European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse All that s weird and wonderful will Tolah Ruthea be Obi Olet by the next Century by Leslie Shepherd associated pressm in Tell jokes because they Ollen have Lilloo Elso 1o say to one another. Extraterrestrials Are Loo Busy o Contact Earth. Crocodiles contain clues to what causes Clef palates in humans by Iho next Century look brushes will to obsolete huge tides will threaten to engulf Britain and now telephones will thwart obscene callers All the Lales weird and won Carlut breakthroughs in the word of science and near science came to Light recently in Belfast. Northern Ireland where the 156 year old British association for Tho advancement of science held ils annual meeting. Originally slab listed to bring together the Lales scientific finds the association has been partly supplanted by professional journals Over i he years. But in remains an annual source of Delight and fascination and ils proceedings ill whole pages of newspapers. Humor was one o the More serious topics this year. Jonathan Miller a qualified physician and accomplished professional comedian explained his theory that men Tell jokes because their social awkwardness inhibits them from discussing Moro serious things. Women simply Don t seem to require jokes in the same Way men he told the 2.500 delegates in an auditorium at Queen s University Belfast. Christie Davies. A sociology Pio lessor Al Reading University revealed thai there is a More or less fixed Pool of ethnic jokes which each country adapts to its own needs in Brilain it s the Irish. Davies did t think the jokes wore racist saying. They Are a kind of thermometer rather than causing heat in moving right along. Sir David Bales professor emeritus of theoretical physics at Queen s University in Belfast explained the absence of messages from outer space by saying the extraterrestrials Woro probably otherwise engaged. Bates conjectured that civilizations that Are technologically ahead of Earlh Are Loo intelligent to waste thai reports sending messages into space. Then the conference moved on to Teeth with biologist the Aerial burial Biz by Bill Lohmann United press International for those souls who consider being chucked Inlo a Hole in the ground after Deal a Lille cold and Boring a one of a kind service dubbed Aerial burial provides a flight alternative. For a few Hundred dollars Thomas and Catherine Trimble husband and Wile founders of Sweet Chariot inc. In Chamblee ga., will carry aloft a person s cremated remains in a helicopter and scatter them in a designated location which can be just about anywhere. Mountains and lakes seem to be the most popular final testing places. Almost anyplace is acceptable although the Trimbles have a steadfast Rule against sprinkling remains Over neighbourhoods. We re very discreet where we release said mrs. Trimble. Like if we re supposed to release Over a Lake and there s a Fisherman in a boat Al the designated spot we won t dump them on the Fisherman. Well go Back later. But we gel All kinds of requests. A woman called the other Day and asked if we d release Over a football held. I said Well Why not h we gel permission Well do that. But not if a game s going on and the stadium s full of added Trimble this is an alternative for a funeral. Funerals can be expensive and a lol of people would Tike to go Back to the Earth from where they came " the Trimbles came up with the idea for Aerial burial a couple of years ago when an elderly Uncle died and they wore left wondering what to do cremation was one answer but then what i could not Bear the thought of bringing his cremated remains Back Inlo my Homo mrs Trimble said. One Day. Her husband a helicopter Pilot for several years decided he would Fly to his Uncle s favorite fishing spot in Remote North Georgia and scatter his remains across the Lake. Tom came Back and said what a Beautiful thing it was mrs. Trimble recalled. We decided in was a great thing and thought we could help other people because people Are really pretty ignorant about death and what s available death is one of those things that people never discuss very much when they started the part time business mrs. Trimble acknowledged our attorney thought we were crazy but it seemed like a Good idea. I know there Are a lol of cremated remains out there in attics and car trunks and sitting on Coffee tables because people just Don t know what to do with Uncle dressed in Black when they work the Trimbles begin their service by carrying the cremated remains creams to those in the business to peach tree Dekalb Airport in Chamblee. A suburb of Atlanta in a Black Van that has curtains in the Back windows. Thai s our mini Hearse mrs. Trimble said. The cremains which weigh Only a few pounds and Are considered sterile material by the environmental Protection Agency Are loaded along with a single White Carnation into a Cylinder attached to the skid of a two Seal helicopter. Once Over the designated spot the ashes and Carnation Are re cased by a lever in Iho cockpit. The Trimbles say they can to very precise in Hilling a specific target in the helicopter is to Venn close to the ground an air foil in the Cylinder forces Down the wednesday september 9. 1987 Mark Ferguson of Manchu scr University predicting look brushes would be obsolete by the next can Iury. Thanks to anti decay vaccines and mouthwashes containing genetically engineered bacteria he even imagined tinkering with dental cells to enable adults to grow new Teeth whenever the old ones wore out. Ferguson also reported he was experimenting on Crocodile eggs to discover Iho cause of Cleft palate explaining that the palates of crocodiles and humans have some similar characteristics. Or. Michael Han head of the chemotherapy division of Roche products pharmaceutical company reported on now aids drugs but said the Ulli Malo goal was in folic engineering to Cut Tho virus out of individual culls if this Over proves possible then the implications will raise serious ethical and moral questions perhaps As difficult to answer As those relating to aids its Cal Hafl said. It would mean Hal we could manipulate Al will the human genetic Pool produce super races modify ethnic traits excise socially habits m fact produce Poorte to acquired immune deficiency syndrome a fatal disease for which there is no cure wrecks the body s natural ability to fight disease and infection aids is most often transmitted through sexual con acl environmentalism Bill Carter of the University of Ulster warned that Iho warming of the Earth would raise sea Levels by 11 eel in the coming 120 years and flood much of Brilain. On a happier note communications Engineer Michael Miller predicted a Telephone for the 1990s that would record an incoming caller s number making in easier to catch obscene callers. More than 400 papers were read this year a i what is considered one of the biggest concentrations of brainpower in the British Isles and speaking of brainpower zoologist Michael Crawford came up with an intriguing theory about what separates Man from the apes. It s All in the Diel he fold the gathering Man Gol smarter when he moved from the Savannah to the shores and started eating Lish. Ii was the polyunsaturated lats found in cod Mackerel Freshwater Salmon crabs and shellfish that made the difference he said. Ashes quickly or they can Scalier the remains literally Over Miles by Hying High and fast it s up to the customer. Some families hold funerals nearby As the ashes Are released while others simply provide instructions and wish the remains to be distributed in total Solitude. All families receive a burial certificate from Sweet Chariot com tale with time and Dale of release As Well As Lali Lude and Longitude. The Trimble charge a base fee of $750 and add $50 for every 25 mites they must Fly outside Allan la. They have Scall ered people s ashes All Ovet Georgia the Only state in which they Are licensed to operate irom the coastline of Savannah to the Foothills of the Blue Ridge the Trimbles say they provide the Only helicopter Aerial burial service m the Southeast and figure they have Tittle direct Competition anywhere in America. In the 2vj years they have been flying ashes across Georgia they have scattered the remains of dozens of people. They plan to expand their base of operations to other parts of the state and possibly the nation. We Hope to cover the country Trimble said. Of course anybody in business thinks like funeral Homes do not think much of Aerial burial. Alter All it cots into Char business. But the tumbles believe Cre Mahon and the scattering of remains across the Countryside will become Lar More prominent in the future. I think it s absolutely Beauli Lul ,-1rs Trimble said the ashes Are sprinkled on the Earth where god intended them to be. If you believe in ashes to ashes and dust Locust this is very dignified and very the stars and stripes Page 17
