Adventure Ausrama Blog

Culture: we buy on impulse with east credit and fast pay. We are all guilty of it. What is it? Impulse buying of course! It may not be for major purchase - we usually have a think about them before making a decision. Well most of us do. Minor things like snack bars and quick coffees are usually done on a whim. A site like eBay where thing are cheap but generally of low quality is also a vehicle for fast shopping. Some people purchase "quickie" items more than others. It all depends on ones personality. Even being out with others affects buying behavior. Having money to buy is less of a factor because easy credit is available. A person's prevailing mood also has an effect: happiness drives impulse buying. Advertising is perceived differently by individuals. "Buy one and get one free" is a trap for some. Indeed, Westerners seem to be particularly prone to buying things with little thought, people in Eastern cultures not so much. Culture does

Anthropology: Cat mummy in Western Australian Museum a fake. It is known that ancient Egyptians made counterfeit mummies, particularly of birds and cats who were given as offerings to the gods. In 1982 an X-ray of a cat mummy showed that it was a fake, probably made in the early 20th century. Staff of the Western Australia Museum who were custodians of the "mummy" were shocked and disappointed by the discovery. A recent CT scan of the "mummy" highlights a human femur broken in the middle then molded to take the shape of a cat. The scan has been sent to Cairo for further study. To solve this problem once and for all a determination of its real age needs to be done. Why waste time looking and re-interpreting?  The WA Museum is still so ashamed of the issue that is has never released a photo of the fake cat mummy nor will show the X-ray or scan to the public. Genuine fake-cat mummy from Saqqara in  Egyp Genuine mummies are on display today at the WA M

Biology: Red reef lobster caught in Western Australia. It is common knowledge that lobsters do not have hair. We all know this. However, hairy lobsters do exist and one has been caught in Western Australia. The red reef lobster is common in the waters of Madagascar, Hawaii, and African countries. Finding it off WA is a real surprise. The fisherman who caught it has never seen anything like it in his life. It seemed to be a prawn, lobster, scampi hybrid. The hairy red is much different from Australian lobsters: it has crab-like claws. Biologists do not believe that it came all the way from Africa, at least not in recent times. They hold that it has been here all along living and breeding in a localized, remote spot. The one caught probably strayed away from its locality. Obviously, its normal range must be reasonably close. Being elusive, scientists are not going on a hunt. The creature will be left alone. ◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia F

Invincible soldiers created by chemistry. It is not a new idea to "fill-up" front line soldiers with drugs when they take on the enemy. Sappers in WWII were told to inject themselves with morphine before advancing to set off mines so infantry who followed could move forward. It was common knowledge that the US turned a blind to marijuana use by its solders during the Vietnam war. ISIS is also into this game. Alcohol is a no-no because the Holy Book specifically says it should not be imbibed. The Koran says that intoxicants are abominations. All drugs are intoxicants. This has not stopped drugs being used by ISIS to make fighters feel superhuman. Daesh soldiers are being given fenethyline. This is an amphetamine compound and is very cheap. It has not been available in the West since 1980 due to side effects. ISIS makes it and sells it to anyone who wants to buy. The income is used to obtain weapons. Fenethyline makes one feel invincible. You will ke