Absence makes the heart split in two

There is a project known as the Genographic Project which aims to track human migrations through DNA. Their latest research has show that about 150, 000 years ago the human population, then confined to Africa, spilt into two distinct populations. One group was in eastern Africa, and one was in Southern Africa. The two populations remained apart from each other for around 100, 000 years. This has been the longest time that modern human populations have been apart from one another. The two populations came back together due to population expansion. There is the possibility that the two populations might have eventually become different species, however that did not happen, and the two reunited to form the human race, who then went on to conquer the globe.



And each other.

Funeral Rites

On this day last year it was Boris Yeltsin's funeral. Boris Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation. He was also the first Russian statesman in 113 years to have a church funeral. The last Russian leader to have a church funeral was Alexander III in 1894. Interestingly Boris Yeltsin was also the first Russian leader to die quietly in retirement having peacefully handed power to his successor. Of course I hasten to point out that this is not as bad as it seems as the Tsars did not retire, they died, and not always of natural causes.

There's only one thing missing

My home city (it'll always be a town to me) of Lisburn was granted a snazzy coat of arms way back in 1966. That's it above, pretty ain't it? I was, however, unaware of the rich symbolism included in this heraldic masterpiece. While feeling a tad nostalgic for my home town today I searched the Internet for news about it. Observe how there is a bishop's mitre in the centre of the cross, this symbolises how Lisburn has been a cathedral town for over 300 years. Note also the Fleur-de-Lys pattern on the arms of the cross, this is a subtle nod to the Huguenots who settled in Lisburn and who contributed much to Lisburn's linen industry. The importance of this industry is such that it is represented by the silver shuttle in the upper left hand corner of the shield. The ostrich and the horseshoe are from the arms of Sir Richard Wallace who contributed much to Lisburn. Standing on top of the battlements on the helmet is a black gamecock which is a reference to Lisburn's original name, Lisnagarvey, which is from the Gaelic for Fort of the Gamesters. Note also the two phoenixes rising from the flames on either side of the shield, these and the motto "Ex Igne Resurgam" (I will arise out of the fire) refer to how the town was burnt down twice and rebuilt twice. For more information click here.

There's just one thing missing from the coat of arms...that busker from Haslem's Lane.

A drink by any other name

I used to drink a lot of fizzy drinks but I went off them several years ago. Now I only drink them when I feel unwell, Irn Bru has magic restorative powers, you know. Anyway on this day in 1985 the Coca-cola company unveiled New Coke. I was reading about this momentous event when a little detail caught my eye. The company had a tradition that no other product bar the original Coca-cola would have the brand name. However this was overturned in 1982 with the introduction of Diet Coke. This was not the company's first diet drink, that honour goes to Tab, but Diet Coke was the first diet drink to carry the Coca-cola brand name.



As a footnote New Coke was only discontinued in the USA in 2002 but it is still sold in some foreign markets.

Shake, rattle and roll

Last Friday there was an earthquake in the American Midwest that measured 5.2 on the Richter scale. The quake occurred on a northern extension of the New Madrid fault. I was not really aware of this fault as most of the attention gets caught up by the San Andreas fault line. Apparently the stresses in the New Madrid fault are caused by a slab of earth called the Farallon slab which is now 360 miles below the Mississippi Valley. The slab began its descent beneath the West Coast of America 70 million years ago and is now causing deep mantle flow beneath the Midwest. In addition the Midwest has a unique geology which increases the shaking intensity of the quakes because the seismic energy can travel quickly through the dense bedrock but then becomes trapped in the soft sediments of the river channels and valleys. As such a relatively small earthquake can do a lot of damage in this area.



And all because of something that began 70 million years ago.

10p gets you nowhere

A few weeks ago I was somewhat dismayed to discover that the price of the humble Chomp had increased from 10p to 15p. Now my attention has been caught by the abolition of the 10p starting rate of income tax in the UK. As a law student I have had to study some tax law, and as a law student numbers scare me. So I tend to ignore the budget. However this change in the budget is causing something of an upset in the hallowed halls of Westminster so I decided to investigate further. The old starter rate of income tax was 10% but this has now been abolished and the basic rate for everyone will be 20%. According to those nice folk at PWC those who earn less than £18, 000 a year and who are ineligible for working tax credits will be hardest hit. Those earning £18, 000 and above per year will benefit from the scheme.



And this from a political party dedicated to helping those on low incomes. Hardly Robin Hood are they?

Reproducing works of genius

As we all know there is only one Mona Lisa, the original painting that hangs in the Louvre. However there are plenty of copies and prints of it and other famous paintings floating around the world. Some of the copies are reproduction oil paintings and 60% of these copies come from one village in China. That village is the village of Dafen. Dafen is surrounded by the city of Shenzhen. The artists responsible for the slavish reproductions have recently been asked to paint some self-portraits. You can see the results here.



I prefer the original works, don't you?