Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Hanaghan, Senior Research Fellow in Latin Christianity in Late Antiquity, Australian Catholic University

People throughout history have deliberately tried to forget corrupt or criminal leaders who offend the public’s sense of morality or justice. The term damnatio memoriae (“condemnation of memory”) describes this kind of deliberate forgetting in ancient times.

Damnatio memoriae refers to the deliberate political erasure of a person following their political failure and, usually, their death. It’s like a kind of post-mortem cancel culture.

So where did this idea come from and what did it look like in Ancient Rome?

An old idea

The term was probably first coined in the title of a thesis written by two late 17th century philologists named Christoph Schreiter and Johann Heinrich Gerlach. But it described a much older practice.

In antiquity, erasure might include the removal of heads from statues or the deletion of names on inscriptions.

Several emperors – including Nero and Domitian – were subject to the kind of erasure practices encapsulated by the term damnatio memoriae.

But one particularly good example of damnatio memoriae involves Crispus, the first son of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity).

In 326CE, Constantine executed Crispus by – according to one version of the tale – “cold poison”. Constantine, in all likelihood, had discovered Crispus was having an affair with Constantine’s second wife, Fausta. This was especially scandalous because Fausta was Crispus’ own stepmother.

Fausta later died in an overheated bath. This may have been a botched abortion attempt or a deliberate albeit unusual method of execution.

Whatever the case, Crispus was killed and, in the aftermath, was subjected to damnatio memoriae.

Crispus the Cancelled

At the time of his death, Crispus was an important political figure. A political deal had raised him to the position of Caesar (which meant “junior emperor” and, arguably, heir to the throne).

Crispus’ military campaigns had been successful and he’d been the subject of public praise. He had held the highest constitutional office – the consulship – on no less than three occasions.

This meant Crispus’ name had been written on stone all across the Roman empire, from official government proclamations to the more mundane milestones marking Roman roads.

In 2022, I visited the northern Italian city of Brescia, which was once a significant Roman town. As I wandered through the museum, admiring its rich collection, I made my way down some stairs and was stopped in my tracks by one such milestone.

A line is clearly missing in the picture between the words victori semper Aug (meaning “the eternally victorious senior emperor”) and the next line Fl Iul Constantio (the name “Flavius Julius Constantius”).

The museum’s plaque confirmed Crispus’ name had once appeared there alongside his fellow junior emperors – his half-brothers Constantine II and Constantius II.

It once read in full:

To our four masters, Flavius Constantine the Great, the eternally victorious senior emperor, and to our most noble junior emperors, Flavius Julius Crispus, Flavius Claudius Constantine, and Flavius Julius Constantius.

The gap where Flavius Julius Cripus was once written is quite obvious – and that is really the point.

This is not a secret erasure of someone’s name, but a public display of its removal.

It served as a powerful reminder of the ongoing stigma that should be associated with Crispus’ name for all Romans making their way along the road in the years that followed.

At the same time, this erasure directly challenged Crispus’ importance and relevancy to history by removing a record of his existence, and in this particular case, of his prominence as a junior emperor.

The name of Crispus’ half-brother Constantine II was also chiselled away from this milestone, almost certainly after he was killed in a civil war against his younger brother Constans in the year 340.

How was damnatio memoriae done?

It was once assumed damnatio memoriae must have been ordered and organised. In recent years, however, scholars have come to understand the deliberate erasure of names as a far more organic and localised process.

Centuries before Crispus, inscriptions referring to Julius Caesar’s close confidant, Marc Antony, had been similarly deleted and removed. After Caesar’s death, Marc Antony had taken up with Caesar’s ex (Cleopatra) and fallen out spectacularly with Caesar’s heir (Octavian, who would soon rename himself Augustus).

Marc Antony was subjected to damnatio memoriae after losing his war against Augustus, but not all mentions of his name were erased – many, including some that
celebrate Antony’s sexual prowess, remain.

Prominent women could also be subject to this kind of memory erasure.

Messalina, the famously promiscuous second wife of Claudius, was the subject of a senatorial decree after her death that sought to erase her name and even ban its mention. Yet inscriptions referring to Messalina nevertheless remain.

But even if we don’t know exactly how damnatio memoriae was done, or how consistently it was applied, we do know it happened.

In the case of the milestone I saw in Brescia, we can only really speculate as to why Crispus’ name was removed from this one in particular. Maybe it was in a prominent position where it gained too much attention, or perhaps there was a localised push to remove his name.

Whatever the case, this milestone is physical evidence for something that we all instinctively do when a politician has failed in controversial, embarrassing or upsetting circumstances: we do our best to forget them.

Michael Hanaghan receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. What was damnatio memoriae? How to get cancelled in Ancient Rome – https://theconversation.com/what-was-damnatio-memoriae-how-to-get-cancelled-in-ancient-rome-242193

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlin Fox-Harding, Lecturer/Researcher, Edith Cowan University

Men are dominant at most athletic events but ultra-endurance sports (exercising for six hours or more) represent a unique domain where the performance gap between men and women is narrowing significantly.

In traditional endurance events like marathons, men consistently outperform women by about 10%.

However, in ultra-distance competitions this disparity can be as small as 4%.

In some cases, women have even outpaced men.

What explains this shift? The answer lies in a combination of physiology, metabolism and strategy.

Fatigue resistance: an advantage for women

Women’s muscle composition is optimised for endurance. They have a higher proportion of type I (slow-twitch) muscle fibres, which are more efficient and resistant to fatigue during prolonged activity compared to type II (fast-twitch) fibres.

This gives women an edge in maintaining muscle function during prolonged activities, reducing the risk of muscle failure as events progress.

Women can also experience less neuromuscular fatigue and accumulate fewer anaerobic by-products (lactate and hydrogen ions) during sustained effort. While lactate itself doesn’t cause muscle fatigue, the accumulation of hydrogen ions can contribute to the sensation of fatigue.

Even womens’ respiratory muscles like the diaphragm experience less fatigue than men.

Men still have an edge in shorter, more intense events due to their greater muscle mass and higher aerobic capacity – factors that contribute to better performances in marathons and shorter distances.

Nevertheless, the metabolic advantages women display in ultra-endurance sports are narrowing this gap as events lengthen.

A metabolic edge

Ultra-endurance events rely heavily on oxidative metabolism, which uses both carbohydrates and fats as fuel.

Women are more efficient in this regard, exhibiting up to 56% higher fat oxidation rates than men.

Estrogen, a predominant hormone in women, enhances fat metabolism and promotes glycogen conservation, which refers to the body’s ability to save or preserve glycogen (a stored form of sugar in muscles and the liver) for use during physical activity.

This is important because glycogen is the body’s preferred fuel source for exercise. By conserving it, the body can use fat as an alternative energy source, allowing glycogen to last longer and helping improve endurance.

During ultra-endurance events, these benefits become increasingly important as the body shifts from carbohydrate-based energy to fat utilisation.

Estrogen also helps reduce inflammation and muscle damage, allowing women to recover more quickly during prolonged exertion.

While men generally benefit from higher levels of testosterone, which enhances muscle mass and strength, these attributes are less crucial in ultra-endurance events compared to anaerobic or power-based sports.

In long-duration races, women’s hormonal profile may better support sustained energy use and resilience, allowing them to compete more closely with men.

Despite these advantages, the hormonal fluctuations women experience, particularly during menstrual cycles or hormonal shifts related to menopause, can present additional challenges in endurance events.

Managing these factors effectively will be crucial as women continue to push the boundaries in ultra-endurance sports.

Body composition and performance

Women’s higher fat mass, often viewed as a disadvantage in traditional endurance sports, may offer benefits in certain ultra-endurance events like swimming. This is because more body fat can enhance thermoregulation by conserving heat in cold water, enabling women to maintain performance during prolonged exposure to challenging conditions.

Increased buoyancy, reduced drag and smaller body sizes and shorter lower limbs are also advantageous for women. This can allow for smoother and more energy-efficient movement through the water.

Psychological resilience

Ultra-endurance events test not only physical stamina but also mental toughness. In this area, women often shine.

Research in sports psychology highlights women’s superior ability to modulate pain sensitivity, maintain focus, and stay motivated during lengthy and gruelling competitions.

Emotional resilience, a trait linked to women’s coping mechanisms, plays a crucial role in overcoming the psychological challenges in ultra-endurance sports.

Anecdotal evidence and race outcomes demonstrate women’s ability to remain mentally composed, even under extreme fatigue, which allows them to push through the later stages of competition.

Although men still hold records in many ultra-endurance events, women’s psychological strength may be helping to close the gap.

Smarter pacing and decision-making

Pacing is crucial in ultra-endurance sports. Women often excel in this area, too.

Studies show women adopt more conservative and consistent pacing strategies compared to men, who are more likely to start strong but risk burnout as the race progresses.

This difference may be partly physiological but also psychological.

Testosterone, linked to risk-taking behaviour, may influence men to adopt overly aggressive strategies. In contrast, women’s more cautious and consistent pacing minimises energy wastage and optimises long-term performance.

Nonetheless, men still tend to achieve faster overall times in shorter endurance events, thanks to their higher peak speed and power.

In ultra-endurance though, where pacing strategy often influences outcomes, women continue to close the gap as they refine their approaches and gain more competitive opportunities.

The road ahead

While men remain the top performers in ultra-endurance events, the gap between genders is much smaller compared to marathons and shorter racing distances.

Women’s ability to metabolise fat efficiently, their hormonal advantages, strong psychological resilience and effective pacing strategies are all factors driving this progress.

However, continued advancements are necessary to fully level the playing field. These include:

• improved training regimens
• targeted research on female athletes
• increased participation opportunities.

Addressing challenges such as hormonal fluctuations and societal barriers (such as gender stereotypes and media representation) will also be crucial in empowering women to compete at the highest levels.

Ultra-endurance sports are unique in their ability to challenge traditional notions of gendered athletic performance.

While men still hold the edge, women’s rapid progress suggests a future where they may outperform men in extreme endurance events.

For now, they are proving that the longer the race, the closer the competition.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The longer the race, the closer it gets: women are closing in on men when it comes to ultra-endurance events – https://theconversation.com/the-longer-the-race-the-closer-it-gets-women-are-closing-in-on-men-when-it-comes-to-ultra-endurance-events-243799

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University

Have you ever wondered why most disinfectants indicate they kill 99.9% or 99.99% of germs, but never promise to wipe out all of them? Perhaps the thought has crossed your mind mid-way through cleaning your kitchen or bathroom.

Surely, in a world where science is able to do all sorts of amazing things, someone would have invented a disinfectant that is 100% effective?

The answer to this conundrum requires understanding a bit of microbiology and a bit of mathematics.

What is a disinfectant?

A disinfectant is a substance used to kill or inactivate bacteria, viruses and other microbes on inanimate objects.

There are literally millions of microbes on surfaces and objects in our domestic environment. While most microbes are not harmful (and some are even good for us) a small proportion can make us sick.

Although disinfection can include physical interventions such as heat treatment or the use of UV light, typically when we think of disinfectants we are referring to the use of chemicals to kill microbes on surfaces or objects.

Chemical disinfectants often contain active ingredients such as alcohols, chlorine compounds and hydrogen peroxide which can target vital components of different microbes to kill them.

The maths of microbial elimination

In the past few years we’ve all become familiar with the concept of exponential growth in the context of the spread of COVID cases.

This is where numbers grow at an ever-accelerating rate, which can lead to an explosion in the size of something very quickly. For example, if a colony of 100 bacteria doubles every hour, in 24 hours’ time the population of bacteria would be more than 1.5 billion.

Conversely, the killing or inactivating of microbes follows a logarithmic decay pattern, which is essentially the opposite of exponential growth. Here, while the number of microbes decreases over time, the rate of death becomes slower as the number of microbes becomes smaller.

For example, if a particular disinfectant kills 90% of bacteria every minute, after one minute, only 10% of the original bacteria will remain. After the next minute, 10% of that remaining 10% (or 1% of the original amount) will remain, and so on.

Because of this logarithmic decay pattern, it’s not possible to ever claim you can kill 100% of any microbial population. You can only ever scientifically say that you are able to reduce the microbial load by a proportion of the initial population. This is why most disinfectants sold for domestic use indicate they kill 99.9% of germs.

Other products such as hand sanitisers and disinfectant wipes, which also often purport to kill 99.9% of germs, follow the same principle.

Real-world implications

As with a lot of science, things get a bit more complicated in the real world than they are in the laboratory. There are a number of other factors to consider when assessing how well a disinfectant is likely to remove microbes from a surface.

One of these factors is the size of the initial microbial population that you’re trying to get rid of. That is, the more contaminated a surface is, the harder the disinfectant needs to work to eliminate the microbes.

If for example you were to start off with only 100 microbes on a surface or object, and you removed 99.9% of these using a disinfectant, you could have a lot of confidence that you have effectively removed all the microbes from that surface or object (called sterilisation).

In contrast, if you have a large initial microbial population of hundreds of millions or billions of microbes contaminating a surface, even reducing the microbial load by 99.9% may still mean there are potentially millions of microbes remaining on the surface.

Time is is a key factor that determines how effectively microbes are killed. So exposing a highly contaminated surface to disinfectant for a longer period is one way to ensure you kill more of the microbial population.

This is why if you look closely at the labels of many common household disinfectants, they will often suggest that to disinfect you should apply the product then wait a specified time before wiping clean. So always consult the label on the product you’re using.

Other factors such as temperature, humidity and the type of surface also influence how well a disinfectant works outside the lab.

Similarly, microbes in the real world may be either more or less sensitive to disinfection than those used for testing in the lab.

Disinfectants are one part infection control

The sensible use of disinfectants plays an important role in our daily lives in reducing our exposure to pathogens (microbes that cause illness). They can therefore reduce our chances of getting sick.

The fact disinfectants can’t be shown to be 100% effective from a scientific perspective in no way detracts from their importance in infection control. But their use should always be complemented by other infection control practices, such as hand washing, to reduce the risk of infection.

Hassan Vally does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why do disinfectants only kill 99.9% of germs? Here’s the science – https://theconversation.com/why-do-disinfectants-only-kill-99-9-of-germs-heres-the-science-241127

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Franklin, Professor of Public Health, James Cook University

Every summer, Australians look for ways to cool down. Millions of us head to the beach. Those inland head for rivers, waterholes and waterfalls. But cooling off comes with risks, from dangerous rips in the ocean to hidden logs in rivers.

In recent years, a surprising number of people have died at waterfalls and waterholes. These natural spectacles have hidden dangers, from slippery rocks to unexpected currents, to turbulent water.

While many of us know about the risks of drowning in the ocean, rivers are actually more deadly. Over the last 22 years, slightly more people have drowned in rivers and creeks than any other body of water. The drowning figures from 2022–23 show 76 people died in rivers and creeks, compared to 75 at beaches.

Every drowning death leaves a trail of grief. Here’s what you can do to stay safe.

How common are these deaths?

Deaths at popular waterfalls in recent years include:

• Isabella Falls, inland from Cairns: three deaths in the last two years
• Millaa Millaa Falls, inland from Cairns: two deaths this year
• Dangar Falls in northern New South Wales: three deaths since 2012.

Then there are locations such as Babinda Boulders south of Cairns. While more waterhole than waterfall, this famous location has claimed 21 lives since 1959, leading authorities to fence off dangerous channels and pools where churning water can push swimmers under and keep them there. Even so, deaths continue.

Why are waterfalls dangerous? As water cascades, it often carves out a deep pool, known as a plunge pool. Visitors often swim at these pools, drawn by the natural beauty and deeper water.

But these idyllic scenes come with hidden risks. For instance, where the waterfall hits the pool, it creates turbulence and currents. If large volumes of water are falling, the pressure can be enough to push people underneath. Currents can also carry people underneath a rock ledge and trap them.

Adrenaline-seekers might jump off the lip of the waterfall. This is very risky, especially if you don’t know how deep the water is.

Droplets and mist from the falls mean the rocky sides are inevitably slippery and often covered in algae or moss.

Finally, there’s the popularity factor. The more inexperienced people who go, the higher the chance of something going wrong. Social media reels of influencers at beautiful locations encourage more people to seek out secluded waterfalls.

Are these deaths getting more common? We don’t know. That’s because deaths at waterfalls are rolled into statistics for river-related deaths. By one estimate 5% of drownings in inland water sources took place at waterfalls or swimming holes over the ten years to 2021.

We do know there’s been a surge in selfie deaths worldwide in recent years. Some of these deaths take place at waterfalls, usually when visitors jump the fence or make their way to the lip of the waterfall before slipping and dying. When you’re searching for the perfect selfie location, you’re not paying close attention to risks.

If you do get into trouble, help is often a long way away. Rescuers can take hours to arrive, while drowning happens very quickly. While popular beaches usually have lifeguards able to spring into action, waterfalls, waterholes and rivers do not.

How can we stay safe?

Waterfalls are some of the world’s great natural spectacles. The most famous attract millions of visitors each year, from Niagara Falls on the Canada-United States border to Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Venezuela’s Angel Falls, the tallest uninterrupted waterfall. They are created when soft rock is washed away, or where a river meets a natural drop such as a cliff.

We’re drawn to these places, and that’s not going to change. So how can we visit safely?

Authorities have put up signs around many popular swimming spots, including waterfalls. These can be useful to indicate danger or prohibit an activity. But most people simply ignore them, according to a Queensland government spokesperson.

The most important thing is to proceed with caution. Just as you would check a new beach for signs of rip currents or dangerous waves, you should check waterfalls and waterholes for hidden dangers. Don’t assume picturesque places are safe because they’re pretty.

Familiarity matters too. Many people who have died at waterfalls have been visitors, whether from interstate or overseas. If you grew up near a waterfall or waterhole, you’re more likely to have learned about the dangers.

If you’ve checked the swimming hole, swimming should be reasonably safe. But it’s best to avoid going directly under the waterfall.

Climbing waterfalls is very dangerous. It might look fun, but slippery rocks can send you crashing to your doom, while turbulent water and hidden rocks under the surface can be lethal. The lip of a waterfall is extremely slippery and gravity is not on your side.

Alcohol and waterfalls are a bad mix. Alcohol makes some people take more risks. Swim first, drink later.

Check the chance of rain before you go, and not only at the waterfall but upstream. Intense rain upstream can create flash floods surprisingly quickly, sweeping you off your feet.

And if you’re in northern Australia, you need to do one more vital check – for crocodiles. Many popular waterfalls and swimming holes are seen to be safe because they are elevated or far from the sea. But crocs can pop up in unexpected places.

Does this mean you should avoid waterways entirely? No. As Paul McCartney advised:

Don’t go jumping waterfalls

Please, keep to the lake

People who jump waterfalls

Sometimes can make mistakes.

Richard Franklin is affiliated with Royal Life Saving – Australia, Kidsafe, and the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine.

– ref. Don’t go chasing waterfalls: slippery rocks, currents and daredevil jumpers make Australia’s waterways surprisingly deadly – https://theconversation.com/dont-go-chasing-waterfalls-slippery-rocks-currents-and-daredevil-jumpers-make-australias-waterways-surprisingly-deadly-243937

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kimberley Beasley, Lecturer and Academic Chair in Early Childhood, Murdoch University

During school holidays, playdates can provide a brilliant opportunity for social interactions for both children and their parents. They can help children get to know kids at their current or future daycare and school.

So, what makes a great playdate – and how can parents make them less stressful?

Here are some things to consider.

Play is good for children

Play is how children learn and make sense of the world around them.

Through play, children can:

• develop their social and emotional skills
• practice sharing and taking turns
• get better at reading other children’s emotions
• learn to negotiate conflict
• solve problems
• navigate challenges
• develop thinking skills as they make up new games and encounter new ideas.

Play can support children’s executive functions, meaning the mental skills we use when we think flexibly, use our memory and practise self-control.

Play nurtures a child’s imagination, allowing them to build on each other’s ideas to invent new imaginary worlds. Imagination helps us develop the skills for abstract thinking.

Playdates can also help parents find support and understanding from someone going through the same thing. They can discuss challenges and share solutions for common parenting struggles, such as sleep routines and healthy meal ideas.

Offering your child a diverse buffet of playdate options

Playdates can also provide children with possibilities they can’t get in the family home. That includes giving them an understanding of our diverse communities.

So, it’s great for parents to put some intention into who their child plays with and who gets invited to a playdate.

Think about how diverse your child’s world is now and if you are limiting their world to people just like you. Is there an opportunity to open their world to the rich diversity they will experience in society as they grow?

It is important for children to value difference, embrace diversity and be exposed to different languages.

This can help children think about language, improve their cultural awareness and develop more flexible and inclusive social skills.

A little planning can go a long way

Planning a playdate can be stressful. Parents can end up worrying about where to go, what to do, whether the house is tidy enough, or that you might be judged about the food you offer. Meeting in a public space such as a local park or playground can help.

Parents also worry their child might misbehave, not play well with others or announce they’re bored. But playdates are about giving kids a chance to learn social skills and resolve conflicts. When disputes arise, support them to identify their feelings and brainstorm solutions.

If you are meeting at home, think up some play activities that are open-ended and suitable for a range of age groups and interests. Examples include:

• painting
• drawing
• pavement chalk
• cutting and gluing from magazines
• playing or constructing things with cardboard boxes
• ball games with simple targets (like a saucepan or laundry basket)
• building blanket forts
• camping indoors or outdoors with a small tent.

For a playdate in a park, a nature scavenger hunt is fun – can the kids each find a feather? A gumnut? A special rock?

Another idea for an outdoor playdate might be a bush walk, where kids can learn to identify local native plants.

My own research has found many adults and children know very little about native plants.

Building this knowledge is important to be able to recognise toxic plants, as well to understand some Indigenous knowledges about the plants in our local environment.

Some can be used to make delicious drinks or to add to food, or to take the sting out of an ant bite.

Learning together with another family using a plant app such as Inaturalist can make learning more enjoyable.

Ditch the stress and don’t compare

During playdates, it is common for parents to compare their child with other children. They can end up stressing about milestones and if their child is “behind”.

Research shows while there are general milestones that most children will reach, this can happen within a broad timeframe. Usually, there’s nothing to worry about.

If you’re really concerned, your local child health nurse or your GP is the best place to go.

Instead of talking in depth about “milestones” during playdates, try chatting instead about local places to play, books you or your child enjoys or recipe ideas for families.

For a successful playdate, try to focus on the enjoyment of the children and supporting them to play.

Have in mind some activities suitable for the venue you choose. Then step back and let the children explore the world around them while they get to know each other.

Kimberley Beasley is a full-time academic in early childhood and primary education at Murdoch University. She owns a company called Childscapes, which designs nature playgrounds for childcare centres.

– ref. Holiday playdates are great for kids – but ditch the stress and don’t compare milestones – https://theconversation.com/holiday-playdates-are-great-for-kids-but-ditch-the-stress-and-dont-compare-milestones-243791

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan Grainger, Senior Lecturer in Analytical Chemistry, University of Waikato

As I write, the summer landscape is bright with pōhutukawa flowers. Sitting in the shade of the “New Zealand Christmas tree”, I can hear bees humming as they move between flowers collecting nectar.

Pulling the picnic basket near, I cut a slice of fresh bread and cover it in white honey – made from that very pōhutukawa nectar. This is indeed the taste of summer – sweet, like butterscotch with a hint of salt.

But pōhutukawa honey, like other native varieties, tends to live in the shadow of its famous cousin, mānuka. That’s a shame, because the options, and the potential for more industry growth, are certainly there.

To continue driving the industry forward, we need to be thinking about those lesser-known New Zealand native honeys. At the moment, however, these are often mixed as “bush honey”, since there isn’t a large market for their individual sale.

All honey is primarily glucose and fructose, but the flavour profile comes from other compounds found in nectar that remain once it is converted into honey by bees. The combination of compounds varies between species, giving rise to some delectable flavours.

Not so long ago, consumers only had a choice of red or white wine. Now there are multiple varieties, each suited to their own occasion. Honey, too, can spread its variety around a bit more.

Liquid gold rush

New Zealand mānuka honey is still highly sought-after, of course. Its unique non-peroxide antibacterial activity was discovered in the 1980s by biochemist Peter Molan. It wasn’t until 2008 that the compound responsible, methylglyoxal, was identified. This allowed honey to be graded by its antibacterial activity – and the price of mānuka dramatically increased.

Mānuka honey is now a household name and valuable brand. It’s used medically, as well as on toast, and even been endorsed by celebrities such as Novak Djokovic and Ariana Grande. The most expensive jar ever sold went for NZ$4,964 for 230 grams at Harrods in London in 2021.

In 2022, 76% of the $583 million generated by the New Zealand apiculture (beekeeping) sector was from mānuka honey exports. Many beekeepers chased the mānuka flowering season while honey prices were high and honey was easy to sell, with 918,026 beehives registered in 2019.

But hive numbers are now down 34.5% and it appears the liquid gold rush might be over. A large honey surplus and weaker consumer demand are tipping the supply and demand balance in the wrong direction for now.

Putting all the eggs in one basket – or all bees on one flowering crop – is a risk for beekeepers. And these days, extreme weather events during summer can add to the uncertainty.

Heavy rains in some places last summer resulted in a 45% decrease in honey production compared to the previous year. The mānuka tree flowers for a short period, and such events can affect the volume of honey harvested and hence annual revenue.

Sweet variety

Apiculture New Zealand wants to future-proof the industry and believes the honey sector can more than double by 2030, mostly due to increasing mānuka exports. This will take time as the supply-demand scale is rebalanced.

Diversification can be another strategy. Nectar-producing native plants produce a wide range of honey flavours, all worthy choices for the consumer.

In fact, other varieties can compete successfully with mānuka internationally, and a rewarewa honey was awarded “world’s best tasting honey” at the 2021 Black Jar Honey Contest in the United States.

Rewarewa has a rich, malty flavour. But it is also reported to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. While this is promising news, there are currently only a few studies based on limited samples.

Further research on honeys from various geographical locations and seasons is needed. But this takes time, money and resources. In the meantime, we can just enjoy one of the world’s oldest foods for its taste. Here are five New Zealand native honeys to keep an eye out for:

• tāwari has been described as tasting like white chocolate melting off the tongue, and is superb on pancakes or ice cream

• kāmahi is sweet with a buttery finish, and is a match with camembert or goat’s feta

• kānuka is described as earthy with a toffee-like finish

• rata is mild and rich, not too sweet, with a fruity taste and hint of salt

• pōhutukawa is salty-sweet, a touch of butterscotch with a sprinkle of salt.

Increasing the profile of more native honeys would benefit the apiculture industry, build resilience into beekeeping businesses, diversify exports over time, and help maintain ecological biodiversity – which is important for our native fauna.

This summer, why not head to a farmer’s market, or even jump online from your deckchair, and support New Zealand’s smaller beekeepers by trying some of these native honeys. You may just find your next favourite to add to that charcuterie board or drizzle on your ice cream.

Megan Grainger is a committee member for the Apiculture New Zealand Science and Research Focus. She carries out research on mānuka honey and other native honeys, and has worked on projects with various companies in the apiculture industry.

– ref. Move over mānuka – here are 5 other delicious native NZ honeys to try this summer – https://theconversation.com/move-over-manuka-here-are-5-other-delicious-native-nz-honeys-to-try-this-summer-244284

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Edwell, Associate Professor in Ancient History, Macquarie University

Therefore, who would not know that effrontery hijacks the public interest? […] It ratchets up the prices of things for sale, not fourfold or eightfold but so
much that the human tongue’s reckoning cannot untangle what to call the
accounting and the deed!

The language is different but this edict on maximum prices, issued in 301 CE by Roman emperor Diocletian, reflects a feeling familiar to many: why is everything so expensive lately?

Diocletian’s edict highlights the deep outrage he and and his imperial colleagues felt at the rampant inflation that had engulfed the Roman empire for much of the third century.

Inflation eroded the pay of the soldiers whose loyalty was the basis of the emperors’ authority.

So, how did the Roman Empire get into this mess – and how did it get out of it?

Too many coins with too little value

For much of the third century, the Roman Empire faced unprecedented crises, including foreign invasions by the Persian Sasanians and conflict with various Germanic tribes, such as the Goths.

There were also civil wars, plagues, disease outbreaks and food shortages. This period is now known as the Crisis of the Third Century.

Political stability was a distant memory; dozens of short-reigning emperors were installed and deposed as these problems grew worse.

With the scale of the military problems Rome faced in the third century, the Roman army grew larger. By the time of Diocletian’s reign (284-305) it numbered around 600,000 men. This compares with 250,000 in the first century.

A larger army (demanding ever higher salaries and bonuses) meant Roman mints needed to produce more silver coins to pay the soldiers.

Coins also functioned as political propaganda and helped cement a new emperor’s legitimacy. Every new emperor would issue new coins bearing his image. With so many emperors ruling in the third century, this contributed further to the increase in coin production.

Today’s authorities sometimes use “quantitative easing” – which is often (and somewhat inaccurately) described as “printing more money” – as a way of stimulating economic activity. The vast increase in coin production and its inflationary effects in third century Rome might bear some comparison.

With ever more coins in circulation in the Roman Empire during this time, the individual value of these coins fell.

As the empire began to contract in the third century, silver became harder to get. This saw a precipitous drop in the amount of precious metal that was actually in the silver coins, a process known as debasement.

In short, they became less valuable; people (especially the soldiers) had less faith in the capacity of these debased coins to retain value, so they demanded more coins.

If they didn’t receive them, the emperor was often dispatched in quick time.

Another factor contributing to inflation will be familiar to anyone who lived through the era of COVID restrictions: supply chain bottlenecks.

War and disease (including the epidemic known as the Plague of Cyprian, which caused manpower shortages) drove instability. This led to supply chain problems that helped drive up the price of goods.

Currency reform

The Romans did not have an understanding of modern economic theories to help control inflation. Neither did they have institutions such as central banks to curtail the peaks and troughs of inflationary cycles.

What Roman authorities did control, however, was coin production.

They attempted to address the lack of faith in silver coins via currency reforms in the third century, which included a slight increase in silver content under the emperor Aurelian (270-275).

However, none of them worked. Faith in the silver currency had been permanently damaged.

Emperor Diocletian came to power toward the end of the third century, and despaired at the political and economic chaos he’d inherited.

When he issued his edict on maximum prices in 301CE, he legislated an empire-wide cap on prices of around 1,200 items.

In this law, he emphasised the impact of inflation on the soldiers. The army was the key constituency on which his imperial authority lay.

The edict, however, failed.

It was unenforceable across the vast territory of the Roman Empire, and placing official caps on prices inevitably created a black market. He brought some political stability to Rome during his reign but having failed to cure it of hyperinflation, Diocletian later retired to become a cabbage farmer.

When the emperor Constantine (306-337) reformed the currency in the fourth century, he introduced a new gold unit known as the solidus.

Faith in this unit was higher due to its status (it was used chiefly by soldiers and wealthy people), high precious metal content and more controlled output. This appears to have reduced inflationary pressures.

Constantine also brought a return to political stability and single rule of the empire (compared to a fraught system of co-emperors, known as the Tetrarchy, under Dicoletian). This stability helped with inflation. Supply bottlenecks were reduced and minting of coins became more consistent across the empire.

Today’s cost-of-living crisis

There are good reasons to be critical of how today’s inflation problems have been managed by central banks and governments. But we can at least be thankful that, compared to the Roman Empire, periods of high inflation in modern economies have been and will likely be short.

Much of this is due to our advanced capacity to analyse economic data and devise theories to control inflation before it runs rampant – undermining the economic, political and social stability we so often take for granted.

Peter Edwell receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. Skyrocketing prices are an age-old problem. Here’s how Roman emperors battled runaway inflation – https://theconversation.com/skyrocketing-prices-are-an-age-old-problem-heres-how-roman-emperors-battled-runaway-inflation-243921

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Manfreda, Senior Lecturer in Tourism, Torrens University Australia

About ten years ago, while working at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in the Swiss town of St Moritz, I was shocked to learn a guest once requested an elephant be brought in to deliver a birthday gift to his wife. And the hotel made it happen, squeezing the elephant into the lobby.

This over-the-top gesture symbolised what luxury travel once meant: wealth and power, expressed through grand displays. Think millionaires and billionaires in lavish suites and on private yachts, enjoying exclusive services most of us would never dream of, let alone actually ask for.

Consulting group McKinsey defines the luxury traveller as someone prepared to spend US$500 or more per night on accommodation. But luxury tourism is evolving. Thanks to demographic shifts, sustainability concerns, and a post-pandemic desire for connection, luxury travel has become more personal and meaningful. And luxury travellers these days aren’t always the super rich elites.

Despite the cost-of-living crisis, luxury travel is booming. So, what’s driving this growth and how is luxury travel changing?

A trillion dollar industry

The luxury travel sector has shown remarkable resilience, even during economic downturns and the COVID pandemic. Globally, it is projected to grow from US$1.4 trillion in 2024 to $2.2 trillion by 2030.

The Asia-Pacific region is leading the surge at a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% (a way of measuring growth that assumes profits are reinvested) from 2024 to 2030.

In Australia, the trend is similar: the luxury travel market generated US$37.4 billion in 2023 and is forecast to reach US$70 billion by 2032.

This growth is driven not just by affluence among the wealthy but by younger travellers. As Forbes magazine points out, these travellers are often non-millionaires who may not earn enormous salaries or even own their own homes – but are willing to pay top dollar for meaningful experiences.

And some are splurging on trips to make up for time and opportunities lost due to the pandemic – a trend industry experts sometimes refer to as “revenge” and “revelry” travel. As one luxury travel industry observer put it:

We’re seeing travel at all costs, where people are determined to have the experience they want, regardless of what that price is.

Many consumers are prioritising luxury travel experiences over other discretionary items, including luxury goods.

Luxury can have many meanings

Today’s luxury travel isn’t just about extravagance; it can also include forking out for meaningful experiences. Luxury travellers are willing to pay up for holidays that promise authenticity, wellness and connection with people and places.

It can mean access to something rare, like an uncrowded natural environment or an authentic cultural experience that feels deeply personal.

It can also come from expertise – like appreciating the nuances of a rare bottle of wine, or touring a place with an expert or celebrity guide who has been there many times before.

Where it was once defined by price and status symbols, luxury travel today is about stories worth sharing (on social media and in real life) and experiences that align with personal values.

Wellness, adventure and the digital detox

In my 17 years of working in and researching luxury travel, I have seen a lot of different luxury holidaymakers. Everything from humble retirees relishing the rewards of their hard work to VIP celebrities who send 32 pages of requests before even stepping foot in the hotel.

While older high-net-worth individuals from North America and Europe remain a significant demographic, a growing proportion of luxury travellers are millennials, Gen Z, and tourists from emerging markets like Asia and the Middle East.

Traditional hallmarks of luxury travel – like presidential suites and private islands – are still popular among high-net-worth individuals.

But a growing number of travellers seek cultural experiences, adventure, and small, intimate group trips.

These travellers are opting for off-peak seasons and less-visited destinations to avoid crowds, and may be more vocal about sustainable tourism.

The future of luxury travel lies in its ability to adapt to evolving consumer values. Wellness retreats, slow travel (including by train), and sustainability-focused experiences are becoming central to the luxury travel narrative.

In a hyper-connected world, luxury travel marketing is now often linked with the idea of a digital detox. The chance to disconnect and fully immerse in the moment has become a modern indulgence.

Luxury travellers today use their trips to explore and learn, and to reconnect with the world, their relationships, and themselves.

Anita Manfreda is the secretary and executive committee member of the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education. She previously worked in the luxury travel industry but currently has no affiliations, paid work, consultancy, or relationships with any organisations mentioned in this article.

– ref. What cost-of-living crisis? Luxury travel is booming – and set to grow further – https://theconversation.com/what-cost-of-living-crisis-luxury-travel-is-booming-and-set-to-grow-further-244727

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan McHugh, Honorary Associate Professor, Journalism, Consulting Producer, The Greatest Menace, Walkley-winning podcast, University of Wollongong

This year saw podcasts attract widespread attention for their influence on the political agenda (a hack that goes back to 2015, when Obama caused outrage with his raw take on race on Marc Maron’s WTF).

Spotify continues to push “video podcasts”, but apart from the technical problems they present, they hold no appeal for those who love audio at least in part because it frees them from screens.

The podcasts below, my picks for the year, do much more than that: they inform, illuminate, touch the heart and unleash the imagination.

1. In The Dark

In The Dark’s new series forensically unpacks a day in 2005 when United States marines went on a rampage in Haditha, Iraq, killing 24 civilians.

Over four years, host Madeleine Baran and team conducted hundreds of interviews and secured thousands of previously unreleased government documents. As Iraqi family members speak in Arabic about their horrendous loss, superlative production makes their testimony deeply moving. In one heartbreaking scene, the interpreter herself breaks down.

I’ve only heard this happen once before, when American oral historian Studs Terkel interviewed survivors of Hiroshima to open his acclaimed documentary Born To Live.

Apex investigative journalism that underlines the human cost of war.

2. Come by Chance

The gentle but gritty Canadian podcast Come by Chance probes the intertwined meaning of family and identity.

Set in remote Newfoundland, it investigates the origins of two men who look strikingly dissimilar to their siblings. You can guess the outcome, but that doesn’t diminish the pleasure and pain of discovering what happened.

We warm to locals whose unaffected demeanour and distinctive phrasing make for revelatory storytelling that is never exploitative.

3. Australia Fair

This timely series Australia Fair provides a fresh take on Australia’s “weird and troubled immigration history”.

Host Janak Rogers, whose mother came from high society Delhi and whose father was “a big hulking white guy” from Birmingham, is well placed to untangle this tapestry.

Heartfelt accounts from successive waves of arrivals, interwoven with illuminating archival clips and expert commentary, reveal fraught undercurrents. The Chinese attacked on the goldfields. Pacific Islanders kidnapped to cut cane. European migrants lampooned after World War II, the xenophobia shifting to Vietnamese boat people, Muslims from the Middle East, Africans. All alongside unrelenting racism towards Indigenous Australians.

A major flaw is its depiction of settler Australia as a monolithic white society, ignoring the vilification of the Irish from the arrival of the first political convicts in 1791. But overall, Australia Fair offers a bracing challenge to our oft-claimed status as a “successful” multicultural country.

4. Empire

Empire, hosted by polymath historian William Dalrymple and journalistic offsider Anita Anand, examines how empires rise and fall and how they shaped the world.

Dalrymple’s puppydog enthusiasm belies his vast knowledge of power hierarchies from India to the Ottomans, while Anand deftly retrieves him from rabbit holes.

Episodes verge into the history of pirates, North Korea, the Cuban Revolution, the dispossession of Native Americans and a cracker analysis of the Vietnam War.

5. The Belgrano Diary

Lauded Scottish writer Andrew O’Hagan examines the political and military machinations behind the 1982 Falklands War in The Belgrano Diary.

O’Hagan’s shrewd but unshowy narration and writerly eye for character are a major asset. A former naval officer, Narendra Sethia, whose diary is the British government’s undoing, is “skinny, covered in tattoos, with […] the appearance of someone who’s been on a lifelong gap year”.

Episode two, Gotcha, is the ghastly telling of the sinking of Argentinian cruiser the Belgrano with the loss of 323 lives. Archival tape and eye-witness testimony are interwoven with burbling underwater sonic detectors and muffled explosions of torpedoes. A survivor describes how those burnt the worst were given morphine first, “M” dabbed on their foreheads in their own blood.

Consummate sound design allows us to absorb its huge emotional and moral heft and weep for the dead of Islas Malvinas, as Argentinians call the Falklands.

6. The Gauguin Dilemma

The sparky series The Gauguin Dilemma, commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia, shows “branded podcasts” need not be schmaltzy PR.

Coinciding with the recent Paul Gauguin exhibition, it delves deep into controversial aspects of the artist.

Was he simply a destructive, colonising paedophile, to be cancelled forthwith? A robust range of perspectives complexifies this vexed topic.

7. Elon’s Spies

Elon’s Spies drills into Musk-the-man, featuring chilling stories of those who have crossed him.

They include Vernon Unsworth, architect of the Thai schoolboys’ cave rescue in 2018. Musk branded him “paedo-guy” because Unsworth slighted Musk’s mini-submarine proposal.

Musk’s then-girlfriend Amber Heard was surveilled on the Gold Coast; a whistleblower was bankrupted; Scottish Muslim leader Humza Yousaf was mercilessly hounded.

Musk’s capacity for vengefulness makes Trump seem almost benign.

8. Short Cuts

In its 12 years, Short Cuts has showcased eclectic, poetic audio features from producers all over the world.

Winningly hosted by comedian Josie Long, the 30-minute episodes have diverse short pieces, loosely linked by a theme: the tipping point, a piano, or beasts (in which Laurie Anderson performs a concert for dogs).

It is, mystifyingly, to be axed – unless a petition changes the BBC’s plans. Listen while you can.

9. Stop and Search

Stop and Search tracks how 20-year-old apprentice tradie Brad Balzan was shot dead in his backyard in Western Sydney after a police encounter went wrong.

Host Paul Farrell meticulously exposes the bigger context: how proactive police searches discriminate according to class and race. Depressingly, Indigenous people and lower socio-economic areas are more likely to be targeted, searches are often unlawfully conducted and 90% of searches found nothing.

10. This is Alice Springs

This is Alice Springs, hosted by Yorta Yorta man Daniel James, takes us behind the miserable headlines about youth violence and curfews in Alice Springs.

It makes such a difference to hear Indigenous people telling their own stories, and not to a white journalist. Keenly observed writing and immersive sound bring the camps, streets and landscape alive, providing nuanced insight into a complex, troubling situation.

Siobhan McHugh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Elon Musk, Gauguin and are we Australia fair? The 10 best podcasts of 2024 – https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-gauguin-and-are-we-australia-fair-the-10-best-podcasts-of-2024-244155

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, researching Greco-Roman antiquity, The University of Melbourne

The Roman writer Claudius Aelian (2nd–3rd century CE) tells us a curious story about a boy and a pet snake:

A boy bought a small snake and reared it with great care. When it grew he spoke to it as if it could hear, played with it and let it stay in his bed while he was sleeping. When it became very big the city had it sent to an uninhabited spot. Later, when the child, now a young man, came back from an entertainment, he and his companions were set upon by brigands. There was a commotion, and the snake appeared. It dispersed some of the attackers and killed others, saving the young man.

The boy was lucky. His pet snake remembered his earlier kindness, and came to save him in his moment of need, if we can believe the story.

This is one of many tales from the Greco-Roman world about people and their pets.

Just like today, people back then loved and enjoyed the company of animals in their homes. So, what sorts of pets did they keep and what do we know about them?

Some famous stories about pets

Many stories about pets survive from Greco-Roman times. These stories usually attest to the close bonds humans and animals can form with one another.

Here are a few of them.

One day, the Roman general Paulus Aemilius (229–160 BCE) arrived home after work and found his little daughter Tertia crying.

Why was she crying? The biographer Plutarch(1st–2nd century CE) tells us what happened:

Paulus asked the reason. And she said, “Our Perseus is dead”.

Perseus was the name of their pet dog. We don’t know what Perseus died from, but Paulus’ daughter was obviously deeply fond of the animal.

In some ancient stories, people’s pets were sometimes their only source of support in difficult times.

The Theban general Epaminondas (410–362 BCE) was charged with various petty crimes by his political enemies at Thebes. After proving himself innocent of the charges in court, he finally got to go home:

when he returned from the court his little Melitaean dog greeted him with a wag of the tail. This led him to say to those who were present: “This dog thanks me for my favours, but the Thebans, after the benefits I conferred on them, tried me on a capital charge”.

The philosopher Lacydes of Cyrene (died 205 BCE) had a close bond with his pet goose:

when he went for a walk, it went too. When he sat down, it would remain still and would not leave him for a moment. And when it died Lacydes gave it a most costly funeral as though he were burying a son or a brother.

But one of the most famous ancient pet stories is about Darius III (died 330 BCE), the King of Persia. He was defeated by Alexander the Great and then betrayed by one of the Persians, called Bessus:

when Darius, the last king of Persia, was struck by Bessus in the battle against Alexander and lay dead, all abandoned the corpse, only the dog which had been reared under his care remained faithfully at his side, unwilling to abandon, as though he was still alive, the man who could no longer tend him.

Darius’ dog stayed loyal to him to the end, unlike the people around him.

Different types of pets

Dogs were the most popular house pet in Greco-Roman times. The favourite breed of dog was called the Melitaean.

This breed of dog was originally from Carthaginian Africa. It was very small with long hair, a bushy tail and sharp nose, and apparently barked with a squeaky voice.

Other favourite pets were monkeys, snakes and birds of many different kinds. Even the Roman emperor Tiberius (42 BCE to 37 CE) had a pet snake.

Pet cats of the kind we are familiar with were, for a long time, mainly found in Egypt. The Egyptians’ word for “cat” actually sounded like the noise cats make, “meow”.

Ancient Greeks and Romans seem not to have kept these sorts of household cats as pets.

But there is evidence that in Athens in the 5th century BCE, it was trendy for wealthy people to own exotic big cats such as cheetahs, possibly for hunting purposes.

Some wealthy people even had lions as house pets. For example, Berenice (273–226 BCE), wife of Ptolemy III of Egypt, had a tame lion as her companion. “It would softly wash her face with its tongue and smooth away her wrinkles”, says Aelian. It would also eat at her table at dinnertime.

The loyalty of animals

Ancient writers such as Aelian praised animals for their loyalty.

Aelian says animals become loyal when you do simple things for them like giving them food and love, whereas human beings can be disloyal no matter how much you do for them:

well-treated animals are good at remembering kindness […] a human being however […] can become the bitter enemy of a friend and for some trifling and casual reason blurt out confidences to betray the very man who trusted him.

Aelian gives as an example of this the story of a boy who was given a baby eagle to care for:

he reared the bird not as a plaything to sport with, but as a favourite or as a younger brother […] as time passed it lit the flame of a strong mutual friendship. It happened that the youth fell sick, and the eagle stayed at his side and nursed its keeper. While he slept, the bird remained quiet. When he woke, it was there. If he took no food, it refused to eat. And when the youth at last died, the eagle also followed him to the tomb, and as the body burned it threw itself on to the pyre.

So, if there’s one message that Greco-Roman writers give about pets, it’s that the bonds between humans and animals can sometimes be stronger than the bonds between humans and other humans.

Konstantine Panegyres does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Like your pet more than people? So did some of the Greco-Romans – https://theconversation.com/like-your-pet-more-than-people-so-did-some-of-the-greco-romans-236592

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Clarke, Senior Lecturer in History, specialising in built heritage and material culture, University of the Sunshine Coast

Big Things first appeared in Australia in the 1960s, beginning with the Big Scotsman (1962) in Medindie, South Australia, the Big Banana (1964) in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and the Big Murray Cod (1968) in Tocumwal, NSW.

These structures were inspired by earlier North American examples, such as Lucy the Elephant (1882) in New Jersey, and several big doughnuts in California.

While they differed in subject matter, all aimed to attract the attention of passing motorists: in the 1950s–1960s, private car ownership had soared and highway construction spread.

Towns and regions across Australia, New Zealand and North America used oversized landmarks to get travellers to stop, take a photo and hopefully spend money at local businesses.

As awareness of these giant landmarks grew, so did the desire of other communities to have their own.

Within a few decades, Australia’s Big Things had become a beloved fixture of road trips and summer holidays.

A big cultural impact

My research shows the number of Big Things being constructed in Australia hit an initial peak in the 1980s before experiencing a temporary decline.

By the 2000s, however, towns as far afield as Tully in Queensland (Big Golden Gumboot), Cressy in Tasmania (Big Trout), and Exmouth in Western Australia (Big Prawn) were reviving the tradition.

Soon, Big Things became firmly entrenched in Australian popular culture: featuring on limited edition Redheads matchboxes (2010), and on sets of Australia Post stamps (2007 and 2023).

But some of the older structures experienced declining popularity: the Big Wool Bales in Hamilton, Victoria (closed 2020), Victoria’s Giant Gippsland Earth Worm in Bass (closed 2020) and the Big Cask Wine in Mourquong, NSW (closed 2012), survive only in holiday photos and people’s memories.

Icons like Larry the Lobster (Kingston, SA), the Big Prawn (Ballina, NSW), and the Big Pineapple (Nambour, Queensland) have battled changes in ownership, threat of demolition, and closure.

Read more:
Australia’s ‘big’ problem – what to do with our ageing super-sized statues?

Despite these challenges, and debates over heritage conservation, construction of these giant landmarks has not slowed.

The Big Bogan was erected in 2015 in Nyngan, NSW, by community members who were eager to encourage visitors to the area.

A local progress association in the small town of Thallon in Queensland unveiled William the Big Wombat in 2018, also with the aim to bring attention to the area.

Similar hopes were held for the Big Watermelon erected in 2018 (Chinchilla, Queensland), and the Big Tractor (Carnamah, WA) which opened this year.

Through my research, I spoke with many people involved with projects such as these, and they said they’d selected objects that were iconic to their area.

This could be a product they specialise in, a local native animal, or, in the case of the Big Bogan, a joke based on the name of nearby Bogan River.

Most builders openly acknowledge their primary motivation is to promote the region, attract tourist dollars and investment, and revive towns that have seen better days.

But do Big Things actually achieve these goals? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer.

An economic return?

Local economies are complex, as are the reasons people choose to visit. Many Big Things are constructed on the sides of highways that connect Australia’s numerous regional towns.

People who stop for photos may not set out with the goal of visiting that Big Thing – it may simply be convenient to take a break there while on the way somewhere else.

And if people do stop, it doesn’t guarantee they will spend more than the cost of filling up their car with petrol, if that.

Over the years, tourism researchers have developed several different models for calculating the impact of rural and regional tourism on local economies.

However, none of these approaches has proven to be universally effective. Most scholars agree tourists aren’t likely to travel long distances for any one reason.

They will consider a range of factors including food and accommodation, and the closeness of numerous attractions. In other words: building a Big Thing won’t guarantee a sustained increase in tourism to the area on its own.

Communities should factor this in when considering erection of a Big Thing, especially given the cost of construction.

The Big Mango in Bowen reportedly cost $A90,000 when it was built in 2002, while the organisers of the Big Tractor in Carnamah raised more than $600,000 to cover its price tag.

The spread of social media and easy access to media outlets via the internet offers communities another reason to build Big Things, however.

Australians are not the only ones fascinated by Big Things, and when a new one is unveiled — or an existing one goes “missing”, as the Big Mango did in 2014 — it is often covered by the press and then shared online.

These giant landmarks are also highly “Instagrammable”: a 2015 survey revealed that six of Australia’s 20 most Instagrammed tourist attractions were Big Things.

This sort of coverage doesn’t necessarily guarantee the long-term revival of a town’s economy.

But it can help to remind people of the town’s existence, and it gives locals a memorable image on which to build.

Amy Clarke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. From the Big Bogan to Larry the Lobster, why do towns build Big Things? – https://theconversation.com/from-the-big-bogan-to-larry-the-lobster-why-do-towns-build-big-things-241129

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By H. Peter Soyer, Professor of Dermatology, The University of Queensland

Australia has one of the highest skin cancer rates globally, with nearly 19,000 Australians diagnosed with invasive melanoma – the most lethal type of skin cancer – each year.

While advanced melanoma can be fatal, it is highly treatable when detected early.

But Australian clinical practice guidelines and health authorities do not recommend screening for melanoma in the general population.

Given our reputation as the skin cancer capital of the world, why isn’t there a national screening program? Australia currently screens for breast, cervical and bowel cancer and will begin lung cancer screening in 2025.

It turns out the question of whether to screen everyone for melanoma and other skin cancers is complex. Here’s why.

The current approach

On top of the 19,000 invasive melanoma diagnoses each year, around 28,000 people are diagnosed with in-situ melanoma.

In-situ melanoma refers to a very early stage melanoma where the cancerous cells are confined to the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis).

Instead of a blanket screening program, Australia promotes skin protection, skin awareness and regular skin checks (at least annually) for those at high risk.

About one in three Australian adults have had a clinical skin check within the past year.

Why not just do skin checks for everyone?

The goal of screening is to find disease early, before symptoms appear, which helps save lives and reduce morbidity.

But there are a couple of reasons a national screening program is not yet in place.

We need to ask:

1. Does it save lives?

Many researchers would argue this is the goal of universal screening. But while universal skin cancer screening would likely lead to more melanoma diagnoses, this might not necessarily save lives. It could result in indolent (slow-growing) cancers being diagnosed that might have never caused harm. This is known as “overdiagnosis”.

Screening will pick up some cancers people could have safely lived with, if they didn’t know about them. The difficulty is in recognising which cancers are slow-growing and can be safely left alone.

Receiving a diagnosis causes stress and is more likely to lead to additional medical procedures (such as surgeries), which carry their own risks.

2. Is it value for money?

Implementing a nationwide screening program involves significant investment and resources. Its value to the health system would need to be calculated, to ensure this is the best use of resources.

Read more:
Yes, you still need to use sunscreen, despite what you’ve heard on TikTok

Narrower targets for better results

Instead of screening everyone, targeting high-risk groups has shown better results. This focuses efforts where they’re needed most. Risk factors for skin cancer include fair skin, red hair, a history of sunburns, many moles and/or a family history.

Research has shown the public would be mostly accepting of a risk-tailored approach to screening for melanoma.

There are moves underway to establish a national targeted skin cancer screening program in Australia, with the government recently pledging $10.3 million to help tackle “the most common cancer in our sunburnt country, skin cancer” by focusing on those at greater risk.

Currently, Australian clinical practice guidelines recommend doctors properly evaluate all patients for their future risk of melanoma.

Looking with new technological eyes

Technological advances are improving the accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis and risk assessment.

For example, researchers are investigating 3D total body skin imaging to monitor changes to spots and moles over time.

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can analyse images of skin lesions, and support doctors’ decision making.

Genetic testing can now identify risk markers for more personalised screening.

And telehealth has made remote consultations possible, increasing access to specialists, particularly in rural areas.

Check yourself – 4 things to look for

Skin cancer can affect all skin types, so it’s a good idea to become familiar with your own skin. The Skin Cancer College Australasia has introduced a guide called SCAN your skin, which tells people to look for skin spots or areas that are:

1. sore (scaly, itchy, bleeding, tender) and don’t heal within six weeks

2. changing in size, shape, colour or texture

3. abnormal for you and look different or feel different, or stand out when compared to your other spots and moles

4. new and have appeared on your skin recently. Any new moles or spots should be checked, especially if you are over 40.

If something seems different, make an appointment with your doctor.

You can self-assess your melanoma risk online via the Melanoma Institute Australia or QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

H. Peter Soyer is a shareholder of MoleMap NZ Limited and e-derm consult GmbH and undertakes regular teledermatological reporting for both companies. He is a Medical Consultant for Canfield Scientific Inc. He receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and The Medical Research Future Fund.

Anne Cust receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Monika Janda receives project and fellowship funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and The Medical Research Future Fund. She serves on the scientific advisory committee for Melanoma and Skin Cancer Advocacy Group.

Caitlin Horsham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. We don’t all need regular skin cancer screening – but you can know your risk and check yourself – https://theconversation.com/we-dont-all-need-regular-skin-cancer-screening-but-you-can-know-your-risk-and-check-yourself-239378

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wen-Qiang He, Research Fellow in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney

Extreme heat is increasingly common in Australia and around the world and besides making us uncomfortable, it can harm our health. For example, exposure to extreme heat can exacerbate existing medical conditions, or cause problems such as heat stroke.

Due to a combination of physiology and behaviour, children are potentially more vulnerable to severe heat-related illness such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

But these are not the only heat-related health issues children might experience on a very hot day. In a new study, we looked at emergency department (ED) visits and unplanned hospital admissions among children in New South Wales on heatwave days.

We found a significant increase in children attending hospital compared to milder days – with a range of health issues.

Why are children more vulnerable in the heat?

Sweating is the main way we lose heat from our bodies and cool down.

Children have a greater skin surface area to body mass ratio, which can be an advantage for sweating – they can lose more heat through evaporation for a given body mass. But this also means children can lose fluids and electrolytes faster through sweating, theoretically making them more susceptible to dehydration.

Meanwhile, younger children, particularly babies, can’t sweat as much as older children and adults. This means they can’t cool down as effectively.

Children in general also tend to engage in more outdoor physical activity, which might see them more exposed to very hot temperatures.

Further, children may be less in-tune to the signals their body is giving them that they’re overheating, such as excessive sweating or red skin. So they might not stop and cool down when they need to. Young children especially may not recognise the early signs of heat stress or be able to express discomfort.

Our study

We wanted to examine children’s exposure to extreme heat stress and the associated risks to their health.

We measured extreme heat as “heatwave days”, at least two consecutive days with a daily maximum temperature above the 95th percentile for the relevant area on a universal thermal climate index. This ranged from 27°C to 45°C depending on the area.

We assessed health outcomes by looking at ED visits and unplanned hospital admissions among children aged 0–18 years from NSW between 2000 and 2020. This totalled around 8.2 million ED visits and 1.4 million hospital admissions.

We found hospital admissions for heat-related illness were 104% more likely on heatwave days compared to non-heatwave days, and ED visits were 78% more likely.
Heat-related illness includes a spectrum of disorders from minor conditions such as dehydration to life-threatening conditions such as heat stroke.

But heat-related illness wasn’t the only condition that increased on heatwave days. There was also an increase in childhood infections, particularly infectious enteritis possibly related to food poisoning (up 6% for ED visits and 17% for hospital admissions), ear infections (up 30% for ED visits and 3% for hospital admissions), and skin and soft tissue infections (up 6% for ED visits and 4% for hospital admissions).

We know many infectious diseases are highly seasonal. Some, like the flu, peak in winter. But heat and humidity increase the risk of certain infections caused by bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens.

For example, warmer weather and higher humidity can increase the survival of bacteria, such as Salmonella, on foods, which increases the risk of food poisoning.

Hot weather can also increase the risk of ear infections. Children may be at greater risk during hot weather because they often swim or play at the beach or pool. Water can stay in the ear after swimming and a moist environment in the ear canal can cause growth of pathogens leading to ear infections.

Which children are most vulnerable?

During heatwaves, we found infants aged under one were at increased risk of ED visits and hospital admission for any reason compared to older children. This is not surprising, because babies can’t regulate their body temperature effectively and are reliant on their caregivers to keep them cool.

Our study also found children from the most disadvantaged areas were more vulnerable to heat-related illness on heatwave days. Although we don’t know exactly why, we hypothesised families from poorer areas might have limited access to air-conditioning and could be more likely to live in hotter neighbourhoods.

Keeping kids cool: tips for parents

The highest levels of heat exposure on hot days for young children is usually when they’re taken outside in prams and strollers. To protect their children from direct sunlight, parents often instinctively cover their stroller with a cloth such as a muslin.

However, a recent study from our group showed this actually increases temperatures inside a stroller to as much as 3–4˚C higher than outside.

But if the cloth is wet with water, and a small fan is used to circulate the air close to the child, stroller temperatures can be 4–5˚C lower than outside. Wetting the cloth every 15–20 minutes (for example, with a spray bottle) maintains the cooling effect.

When young children are not in a stroller, and for older children, there are a few things to consider to keep them cool and safe.

Remember temperatures reported on weather forecasts are measured in the shade, and temperatures in the sun can be up to 15˚C higher. So sticking to the shade as much as possible is important.

Exercise generates heat inside the body, so activities should be shortened, or rescheduled to cooler times of the day.

Sunscreen and hats are important when outdoors, but neither are especially effective for keeping cool. Spraying water on the child’s skin – not just the face but arms, legs and even the torso if possible – can help. Wetting their hats is another idea.

Proper hydration on hot days is also essential. Regular water breaks, including offering water before, during and after activity, is important. Offering foods with high water content such as watermelon and orange can help with hydration too.

James Smallcombe receives funding from NHMRC

Natasha Nassar receives funding from NHMRC

Ollie Jay receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Wellcome Trust (UK).

Wen-Qiang He does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Children can be more vulnerable in the heat. Here’s how to protect them this summer – https://theconversation.com/children-can-be-more-vulnerable-in-the-heat-heres-how-to-protect-them-this-summer-240892

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacquie Rand, Emeritus Professor of Companion Animal Health, The University of Queensland

Learning a pet has diabetes can be a shock. Sadly, about 20% of diabetic cats and dogs are euthanised within a year of diagnosis due to the impacts on the pets’ health and their owners’ lifestyle and finances.

However, the disease can be managed. And for cats, but not dogs, effective early treatment even gives them a good chance of remission.

Diabetes in cats and dogs is fairly common – though not as common as in humans.
It affects about 1.5% of dogs and 0.5–1% of cats.

So what exactly is diabetes? What are the warning signs? And how do you manage the disease?

What is diabetes?

Glucose is the body’s primary energy source. Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas, regulates levels of this blood-borne sugar, its uptake into cells and its storage in the liver and muscles.

In animals with diabetes, the body does not secrete enough insulin. The result is high glucose levels (hyperglycemia) and associated clinical signs.

Some breeds and unspayed female dogs are more at risk, as are middle-aged, older and obese animals.

Diabetes mellitis (its full scientific name) is generally classified into four main types:

1. Type 1 diabetes

This form results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic cells, because the immune system attacks them by mistake.

Type 1 is common in dogs but rare in cats. Its onset in dogs, usually in middle age, is often insidious.

2. Type 2 diabetes

This form is characterised by insulin resistance and dysfunction in cells that produce insulin. It accounts for most cases in cats but is rare in dogs.

The major risk factors are obesity and increasing age. Other factors include genetics, physical inactivity and being kept indoors and the use of glucocorticoid steroids.

In the earlier stages, when the cat is still producing some insulin of its own, type 2 diabetes can be managed using drugs that reduce blood glucose. The drugs are formally known as “sodium-glucose transporter 2” or (SGLT2) inhibitors.

For more advanced cases, insulin injections are essential. Long-acting insulin in cats typically controls blood glucose levels better than the intermediate-acting insulins typically used in dogs.

Weight loss is also important for overweight or obese animals. The maximum safe rate of weight loss is 1-2% of body weight a week in cats, so achieving an ideal weight can take 6–12 months. Adding steamed zucchini to each meal can help with weight loss.

3. Other specific types

Some diabetes types are caused by other medical conditions such as chronic pancreatitis, which is common in diabetic dogs, or acromegaly in cats, where too much growth hormone results in marked insulin resistance.

4. Dioestrus and Gestational diabetes

Diabetes can occur in older female dogs after they have been in heat. In dioestrus, secretion of increased growth hormone from mammary glands counteracts insulin. Although very rare in pets, female dogs can get transient diabetes in pregnancy.

What are the signs to look for?

Signs of diabetes usually emerge slowly over weeks to months. If diagnosis is delayed, the pet’s health can decline rapidly over 24–48 hours, leading to death if not immediately treated.

Signs to look out for include increased thirst and urination, increased appetite and weight loss. However, some dogs and up to 50% of cats with diabetes have a reduced appetite.

Diabetic cats’ posture may change to a flat-footed stance and they may lose jumping ability. Diabetic dogs are prone to cataracts.

Diagnosis involves documenting persistently high blood glucose levels along with glucose in the urine. Certain or tests tests can confirm the diagnosis by measuring average blood glucose over the past several weeks.

In cats, early diagnosis before clinical signs appear can be difficult because the stress of visiting the vet often raises blood glucose levels. Multiple measurements and/or urine analysis, preferably at home, may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

What are the treatment options?

Tailored monitoring and treatment can improve quality of life and reduce euthanasia rates. In cats, early intervention can potentially delay onset of clinical diabetes and reduce the burden of long-term insulin treatment.

Insulin therapy remains the cornerstone of treatment. Options range from short-acting for immediate control to intermediate and long-acting insulin for daily management.

In dogs, types of insulin known as “porcine lente” or “protamine zinc” are commonly used. Consistent feeding schedules and exercise help stabilise blood glucose.

SGLT2 inhibitors have almost no risk of clinical signs from low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) and can be given with food. This may help overcome common treatment barriers such as having to give twice daily injections for cats with diabetes.

However, these treatments are most effective with early diagnosis, as they require the cat to still produce enough insulin to suppress formation of ketones (acids your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy). Especially in the first few weeks of treatment, ketone monitoring is crucial to avoid life-threatening complications.

For cats showing more advanced signs of diabetes, their own insulin secretion is unlikely to be enough for management with oral SGLT2 inhibitors, and insulin injections are needed. Longer-acting insulin is more effective for inducing remission.

Dietary changes are essential. Low-carbohydrate diets improve remission rates for cats when combined with long-acting insulin. However, such diets might not be suitable when using SGLT2 inhibitors.

In newly diagnosed cats without other medical conditions, tight control of blood glucose levels can lead to remission in up to 80% of cases. Sustained weight management is then key to maintaining it without other treatment.

Dogs rarely achieve remission because the destruction of insulin-producing cells in type 1 diabetes is irreversible.

Diabetic cats and dogs can have a good life

Diabetes in dogs and cats is manageable with the right vet care, owner commitment, and adjustments to diet and body weight.

Advances in home glucose monitoring, including continuous monitors, mean vets and pet owners can better track and manage blood glucose.

For most diabetic dogs it’s a lifelong condition. For cats, the prospect of remission, as well as giving owners hope, underscores the need for awareness of early symptoms and early vet care.

Through diligent weight management, diet, glucose monitoring and insulin dose adjustments, pets with diabetes can live healthy, fulfilling lives.

Jacquie Rand receives no current funding from organisations related to diabetes in dogs or cats. She has an honorary position at the University of Queensland and is employed by the not-for-profit Australian Pet Welfare Foundation (APWF), which undertakes research aimed at improving the health and welfare of dogs and cats and benefiting pets and the people who care for them. APWF is largely funded by philanthropic gifts.

– ref. Dogs and cats get diabetes too. Here’s what to look out for and how to manage it – https://theconversation.com/dogs-and-cats-get-diabetes-too-heres-what-to-look-out-for-and-how-to-manage-it-225673

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Hadigheh, Senior Lecturer, Structural Engineering, University of Sydney

In the early days of the modern Olympics and Paralympics, athletes competed using heavy, non-aerodynamic equipment. The record for throwing a javelin, for instance, has almost doubled since 1908, when the sport was introduced. Athletes have got better – but so has their equipment.

In fact, sporting equipment (and the materials it is made from) has improved in almost every sport. Fibre-reinforced plastics, in particular, have been revolutionary. These composite materials commonly combine plastics with strong carbon or glass fibre. You can now find them in most sports played at high level.

These strong, bendable and lightweight materials have made it possible for athletes to push the limits of their sports, win medals and bring pride to their nations. But they come with a hidden cost.

Composite materials are notoriously hard to recycle. And the amount of waste from sports is growing fast. Our research offers a way to reduce this waste – and extract valuable carbon fibres.

Composites everywhere

Fibre-reinforced polymers have become ubiquitous because of their unique properties. They offer a combination of low weight, flexibility, strength and durability. The properties can be modified by adjusting fibres, mixing materials and changing how sporting equipment is designed.

If you pick up a modern tennis racket in one hand and an old wooden racket in the other, you will notice the difference. New composite rackets are light and strong, letting players achieve faster swing speeds.

Badminton rackets, too, have left solid wood behind. Today, even shuttlecocks have feathers reinforced with carbon rods.

Running footwear relies on carbon composites to boost springiness, aid propulsion, boost heel stability and reduce foot fatigue.

Cycling has greatly benefited from carbon composites. Modern racing bikes are often made entirely of carbon fibre, including lugs, tubes and connections. These bikes are lightweight, highly durable and with significantly lower air resistance compared to their metal counterparts.

Wherever you look, you see fibre-reinforced plastic composites. The bows in archery, the poles in pole vaulting, the wheelchairs in the Paralympics, the carbon net poles in volleyball, the saddles, horseshoes and helmets in equestrian disciplines, the gun bipods in shooting, the golf club shafts in golf, the boats in sailing, the skateboards in skating, the surfboards in surfing and even the climbing walls in rock climbing – all are now made of composites.

When the games are over

These materials have transformed many sports. But composites are made of several materials combined. That means they are often hard to recycle.

In the United Kingdom, for instance, about 90% of all composite waste goes to landfill. Only 2% is reused for carbon fibre. Producing new composites consumes a lot of energy.

Globally, about 7,000 tonnes of composite sporting equipment reaches its end of life and could be recycled every year. Demand for recycling is increasing. This stream of waste now accounts for almost 9% of the total composite market.

As these composites have become ever more popular, researchers have looked for better ways to recycle them – ideally, in ways which are also profitable. While many methods are not profitable, our earlier cost-benefit research found several methods which show promise.

In our recent research, we put one method to the test: thermochemical recycling.

Consider the challenge of recycling composites. They are often coated with polymers or resins to make their surfaces more durable. But this makes harder to pull these materials apart. Carbon fibres are the most valuable part in these composites.

To find ways of extracting these fibres, we took broken bikes made of carbon fibre composite and experimented with recycling using chemicals and heat.

Through trial and error, we developed highly efficient chemical methods of pre-treating broken bikes and discovered the optimal temperature to melt them: 425°C. At this temperature, we could extract these fibres relatively intact. The recycled fibres retained 94% of their original stiffness and 90% of their original strength.

This means they can be put to different uses, where slightly lower strength and stiffness are acceptable.

Recovered carbon fibres can also be used in 3D printing of other bike components, offering a high weight-to-strength ratio and increased durability, or even in reinforced concrete.

Where to from here?

It is hard to see athletes ever shifting back to the heavy, non-aerodynamic equipment of the past. But if valuable materials can be recovered cost-effectively from sporting equipment at the end of its life, it creates an incentive to do something useful with this growing waste stream.

While our new method uses less energy than existing heat recycling processes and produces relatively environmentally friendly waste by-products, we believe we can improve this process further so it uses still less energy.

Ultimately, we hope this method will be useful to help small and medium recycling businesses process more composite products from sports.

This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship scheme

This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship scheme

– ref. Sport produces mountains of high-tech waste. We are finding new ways to recycle it – https://theconversation.com/sport-produces-mountains-of-high-tech-waste-we-are-finding-new-ways-to-recycle-it-243935

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney

Many swimming schools have temporarily closed for the summer holidays. But this doesn’t mean you should take a break from helping your kids learn how to swim.

What can you do during this period to keep your children’s swimming skills up to scratch?

Summer dangers

Remember, summer is a peak time for drowning. Australia records its highest number of drowning deaths in the warmer months and tragically, 134 lives were lost last summer.

Risk is highest at this time, as people head to the water to seek relief from the heat. The school and public holidays also mean people go to areas they are not familiar with.

Children in particular are disproportionately impacted, with their risk of drowning doubling during school holidays, compared to term time.

How to stay safe

Adults need to actively supervise young children around water. This means being within arms’ reach in the water with children under five and older if your children are non or weak swimmers.

Supervision can relax as children grow and improve their swimming. But the safest place for parents is in the water having fun with the kids.

It’s also important to remember “active supervision” means focusing all your attention on your children (so no mobile phones or multi-tasking).

Along with pool fencing and adults learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), learning how to swim is a key strategy to reduce the risk of drowning.

This means children have the skills and knowledge to keep them safe in different water environments and scenarios.

Any swimming you do helps

Research shows any activity (even informal play) in any type of water can make a positive difference to swimming skills.

My 2016 Australian study with Royal Life Saving Society colleagues showed any time spent in the water – but ideally at least once a fortnight – is linked to higher swimming skills in children (5–12 years) already enrolled in swimming lessons.

Children with a home pool have also been found to be better swimmers than those without a pool.

Although we don’t exactly know why, this is likely due to the increased opportunity to informally practise their swimming skills. It may also be that parents are more conscientious about lessons.

Talk about water safety as well

To understand what children should be able to do by a particular age, check the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework.

This can give you ideas of things to practise and a reminder of a holistic approach to learning to swim, which includes personal survival and rescue skills. For example, by six, it is expected every Australian child should be able to enter and exit shallow water unassisted, float and recover to a standing or secure position and move continuously through the water for five metres.

Talking about water safety with your kids could include setting and reinforcing rules around the water, such as “no going near the water without an adult” or “no climbing on the pool fence”.

If you’re at the beach, always prioritise one that’s patrolled, and explain why we swim between the flags. If lifeguards can’t see you, no one can help you should you get into trouble.

Think about all types of water

With lifeguards and a controlled environment, local pools are statistically the safest places to swim.

But it is important for children to experience different swimming environments, including cold water and currents. For two decades, rivers have been the leading location for drowning in Australia.

This is why enjoying the water safely with your children this summer is a great opportunity to practise their swimming skills. Plenty of “Christmas swims” (as Bluey calls them) and water play will mean you’ll see a difference when kids head back to swimming lessons for Term 1 next year.

Over the last five years, Amy Peden has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Meta, Surf Life Saving Australia. the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the NSW Government Office of Sport. She is affiliated with Royal Life Saving Society – Australia as an honorary senior research fellow.

– ref. Regular lessons have paused – but your kids should still practise their swimming this summer – https://theconversation.com/regular-lessons-have-paused-but-your-kids-should-still-practise-their-swimming-this-summer-245034

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthea Gerrard, Assistant Professor of Law, Bond University

Beer has existed for thousands of years. It was the drink of choice in ancient Egypt, in northern Europe in the Middle Ages and, of course, remains popular around the world today.

And, since it was so widely consumed, it was the perfect target for taxation by governments throughout the centuries. There are even records of governments taxing beer 5,500 years ago in Mesopotamia.

Some levels of taxation have been tolerated over the centuries because of beer’s known adverse impacts on health and behaviour.

But the truth is leaders taxing beer (and, therefore, beer-drinkers) have always been able to generate large and secure revenue streams.

Raising beer taxes wins wars

The Egyptian queen Cleopatra is widely believed to have used beer taxes to fund her wars with Rome (she claimed the taxes were to combat “drunkenness”).

Dutch leaders in 16th century Holland used beer taxes to fund a well-trained and permanent army, enabling them to defeat the enormous Spanish Empire during a conflict known as the Dutch Revolt (which lasted from 1566 to 1648).

While the Spanish relied on silver and gold from their colonies, this was no match for the beer taxes raised in Holland.

Leaders in the UK also relied on beer taxes to fund the wars that helped establish the British Empire and secure British power.

In the preamble to the first British law imposing taxes on beer in 1643, reference is made to the

speedy raising and levying of money […] for the maintenance of the forces raised for the defence of the king and parliament.

In all these cases, beer taxes specifically helped leaders and politicians fund and win wars.

Lowering beer taxes wins elections

If politicians raise beer taxes to finance war projects, the direct opposite can occur when the same politicians go to the polls.

In 1830, Britain’s Prime Minister Lord Wellington faced an election and was naturally concerned about winning.

In response to a growing campaign entitled “Beer is best for health, best for Britian” and the desire to win the election, parliament took the popular measure of abolishing taxes on beer to “reform the beer industry and free up the trade in beer”.

This was despite the measure costing the economy a whopping £3 million.

But the plan worked and Wellington won the election – only to lose power a few months later following the controversial emancipation of the Catholics (a process of lifting various restrictions on Catholics).

Beer taxes and the cost of living

In the lead up to Australia’s next federal election, some members of the Coalition have proposed reducing excise taxes on beer.

Lowering taxes, leading to reduced prices, would assist with the current cost of living crisis, they argue. Beer drinkers and brewers would no doubt approve, but how do beer taxes in Australia currently work?

The right to impose taxes on goods, such as beer, is the exclusive domain of the federal government. In other words, states can’t tax beer (or any goods).

Schedule 1 of Commonwealth Excise Tariff Act 1921 contains both a definition of beer and the various rates of tax on beer, depending on alcohol content and the way it is sold. The higher the alcohol content, the higher the tax rate.

Wine is not included. It is taxed separately and at a lower rate than beer.

Beer tax rates are also adjusted in June and December each year based on the CPI from the April and October quarters, respectively.

Wine taxes, on the other hand, are set by legislation and only updated from time to time.

The impact of this difference can be seen when comparing the increases in the price of beer in the last decade compared with the price of wine. Both have been subject to the same economic conditions, yet the price of beer has doubled, while the price of wine has increased by less than 20%.

These biannual increases in beer tax rates have resulted in huge increases in the price of beer.

In 2023 alone, the price of beer excises increased by 11%.

As the cost of living crisis takes its toll, the public (and brewers) are understandably aggrieved.

A change to beer tax in Australia?

Like their British forebears, some members of the Coalition are proposing a beer tax cut.

They are considering using a substitute rate (not CPI) to determine the taxes on beer, which is allowed under the law.

(Other senior Coalition members, however, have distanced themselves from the idea of changing the way beer is taxed).

Will any of this mean cheaper beer at the pub? That depends on whether pre-election ideas turn into actual policy – and whether brewers and pub owners pass on savings to customers.

Anthea Gerrard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. From Cleopatra to Wellington, leaders have always taxed beer. But Australia’s system has made beer extra pricey – https://theconversation.com/from-cleopatra-to-wellington-leaders-have-always-taxed-beer-but-australias-system-has-made-beer-extra-pricey-243040

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruari Elkington, Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries & Chief Investigator at QUT Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), Queensland University of Technology

In December 1916, as war raged in Europe, an entrepreneurial pearl diver took a chance on some bleeding-edge technology and installed an outdoor cinema in one of the country’s most isolated towns – Broome, Western Australia.

Ted Hunter didn’t know much about cinemas. Not many people did at the turn of the 20th century. But that didn’t stop him beginning what has become a long history of outdoor cinema exhibition in Australia.

Sun Pictures in Broome opened with Jack Hulcup’s 1913 silent film Kissing Cup, in which a “squire’s jockey” escapes kidnappers and gallops across the Isle of Wight in time to win the race. Huzzah.

More than a century later, Sun Pictures still stands – the world’s oldest operating open-air cinema.

While the Guinness World Record is a nice-to-have, Sun Pictures’ survival has been ensured not by the latest Hollywood blockbuster, but by what the cinema offers locals and visitors each night: a moviegoing experience that is at once unique and familiar.

Segregation at the movies

Before opening Sun Pictures, Hunter made his money as a master pearler. Pearl shells, which were turned into mother-of-pearl buttons, transformed the economic life of Broome in the late 1800s. Despite being so isolated, the pearling industry brought great riches to the town, while also entrenching workers along racial lines.

Racial segregation was firmly present in Broome’s “picture garden” for the first half of the 20th century. White Australians and their kids were seated in the middle, with Chinese and Japanese patrons behind them. Malays, Filipinos and First Nations people entered separately and were seated at the sides, or remained standing.

Aboriginal rights activist Charles Perkins would later directly challenge the segregation of Australian cinemas in his 1965 “Freedom Ride” throughout rural New South Wales.

Outdoors, from the comfort of your car

My colleague Tess Van Hemert and I have spent the past three years researching the cultures and practices of cinemagoing and how cinema sites shape this experience.

Outdoor cinemas – whether they be the picture gardens of Broome or the Yatala Drive-In – function as special sites of culture, connection and community.

During COVID lockdowns, social distancing measures particularly invigorated drive-in cinema attendance. But even after lockdowns ended, David Kilderry, the long-time operator of Melbourne’s Lunar Drive-in, remains clear on the appeal:

You could open up the car or even sit outside it and if cool, hop back inside and snuggle up in private. […] You can talk about the film as it runs. Kids can ask questions and parents can explain. Patrons can use phones during the film without interrupting others, and babies and infants won’t annoy other customers […] The drive-in has always been more than just a movie experience. It’s where the two icons of the 20th century come together: the motion picture and the automobile.

While the Lunar was shuttered in 2023, Kilderry said this decision was less about the 400,000 annual patrons and more about the land tax implications of keeping a site of that size viable.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for drive-ins. Kilderry notes many operators now own their land, rather than trying to constantly negotiate leases.

There are currently about 12 drive-ins running regularly across Australia, with a few more opening for the occasional screening. New drive-in developments are also planned for Perth, pending local consultations.

Connecting with others and the environement

Beyond drive-ins, Sun Pictures is in good company with a range of locations around the world that actively celebrate outdoor cinema.

During the European summer, open-air cinemas are popular in countries such as Germany and Italy. In Bologna, three large piazzas – Piazza Maggiore, Arena Puccini and Piazzetta Pasolini – are set up as cinemas for the annual Cinema Ritrovato festival.

Closer to home, the University of Western Australia’s Somerville Auditorium, framed by a “tree cathedral” of mature Norfolk pines, has long been a place of unique outdoor cinema experiences.

Perth Festival film programmer Tom Vincent understands the distinct pleasures of outdoor cinemagoing:

The m ost memorable cinemagoing anywhere will always engage the audience’s sense of place, usually through architecture and experience design. […] It includes a natural sensory mix that includes river breezes, ambient sounds and wildlife, alongside a sense of grandeur and good programming. Good outdoor cinema says ‘look, we are here, engage all your senses’.

But while seasonal outdoor cinemas such as the Moonlight Cinemas continue to operate around Australia – alongside local council park screenings – openings of new permanent outdoor cinemas are rare.

Phoebe Condon, manager of the new permanent Dendy Powerhouse Outdoor Cinema in Brisbane, explained how the site positions itself as a high-value leisure experience:

It’s more than just a night at the movies – it’s a destination […] What truly sets us apart from other outdoor cinemas is our focus on creating an elevated, year-round experience.

This framing of outdoor cinema as an “elevated experience” is vital. While the cost of cinemagoing has come up as a key consideration in our research (especially in the current economic context) the industry is quick to remind consumers it remains affordable compared with other out-of-home arts and leisure experiences such as live sports, music, comedy and theatre.

Despite legitimate cost-of-living concerns, census data continues to show cinemagoing as the nation’s most popular cultural activity.

Why Neflix can’t replace cinemas

Our research on Australian cinemagoing supports broader arguments for a more holistic understanding of cinema’s value in society. Cinemagoing shouldn’t be compared to your Netflix subscription, but to other leisure activities people get up and leave the house for.

As the International Union of Cinemas notes, “films reflect national culture or subcultures and the wider world to the audience; they frame moral and political discussions; and they entertain and educate”.

We also know cinemagoing has never stood still. Ever since Hunter took a chance on outdoor cinema in 1916, these spaces have evolved constantly to respond to new challenges and shifting appetites.

But one aspect remains the same: whether sat under the stars, or parked in a lot, Australians continue to see the value in leaving their homes to connect and share in new stories on the big screen.

Ruari Elkington has received funding from The Queensland Government Dept of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI), Screen Queensland, The Embassy of France in Australia and Cinema Association Australasia

– ref. Australia has a remarkable history of outdoor cinema. Here’s why Netflix will never beat it – https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-remarkable-history-of-outdoor-cinema-heres-why-netflix-will-never-beat-it-244029

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Themiya Nanayakkara, Scientist at the James Webb Australian Data Centre, Swinburne University of Technology

On this day three years ago, we witnessed the nail-biting launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful telescope humans have ever sent into space.

It took 30 years to build, but in three short years of operation, JWST has already revolutionised our view of the cosmos.

It’s explored our own Solar System, studied the atmospheres of distant planets in search of signs of life and probed the farthest depths to find the very first stars and galaxies formed in the universe.

Here’s what JWST has taught us about the early universe since its launch – and the new mysteries it has uncovered.

Eerie blue monsters

JWST has pushed the boundary of how far we can look into the universe to find the first stars and galaxies. With Earth’s atmosphere out of the way, its location in space makes for perfect conditions to peer into the depths of the cosmos with infrared light.

The current record for the most distant galaxy confirmed by JWST dates back to a time when the universe was only about 300 million years old. Surprisingly, within this short time window, this galaxy managed to form about 400 million times the mass of our Sun.

This indicates star formation in the early universe was extremely efficient. And this galaxy is not the only one.

When galaxies grow, their stars explode, creating dust. The bigger the galaxy, the more dust it has. This dust makes galaxies appear red because it absorbs the blue light. But here’s the catch: JWST has shown these first galaxies to be shockingly bright, massive and very blue, with no sign of any dust. That’s a real puzzle.

There are many theories to explain the weird nature of these first galaxies. Do they have huge stars that just collapse due to gravity without undergoing massive supernova explosions?

Or do they have such large explosions that all dust is pushed away far from the galaxy, exposing a blue, dust-free core? Perhaps the dust is destroyed due to the intense radiation from these early exotic stars – we just don’t know yet.

Unusual chemistry in early galaxies

The early stars were the key building blocks of what eventually became life. The universe began with only hydrogen, helium and a small amount of lithium. All other elements, from the calcium in our bones to the oxygen in the air we breathe, were forged in the cores of these stars.

JWST has discovered that early galaxies also have unusual chemical features.

They contain a significant amount of nitrogen, far more than what we observe in our Sun, while most other metals are present in lower quantities. This suggests there were processes at play in the early universe we don’t yet fully understand.

JWST has shown our models of how stars drive the chemical evolution of galaxies are still incomplete, meaning we still don’t fully understand the conditions that led to our existence.

Small things that ended the cosmic dark arges

Using massive clusters of galaxies as gigantic magnifying glasses, JWST’s sensitive cameras can also peer deep into the cosmos to find the faintest galaxies.

We pushed further to find the point at which galaxies become so faint, they stop forming stars altogether. This helps us understand the conditions under which galaxy formation comes to an end.

JWST is yet to find this limit. However, it has uncovered many faint galaxies, far more than anticipated, emitting over four times the energetic photons (light particles) we expected.

The discovery suggests these small galaxies may have played a crucial role in ending the cosmic “dark ages” not long after the Big Bang.

Read more:
What ended the ‘dark ages’ in the early universe? New Webb data just brought us closer to solving the mystery

The mysterious case of the little red dots

The very first images of JWST resulted in another dramatic, unexpected discovery. The early universe is inhabited by an abundance of “little red dots”: extremely compact red colour sources of unknown origin.

Initially, they were thought to be massive super-dense galaxies that shouldn’t be possible, but detailed observations in the past year have revealed a combination of deeply puzzling and contradictory properties.

Bright hydrogen gas is emitting light at enormous speeds, thousands of kilometres per second, characteristic of gas swirling around a supermassive black hole.

This phenomenon, called an active galactic nucleus, usually indicates a feeding frenzy where a supermassive black hole is gobbling up all the gas around it, growing rapidly.

But these are not your garden variety active galactic nuclei. For starters: they don’t emit any detectable X-rays, as is normally expected. Even more intriguingly, they seem to have the features of star populations.

Could these galaxies be both stars and active galactic nuclei at the same time? Or some evolutionary stage in between? Whatever they are, the little red dots are probably going to teach us something about the birth of both supermassive black holes and stars in galaxies.

The impossibly early galaxies

As well as extremely lively early galaxies, JWST has also found extremely dead corpses: galaxies in the early universe that are relics of intense star formation at cosmic dawn.

These corpses had been found by Hubble and ground-based telescopes, but only JWST had the power to dissect their light to reveal how long they’ve been dead.

It has uncovered some extremely massive galaxies (as massive as our Milky Way today and more) that formed in the first 700 million years of cosmic history. Our current galaxy formation models can’t explain these objects – they are too big and formed too early.

Cosmologists are still debating whether the models can be bent to fit (for example, maybe early star formation was extremely efficient) or whether we have to reconsider the nature of dark matter and how it gives rise to early collapsing objects.

JWST will turn up many more of these objects in the next year and study the existing ones in greater detail. Either way, we will know soon.

What’s next for JWST?

Just within its first steps, the telescope has revealed many shortcomings of our current models of the universe. While we are refining our models to account for the updates JWST has brought us, we are most excited about the unknown unknowns.

The mysterious red dots were hiding from our view. What else is lingering in the depths of cosmos? JWST will soon tell us.

Read more:
10 times this year the Webb telescope blew us away with new images of our stunning universe

Themiya Nanayakkara receives funding from Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship.

Ivo Labbe receives funding from Australian Research Council in the form of a Future Fellowship.

Karl Glazebrook receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a Laureate Fellowship for JWST research and from the Australian Space Agency for JWST training activities.

– ref. From dead galaxies to mysterious red dots, here’s what the James Webb telescope has found in just 3 years – https://theconversation.com/from-dead-galaxies-to-mysterious-red-dots-heres-what-the-james-webb-telescope-has-found-in-just-3-years-243592

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary-Rose McLaren, Professor of Teaching and Learning and Head of Program, Early Childhood Education, Victoria University

Some years ago, my daughter was set a maths problem: how much does it cost to drive a family of four from Melbourne to Sydney, calculating petrol per kilometre and including a night’s accommodation? Her answer was simple: the cost is four airfares – that way the kids won’t kill each other.

Unfortunately, flying is not an option for many people over the holiday period.

So, how do you get the family through that long car trip without all hell breaking loose?

Try and avoid screens

The obvious choice for a long trip is to give the kids a device. But while screens might buy peace in the short term, returning to the real world afterwards can be overwhelming for children.

Lots of passive screen time – such as watching a movie or looking at YouTube – disconnects children from the people around them.

Studies on children up to the age of seven show an association between too much screen time and behaviour problems. Straight after a long time with screens, children can be fractious and argumentative. Parents also know taking the screens away from children can lead to tantrums.

No one wants to start a holiday with a meltdown. So, while there are certainly times and places when screens are useful (and even a blessing) – the long car trip is probably not one of them.

Cars are not natural places to be

Cars are not natural environments for any of us, and especially not for children who discover the world through their senses.

In cars kids can’t move around much, they are cut off from the smells and textures of the world beyond the car. Things outside the window are moving really fast, making processing hard.

This is why some planning and a lot of understanding are important. The key to survival is making space, even in the car, for your child to do what they do best.

Let kids be creative

Children are naturally creative as they look at the world with fresh eyes.

There are lots of ways to harness this creativity in a car. Even with very young children, you can make music together. Make body percussion together (claps, raspberries, tapping and clicking) to create a soundtrack for part of the travel. You can change the rhythm, tempo or sound.

Or you could introduce them to a song you love – and give them a part to sing. Even very young children love serve and return singing – you sing a bit, they sing a bit.

When you need a break, ask the kids to prepare a concert for you using a song they love.

Ask lots of questions

Use the new environments around you as a prompt. Ask your kids questions like, if you were a bird, what would be able to see now? If you were that cow, what would you be thinking?

If you have drawing materials in the car, the children can draw their ideas and make a map of where they are.

If you have two or more children, you could encourage them to make up a play from the perspective of the animals or environment you are driving through. What is happening in that cafe? What is that dog planning for the afternoon?

Oldies but goodies

There are also old-fashioned games like “Spot It”, which is like bingo for the trip.

You can make your own version before you leave on the trip. Create a grid with images of things your child might see – an orange car, a cow, a kangaroo, a tractor, a grape vine.

When they see them, they tick them off. Children can move in and out of this game, especially if you have thought ahead about what they might see on different parts of the journey.

For older kids, make up silly phrases based on number plate letters. For example, QTJ might be “Quick Turtles Jump”. Then you can add several number plates together to make a rhyme or a rap.

Or, get them to add, subtract or multiply several number plate numbers until they get to 100.

Embrace the mess

A small amount of thought before and during the journey can help. But long car trips are hard on kids – which makes them hard on parents.

So embrace the mess and the inevitable moments of grumpiness. Trapped in a car together, this is an opportunity to know your child differently and for them to know you differently. Cars can be great places to discuss tricky topics with children (and teenagers) in non-confronting ways. Try asking some deeper questions, such as: what are the best things in life? What do you wish we did more of as a family? Or, do you think being fair is important?

There are chances here to make happy memories – even if the times in between feel a bit like torture.

Mary-Rose McLaren does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How to get the kids through a long car trip without screens or losing your mind – https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-the-kids-through-a-long-car-trip-without-screens-or-losing-your-mind-245681

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine E. Wood, Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Swinburne University of Technology

Christmas is coming, and with it many challenges for parents of young children.

You likely have one festive event after another, late nights, party food, way too much stimulation, tired kids and tired parents. All of which can culminate in what seems like an endless meltdown.

Yes, it’s the “Christmas crankies” – a far cry from the “festive friendlies” we are all conditioned to expect.

So, what can parents do to manage, or indeed prevent, the cranky times?

Routines are your friend

Routines are very important for children. They help them to know what to expect and what is expected of them while also helping them to feel safe.

Keeping to all your routines is almost impossible over the festive season (and it’s OK to be flexible to accommodate friends, family and celebrations).

But try and hold on to as many as you can. Try and stick to your bedtimes, or make sure you have the same breakfast and lunch if you are going out for a different dinner.

Even at a party, balance the festive food with healthier options. For example, have some carrot sticks next to the chip bowl and make sure the kids have some water (and not constant lemonade).

Read more:
8 tips to navigate Christmas if you have a fussy eater or child with allergies

Prepare kids for what will happen

Given there are so many changes to the routine, it can also be helpful to prepare children for what is coming up.

You could have a schedule somewhere for the whole family to see. This can let children see what is happening, which can help to minimise any anxiety associated with uncertainty. The schedule can include activities such as social events, the date relatives are arriving, and what is happening on Christmas Day (aside from opening presents).

Some children might also feel anxious when meeting new people or relatives, or going to unfamiliar places during the festive season. Having a clear explanation and time limit for these events can also be helpful. For example, saying something such as,

tonight we are going to your aunty’s house, you haven’t seen this aunty for a year but her name is Mary. We will be there for an hour [demonstrate on the clock] and have some dessert. Then we’re coming home, and you’ll get to read your book and then off to bed.

It can also be helpful to space out some of the activities so there is some rest time in between.

Ok, but we still have a meltdown here

Despite your best efforts, it might be genuinely hard to avoid a meltdown. When a child is overwhelmed, stressed, and/or fatigued, the brain’s panic button (the amygdala) can be set off. This is what US clinical professor of psychiatry Dan Siegel refers to as “flipping the lid”.

As Siegel explains, the frontal lobe (responsible for self-control), loses control over the limbic system (which contains the amygdala, and is involved in the emotional control of behaviour).

The brain’s ability to control emotions is relatively immature in younger children, and can take at least until the early 20s to fully mature.

This means in times of fatigue, stress, new and/or over stimulating environments, “self-control” can be challenged or even lost.

What to do in a meltdown

Parents can act as the proxy frontal lobe, helping their child to restore balance between their thoughts, feelings, and the demands of a sometimes chaotic Christmas setting.

In these circumstances, the child needs their parent(s) to stay connected, and to use a calm voice to bring them to a more balanced (or regulated) state. Parents could say something such as,

I can see you are feeling upset right now. It’s OK – there is a lot going on at Christmas time. I am here. Do you need a cuddle?

Remember, a child’s behaviour is not random – it is a vehicle to communicate a need. Maybe they need sleep, a drink, comfort, and/or some downtime.

So be on the lookout for those cranky cues so that the festivities can be enjoyed by all.

Catherine E. Wood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Keep calm and carry on your routines: how to manage kids’ ‘Christmas crankies’ over the holidays – https://theconversation.com/keep-calm-and-carry-on-your-routines-how-to-manage-kids-christmas-crankies-over-the-holidays-245273

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney

With billions of children around the world anxiously waiting for their presents, Father Christmas (or Santa) and his reindeer must be travelling at breakneck speeds to deliver them all in one night.

But did you know that light from an object travelling at high speeds changes colour? This is thanks to what’s called the Doppler effect – the way speed affects the length of waves, such as sound or light.

When light changes colour due to speed, we call it redshift or blueshift, depending on the direction. If we could catch the colour of Rudolph’s famous red nose with one of our telescopes, we could use the Doppler effect to measure the speed of Father Christmas.

Here’s how that might work – and why this effect is also a crucial tool in astronomy.

How far do Father Christmas and his reindeer need to travel?

Strap into your sleigh for some light Christmas maths. I’ve updated a method proposed in 1998 to work out how fast Rudolph and Father Christmas need to travel to deliver all the required presents (you can find my working here).

There are approximately 2 billion children under the age of 14 years in the world. Approximately 93% of countries observe Christmas in some way, so we’ll assume 93% of all children do.

We know Father Christmas only delivers presents to those who truly believe. If we assume the same percentage of believers by age group as found in the United States, that leaves us with approximately 690 million children.

With about 2.3 children per household worldwide, he has to visit roughly 300 million households.

Spreading those households evenly across 69 million square kilometres of habitable land area on Earth (taking oceans, deserts, Antarctica and mountains into account), Father Christmas has to travel 144 million kilometres on Christmas Eve. That’s nearly the same as the distance from Earth to the Sun.

Luckily, Father Christmas has time zones on his side, with 35 hours between dropping off the first and the last present.

Let’s say Father Christmas uses half his time to zip in and out of each household, which gives him 17.5 hours total or 0.2 milliseconds per household. He uses the other 17.5 hours for travelling between households.

My hypothesis is that he needs to travel at a whopping 8.2 million kilometres per hour, or 0.8% of the speed of light, to drop off all the presents.

How can we measure Father Christmas’ speed with Rudolph’s nose?

Let’s say we want to actually measure the speed of Father Christmas’ journey to see if it matches the hypothesis.

A standard speed camera wouldn’t do the trick. But we have telescopes on Earth that can measure the colour of something by using spectroscopy.

Father Christmas’ lead reindeer, Rudolph, has a famously ruby-red nose. If we could observe Father Christmas with telescopes, we could use the colour of Rudolph’s nose to measure his speed using the Doppler effect, which describes how speed affects wavelength. That’s because Rudolph’s nose wouldn’t look quite so red if he were travelling at high speeds.

What is the Doppler effect? A good example is the sound of an ambulance. When it goes past you on the street, its sound is higher pitched as it approaches, and lower pitched when it drives away. This is because as the ambulance travels towards you, the sound waves are compressed to a shorter wavelength, and a shorter wavelength means a higher pitch.

The same thing happens with light. If a source of light is travelling away from you, the wavelength is stretched out and becomes more red or “redshifted”. If the source of light is travelling towards you, the wavelength is compressed and the light becomes more blue or “blueshifted”.

Rudolph the redshifted reindeer

Red-coloured light has a wavelength of 694.3 nanometres when it’s “at rest”, which means it isn’t moving. That would be the measurement of a stationary Rudolph.

Let’s say Father Christmas would prefer to deliver presents fast, so he can relax with some milk and biscuits at the end of the night. He gets his reindeer to run much faster than I hypothesised, at 10% of the speed of light or 107 million kilometres per hour.

At this speed, Rudolph’s nose would be blueshifted to bright orange (624 nanometres) as he was flying towards your home.

And it would be redshifted to a very dark red (763 nanometres) as he was moving away. The darkest red human eyes can see is around 780 nanometres. At these speeds, Rudolph’s nose would be almost black.

The Doppler effect has a role in astronomy

Astronomers use the Doppler effect to measure how things move in space. We can use it to see if a star is orbiting another star – what’s known as a binary system.

We can also use it to find exoplanets (planets orbiting stars other than our Sun) using a method called “radial velocity”. We can even use it to measure the distances to far away galaxies.

There are some things science just can’t explain, and one of those is the magic of Father Christmas. But if astronomers ever catch Rudolph with their telescopes, they’ll be sure to let everyone know.

Laura Nicole Driessen is an ambassador for the Orbit Centre of Imagination at the Rise and Shine Kindergarten, in Sydney’s Inner West.

– ref. I’ve calculated Santa’s speed on Christmas Eve – and this is what it would do to Rudolph’s nose – https://theconversation.com/ive-calculated-santas-speed-on-christmas-eve-and-this-is-what-it-would-do-to-rudolphs-nose-245764

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Higgins, Professor & Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University

Feeling unsure about your child going to a sleepover is completely normal. You might be worried about how well you know the host family, how they manage supervision or screen time, and even safety.

Sleepovers can carry risk through inadequate supervision or exposure to unsafe behaviours such as bullying, coercion, sexually inappropriate behaviour, or abuse from other children or adults.

These risks are heightened when there’s a lack of clear rules and oversight.

But in safe environments, sleepovers can also provide opportunities for children to build independence and strengthen friendships.

We research child safety. Here are a few strategies help to reduce risk and make the sleepover more successful.

Get to know the host family

Don’t be afraid to suggest a daytime playdate first.

This will give you a chance to chat to the family, get a sense of their household routines and parenting, and observe how comfortable your child seems with them.

An “everything but the sleep” sleepover can be a great starting point. This allows your child to enjoy the excitement of dinner, games and bonding time without the added stress of staying overnight.

Setting a prearranged pickup time can help anxious children (or parents) feel more comfortable.

Talk to the host family

When discussing the sleepover with the host family, it’s helpful to share that you have an open and honest communication style with your child.

This not only reassures the other parents that you’re engaged in your child’s safety but also subtly signals that you’ll follow up after the sleepover to ask how it went. For example you could mention:

• how you talk to your child about respecting boundaries, including personal space during activities like going to the toilet or showering
• your rules or expectations around use of devices and the internet
• your ideas around appropriate bedtime attire for children (and for the adults who might be called on during the night)
• that you plan to remind your child of these boundaries before the sleepover
• that you’ll check in with your child afterwards to hear about their experience.

It’s OK to ask the host family about their approach to supervision and safety. You might ask:

• who will be at home and who is supervising the kids? What adults will be present?
• will there be other siblings or adolescents present?
• what are the planned activities?
• where will the children be sleeping?
• how will they be supervised?
• what is their approach to internet use and devices?

These questions don’t need to feel intrusive. Framing them as part of ensuring everyone has a great experience helps keep the conversation positive and collaborative.

Talk to your child about safety

Before the sleepover, reinforce with your child the importance of personal boundaries and respect for others.

After the sleepover, follow through with open-ended conversations. Ask your child how they felt, what they enjoyed, and if there was anything they didn’t like.

These casual but intentional conversations strengthen your child’s confidence in speaking up and help you stay attuned to their experiences.

Children should understand:

• their body belongs to them and they have the right to say “no”
• privacy rules around private parts, bathrooms, appropriate sleeping attire, and other private spaces
• how to handle conflict with their friends, such as disagreements over sharing toys or activities
• how to stay safe online (including while gaming), such as not sharing personal details, not talking with strangers, and what content is appropriate.

Let them know they should feel comfortable speaking up if something doesn’t feel right or if they are unsure. Come up with ways together to say no excuse themselves if a situation makes them uncomfortable.

Create an exit strategy

Having a backup plan is essential, especially for younger children or first-time sleepovers.

Let your child know it’s OK to leave early if they’re feeling homesick or uncomfortable.

Remind them they can contact you at any time for any reason, no matter how small it seems. Discuss this with the host parents in advance to ensure they understand your approach.

Ensure your child has a way to contact you. If they don’t have their own device, coordinate with the host parents ways for your child to use their phone or landline.

Another option is to set up pre-arranged check-ins, where the host parents help your child call or text you at an agreed time.

You can also choose a code word with your child – if they say it during your chat, it means you’ll come and collect them.

Reassuring them they have an “out” can give children the confidence to fully enjoy the experience.

Assess your child’s readiness

Not every child is ready for a sleepover at the same age. Consider their emotional maturity and comfort level. Ask them directly how they are feeling – excited and eager or hesitant and nervous?

Can they manage basic self care tasks? Have they successfully spent time away from home before, such as with a relative or close friend?

If your child is hesitant, starting with shorter visits or sleepovers at your own home might be better until they feel more comfortable.

Sleepovers can be a fun part of childhood, and can foster independence, friendship, and resilience.

It’s worth taking the time to prepare. It’s OK to start small, ask questions and trust your instincts.

Daryl Higgins receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and a range of government departments, agencies, and service providers, including Bravehearts. He was a Chief Investigator on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Gabrielle works with the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) team as part of her PhD Candidature. She has also previously worked for Bravehearts in various roles, including for the Turning Corners program, which provides support to young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours.

– ref. How parents can safely navigate their kid’s first sleepover – https://theconversation.com/how-parents-can-safely-navigate-their-kids-first-sleepover-243918

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney

Exactly 50 years ago, on Christmas Eve 1974, Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin and left a trail of devastation. It remains one of the most destructive natural events in Australia’s history.

Wind speeds reached more than 200 kilometres per hour. The cyclone claimed 71 lives and injured nearly 650, and left 70% of the city’s buildings flattened.

If you are about 60 or older, chances are you remember that day, even if the cyclone did not directly affect you.

The 50th anniversary of this disaster offers a crucial opportunity to reflect on how Cyclone Tracy not only reshaped Darwin but marked a turning point in Australia’s approach to disaster resilience.

The nightmare before Christmas

Cyclone Tracy was initially a relatively small, slow-moving system. But after meandering around the Arafura Sea for three days, it rounded Bathurst Island and headed towards Darwin, getting more ferocious as it approached the coast.

Some Darwin residents later reported not knowing a cyclone was approaching. They included Keith and Christine Pattinson, whose daughter Courtney Zagel later recounted their story:

They told me […] the rain started coming sideways through the louvered windows. The power went out, and everything turned black.

Keith stood against the doors to try and keep them shut, then suddenly there was a huge explosion. The roof of the house flew off and the walls fell in. Christine was thrown back into a glass cabinet. Keith was trapped beneath one of the fallen walls.

The couple spent the night in the neighbour’s house. Christine was later evacuated for urgent medical treatment.

Resident Andrea Mikfelder would later write of the cyclone’s aftermath:

our house […] was still standing. It was a brick home, but the roof was gone. The neighbour’s house looked like a dollhouse, split in half, while the next house was completely flattened.

The Bureau of Meteorology would later estimate peak wind gusts of between 217 and 240 kilometres an hour. A report published in 2010, employing more advanced techniques, suggested even higher speeds.

Tracy left about 10,000 houses destroyed and 40,000 people homeless from a city population of 47,000. The damage bill at the time totalled A$800 million.

More than 30,000 residents were evacuated, about 60% of whom never returned. The airlift operation remains the largest in Australia’s history.

What has changed since?

In the 50 years since the tragedy, authorities have become much better able to forecast tropical cyclones. They can now warn of a cyclone’s projected path, and the likelihood of it reaching land, several days in advance.

Cyclone Tracy reshaped Australia approach to disaster response and preparedness. The Natural Disasters Organisation – today known as Emergency Management Australia – had been established a few months before the cyclone, to coordinate national-level disaster relief efforts.

But its role and authority were still evolving. Tracy served as a “reality check” for the young organisation.

Cyclone Tracy revealed weaknesses in disaster response at all levels of government. The scale of the damage quickly outstripped local and state resources. The federal government was forced to step in to oversee mass evacuations of over 30,000 people and lead recovery efforts.

However, the Commonwealth lacked clear powers to intervene in national emergencies at the time, complicating its response effort. Its powers have since increased.

Cyclone Tracy also gave impetus to disaster management legislation, such as Queensland’s State Counter-Disaster Organisation Act, established in 1975. Such reforms set the stage for the more structured and integrated approach to disaster response now in place across Australia.

Building back better

Darwin’s devastation prompted more stringent building codes across Australia.

Even though Darwin is naturally prone to cyclonic winds, few structures had been built to withstand them.

Afterwards, regulations requiring all reconstruction to adhere to updated cyclone-resistant building standards were introduced. It meant, for example, screws rather than nails must be used to hold down corrugated iron roofing, and buildings must be clad to withstand airborne debris.

Similar regulations were implemented for new construction in other cyclone-prone areas of Australia.

Today, Darwin is a far more resilient city. In 2018 it was hit by Cyclone Marcus, the most powerful storm since Tracy with wind gusts of 130 kilometres per hour. No lives were lost, and relatively few structures were damaged.

Getting to grips with the mental toll

Cyclone Tracy left deep mental scars on survivors.

A study of residents who were evacuated to Sydney after Tracy revealed 58% displayed signs of psychological disturbance in the days following the cyclone. Women and older individuals were particularly affected.

Decades on, survivors described ongoing anxiety and depression, often triggered by the sounds of wind and rain.

Today, the psychological impact of natural disasters – on survivors, volunteers and first responders – is much better understood.

Initiatives such as the National Disaster Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework reflect this progress. It recognises that mental health needs after extreme events are complex, and support is needed at the individual and community level.

Volunteers are key

Cyclone Tracy also showed how community efforts and volunteers are essential in disaster recovery.

In the cyclone’s aftermath, local emergency services were overwhelmed. Volunteers quickly became the backbone of the relief effort, setting a precedent for future disaster responses.

Today, volunteers – alongside established relief organisations – still provide food, shelter, medical care and other crucial aid after disasters. As extreme weather becomes more frequent and severe under climate change, the need for community mobilisation will only grow.

The recent Senate inquiry into Australia’s Disaster Resilience recognises the ongoing need to strengthen volunteer participation and management in disaster scenarios.

A more resilient Australia

Under climate change, tropical cyclones conditions may occur less frequently. This means Australia is expected to experience fewer tropical cyclones in future.

But a greater proportion of those that do hit are expected to be high-intensity, with stronger winds and rain.

The tragedy of Cyclone Tracy means Australia’s disaster preparedness is more advanced than it might have been. However, building a disaster-resilient nation requires continuous efforts to strengthen infrastructure, refine evacuation plans, and address vulnerabilities in communities.

Achieving this is a responsibility which should be shared between governments and communities alike.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. 50 years ago, Cyclone Tracy flattened Darwin – and Australia’s attitude to disasters changed forever – https://theconversation.com/50-years-ago-cyclone-tracy-flattened-darwin-and-australias-attitude-to-disasters-changed-forever-240369

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Irmine Keta Rotimi, Doctoral Candidate, Marketing and International Business department, Auckland University of Technology

Videos of children opening boxes of toys and playing with them have become a feature of online marketing – making stars out of children as young as two.

Twelve-year-old influencer Ryan Kaji, for example, earns US$30 million a year on YouTube leading one of the most popular children’s channels. His empire was built on toy unboxing.

An influencer (child or adult) with more than one million followers can earn upwards of $20,000 for one sponsored post, while a person with under 100,000 followers on a social media platform may still earn as much as $4,000 for each sponsored post.

But the rise of kidfluencers around the globe raises questions about the blurred lines between play and labour, independence and control, privacy, profit and online success.

Our research examines these questions. By analysing existing research to clearly identify the challenges faced by child toy unboxers, we can guide future researchers and governments to best support children who are living parts of their lives online.

YouTube as a career goal

A 2023 global survey of children aged between eight and 12 found they were three times more likely to aspire to be a YouTuber (29%) than an astronaut (11%).

Advertisers have taken note. Social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube collectively earned nearly $11 billion in advertising revenue in 2022 from United States-based users younger than 18.

Toy unboxing has emerged as particularly popular, generating massive revenue and global audiences. These types of videos involved children who unbox, play and review toys.

Unboxing videos became popular in the 2010s, with content creators unpacking products such as tech gadgets and fashion items. Toy unboxing is now one of the highest-earning genres on YouTube.

Work, play or somewhere in between

At first glance, unboxing videos seem to follow a simple entertainer-audience relationship. The kidfluencers emotionally engage with young viewers, who are then inspired to create their own toy wish lists.

But behind the fun is a world of complexity often not obvious for young viewers (and sometimes older viewers too).

These children are hired by companies – and managed by their parents – to promote toys and other products in an job-like arrangement. This has raised concerns about child exploitation, privacy risks and unethical work practices.

But current child labour laws in New Zealand and elsewhere do not see child influencers as a type of “child worker”. And it is difficult to do so.

While kidfluencers seem to be genuinely playing with the sponsored toy, their content is managed by contracts with advertisers, and expectations set by their parents. Therefore it can’t fully be labelled as “play”.

At the same time, calling these practices purely “labour” ignores the real excitement children feel when creating sponsored content.

In 2020, the French government labelled kidfluencers a “grey zone” – where the child is not officially working, but nevertheless spends a significant amount of time making videos, or derives a significant level of income from them.

Protecting children

Another complexity is that some social media platforms require users to be over 13, yet some kidfluencers are toddlers, with parents creating and managing their accounts, including producing and posting their children’s online content.

While parents play a big role in managing their child’s online presence, the child drives the toy sales, creating tension between parental control and a child’s independence.

And behind this all is the issue of money. A child’s involvement – and success – is driven by the wants and needs of advertisers. This raises questions about how much of a say the child really has in terms of creating content.

Privacy and online safety are two key issues facing the kidfluencer industry. The more content a child toy unboxer posts online, the more popular and profitable they can become. But at the same time, popularity brings very real risks.

Young female unboxers – and female kidfluencers in general – have been targeted by online predators. To stay safe, some kidfluencers use fake names and don’t share their location. But these strategies are not perfect.

Current (and proposed) policies rarely balance protecting child stars with supporting their success in sponsored content.

In recent years, however, France and individual states in the US have created laws to protect the kidfluencers’ earnings.

All governments should follow suit and create policies that recognise the challenges of the kidfluencer industry, and which support and protect the children involved.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Work or play? The rise of online ‘kidfluencers’ is raising complex legal and ethical questions – https://theconversation.com/work-or-play-the-rise-of-online-kidfluencers-is-raising-complex-legal-and-ethical-questions-241904

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Nicholas, Lecturer in Dance and Performance Science, Edith Cowan University

Once the end-of-year dance concert and term wrap up for the year it is important to take a break. Both physical and mental rest are important and taking a few weeks off can help your body repair and have a mental break from dance.

If your mind and body are in need of an extended break (such as more than a few weeks), then it’s more than OK to take longer off, especially if you are training at a competitive or pre-professional level.

There is benefit in enjoying other aspects of your life outside of dance such as spending time with family, friends and enjoying hobbies.

A safe, fulfilling dancing life

Creating meaning and value in life outside of dance and expanding sense of self can make it easier to lean into other aspects when experiencing change or difficult times during dance training such as being injured.

Taking an extended break from dance training will, however, mean losing some fitness and physical capacity. When you return to dance your body will take time to return to full capacity again.

Approaches such as being “whipped back into shape” can promote sudden spikes in training load (hours and intensity of training) which can increase the risk of injury. It is advised to gradually and progressively increase training load over time to allow the body to adapt and return to full capacity safely.

A four-to-six week period of gradually progressing training load and introducing jumping has been suggested in dance settings.

For dancers wanting to maintain fitness over the summer holidays, a great place to start is focusing on building a physical foundation.

Building a physical foundation means focusing on targeted areas of fitness such as full body strength, cardiovascular fitness or stamina (such as skipping, cycling walking, running, swimming), flexibility, and some dance-specific conditioning (for example, calf rises for ballet).

A good physical foundation will mean an improved capacity and fitness level so your body is ready to take on more challenging dance movements and routines once you return to the studio.

Building full body strength at home or at the park

A great place to start is by choosing movements that require your muscles to work to support your own body weight.

Fundamental movements such as crawling (moving on the floor on hands and feet) and locomotion (travelling movements such as lunging, hopping, sliding) are great for developing body control, arm and leg stability and coordinated movement patterns.

Below is a sequence that can be used as a warm up and even as a workout itself. The ten minute sequence is based on gross motor and fundamental movement patterns. It includes exercises that work through a range of joint movements and in multiple planes (forwards, sideways, rotating).

Once feeling comfortable with the above fundamental movements, it is time to introduce body weight resistance exercises.

Body weight resistance exercises can be beneficial for developing a strong foundation for dance movements such as jumping, landing, floorwork, partnering and aerial work.

Exercises from the above sequence can be used to form a safe and effective neuromuscular warm up.

Aim to include one exercise from each of the below movement categories (squat, horizontal push etc) to build your own workout.

Aim to complete two to three sets (or rounds) of each exercise with about one minute rest between sets. An alternative is to complete one set of each exercise with minimal rest between, then complete a second or third time.

If training with friends, you could set a timer and do each exercise for up to 50 seconds (instead of counting reps) and take ten seconds to transition to the next exercise.

Depending on your level of strength you may need to do fewer repetitions and build up sets and repetitions overtime. After you have completed the body weight exercises complete a cool down including stretches for the upper and lower body muscles. Be sure to use a sturdy bar (such as an outdoor fitness station) for horizontal row and overhead hold.

Exercises may need to be modified depending on fitness level and physical limitations such as injury.

How often should I train?

A common misconception in dance is that “more is better”. This belief can lead to dancers training long hours on most or all days of the week which can lead to overtraining, plateauing and increased risk of injury.

Our bodies require sufficient time between training sessions to adapt and get stronger and fitter. The time between sessions is when our muscles and tissues repair and training gains are made.

By incorporating adequate recovery (including sleep and downtime) and including rest days throughout the week, our bodies can gain the most benefits from training.

Muscles can take up to 48–72 hours to recover from most types of strength-based exercises (the more intense the longer they’ll need to recover).

Aerobic activity at low intensity, such as a brisk walk, can be done most days (24-hour recovery) while high stress anaerobic exercise such as high intensity intervals or sprints can take three days or more to recover from.

Aim to spread training sessions out over the week and allow time to recover between sessions.

Below is an example weekly schedule based on incorporating adequate recovery between sessions, and incorporating polarised training where some days are harder and others are easier.

Seek guidance from your healthcare provider and/or an exercise professional prior to undertaking a new exercise program.

Joanna Nicholas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. My dance school is closed for the summer, how can I keep up my fitness? – https://theconversation.com/my-dance-school-is-closed-for-the-summer-how-can-i-keep-up-my-fitness-244504

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kit MacFarlane, Lecturer, Creative Writing and Literature, University of South Australia

For those looking to introduce some musical conflict into the holidays, Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart remains a great choice in its 15th anniversary – like it or not.

Before Dylan really got started, an iconic group opened the door to mainstream folk success for Dylan and his contemporaries. And at the height of their popularity, they also released an unexpected Christmas album.

But instead of becoming a perennial classic, it seemed to foreshadow the approaching end for the group’s dominance at the peak of popular music.

That album was The Kingston Trio’s ill-fated The Last Month of the Year from 1960.

The ‘hottest act in show business’

The Kingston Trio are often remembered as a clean-cut, sanitised and goofy footnote in musical history. Their matching striped shirts may be a difficult fashion choice to rehabilitate today, but the trio’s impact on popular music was explosive.

Popular performances in 1957 San Francisco led quickly to their self-titled first album the following year. Reshaping folk music for a mainstream audience energised professional and amateur performers.

Critic Greil Marcus describes their breakthrough hit, 1958’s Tom Dooley, as having “the same effect on hearts and minds in 1958 that Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and Nevermind did in 1991”.

By the time they released their Christmas album, they were the “hottest act in show business”.

In the previous two years, they’d had five number one albums on the Billboard charts. Four of their albums were in the top ten at the same time. They reportedly generated 15% of Capitol Records’ annual sales.

Following that phenomenal success, one early response to their Christmas album noted:

By now it’s fairly well established that the Kingston Trio could record Row, Row Your Boat in 12 languages, put it on wax, and the album would sell a half-million copies. As a consequence, there’s little doubt that The Last Month of the Year will be one of the big sellers this Christmas.

Instead, The Last Month of the Year became their first studio album not to reach number one.

Although still successful, their later albums never reached number one or Gold Album status again. Founding member Dave Guard left in 1961. A new lineup with replacement John Stewart had peaks of success, enduring in a changing folk scene – but never quite recapturing those initial years.

‘Perhaps the most unusual set of the year’

The Kingston Trio were lambasted, then and now, for their commercial focus. Nevertheless, The Last Month of the Year stands in contrast to many enduring commercial norms.

Contemporary responses to The Last Month of the Year noted “a number of almost unknown Christmas songs instead of the usual diet of standard carols” and “perhaps the most unusual set of the year”.

There are none of the 1940s and 1950s staples that have persisted through the decades. Nat King Cole opened his 1960 album The Magic of Christmas with a spirited Deck the Halls. Both Ella Fitzgerald (on Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas) and Peggy Lee (on Christmas Carousel) opened their Christmas albums of the same year with Jingle Bells.

In contrast, The Kingston Trio’s opening track is a subdued version of the 16th century Coventry Carol, a lullaby for the children Herod ordered to be killed. The restrained use of a celeste, or bell-piano, summons Christmas vibes but largely augments the sombre harmonies.

Opening with the biblical Massacre of the Innocents was certainly one way to set The Last Month of the Year apart from its jolly competitors.

Range, energy and appropriation

Other songs include delicate folk (All Through the Night), traditional rounds (A Round About Christmas), historical carols (Sing We Noel) and uncharacteristic original lyrics (The White Snows of Winter).

Spirituals Go Where I Send Thee and The Last Month of the Year (What Month Was Jesus Born In) allow the trio to focus on the kind of energy (and appropriation) that had defined much of their previous output.

Goodnight My Baby charms as a Christmas Eve lullaby that’s too excited to lull anyone to sleep.

Adding oddness, Mary Mild reshapes the strange apocryphal The Bitter Withy where a child Jesus creates “a bridge of the beams of the sun” to encourage children to play with him. The Kingston Trio only hint at the song’s common outcome that leaves his playmates dead and Mary meting out some corporal punishment.

Perhaps more restrained than their usual performances, the album nevertheless guides listeners through some of the styles and sources that the Trio’s brand of popular folk could draw on.

A Christmas album that still has something to offer

The Last Month of the year wasn’t the cause, but it occupies a turning point where The Kingston Trio’s cultural dominance began to slip.

Soon after, Bob Dylan’s song Blowin’ in the Wind (published in 1962) and album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) marked a new era of folk that revived its political energy (for a while).

As folk music further solidified its place in the civil rights movement, the Kingston Trio’s collegiate party vibes and perceived apoliticism seemed out of step.

When Dylan released his Christmas album in 2009, one critic asked “Is he sincere? Does he mean it?”

That’s also a question that defined and dogged The Kingston Trio from the outset of the folk revival they ushered in. Are these goofy guys serious?

The Last Month of the Year is an intriguing and ambitious album by a group that, for a short but influential time, reshaped popular music.

It’s a forgotten Christmas album that might still have something new to offer a Christmas-weary listener.

Kit MacFarlane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The Christmas album that heralded the end of a folk musical era: The Kingston Trio’s The Last Month of the Year – https://theconversation.com/the-christmas-album-that-heralded-the-end-of-a-folk-musical-era-the-kingston-trios-the-last-month-of-the-year-242583