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"We strongly object": Cruise line passengers witness mass whale hunt

A cruise line has apologised to over 1,000 passengers who witnessed a gruesome whale killing while their ship was docking at a port. Ambassador Cruise Lines confirmed on Thursday that the arrival of their ship Ambition in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands - located between Scotland, Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic - had coincided “with the culmination of a hunt of 40+ pilot whales in the port area.” “We were incredibly disappointed that this hunt occurred at the time that our ship was in port. We strongly object to this outdated practice, and have been working with our partner, ORCA, a charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK and European waters, to encourage change since 2021,” Ambassador said following the arrival of their ship in the Torshavn port area on the southern part of the main island. Communities in the Faroe Islands have been hunting pilot whales in the area for centuries, as many partake in the cultural tradition, known as grindadráp, to harvest the whale's meat which is an integral part of the local diet. As such, the government of the Faroe Islands issued a statement in rebuttal, reiterating their clear stance on the historical practice of whale hunting. “As has been the case for centuries, whaling still occurs in the Faroe Islands today,” a statement from the government said, on behalf of the estimated 53,000 people on the island, explaining the values of the whaling hunt. “The Faroese have eaten pilot whale meat and blubber since they first settled the islands over a millenia ago. Today, as in times past, the whale drive is a community activity open to all, while also well organised on a community level and regulated by national laws.” The Faroe Island’s government said that the hunt is part of the island’s sustainability efforts and that “the meat and blubber from the hunt is distributed equally among those who have participated … Hunting and killing methods have been improved to ensure as little harm to the whales as possible. All hunters must now obtain a hunting license in order to kill a whale.” In their apology, Ambassador said that sustainability is one of the cruise line’s “core values”, and that the company fully appreciates that “witnessing this local event would have been distressing for the majority of guests onboard. Accordingly, we would like to sincerely apologise to them for any undue upset.” Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Trouble

Violent concert trend sees Harry Styles added to injured list

Harry Styles has become the latest victim of “object throwing culture” at his concert, after the British pop star was hit in the eye by a flying item. The 29-year-old was in Vienna, Austria, as his years-long Love on Tour begins to wrap up, singing to a sold out crowd of 50,000 strong. During his performance, Styles was prancing around the stage when a flying object hit him directly in the eye. The former One Direction member was seen wincing in pain as he bent over and covered his eyes with his hands. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> This is why we can’t have nice things. Harry Styles is the latest celebrity to be hit with something from the audience while performing at his concert in Vienna. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HarryStyles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HarryStyles</a> <a href="https://t.co/tithlDqfb2">pic.twitter.com/tithlDqfb2</a> — Glitter Magazine (@glittermagazine) <a href="https://twitter.com/glittermagazine/status/1677851992700641280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2023</a></blockquote> Videos captured by fans showed Styles rocking a green and purple sequin pants and vest combo and walking across the stage between songs when the unknown item was launched at him. As the trend of throwing items on stage during live performances continues to grow, Styles’ incident leaves many wondering when this ritual got out of hand. “Why do people keep doing this, paying money for the front row just to do this too. I’m tired of y’all,” one person asked on Twitter in response to a video of the incident. “This object throwing culture is about to kill how we experience concerts & festivals moving forward. They’re about to get more expensive and more exclusive,” another person wrote. A third chimed in, “I genuinely don’t understand like I get throwing stuff on the stage where they’ll see it but they always aim for the face like why???” Harry is just one of the latest performers to be struck while on stage, with UK singer Bebe Rexha also coping an object to the face just weeks ago. During her concert in New York, the 33-year-old singer was hit in the face by a mobile phone, resulting in her sustaining a massive black and blue bruise around her eye. While not all objects tend to hit performers in the face, some flying items are just downright strange, as US singer Pink discovered in recent weeks when a concert-goer <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/fan-throws-mother-s-ashes-on-stage-at-pink-concert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threw their mother’s ashes</a> on the stage. Shocked by the remains being thrown on stage during her show in London’s Hyde Park, the singer simply said, “I don’t know how I feel about this.” Image credits: Getty Images

Music

This object in space flashed brilliantly for 3 months, then disappeared. Astronomers are intrigued

<blockquote> “Holy sharks, Batman, it’s periodic!” </blockquote> I exclaimed on Slack. It was the first lockdown of 2021 in Perth, and we were all working from home. And when astronomers look for something to distract themselves from looming existential dread, there’s nothing better than a new cosmic mystery. In 2020 I gave an undergraduate student, Tyrone O'Doherty, a fun project: look for radio sources that are changing in a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/natasha_hurley_walker_how_radio_telescopes_show_us_unseen_galaxies">large radio survey</a> I’m leading. By the end of the year he’d found a particularly unusual source that was visible in data from early 2018, but had disappeared within a few months. The source was named GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504, after the survey it was found in and its position. Sources that appear and disappear are called “radio transients” and are usually a sign of extreme physics at play. <h2>The mystery begins</h2> Earlier this year I started investigating the source, expecting it to be something we knew about – something that would change slowly over months and perhaps point to an exploded star, or a big collision in space. To understand the physics, I wanted to measure how the source’s brightness relates to its frequency (in the electromagnetic spectrum). So I looked at observations of the same location, taken at different frequencies, before and after the detection, and it wasn’t there. I was disappointed, as spurious signals do crop up occasionally due to telescope calibration errors, Earth’s ionosphere reflecting TV signals, or aircraft and satellites streaking overhead. So I looked at more data. And in an observation taken 18 minutes later, there the source was again, in exactly the same place and at exactly the same frequency – like nothing astronomers had ever seen before. At this point I broke out in a cold sweat. There is a worldwide research effort searching for repeating cosmic radio signals transmitted at a single frequency. It’s called the <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-has-the-search-for-extraterrestrial-life-actually-yielded-and-how-does-it-work-122454">Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence</a>. Was this the moment we finally found that the truth is … out there? <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/657269342" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> One of the brightest pulses from the new radio transient detected with the Murchison Widefield Array. <h2>The plot thickens</h2> I rapidly downloaded more data and posted updates on Slack. This source was incredibly bright. It was outshining everything else in the observation, which is nothing to sniff at. The brightest radio sources are supermassive black holes flaring huge jets of matter into space at nearly the speed of light. What had we found that could possibly be brighter than that? Colleagues were beginning to take notice, posting: <blockquote> It’s repeating too slowly to be a pulsar. But it’s too bright for a flare star. What is this? (alien emoji icon)??? </blockquote> Within a few hours, I breathed a sigh of relief: I had detected the source across a wide range of frequencies, so the power it would take to generate it could only come from a natural source; not artificial (and not aliens)! Just like <a href="https://www.space.com/32661-pulsars.html">pulsars</a> – highly magnetised rotating neutron stars that beam out radio waves from their poles – the radio waves repeated like clockwork about three times per hour. In fact, I could predict when they would appear to an accuracy of one ten-thousandth of a second. So I turned to our enormous data archive: 40 petabytes of radio astronomy data recorded by the Murchison Widefield Array in Western Australia, during its eight years of operation. Using <a href="https://pawsey.org.au/">powerful supercomputers</a>, I searched hundreds of observations and picked up 70 more detections spanning three months in 2018, but none before or after. The amazing thing about radio transients is that if you have enough frequency coverage, you can work out how far away they are. This is because lower radio frequencies arrive slightly later than higher ones depending on how much space they’ve traveled through. Our new discovery lies about 4,000 light years away – very distant, but still in our galactic backyard. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442445/original/file-20220125-13-54xe4a.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Interstellar space slows down long wavelength radio waves more than short. ICRAR We also found the radio pulses were almost completely <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-is-polarised-light/">polarised</a>. In astrophysics this usually means their source is a strong magnetic field. The pulses were also changing shape in just half a second, so the source has to be less than half a light second across, much smaller than our Sun. Sharing the result with colleagues across the world, everyone was excited, but no one knew for sure what it was. <h2>The jury is still out</h2> There were two leading explanations for this compact, rotating, and highly magnetic astrophysical object: a white dwarf, or a neutron star. These remain after stars run out of fuel and collapse, generating magnetic fields billions to quintillions times stronger than our Sun’s. And while we’ve never found a neutron star that behaves quite this way, theorists have predicted such objects, called an “ultra-long period magnetars”, could exist. Even so, no one expected one could be so bright. <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/657248792" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> We think the source could be either a magnetar or a white dwarf, or something completely unknown. This is the first time we’ve ever seen a radio source that repeats every 20 minutes. But maybe the reason we never saw one before is that we weren’t looking. When I first started trying to understand this source, I was biased by my expectations: transient radio sources either change quickly like pulsars, or slowly like the fading remnants of a supernova. I wasn’t looking for sources repeating at 18-minute intervals – an unusual period for any known class of object. Nor was I searching for something that would appear for a few months and then disappear forever. No one was. As astronomers build <a href="https://www.skatelescope.org/">new</a> <a href="https://www.lsst.org/">telescopes</a> that will collect vast quantities of data, it’s vital we keep our minds, and our search techniques, open to unexpected possibilities. The universe is full of wonders, should we only choose to look.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175240/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/natasha-hurley-walker-197768">Natasha Hurley-Walker</a>, Radio Astronomer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-object-in-space-flashed-brilliantly-for-3-months-then-disappeared-astronomers-are-intrigued-175240">original article</a>. Image: Artist visualisation

International Travel

Jacinda Ardern replicated in unusual object

Jacinda Ardern has had an unusual item named after her, after ecstasy pills pressed with her name were discovered being sold on New Zealand’s underground drugs market. The pink pills of Class-B methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) include a crude caricature of her face, with the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ecstasy-pills-featuring-prime-minister-jacinda-arderns-name-for-sale/AAFICMYRMVQJTZJFD2337ADQWE/" target="_blank">NZ Herald</a> reporting that they are being sold for $NZD 30-40 each ($AUD 28-37) online When the publication asked the Prime Minister’s office for comment, they were directed to the police. <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846489/jacinda1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ec7fa88fc2e84160b2b0f2218cd3cf8c" /> The illicit ‘Jacinda Ardern’ pills have surfaced online. Image: NZ Herald A police spokesperson said the sale of the pills is “not something we’re aware of”. MDMA is a “party drug” that is especially popular with clubbers and summer festival goers. Community drug testing service Know Your Stuff online list of flagged pills doesn’t list the “Jacinda Ardern” pills, but the group warns that doesn’t mean taking it is risk-free. “If your pill does not appear on this page, this is not a guarantee that it is safe.” The discovery comes after New Zealand recently became the first country in the world to permanently legalise drug checks at large scale events, including music festivals. Know Your Stuff was appointed to run the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ladbible.com/news/latest-ecstasy-pills-made-to-look-like-jacinda-ardern-found-in-new-zealand-20211220" target="_blank">pilot program</a>, offering drug-checking services at events and helping people know what pills they intend to consume actually contain. This year, the service has reported increasing incidents of people taking what they believe to be pure MDMA which was either just cathinones or contained just enough MDMA to “spoof” the tests. Synthetic cathinones, also known as “bath salts”, have a similar euphoric effect as MDMA but wear off faster and can lead to anxiety, paranoia, gastric distress, seizures or respiratory failure. Mephedrone, a cathinone commonly found in the country, has been linked to a number of deaths in the UK and Europe. Image: Getty Images

Legal

6 household objects you didn’t know could make you sick

It’s the germs you don’t even think about that could be causing your household to get sick. Whether it’s the flu, gastro or a sore throat, it doesn’t take much for illness to spread through your home. But it’s not as obvious as getting sneezed on during a meeting or kissing someone who isn’t well. There are lots of places in the home that can spread germs – and they may not be as well-known as you think. 1. Shoes Think of all the germ-infested places your shoes go each day – public toilets, on grass where a dog may have recently pooped, stepping in chewing gum, and in communal areas like the gym change room. We then traipse those germs through our own home and all over the floor. Try to get into the habit of kicking off your shoes at the door, to avoid the spread of nasty bugs. 2. Bathroom Naturally, areas in the bathroom such as the toilet and taps are common sources of germs. Washing your hands after using the bathroom is a no-brainer, but what about those of us that like to play games on the phone or text while on the loo? This act is placing germs right onto your phone, which you will most likely touch again ever after washing your hands. Try to break this dirty habit ASAP, and in the meantime, give your phone a once-over with an antibacterial wipe. 3. Remote control In a similar way to mobile phones, the remote can be harbouring some dangerous germs that could be making you sick. Think how many not-quite-clean fingers have touched that remote. And let’s face it, who normally cleans it? Nobody – until now. Give it a wipe with a cloth spritzed with antibacterial spray. 4. Shopping bag You might feel quite virtuous carrying reusable bags into the supermarket. But when was the last time you washed them? Think about it – all the soil from those unwashed vegetables, loose coins, and crumbs from your French stick – they’re all sitting in the bottom of your bag, making them a breeding ground for bacteria. Make a point of regularly washing your tote so that you don’t get totes sick. 5. Switches and handles Anywhere in the home that is regularly touched by people’s hands are going to be a source of germs. So your door handles, light switches, drawer handles and bin lids are going to be rife with grime. Be sure to include these when you clean the house, so that you can avoid the spread of infection. 6. Tea towels and cloths They’re supposed to clean our dishes and benches, but many cloths and towels are home to all sorts of nasty bacteria that could be affecting your family. Scouring pads and sponges can hold onto germs that feed off the food particles inside. Tea towels can be used to wipe hands after cutting up a chicken, and then used to dry drinking glasses – leading to contamination. Pop your tea towels in the wash at the end of each day if you want to reduce the risk (and have a separate towel for drying hands). Have we missed anything? Are there are any other areas in the home that you know could be spreading germs?

Body

10 times everyday objects looked like famous characters

Pareidolia is the word that is used to describe the moment when your brain responds to an image because of something you have seen in the past. Bored Panda has complied the photos of times when people spotted famous characters in everyday objects. Did you spot them in the images? Let us know in the comments below. Image credit: <a href="https://www.boredpanda.com/pareidolia-objects-look-like-something-else-pop-culture-icons-cartoons/?page_numb=1" target="_blank">Bored Panda</a>

Art

Hidden images reveal how introverted you are

If you ever suspected you were an introvert but need a little extra proof, this is it. While it might sometimes seem like a disadvantage to be an introvert, there are some surprising benefits. Those of us more content with our own company tend to be <a href="/health/mind/2016/08/top-traits-of-empathic-people/" target="_blank">more empathic</a> and our brains are actually <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/50/18087.short" target="_blank">composed differently</a> to our extroverted friends, meaning we have a greater capacity to interpret abstract images. That’s why, according to the creator of these optical illusions, only introverts can see the hidden object in these images. Can you? Flip through the gallery above to find out and share your results with us in the comments below. Source: Playbuzz Related links: <a href="/health/mind/2016/08/top-traits-of-empathic-people/">Top traits of empathic people</a> <a href="/health/mind/2016/08/why-you-should-stay-silent-more/">4 reasons to keep silent more often</a> <a href="/health/mind/2016/08/why-it-is-important-to-take-some-time-out/">Why it's important to take some time out</a>

Mind

Ghostly object hidden in this photo will give you the chills

Visual illusions are generally good fun, but once you notice the terrifying hidden detail in this early 1900s photograph you won’t be able to look away. The photo, of a group of linen mill girls in Belfast, looks unassuming enough at first glance. But when you look closer you will notice something scary. We’ve included a full size picture of the image below. Can you see anything unusual? If you’re still stumped, direct your attention to the gallery above, where we’ve zoomed in on the terrifying detail. <img width="500" height="564" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/23502/creepy-detail-2_500x564.jpg" alt="Creepy Detail 2" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Who does that hand below to!? We can’t make head nor tail of it, but it’s certainly not going to lend itself to a good night’s sleep. After looking at it once it can't be unseen! The image was originally supplied to a <a href="http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/" target="_blank">Belfast Live</a> by a ready called Lynda, who said, “Great to see an old photo of my Granny, in the by-gone years photo, when she worked at the mill. She was Ellen Donnelly (nee McKillop) and she is fourth on the right in the second row down [of the main picture, below]. My dad has this photo at home… a family ghost picture!!” "I don't really believe in ghosts – but there have been a few odd going-ons around this photo, so I hope this doesn't cause any more!" What do you make of the above image? Can you see the ghost hand on the shoulder of the girl in the second row (she’s on the far right)? Let us know in the comments below! Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/05/these-photos-will-make-you-believe-in-ghosts/">These photos will make you believe in ghosts</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/05/italian-ghost-town-home-to-just-one-man/">Italian ghost town home to just one man</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/05/most-haunted-locations-in-australia/">10 most-haunted locations in Australia</a>

News

Artist uses everyday objects to create food art

British artist Vanessa McKeown has a knack for making you look twice. The photographer is obsessed with the simplicity of food and household objects, and combines them to make brilliant yet unsettling artworks. “I love creating all things colourful, usually from everyday objects being used in unusual ways,” McKeown says on her website. The results are beautiful. McKeown’s fruit and vegetable series includes an eggplant stalk with a big purple balloon replacing the bulb and a half slice of avocado with the pip hole filled with sprinkles. They’re oddly intriguing. While the artist doesn’t comment about any theories behind the artworks on her website, the fruit and vegetable series draws comparisons between the natural and artificial, perhaps questioning the line between man-made and naturally grown. The party series of photographs uses similar pop-bright colours and blends real with fake. A hamburger is covered with sprinkles and filled with party confetti in one snap while mini milk bottle lollies pour out of a real milk bottle in another. Whatever the thought behind these pieces of art one thing’s for sure: they’re beautiful. Take a look at some of McKeown’s bright creations in the gallery above. Source: <a href="http://www.vanessamckeown.com/" target="_blank">Vanessa McKeown</a> Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/at-home/2015/08/family-photos-as-art/"></a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/art/2015/12/preserve-tattoos-after-you-die/">One can now keep tattoos forever</a> <a href="/lifestyle/at-home/2015/08/family-photos-as-art/"></a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/art/2015/11/fulvio-obregon-contrasting-celebrity-drawings/">Celebrities drawn next to their younger selves</a> <a href="/lifestyle/at-home/2015/08/family-photos-as-art/"></a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/art/2015/11/famous-painting-cakes/">Amazing cakes inspired by famous paintings</a> <a href="/lifestyle/at-home/2015/08/family-photos-as-art/"> </a>

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