dance partner.
surrounding a star.
B: military satellite. 9. embonpoint – A: skilled at
C: boundary between a planet’s conversation. B: eligible bachelor.
atmosphere and outer space. C: plumpness.

3. cyborg – A: evil or harmful robot. 10. foolscap – A: wide-brimmed
B: self-conscious computer. straw bonnet. B: feigned interest.
C: human enhanced by electronic C: writing paper.
or mechanical parts.
11. shamus – A: private detective.
4. terraform – A: transform a planet B: traitor. C: fall guy.
to resemble earth and sustain life.
B: assimilate an alien culture. 12. flimflam – A: deadly mistake.
C: shaped like a globe. B: swindle. C: international money-
laundering operation.
5. sophont – A: easily capable of
extrasensory perception. B: carrying 13. extort – A: get a confession.
the consciousness of more than one B: obtain by force, threats or
person. C: intelligent being. intimidation. C: smuggle something
into prison in a pie.
6. debonair – A: confident, stylish
and suave. B: in the countryside. 14. stool pigeon – A: shooting-
C: musically gifted. practice target. B: regular at a
neighbourhood watering hole.
7. infatuation – A: adding padding C: police informer.

139

READER’S DIGEST

Answers

1. ansible – B: gadget enabling 9. embonpoint – C: plumpness.
instantaneous communication Henrietta chose a gown that
over interstellar distances. It was the exhibited her pleasant embonpoint.
only way to contact Earth, so Quida
guarded the ansible with her life. 10. foolscap – C: writing paper.
Jane’s heart leapt upon seeing a sheet
2. Dyson sphere – A: structure of foolscap slide under the doorway.
surrounding a star. The visitors
gasped in admiration at the colossal 11. shamus – A: private detective.
Dyson sphere the Torxians had built Tailing cheating spouses was known
to harness the energy of their sun. to be the shamus’s bread and butter.

3. cyborg – C: human enhanced 12. flimflam – B: swindle. Stan was
by electronic or mechanical parts. out to flimflam lonely widows out
Nobody could tell that Chaya was a of their savings.
cyborg: her brain-computer interface
was implanted in her skull. 13. extort – B: obtain by force,
threats or intimidation. The mayor
4. terraform – A: transform a was loaded, but extorting protection
planet to resemble earth and money out of him would be too risky.
sustain life. Greenhouse gases
had been imported to terraform 14. stool pigeon – C: police informer.
Mars’s atmosphere. The mobster vowed to find the stool
pigeon who’d turned him in.
5. sophont – C: intelligent being.
Convinced the alien was a sophont, VOCABULARY RATINGS
K’Wedi insisted it be treated as such. 5-8: Fair, 9–10: Good, 11–14: Word
Power Wizard
6. debonair – A: confident, stylish
and suave. Hugh wasn’t debonair, Family Fun Answers See Page 138
but Amelia liked his quiet manner.
SPOT THE
7. infatuation – B: intense but DIFFERENCE
temporary passion. Louise insisted
her son’s interest in the neighbour A KEY
was merely an infatuation. QUESTION
(D) is the only
8. assignation – A: lovers’ secret key without a
appointment. Nobody saw Calliope hole in the top.
returning from her midnight
assignation with the duke.

140 March 2020

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