Obscene Chinese Plaque in Orthodontist’s Office – Stress Causes Grey Hair – White Circles on Plymstock Roads

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2019/09/02/lettersboris-johnson-could-still-have-hold-election-wants-save/

The Telegraph [London, UK]

3 September 2019

Letters

Writing on the wall

SIR – Further to Colonel James Hardy’s letter (August 31), I was at a demonstration of Chinese writing in Hong Kong and the scribe asked what my profession was. Later I was given a plaque, which he told me read: “The world’s best orthodontist”.

It hung proudly on my waiting room wall until a Chinese patient one day said politely: “I cannot possibly tell you what it says but I suggest that you burn it immediately.”

Dr H L Eirew

Manchester

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122135313.htm

Science Daily

22 January 2020

Solving a biological puzzle: How stress causes gray hair

[…] For a long time, anecdotes have connected stressful experiences with the phenomenon of hair graying. Now, for the first time, Harvard University scientists have discovered exactly how the process plays out: stress activates nerves that are part of the fight-or-flight response, which in turn cause permanent damage to pigment-regenerating stem cells in hair follicles. […]

Bing Zhang, Sai Ma, Inbal Rachmin, Megan He, Pankaj Baral, Sekyu Choi, William A. Gonçalves, Yulia Shwartz, Eva M. Fast, Yiqun Su, Leonard I. Zon, Aviv Regev, Jason D. Buenrostro, Thiago M. Cunha, Isaac M. Chiu, David E. Fisher, Ya-Chieh Hsu. Hyperactivation of sympathetic nerves drives depletion of melanocyte stem cells. Nature, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-1935-3

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https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/homes-alert-white-circles-appear-3767488

Plymouth Herald [UK]

23 January 2020

Homes on alert as white circles appear on streets in Plymstock

Mysterious white circles have suddenly appeared on roads around Plymstock - but no-one knows who is responsible or what they mean. Suspicions were raised after a white transit van was clocked by eagle-eyed locals rocking up in the early hours of Monday on Colesdown Hill at the back of Billacombe. A bloke reportedly jumped out and began daubing the road in chalk before driving off. Some suspect travellers with a keen interest in nearby fields may be to blame - although it's not been determined what their reason or motive would be. […]

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/white-circles-plymstock-unexpected-explanation-3781436

Plymouth Herald

27 January 2020

White circles in Plymstock - the unexpected explanation

[…] Rumours were flying about what the circles meant, with some locals believing their dogs were at risk of being kidnapped while some elderly people thought the markings signified their house had been 'tagged' for a potential burglary. […] A source told Plymouth Live the markings are believed to have been carried out by a local Hashing Harriers running group, with the white circles marking different parts of the route the athletes take - usually between pubs. […]

Contents of Witch Bottle Tasted (UK) – Horse Thieves Mark Properties (NJ) – Coin Tosser Fined (China)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7836595/Antiques-Roadshow-expert-drinks-urine-live-air-thinking-vintage-port.html

Daily Mail [UK]

30 December 2019

Antiques Roadshow expert is left stunned after discovering what he thought was 150-year-old port when he tasted it was actually urine and brass pins

An Antiques Roadshow [expert] tasted what he thought was a 150-year-old bottle of port - only to discover it was actually full of urine, several brass pins and one human hair. Glass expert Andy McConnell was handed the mysterious bottle during an episode in Trelissick, Cornwall, after a local found it buried in the threshold of their house. […] Host Fiona Bruce […] revealed the object was actually a witches' bottle - which had been buried by the front door of the house to guard against evil spirits. […]

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https://www.recordonline.com/news/20191231/horse-farm-owners-unsettled-by-suspicious-activity

Times Herald-Record [Newton, NJ]

31 December 2019

Horse farm owners unsettled by suspicious activity

An animal sanctuary in Columbia is one of several farms in Sussex and Warren counties at which employees have recently observed suspicious behavior from unidentified individuals who they speculate may be looking to slaughter horses and sell their meat. […] [Tamala Lester, founding director of The Barnyard Sanctuary,] urged local residents to be alert for ribbons, chalk marks or any other signs left on fences facing public land, which animal thieves often use as a signal to others in the group that there is an animal on the property to be taken. If such markings are found, she said, the person should immediately notify police. […]

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7845263/Passenger-ordered-pay-Chinese-airline-13-000-throwing-two-coins-planes-engine.html

Daily Mail [UK]

2 January 2020

Passenger is ordered to pay an airline £13,000 as compensation for throwing two coins at a plane's engine to pray for a safe flight

A Chinese passenger has been ordered to pay an airline company more than £13,000 as compensation after throwing two coins at the plane's engine, causing the flight to be cancelled and more than 160 passengers stuck overnight. The 28-year-old man, named Lu Chao, was travelling by air for the first time with his wife and son when he tossed the coinage towards the aircraft in eastern China, according to a regional court. […] The superstitious man was travelling with his wife and one-year-old child and was hoping for a safe journey when he threw the money, Anqing police said in a previous statement. […]