Readers Digest Australia

challenging assumptions

FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, one universal truth among Western thinkers was that all swans are white. Well, all swans were white, until the discovery of Australian black swans in 1697 by Dutch explorers. Today, medical science’s assumptions about placebo drugs not producing any benefit are similarly being challenged. These simple sugar pills are widely used in new drug trials. Half of trial participants receive the trial drug in the hope that their condition will improve and half receive placebo pills but think that they are taking the real drugs. Despite the expectation that a simple sugar pill can’t offer any medical benefits, studies are appearing that reveal around one-third of trial participants on placebo pills do feel better. In ‘The Power of Fake Pills’ (page 24), Robert Anthony…

letters

Worth Your Salt? The story ‘24 Ways Salt Is Making You Sick’ (November) is an interesting read. However, there is another school of thought from a leading cardiovascular research scientist and author Dr James DiNicolantonio. He says that salt is essential to life. I am inclined to believe him. He says that we are essentially salty people – we cry salt, we sweat salt and the cells in our body are bathed in salty fluids. Without salt we’d not be able to live. JOHN KEEBLE Back to School Your photo feature on ‘The Write Stuff’ (October) evoked nostalgic memories of my school days in the ’70s when it was compulsory to use a fountain pen. I remember being equipped with a Pilot fountain pen, blotting paper…

win a pilot capless fountain pen

The best letter published each month will win a Pilot Capless Fountain Pen, valued at over $200. The Capless is the perfect combination of luxury and ingenious technology, featuring a one-of-a-kind retractable fountain pen nib, durable metal body, beautiful rhodium accents and a 14K gold nib. Congratulations to this month’s winner, John Keeble. ■…

ready for take-off

Weather for flying is pawfect and with the tail wind we should arrive a whisker early. JOSEPH BAKERLooking for a PAW tal! MERRAN TOONELook out, Snoopy. The Red Baron’s on the attack! DON TOOHEYNo, I said Google it, not goggle it! COLIN MACKAYBiggles’s new passport photo is terrier-ific! JODI WHITE Congratulations to this month’s winner, Joseph Baker. ■…

the last time i said “i love you”was...

… not the last time, I hope. BART PETERS HUISSEN, THE NETHERLANDS … in the dinosaurs’ era. CHRISTIANA MORRE, BELGIUM … when my cat released a sparrow he had captured. VÉRONIQUE FERNANDEZ, FRANCE … so long ago I don’t remember. ISAAC DÍAZ, SPAIN … to you, in the crazy Irish wind that electrified my bicycle by blowing on my back. CATHERINE SPERANDIO, SWITZERLAND … this morning. HENRIETTE SANDBERG, NORWAY … when he just took me in his arms. Because we’ve been married for 25 years and he is still there for me. R.B., GERMANY … every damn day on the phone to my family. CALIXTUS WEE, SINGAPORE … to get a…

schoolgirl challenges cereal company to change box

When eight-year-old Daliah Lee was eating her usual bowl of Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain cereal she noticed that only boys were featured on the box. Boys, taking part in high-energy pursuits such as mountain biking and surfing, but no girls. Believing that “girls can also do amazing things”, the Canberra schoolgirl expressed this sentiment in a letter to the cereal giant.Her determination prompted an online petition to persuade the company to change its policy.The result following Daliah’s campaign? The cereal boxes will be updated with images of both males and females.PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; ANNABELLE LEE ■…