Sideswipe: 30 November: Quiet please, the Lemon Raspberry Loaf is sleeping

Albatross divorce rate climbing

According to IFLScience, these normally monogamous birds may be more likely to cut and run when things get tough as changes in the environment put extra stress on their relationship. Divorces in socially monogamous species usually come about when there is failing fecundity – that is, the ability to produce offspring – or unhealthy chicks. The climate crisis can have a significant influence on the environment which can impact the birth rate of wild animals and the health of their offspring. We see it in reptiles such as crocodiles and turtles, whose eggs hatch underground. Increasing temperatures have seen broods cooked alive in some of the areas worst affected by climate change.

Historical Karen

Of the 62 people Ann Putnam Jr accused and testified against during the Salem Witch Trials, 20 were executed. One victim was tortured to death, and one died in prison. She was one of the most important key witnesses in the infamous trials. Sixteen years after testifying, she publicly apologised, claiming she was “deluded by Satan”. Thomas Putnam Jr’s eldest daughter named more people than anyone else. There is a long history of the Putnam family’s decline and her father Thomas Putnam Jr had the most to gain from a lot of the accusations and it’s speculated his daughter did a lot of finger-pointing at his behest. A total of 177 people were accused of witchcraft and, as other villages got caught up in the midst of the hysteria, accusations created power. Once the accusers held that power, they couldn’t be targeted. After the trials, Ann’s parents died suddenly in 1699, and she was left to raise her seven siblings. When she later wanted to join the Salem Village Church, she first had to apologise. The church forgave her and accepted her as a member. Her apology is much more of a non-apology since it seems to be more about protecting her local standing by fighting the stigma of her involvement. Still, she is the only accuser to seek forgiveness, but she placed the blame on Satan and not herself.

Hot Panini is in big trouble

Old school driving test

Eric Bennett of Red Beach writes: “Your Sideswipe about the unlicensed 37-year-old driving his car to the driving test brought back memories. I did the same in 1954, as a 23-year-old while working in Mangakino on the hydroelectric construction. The testing officer was a traffic cop who came to Mangakino every two weeks. I had made a prior booking, then on the day drove my Hillman 10 and hid it behind a shed close to the hut where the traffic cop would be waiting. I walked into the hut and presented myself. The cop said, ‘Well, where is the car?’ I told him: ‘Behind that shed.’ He said: ‘Well, go and get it I am not going to walk all the way over there.’ No verbal or written test just a drive up and down the road. Passed with flying colours.”

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