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citizenjournal

citizenjournal

  • Joined: Thursday, October 2nd, 2025
  • Articles: 216

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It’s a Gas

It’s a Gas

Try not to laugh but scientists at the University of Maryland have developed a device that they hope will clear the air on a delicate topic – flatulence. Previous research has more often than not fallen a bit flat because of relying on self reporting by volunteers of their flatus (the scientific name for passing wind, farts or one of the many other names used for this expelling of intestinal gas), but the creation of “Smart Underwear” looks to have allowed the researchers to let rip in this field of study.

The wearable device snaps discreetly onto any underwear and tracks intestinal gas production around the clock using electrochemical sensors, says Brantley Hall, an assistant professor at UMD who’s leading the research. “Think of it like a continuous glucose monitor, but for intestinal gas,” Hall said. The device tracks hydrogen in flatus in a much more comfortable and reliable way than previously available, and doesn’t allow anyone to “blame it on the dog”!

Frequent Handling Of English

Frequent Handling Of English

One of the delights of etymology is the discovery of unexpected connections between words and there is no richer source of these than the class of words known as frequentatives.  Never heard of them?  But you use them all the time.  For instance… when you are fond of something you might find yourself fondling it.  To fondle was formed simply by adding -le to the word fond and many other frequentatives are formed along the same lines.  Thus, a handle is meant to be grasped by a hand, a spindle is used in spinning and one treads upon a treadle.

Both saddle and settle (meaning “bench”) are frequentative forms of seat and a bundle (or bindle) is something which is bound.  A griddle is a kind of grill, a cradle is essentially a crate and when milk forms curds it is said to curdle. Some are not so obvious, though.  To cuddle meant to be couth (i.e. “snug, cosy”) and we lade soup with a ladle.  If we tumble we almost “perform an acrobatic feat” as this is what the old verb to tumb meant.  We use a bridle to pull at a horse’s head because to braid  originally meant “to pull from side to side”.   The word swaddle is seldom heard these days except at Christmas and then only in the form swaddling-bands.  These strips of cloth were once used to swathe (i.e. “wrap”) babies.

Smokey Mountains
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE FOREST FIRES NEAR HUA HIN

Smokey MountainsFIREFIGHTERS BATTLE FOREST FIRES NEAR HUA HIN

Residents across much of Hua Hin and Cha Am were affected by smoke and other air pollution emanating from several forest fires to the north west of Hua Hin, close to the Black Mountain golf course and water park. The Suomi NPP satellite detected three heat hotspots in the area (approximately shown on the map further down in this article), with one in the morning of Tuesday 27th January, and another two subsequently, which were followed up by reports from citizens. Officials from the Phetchaburi Provincial Office of Natural Resources and Environment, and an initial team of 20 officers from three different teams went to the area to contain and extinguish the fires, followed up with a further 25 personnel and a helicopter on the ensuing days.

All the detected fires were part of one cluster, which would have had the same starting point, although neither the details of that nor what caused the fire to start have yet been reported. The terrain made some parts difficult to access, which is where the helicopter was utilised to scoop up water from nearby resources and then drop it to damp down the fires; 30 water drops were carried out, releasing a total of 15,000 litres of water. By Wednesday afternoon (28th January) officials announced that the situation was under control, although work and observation was continuing into Thursday, with firebreaks being reinforced and inspections aimed at preventing flare-ups.

The Eagle’s Not Landing!
PALACE STUNNED AS LIVE EAGLE MASCOT REQUESTS TRANSFER

The Eagle’s Not Landing!PALACE STUNNED AS LIVE EAGLE MASCOT REQUESTS TRANSFER

Crystal Palace are set to face another key departure from their ranks, with the news that their only remaining attacker, Phoenix the eagle, has submitted a transfer request. This is a devastating blow to the club following the departure of Marc Guehi, and the imminent transfer of Jean-Claude Mateta in this transfer window, and after Ebere Eze’s move to Arsenal last summer. Phoenix has been ever present for the side since his introduction in August 2024, and has been pivotal in the club’s success which culminated in last season’s FA Cup win.

However this season is suddenly turning into a nightmare for Oliver Glasner’s side, with their shock exit in the Third Round of the FA Cup to lowly Macclesfield, and the current exodus of club favourites. The announcement by Phoenix’s representatives of his desire to leave has devastated fans, with one season ticket holder, Simon, writing this on his Facebook page – “Phoenix has been a mainstay for this club ever since he replaced Kayla, and had been soaring to even greater heights, and we had high hopes for him, so to hear this now after everything we have been through is massively disappointing. I can’t see why he would want to leave – he’s at the top of the pecking list here, he has the run of the place and no one is going to knock him off his perch. And even more disappointing is the news that Brighton are interested.”

Suspect In Deadly Robbery Swiftly Arrested
HUA HIN AND PROVINCIAL POLICE PRAISED AFTER SWOOP TO NAB KILLER

Suspect In Deadly Robbery Swiftly ArrestedHUA HIN AND PROVINCIAL POLICE PRAISED AFTER SWOOP TO NAB KILLER

A man who was caught on CCTV attacking a hotel receptionist in the early hours of Monday (19th January) while she was sleeping behind the counter, who died from the injuries he inflicted, has been quickly tracked down and arrested by local and provincial police on Tuesday afternoon (20th January). The horrific and brutal attack on Wirin “Nui” Thaolipo, 35, was carried out during a robbery at the hotel in Soi Hua Hin 88/1, as the man paced around in the reception area before climbing over the counter and striking her at least 14 times with an iron bar, which he left at the scene. He then stole two mobile phones and a black bag before fleeing.

The suspect, Rattikorn Yingyod, 36, originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat province, was described as homeless. Police said he had a long criminal history, including sexual assault, physical abuse, theft, and drug-related offences, committed in Nakhon Ratchasima. The arrest was made after he was found hiding near a railway U-turn bridge close to Hua Hin Soi 42, laying face down in long grass, and apparently resisted arrest. The police had to calm and restrain some people who had gathered nearby, some of whom have been reported as relatives of the victim, and had to quickly take Yingyod away for questioning and the necessary legal procedures.

It’s So HOT In Here!

It’s So HOT In Here!

Everyone, in every language, refers to temperature, probably multiple times a day, whether referring to themselves, the weather (particularly the British!), or without necessarily realising it or any presence of noticeable physical temperature (read on for this last one). Let’s begin with the basic words hot and heat; the difference between the adjective and the noun is merely a change of vowels. This alteration of an internal vowel is known as an ablaut inflection. It is a very ancient trait of Indo-European languages which has all but disappeared from most modern languages although it is still quite common in English.  Thus we have sit, sat and seat, raise, rise and rose, draw and drew and many others. The entire process seems so natural to speakers of English that Americans invented the word dove (as in swimming pool, not as in aviary) as the past tense of dive. (The British word is dived.)

Another ablaut inflection is Het, being the past tense of the verb to heat.  So, to get all het up is to become “all heated up”. A heat meant the same as a heating. Thus a cookery book of 1430 instructs us to “sette it on the fire an giffe it an hete” where we might have said “set it on the fire and give it a heating”. This sense of heat led to its use in racing. Before racing a horse it would be given a preparatory run. Today, we would refer to this as a “warming-up exercise” but in the 16th century it was called giving the horse a heat (i.e. “a heating”). In time, any preliminary run before a final race became known as a heat and when two runners cross the finish line together it is called a dead heat.

Lost On The Bus
WHERE IS MY INFLATABLE DINOSAUR COSTUME?

Lost On The BusWHERE IS MY INFLATABLE DINOSAUR COSTUME?

We have probably all left something behind on occasion, but when you leave it on a bus, its not always so easy to retrieve it. When you are the bus company though, you accumulate a lot of expected items, like bags and brollies (umbrellas for US readers), but also some quite odd ones. A British bus company has revealed the most unusual items to wind up in its lost and found in 2025 included a box of fortune cookies and an inflatable dinosaur costume (main image but not the actual item; attribution – JMacPherson from Calgary, Canada, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).

The Oxford Bus Company said its customer service department logged a total 4,387 lost and found items in 2025, and 1,013 of those items — about 23 percent — were returned to their owners. The transit company said the most unusual items to cross the customer service desk included a bag of rubber ducks, a box of fortune cookies, an inflatable dinosaur costume, a baby bonsai tree, a potato with googly eyes, a jar of pickled onions, a bicycle tire, a 22-pound bag of rice, several Nerf guns and a yoga mat covered with inspirational quotes.

Your Horoscopes

Aries | March 21 to April 19

Your triumphant exit from the worst job you’ve ever had is spoiled when a wino drenches you in flammable vodka vomit and sets you on fire with a menthol cigarette.

Taurus | April 20 to May 20

You are a person of uncommon vision. No matter who attempts to dissuade you, hold fast to your belief that your genitals are cramped and need to roam free.

Gemini | May 21 to June 20

The stars are peeved that you didn’t renew your subscription to Sky & Telescope magazine, so expect a fat, painful cyst on your ass.

Cancer | June 21 to July 22

Take comfort that your funeral next Friday will set attendance records at Radio City Music Hall, as all of New York celebrates.

A Beach Treat
CHA AM OFFERING A NATURAL BEACH EXPERIENCE

A Beach TreatCHA AM OFFERING A NATURAL BEACH EXPERIENCE

Have you ever wished to go to a beach completely free of umbrellas, deckchairs, tables and other things cluttering the natural beauty? Well, after the initial Wednesdays in Cha Am promotion, where the local authorities set aside a five kilometre stretch of the beach to be an ‘umbrellas and deckchairs not welcome’ space, they have now expanded this so that every weekday at the southern end of Cha-am Beach the beach will be completely open to create a more natural, and relaxed beach experience, free to be used by beachgoers as they wish – so, for example, pitching their own tent or placing their own beach mat so they can enjoy the beach as nature provided, rather than the rather more crowded experience at the central part, similar to the area on Hua Hin Beach near the Hilton, particularly at weekends.

As part of this effort, repairs have been completed to the beachfront steps, which had been damaged by seawater erosion, restoring them to their original condition. The engineering department has also been instructed to improve the area on South Cha-am beach to facilitate tourists for pitching tents, laying mats, and parking. Due to the number of people visiting from Bangkok on weekends, businesses are allowed to provide the normally ever present umbrellas, chairs and tables that have historically been there, but the hope is that local people can enjoy the beach more during the rest of the week. The main image above (Attribution: Ahoerstemeier, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons) is a typical example of what the main beach looks like on a weekend.

Dangerous Seas Claim Another Life
CANADIAN TOURIST DROWNS WHILE SWIMMING NEAR KHAO TAKIAB

Dangerous Seas Claim Another LifeCANADIAN TOURIST DROWNS WHILE SWIMMING NEAR KHAO TAKIAB

The body of a 63 year old Canadian tourist was recovered on 10th January from the sea off Sam Roi Yot district in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, three days after he was swept away by strong waves while swimming. The ongoing search had been paused until sea conditions improved, but a local fishing boat spotted a body floating near Don Ta Khaeng sandbank, about one nautical mile offshore, and brought it ashore after reporting it to police. The deceased was noted immediately as a foreign male, approximately 60 years old, wearing grey swimwear, and with distinctive tattoos on the left shoulder and right arm. No wounds or signs of assault were found and authorities estimated that he had been dead for at least two days before being recovered, after which the body was taken to Sam Roi Yot Hospital for preservation.

A foreign tourist came forward later that day and confirmed the identity of the deceased as his friend, Mr Thom Gregory John, aged 63, a Canadian national, who police discovered had travelled to Hua Hin district on 7 January with two friends and checked into a local hotel. He later went swimming in the sea near the side of Wat Khao Takiab, despite strong waves, and was swept under and disappeared. At the time of the incident, officials launched a full search and rescue effort but were forced to halt operations due to sea waves measuring approximately two to three metres in height, which made conditions unsafe.

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