What you see on the face of the moon likely depends on where you live: Interpretations vary by region and culture, says National Geographic magazine.Amr Dalsh/Reuters
Banned Kiwi names
New Zealand officials have released the country's list of banned baby names, including Lucifer, which has been requested six times since 2001. The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, which must approve all requests for baby names, said the past 12 years have also seen 62 rejections for Justice, 31 failed requests for King, 28 for Princess, 27 for Prince and one request for the name Anal, reports CNN.
What's in the Moon?
What you see on the face of the moon likely depends on where you live: Interpretations vary by region and culture, says National Geographic magazine. Some sightings:
Moon Rabbit (east Asia): Moon gazers in Japan see a rabbit making rice cakes. In China and Korea, they see him too – except he's mixing an immortality elixir.
Man in the Moon (Europe): Many European cultures see an old man bearing a bundle of sticks.
Handprints (India): Astangi Mata, mother of all living things, sent her twins into the sky to be the sun and moon. Her hands brushed Chanda's cheek in a poignant farewell.
Tree in the Moon (Hawaii): A woman called Hina uses this banyan tree to make cloth for the gods.
Woman in the Moon (New Zealand): This is Rona, a Maori maiden who disrespected the moon and must spend eternity there as penance.
Doctor is distracted
"An Austrian doctor stuck acupuncture pins in a patient – and then locked up and went home after forgetting she was there," reports Orange Co. U.K. "The doctor at the surgery at Wiener Neustadt was in the middle of treating Vivi Ziegler, 61, when he had a phone call. He was distracted by the call. After it finished he had a question from an assistant – and then completely forgot about the patient covered in pins. 'I wasn't worried as it was warm and relaxing and I fell asleep,' Ziegler said, 'but when I woke up it was dark and cold and I was only partially dressed.'" She called police, who managed to rescue her through a window. Ziegler said she wouldn't make a fuss as she's had good results with the treatments until now. The doctor apologized, offering her free treatments for life.
Guns will recirculate
"Arizona cities and counties that hold community gun buyback events will have to sell the surrendered weapons instead of destroying them under a bill Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Monday," reports The Christian Science Monitor. "The bill was championed by Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature who argued … that destroying property turned over to the government is a waste of taxpayer resources." The weapons will be sold to federally licensed gun dealers.
Richard goes to the dentist
A dentist who examined the remains of Richard III, the last English monarch to die in battle, found that he "may have been as anxious and fearful as William Shakespeare portrayed him – he ground his teeth with stress," says The Daily Telegraph. The king also suffered from severe tooth decay, perhaps as a result of his privileged position and a sweet tooth.
What's the chat on Facebook?
British scientist Stephen Wolfram, the developer of computational software and a search engine system, has turned them on Facebook's treasure trove of data, says Spiegel Online. He says: "There are topics people discuss on Facebook, based on their gender and age, like movies or politics. Men are more interested in politics, and the amount men talk about politics increases with age. Women seem to be less interested in [discussing] travel, compared to men, the older they get. And people talk about the weather more and more as they get older."
Further reading
Pigs on the West Bank? (May 2) Here's a blog on the subject that was used by ModernFarmer.com.
Thought du jour
"If you're naturally kind, you attract a lot of people you don't like."
William Feather, American publisher (1889-1981)