Page B
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?
Whale Protected By Order
Piloted Ships Through A Sound
WHALES, like sturgeons, have sometimes been
called the "Fish Royal." An'ancient law decreed that when either was thrown ashore or caught near the coast, it became Crown property.
sea unicom in the reign of Elian- belli 1, and its turk won sup. posed to be full of magic. The Queen Was pleased when
trom as Frobisher returned
Arctic voyage with a narwhal tunk es als main trophy.
whale
A whale is really a mammal which breathes air and suckles ita young. But It is not surpris- ing at old-time naturalists belleved whales were fish, they are shaped alike. The na- Turalists did not know thal and whales have short necks, small bones near the tail which were probably legs in bygone days.
Their mighty horizontal tall unlike the vertical one of the fish acts as a rudder and pro- peller. One moment the whole is breathing at the surface at nor- mat atacspheric pressure and
be after it may
mile deep, bearing
of about 140 tons on every tool of its body,
coon
蠱
pressure
Normally, the whale can stay under water for abou! 20
The toothless whole- minutes.
bone whole has two nostrils on top of its head but the other species have only one.
dn the upper jaw of the whale bone whale there are about 300 horny plates which Big fat lo- When the plates Are
wards the throat. mouth opens these raised so they hang like cur- irina.
And when the mouth cimen water streams out at the sides, acting as a kind of sieve and trapping the small life forms on which the whale feeds.
JONAH
in the days when these plates were used for stening stays and bodies, they were valuable und sold for us much to 189., 6 pound.
an
The villain of the family is the grompus. Known as the killer whale, It inhabits the Atlantic and the North Sea. Its family includes Riszo's dolphin in the
pre of
also
Mediterranea Although only about 20 or 30 feet long,, these horrlie creatures sturdily built with plenty nasty-looking teeth. They have a big appetite and have been known to swallow as many as 11 porpoises and 14 seals at one meal
MIRACLE
Not only do the grampuses dislike human beings," but they are connibals as well. Three o Jour of them-will-often-maice-o combined attack on s glant whalebone while, who
првеала quite unable to resist the 445- sale.
Antarctic explorers have had some frightful encounters with killer whales, which powerful they can break up Ice a yard thick by pushing up- wards with their backe.
UTC S
photo-
Herbert Ponting, a grapher with the Scolt expedi Lon, was attacked by eight kill- ers when he was on" on ice floe, His colleagues watched the inci- dent in horror from their ellp a hundred yards away. They fully expected him to fall from the rucking lee Into the open Jaws
of the whales.
Fortunately a miracle happen-
The throat of the giant Green- ed and the icc-flow drifted to- land whale is only about twę inches wide, But that does not wards firm ice. The photographer that leapt to mafety and fled just as a discount the possibility Jonah was swallowed by one of huge black head reee out of the very spot he had Jis cousins. One dying cachalot, 5 at the or sperm whale, is said to have jumped across. brought up pieces of monster as a man's cuttlefish as thick body.
Another is known have
to swallowed 10 ft shark allve. The cachalot, which bolts Ite food, has teeth in the lower jaw only, but its mouth extends for about a third of its body.
The blue whale is the largest animal which has ever inhabited the earth. Specimens have hoen a length of 108 recorded
A similar Ineldent occurred when grampuses pushed through the len on which members of Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedi- tion were encamped. Sir Ernest was just in time to grasp a white object floating past him in the water. It was a man in a sleeping
bog,
NOT SCARED
Then there was Pelorus Jack. He was a Risso's Dolphin who from 1880 to 1914 was the self- appointed guide of ships plying belweer Pelorus Sound and French Pass, dividing D'Urville Head from the mainland of New, Zealand.
feet and a weight of 13144 tons. But the whales can swim at 14 knots. Even now-bom ones are often 25 ft. long, and their par- ents can boast that baby weigh- ed seven tone or so el birth?
There's no chance of twins for the dolphin, which has only one Jack would dart out from an offspring. But the mother unknown
hiding place and, watches it with great care and romping and leaping would lead anxiely until li is a considerable certain steamships through the size.
of the sound, to the entrance
16
This affection for ecoh other pass. Unlike most whales Jock characteristic ot most was not scared of the noise of whales, which are usually harm- propellers, and he ignored salt- less, and timid, But even the ing ships entirely. But when he cathalot can become ferocious anw a favourite steamer when attacked, as the writer of would speed to help it. "Moby Dick" described
he
Jack was as well- Although known and respected as ony
FULL OF MAGIC pilot, some people hunted
Among other species there Is the pygmy whale, whieh in spite
him for sport. So the New Zea- land Government passed on Order in Council to protect him from harm.
of its name f 15 to 20 ft. lòng. This contrasted with the de- cision made by the French Then there is the remarkable humpback, about 40 ft. long. Gouertiment in 1921, when war which rises to the surface like a was declared on Torquals, or rocket
fin-whales, said to be swallow- One of the oddest is the nar- ing shoul of sardines whid, which has an 8 ft. spiral harming fishing grounds. tuck used by the male to fight, vessels in the French Navy were This whole was known a "the ordered to open fire on rorquats.
SWISSAIR
European Network
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Manchester
London
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Hamburg
Amsterdam
Brussels
Dusseldorf Cologna Bonn
Frankfurt
Part
Scuttgart
Slavel Zurich
Дегуска Nice Darcelona
Madril
and
All
THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 1989.
Inquest on a Sad Sunday Afternoon...
Because one of the most important functions of the China Mail is to answer the questions raised in your mind. Britain's outstanding
Science Writer examines below the wider meaning of today's important news.
LET ME BRIEF YOU!
by Chapman Pincher
WHAT IS THE POINT
OF IT ALL?
MORE than £3,000,000, as
well as a nation's proud hope, went up in the high puff of smoke which marked the moon-rocket fizzle on August 17.
The scientists will write the money off to experience with- out a qualm while they ready another 100-fool robot for the next try.
What is the point of sticking at such a dimeult and costly project? Why are the selentists la such a hustle to reach the moon when se much remains to be done on earth?
Before anyone gels lyrical about "man's questing split" let me make it clear that however "scientifle" the moon-shots are made to sound, they ETO MOTIVALET DY" TRIGG¬quite different factors:
THE esence of glant rocke's designed to carry H-bombs to enemy territory. Their use for spree exploration is what the Americans aply call a "fall-out" from their primary purpose.
THE continual East-West struggle to achieve international leader- ship through national prestige. The Americans are desperately anxious to stop the Russians from repeating their Sputnik success which gave a tremendous flip to Soviet prestige. 2 THE possible military value
of
space exploration, A manned satellite bomber is already being designed in the U.S. And, as Preal- dent Elsenhower put 11, the Amerl- cans at least want to make sure that space is not 'uxt by the Itusslans to endanger U.S. security.
With their moon "probes" the scientists hope to answer basic riddles
the aboul
earth's
and gravity magnetism. They want to find out it the intense belt of radioactivity which the Sputniks discovered at a height of 1,000 miles, extendy all the way to the moon.
They hope to make close-up pletures of the moon's unseen side from algnals radlood by the rocket back to earth.
All this seems highly academic and remote from down-to-earth life, especially to women whose inborn lack of curiosity makes them concen- trate on the immediate. (AД of the five females round my Sunday lunch- table deplored the attempts to hit the moon as pointless and possibly dan- gerous).
But academic experiments have a habit of paying off in unforcăceable ways which revo tutionise everyday living-- especially for the housewife,
Faraday's Arel fumblings with small magnets and coils of wire were academic. Their direct renti is electric light and power at the touch of a switch.
Sir William Crooko's linkering with "cathode rays" had no useful objective in view. They led television,
to
With themo lessons in mind the US, is budgeting to spend £200 million UN SPICE TUsézich next year. The Busslang aro
Investing billions of roubles in similar profecta.
What is happening in Britain? Little more than the sitting of a Royal Society committee to brief the Government on the advisability of getting into the space business.
ecl
So do not jeor at the U.S. fallure which was the
toughest technical assignment man has ever himself. The Americans' fret long-shot entry in the moon race may have fallen at the first fence but they have four more missile mounts 10 follow. All we are doing is sitting In the stands,
WHAT WILL
HAPPEN NOW?
THE failure of the rocket fired Lby the U.S. Air Force gives the Russians a terrific oppor- tunity to "wipe the Americans' eye" in the moon-shooting com- petition
PARADE
รอพ
100ft.
PAY-LOAD OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
Stage 3 SINGLE
"SERGEANT"
CLUSTER OF “SERGEANT” ARMY FIELD] ROCKETB
Stage 1
* JUPITER" ROCKET (60ft, laag)
THIS IS THE ARMY'S ROCKET. BASED ON THE PROVED JUPITER'
It offers an almost equally tempt- ing chimce to the US. "Army which has its own moon-probe programme terms and is on not-too-friendly with the air force.
The propitious line-up of the target will last for three more days and there is a further rea son why both the Americans and the Russians would like to notch up success.
The Internationat Space-Travel Conference of rocket experts from many nations is due to open in Amsterdam. Lest year
the
Rusalans sent up their Sputnik No. 1 on the day before the conference opened in Barcelong—and reaped enormous extra publicity as a result.
A COLUMN OF THE UNUSUAL ABOUT
PEOPLE AND PLACES AND THINGS
Π
BREAD, BUT NO CIRCUS: Consolence WD9 patrolling Bread bakeri by Trappist monks highway near Toulon when he at the Abbey of Gensoe, near
oh motorcyclist drive Rochester, is selling so well in through a red ligh.. New York and its suburbs that the monks have abandoned
Gendarme Coneglence stopped their primitive ovens
him to tako and in
the usual stalled an
- ticulars. up-to-date, tughly mechanised procivetion Une,
But the monks drew the line when one enterprising salesman suggested the slogan: "Baked in silence. Too good for words,"
·
RIDE IN THE SUN:
between
In the period of violence in Cyprus June 8 and July 31 armoured cars of the Royal Horse Guards marked up over D quarter of a million miles on patrol duty-anore than the Household Cavalty regiment totalled in World War Two from the Normandy landing to tire day they rolled' into Berlin.
龠
· CONSCIENCE COPH
CRIMINAL: A gendarme númed
Lisbon
Palma
Praghe Munich Innsbruck Milan Vienna Rome Attiene Instanbul Belgrade
par-
Dhit the molorcyclist, 10-year- old Pierre Brecon also had 1 conscience...
He raised his hands and cald: "All right I will confess, I have been expecting this."
at the police station he con- lessed to taking part in
£3,000 robbery and handed over £1,000 in French bank- notes and on oki pistol which he had also stolen.
D
HAVE A BANANA; A French priest' driving into Italy www stopped by Italion custano officials on the St Bernard's Paso because he was carrying 50 bananas in his car,
The expert knows
all the answers
When you sat about buying a new
watch or radio you naturally
consult a specialist. And when f
you are planning journey, "
it is always wise 10 consult
specialist in your travel agency.
That's why he is sure to book your "*
spet on one of the big
comfortable Swissair liners.
Regular services from
Hong Kong to connect with all
major European cities,
Fly Switals all the way!
SWISSAIR
General Babes Aawału ket dusvaiz CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWZAKM, Fosenza, vali 22021. @SOTA, 27100 Wenight 54091, 94040 and mačku kanuð súrenie:
Bonans Imports are a state monopoly in Italy and he was told he could not bring them in..
The priest drove back over the bor- der into France, stopped his car and started to cat the bananas.
After 20 minutes and 47 bananas he gave up.
He returned to Italy, banded over Gree remaining bananas and drove on to Rome.
AGONY COLUMN: An employer put this want ad. In a local newspaper: Eighty-five dollars weekly for man to work full time
to replace dhe whe didn't."
-
A further U.S. attempt must also be particularly tempting to the army's chief rockateor, the nx-German missile genius Dr Wernher von Braun.
It was a Jupiter rocket designed by von Braun which succeeded in putting up a US. satellite after attempts with a more politically favoured roclot had failed.
The army intends to use this samo Juplier-topped with smaller rockets-In its attempt. on the moon, So von Broun, with the army behind him, must be pressing hard for the chance to score, another ballistic bullseye.
more
Though the air force has two
Ka moon-shots in
missile locker it could not get another ready for a fring this month. If nobody jeta n rocket off within the next few days the odds are that all will wait for the next propitious Bring dates which will fall between September 18-and-17-
THE IMPLICATIONS
FOR BRITAIN
HE explosion of the moon
THE
rocket was almost certainly ‚due to a fuel failure in the first, brute-force stage of the three- deeker museile which should have boosted the remaining two stages out of the atmosphere.
This faulty rocket was a modified Thor--the -bomb-carrying missile due to be delivered to launching sites on Britain's East Coast this YIL?..
Out of 19 Ther rockets now test-fired, nine have failed. So the Thor must be far from satisfactory as an operational weapon which can be depended .on Oven to get the H-bomb safely off the ground--apart from the requirement to deliver it to a target 1,500 miles away.
So there may be some rethinking on the Thor bullistle missile pro- Ject at least as regards delivery dates to the sites In Norfolk and Cambridgeshire now under construc-
tlon.
Like all the giant US. rockets the Thor is fuelled by highly unstable Ilquids which are corrosive and must be kept extremely cold.
Fuel system jams and falitres. are so common that there is now a big drive both in the V.S. and Russia solid fuels to develop dependablo which eliminate pumps and can be loaded without difficulty or danger.
WHY DID THEY
CHOOSE AUG. 17?
THE
HE Americans were anxious to fire their first shot this month to forestall the Russians.
'Well, I'm for waiting till
hon
August 17 was the first of m brief spell of good days for three reasoDB:————
1
THE moon is almost i closest point to the earth- about 220,000 miles distant, com- pared with an average of 240,000.
THE moon and earth, especially
at the firing point in Florida, were lined up in the best possible position with respect to their paths i round the sun. At now moon-as it was that night-the sun is behind the moon. This makes it less likely to pull the rocket off ils course.
⚫ AT new moon
the moon is,
brightly it on the unseen sido which is always hidden from the earth. This would have enabled the rocket's electronic eyes to photo- graph the other side if the scientists had been lucky enough to achieve - round-the-moon-flight-path,"
Finally carly that moming- Florida time-the local weather con _ditions were near-perfect.. for the. launching. The sky was clear and there were no high winds to com- plicate the calculations.
WHY THEY HOPED
FOR A NEAR-MISS ?
R
OCKET men were trying for a near-miss on the moon-not a direct hit-mainly because they hoped to
get a crude picture of the far side but also because they had been strongly advised against crash-landing,
1
Other scientists believe that care- ful examination of the layer of bonedry dust which covers the lunar erust may tell how life began on earth.
The moon-dust. is thought to have fallen in from outer space during the millions of years the moon has been without rain or wind. It is almost certainly as unchanged by time as was the earth-dust from which ring things were created.
Scientists think they will be able to unravel the story only if the dust remains entirely unpolluted by de- bris from earthly missiles or by the living germs these could conceivably
carry.
It is also possible that the first missiles to strike the moon might cause an explosion.
Astronomers suspect that moon- dust is similar to finely-powdered coal in that it contains the chemicals and hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen in an unstable form.
Dry cool-dust is a highly-explo- sive mixture, responsible for the major explosions in mine accidents.
So it is possible if only remotely--that the impact of a rocket, especially if fitted with an explosive charge scattering dye to mark its arrival, might Adetonate the moon-dust.
Contul
Parnt