Glow in the dark camels for desert

Israel is lighting up its camels in an attempt to stop fatal collisions between the traditional ship of the desert and motorised ones, an official said in July. Israeli police are sticking phosphorescent strips on the bodies of the camels to serve as warning lights for desert drivers, because of growing numbers of crashes in which both people and camels have died. The Bedouin population of Israel’s southern Negev desert uses both forms of transportation—camels and pickup trucks—and the mix has often been fatal when the two collide in the night. “The camel safety problem is a serious one here”, said Yossi Golan, commander of the Dimona police district in the eastern Negev. “In the last two years, 10 people have died in camel related traffic accidents and more than 50 have been injured seriously”, he said. Golan estimated that there are 5000 camels in the Negev desert. To protect them and their riders, he said, he called a desert-style council of wise people to come up with a solution. “We brought together Bedouin elders, the Transport Ministry, the Nature Reserves Authority, and camel herd owners—and the phosphorescent strip idea was born”, he said. “We see it as a useful adjunct to the camel safety measures we already have in place—warning signs and guard rails at particularly dangerous road crossings”. Golan said that the first 40 Negev camels were fitted with phosphorescent strips yesterday, and expressed hope that over the next several months as many of 1000 more could be lit up. “We’re very serious about this operation”, he said. “If only one life is saved in the process, the whole thing will have been worthwhile” (contributed by Peter Jacobsen; from Associated Press).

With this article, Peter Jacobsen noted that Cochrane reports no evidence of benefit from increasing pedestrian/cyclist visibility (

).

Benefits of driving

A group of seniors were sitting around talking about all their ailments.

“My arms have gotten so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee”, said one.
 “Yes, I know”, said another. “My cataracts are so bad; I can’t even see my coffee”.
 “I couldn’t even mark an “X” at election time, my hands are so crippled”, volunteered a third.
 “What? Speak up! What? I can’t hear you!”
 “I can’t turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck”, said a fourth, to which several nodded weakly in agreement.
 “My blood pressure pills make me so dizzy!” exclaimed another.
 “I forget where I am, and where I’m going”, said another.
 “I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old”, winced an old man as he slowly shook his head. The others nodded in agreement.
 “Well, count your blessings”, said a woman cheerfully “and thank God we can all still drive”
 (contributed by Peter Jacobsen; source not known).