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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-05-22, Page 32IMOF�pTJ SPORTS & FITNESS ONTARIO Robert Tait McKenzie ofAlmonte, won Canada's first Qlyrnpic medal rin the arts competitlons— a bronze at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. McKenzie was an internationally renowned sur- geon who applied his medical knowledge to create life -like figures in metal, Page 10B—Crossroads—May 22, 1985 The Science Corner Who named the constellations By Nigel Bunce & Jim Hunt Everyone is familiar with the appearance of the starry sky. The constellations Orion and the Great Bear (Big Dipper) are certainly familiar. Who first singled out these star groupings and gave them their names? Why were these groups recognized in the first place, and for what purpose? Our constellations are inherited from ' the Greek astronomer Eudoxus,, who ,described them, about 50 BC. The surpriSing thing is that Eudoxus seems not to have been describing the rising and setting of the constellations as he saw them, but as they appeared at an -earlier time. This was probably noticed by Hyparchus about 125 BC and led to his discovery of what is called the "precession of the equinoxes". To visualize this, imagine a longpointer along the axis off the earth., Today this points to the star we call the North •-Star at the North Celestial Pole, but it did not always do so. The pointer is slowly moving around the sky in a vast circle. It moves around this circle once in 26,000 years. Eudoxus seems to have been describing the sky as it was hundreds of years earlier at about 2,500 BC. •, We live at a latitude of about 45 degrees north. There are a number of stars in the sky we can never see. These are the stars within 45 degrees of the South Celestial Pole. Recently Archie Roy of Glasgow University noticed there are groups of stars in the southern sky which have no ancient constellation names. They have been named in modern times. These stars are roughly in a circular patch 35 degrees in radius and, moreover, the centre of this patch would have been at the South Celestial Pole at about 2,500 BC. Theevidence suggests that Eudoxus was describing the sky as it was seen in about 2,500 BC by people living at about 35 degrees north lati- tude. Furthermore, the constellations were probably named as navigational aids. Who are possible can- didates as the namers? Four groups have been suspected over the years: the Egyp- tians, the Phoenicians, the Babylonians and the Minoans. With these new observations we can eliminate the Egyptians., who live too far south, and the Phoenicians, who prospered from 1,500 to 500 BC, which was too late. The Babylonians are strong contenders. They were skillful astronomers and as far back as 2,100 BC were using the constellation system ' described by Eudoxus 1,700 years later. They were sailors and na- vigators, although their trade was almost exclusively southward to India, Arabia and Bahrein. However Mr. Roy believes the best candidates are the Minoans of Crete. They were at the right place at the right time and their trade was elcc-lusi.vely in ' the Mediterranean. A further intriguing point is that the Minoan civilization came to an abrupr end about 1,450 BC, probably because of a vast volcanic explosion on the island of Thera. It is possible that because of this their view of the sky was not developed and became frozen in time. Thus when Eudoxus described the Minoan sky it was very much out of date. We welcome questions and ideas for future columns. Write to the authors care of the. Dean's Office, College of Physical Science, University of Guelph, Guelph NIG 2W1. Misuse of dosage of cold remedies may be dangerous Dr. Bryan Young, of the University of Western On- tario, says that two drugs contained in almost all cold remedies sold in pharmacies are believed to be respon- sible for serious brain hemorrhages -in at least four young Londoners in the past year. Dr. Young said the drugs involved are phenylpropano- lamine and pseudro-ephe- drine, two closely -related substances which belong to the amphetamine family. - They are contained in almost all cold capsules, cough syrups, nasal sprays, anti- histamines, decongestants, and powdered cold remedies which mix with boiling water. Besides cold remedies, the 'two drugs are major in- gredients in virtually all over-the-counter ' diet cap- sules and appetite supres- sants. Phenylpropanolamine and pseudo -ephedrine are put in cold remedies to ease breathing and reduce con- gestion. They affect the central nervous system, causing a rapid rise in blood pressure, increased-. alert- ness and they can sometimes result in tremors and even hallucinations when dosages are exceeded, Dr. Young said. He said he first became aware of problems with the drugs last summer when called to examine a patient brought into Victoria Hospit- al's emergency department. A woman • in her early twenties had suffered a SIX WARNING SIGNS OF KIDNEY DISEASE. BURNING OR DIFFICULT URINATION MORE FREQUENT URINATION, PARTIC- ULARLY AT NIGHT BLOODY APPEARING URINE PUFFY EYES, SWOLLEN HANDS AND FEET, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN PAIN IN SMALL OF BACK BELOW RIBS (NOT AGGRAVATED BY MOVEMENT) tIIGH BLOOD PRESSURE YOUR SYMPTOMS MAY OR MAY NOT INDICATE KIDNEY DISEASE. CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR. For more Information, to donate money for research, or to pledge your kidneys for transplant, contact: Ki(ln('y h►t►n(iation of Canada massive brain hemorrhage after taking a black be,,auty supplied by her husband. Black beauties are street drugs which contain phenyl- .,propanola mine and pseudo- ephedrine as prime ingred- ients. The woman, who had taken the capsule to remain awake following shift work, was partially paralyzed and still does not have normal use of one arm. Her hemorrhage measured seven and one-half centi- metres by three and one-half centimetres, or about half the length and one-fifth the width of the head Dr. Young said. The capsule was identified as the culprit following a thorough examination by doctors which eliminated any other causes of the hemorrhage. Particularly significant was the fact that she hemorrhaged ,less than an hour after taking the capsule. About that time, Dr. Young, an assistant pro- fessor in the UWO Depart- ment of Clinical Neurol- ogical Science who practises at Victoria Hospital, began to read an increasing num- ber of cases in which phenyl- propanolamine was blamed for, not only hemorrhages, but deaths. Since Dr. Young's initial experience in emergency, another young woman was brought in with a hemorrhage of the frontal lobe after taking two black beauties. She also suffered paralysis and cannot use an arm normally. Following that late 1984 incident, London doctors treated a third young woman and a man who had also taken the drug. The man was admitted to University Hospital with a severe brain hemorrhage and almost died. Although certain people are more at risk than others, the neurologist warns against anyone taking fast - acting medicines — par- ticularly liquids — which contain more than 50 milligrams of phenyl- porpanolamine, in a single dose. Several categories of users are at risk: those who take cold medications for reasons other than treating colds and exceed the recommended dosage; people with high blood pressure or conditions of the autonomic nervous system such as diabetes; and people on some medications who may be sensitive to the drug without knowing it. It is the sudden impact of the drug on the system which can trigger hemorrhage in a reaction that Dr. Young likened to having a stick of dynamite explode inside the brain. Some cold capsules that contain 75 milligrams of the drug are reasonably safe, provided their ingredients are released into the system over a longer period of time, he said. At wit's end by Erma Bombeck I was talking with a mother who annually gathers together all the dust balls in the house and lets the kids jump in them, when lo and behold, what to her won- dering eyes should appear — under the bed, no less — but a Cabbage Patch doll. The doll was half -clothed, stain -ridden and had a wet towel draped over it. My friend couldn't believe her eyes. Was this elle doll she had put 15,000 miles on her Toy- ota to track down? Was this the -do 11-sh-e-had-baptized and - for which she put a codicil in the will? Was this the doll for which. she had marched in protest in the streets because the manufacturer was late with her..birthday card? Tell her it wasn't the doll she had to produce or sit by and watch her daughter hold her breath until she passed out. "I don't understand it," ,,she said. "This baby was the most important thing in my daughter's life. For the first couple of weeks you couldn't pry it out of her arms. Why, the entire family was plan- ning their vacation around it just as soon as her diaper rash cleared up. What hap- pened?" What happened is the "Lust -to -dust" ,syndrome. It's things your children can- not live without — until they get them. I remember the puppy that came to uve at our house whose four little paws never touched the floor for two solid weeks. Then the kids discovered a disgusting thing about the puppy. Its plumbing was not hooked up t4 the sewer system. They dropped him‘like a hot bowl- ing hall. When we got a pony, it was mi casa, su casa. They pet- ted him, fed him carrots, brushed him and pranced him around. Then they dis- covered a gross thing about him. He walked in manure and it had to be picked from his shoes. This was com- pounded by the fact that he drank 50 gallons of water in the wintertime through his face. When the water was frozen over, the ice had to be broken. Tide pony lost it the first winter. It's naive to think children have loyalties to games, bi- cycles;-tr-a-ins, erector -sets -oma books. Occasionally, one will become adamant about a stuffed animal or blanket, but I suspect that's only be- cause it's' one of the few times they can champion dirt and get away witli it: The interest span of a child, is contingent on how long it takes to get the bell out of the ball. ' When the challenge is no longer there, it's all over. How have I lasted so long? I don't kid myself. If I had come with batteries, I'd have been slung under the bed years ago, Crumw- set 4mm with ifAHT Imo'/ Let's Doing your own thing may hurt others By REV. W. LEE TRUMAN Many off the people you meet each day will be per- sons who are irresponsible and also undisciplined and consistently unhappy. These persons are those who cannot or have never learned to put their own pleasures second. The result is they get into trouble sole- ly because they do as they please. They act without re- gard for the painful conse- quences or the hurt which could come to others, or to themselves. In counseling, I find they are irregular in their habits of eating, sleeping and working. They cannot estab- lish a consistent or a healthy life pattern. John's life was coming apart for just these reasons. In talking to his mother, she told me her son as a boy would often decide to take a bath or get a haircut just as the family was sitting down to dinner. She went on and illustrated this attribute of being undisciplined again and again in his life, and also how unhappy he has always seemed to be. John, 39, can visit a bar, meet a friend or some inter- esting story/ teller and he will stay until the place closes, completely disre- garding his wife:who is fran- tic with anxiety wondering what has happened to her husband. He is always sorry, feels guilty, but keeps on doing the same thing many different ways. This is a man who is very unhappy and making every- one close to him miserable. He is living a broken, frag- mented life because of his basic lack of discipline. This kind of behavior is like that of a child. The spirit of rebellion, refusal to conform to the many disciplines of school, home, church, living for the moment — always living in a fragmented pat- tern and is always out of step. John went into his adult- hood refusing to conform. His "child" as Eric Berne has pointed out, is almost totally in control. In this attitude style, he has con- tempt for anyone who set- tles down in one place and lives an ordinarily discip- lined life with norms that others Can expect of him. The undisciplined person looks upon the disciplined without any comprehension of the other, feeling he is sensibly living a full , life, and having all the fun, and therefore feels a disciplined person is to be pitied. John fails to • realize that his sprees, nervous break- downs and other illnesses, including his aborted busi- ness ventures, have cost his responsible relatives a great deal of anxiety and unusual quantities sof money. He also fails to note that when he is. sick, broke, or in debt he falls back on the disciplined for help, moneyior security. The free -spirited "black sheep" forgets when he is up, how often he has been unhappy and also how often he has resisted efforts of his family and friends to help him find a happier and more successful way of life. John prefers to remain an outsid- er, a person above the rules. All of this is a part of the cost off civilization. There was a time when the undis- ciplined man could 'become successful and even famous doing the individualistic and dangerous work of pioneer- ing. Such persons are often decidedly gifted. Some of our most creative writers are of this type. Adventuresome men such as Lawrence of Arabia use these distinct talents and ec- centricities and leave their marks on history. But most. often, it is the frustration which leads them to the tragic. Such is the cost for a person who walks always tint of step and yet lives in a world that does not hear the drum beat they follow. F.D.R. decided en 4 On July 11, 1944, resi- dent Franklin D. Roose- velt, the only chief execu- tive to be elected to three terms, announced that he was available for a fourth. Blood meant be drained Moslems are forbidden to consume intoxicants, blood, pork and anything harmful. Before they may eat an animal it must be ritually slaughtered and drained of blood. A minlahire replica of McKenzie's medal -winning relief and four of his bronze statuettes are currently featured at, Queen's Park in an exhibit entitled: 'Celebration of Amateur) Sporr presented by Sports and Rtness Ontario, it, Q., 7 ---.-t. Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation CAR CITY CHRYSLER SELLS FOR LESS Come in now for your Spring Service CHECK-UP! Keep your, car in top running order this spring. Don't let the damp weather cause any unhappy surprises. Trust us to do a complete motor tune-up. We'II do a complete check on your carburetor and electrical system as well as brakes, Lubrication and an oil change if necessary. Call for an appoint- ment today! SAVE ON A SPRING TUNE-UP NOW! 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