The Week May 7, 2010

A Catkin Christmas?

If this is May, then why does it feel like Christmas? All that white fluffy stuff covering trees, cars and me in Beijing this week is not snow. It’s catkins. The fluffy white stuff is causing a lot of sneezing and making it hard for street sweepers to contain the flyaway stuff. It’s an annual spring phenomenon that occurs with the blossoming of local poplar and willow trees. Scientists say you could engineer the sexes of trees to stop the pollination. But why, they ask, get in the way of a little love among the male and female species of Beijing’s 3 million poplar and willow trees.

Science Test

Famous scientist Stephen Hawking issued a warning to us residents of Earth this week to be careful if one day we meet an alien. Aliens, he said, could be hostile. But would about the dangers right now, right here on earth? A new research study says that beautiful women can be bad for men’s health. After placing 84 male students in a lab, they measured their heart rates. When another male was sitting next to them, their heart rates were fine. When a beautiful woman sat down, their cortisol levels shot up. And two much of that stuff can cause high blood pressure and heart disease. So will men begin ignoring beautiful woman to protect their health? We don’t think so.

About Those Loony Brits

Once again, England’s looniest party failed to win the top spots during this week’s elections in Britain. It’s the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, and you can tell these candidates from the others by their silly outfits. With their crazy campaign platforms – like free ice cream for everyone and floating bicycles to relieve traffic congestion – Reuters called them “arguably the only non-mainstream party to be fondly regarded by all voters.” There are plenty of Britons in Beijing these days. How many are, well, loony? The Week investigates …

Expo Do’s and Don’ts

The Shanghai 2010 World Expo is under way, and what a way to see, well, the whole world with pavilions from so many different countries. China Daily this week published a handy set of do’s and don’ts. The do’s include avoiding peak time and doing your homework, because the site is so massive. The don’ts include don’t eat inside the expensive pavilions and wreck the place with litter. And don’t get stuck in the portable toilets.

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About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.