In the news

Every so often, I like to browse the paper and take a look at what is going on around the world. While browsing today, I thought I would give you a run down on my thoughts of what is currently happening around the world.

The first headline to catch my eye today was about two pilots who fell asleep, leaving the auto-pilot to do all the work.

What amazes me about this story the most is that these pilots, who could very easily have got away with this innocently, without anyone knowing, actually informed someone of what had happened and their reason for falling asleep(short breaks between long flights). It made me wonder how often this sort of thing occurs.

Thankfully, I am not a big flyer. In fact, I have only been on a plane twice; once, while going to Spain, and the second time, when retuning from Spain.

I am sure there must be rules regarding how long a shift a pilot can do, just as there are with Lorry drivers, but I wonder what they do to ensure these rules are not being broken.

What scares me most about the prospect of a plane crashing is that it could essentially happen anywhere. Planes are flying over peoples house every day and we never give them a second thought, but realistically one could crash into your home at any time.

Imagine it, you're sat in your home, sipping your drink or perhaps curled up, fast asleep in bed, while meanwhile in the sky above, two pilots are sleeping, unaware that something is about to go badly wrong. Next thing you know, there is a whopping, great, Jumbo Jet, crashing down on your house, although realistically you might not even get a chance to register that, if you were sleeping; still, it is a scary thought.

Other scary aspects of this are, what happens when you reach your destination, surely autopilot won't land you, too; so what happens then? Once it reaches the destination, will it keep circling, carry on straight past, or do something else entirely? It's just a little it scary, really.

To read more about this story check it out here.

Here are some interesting plane related facts that might make you feel a little more or a little less safe, when on a plane or under it's flight path.

1) Did you know that the pilot and co-pilot are required to eat different meals? This is a safety measure that is in place in case one meal is contaminated and causes a pilot to be sick; the theory being that if a meal is contaminated and the pilots have eaten different meals, there is less risk of them both becoming sick. In other words, while one is running to the loo, upchucking and such, the other will be fit and well enough to continue the flight; assuming he hasn't fallen asleep, of course. :)

2) It is possible to eat a plane. Well, at least if you are are Michel Lotito. This man could pretty much eat anything and frequently did. Light bulbs, Razor blades, and even broccoli, were enthusiastically consumed by the man.; the result, his teeth were worn down to little more than stumps. Still, he refused to stop. It took him 2 years in the 1990's to consume an entire Cessna 150, and he really ate it all, too, from the cockpit to the tires. How bizarre!! He even earned a world record for it.

It would have looked something like this before he ate it, and I don't know about you, but I am not all the keen on seeing what it looked like after.

Source:

Transferred from en.wikipedia;

 transferred to Commons by User:McNeight using CommonsHelper.

 3) Air transportation is the safest form of transport in the world. The chances of a plane crashing are in fact 0.001%. Okay, so your house might be safe, after all. Beware of donkeys, though, as they kill more people annually than plane crashes. I'm still betting it's a pretty low figure, though.

4) A plane lands, somewhere in the world, every 3 seconds.

And my final little fact;

5) The air, pumped into planes is one of the cleanest in the world. Awww, isn't that nice?

Also in the news, the big supermarkets, Asda and Tesco, have both been forced to withdraw two Halloween costumes that were deemed offensive due to their names," Psycho ward" and "Mental Patient," as well as the fact that they were covered in blood and gore and as such were misleading representations of people suffering mental health issues.

I can understand that people wouldn't want to be seen as being that way, if they have a mental illness. I have, in fact, suffered from depression, before, and still suffer from anxiety issues. Still, even I think this is taking political correctness too far. (Is that the right terminology?) I think most people are realistic enough to know that it is based on the fictional characters of that type that are featured in horror films and not a genuine representation of someone who is really suffering from mental health issues; especially given that in the last few years, mental illness has been far more widely accepted, but that's just my opinion.

You can check out the story here.

This next story is a little bit scary. A man in Brazil has seven huge tigers, which live with him and his family in his home. This guy even lets his little tiny granddaughter, who is just a baby, ride on its back, as well as taking the tigers out with him in the cab of his truck and letting them swim with the family in their pool.

I am speechless! I mean, it is great that they have such a good bond with these tigers; but, my fear is that one day the animals will turn around and seriously hurt, if not kill, one or more of the family members, maybe even their little chihuahua. Yes, their other pet is a tiny Chihuahua.

The father, who took in two of these animals, after finding them in poor condition at a circus, went on to breed the animals, despite not having a permit to do so. There is no doubt the animals are well cared for, but it seems as if this family has forgotten that they are wild animals and as such, could turn at any time.

Watch the video below and find out more:

I was hoping to squeeze a bit more into this post today, but sadly I have run out of time. Perhaps I will do a part two, later today or tomorrow, though. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on these news stories. 

Love and hugs,

Joss xx

P.S. Remember to watch out for those donkeys :)