June 11. “Button, I have collected some weird but interesting facts for you.”

“Really?”

“One of them is that plastic may soon grow on trees. New advances in biotechnology could allow manufacturers to produce fuel, plastic and other chemicals from plants instead of petroleum. Several companies are trying to develop specially engineered plants, such as switch grass and corn that make it easier and faster to manufacture these products.”

“It seems weird . On one hand, hundreds of trees are being hacked down every day to make way for construction. Trees reduce pollution. If we have specially engineered trees, what happens to pollution? Can these special plants cut pollution?”

“On the other hand saving petroleum is a great idea since it’s scarce and expensive. Now come and see this picture.”

“Show me.”

“It is a picture of a shoe about 5,500 years old. Crafted from a single piece of cowhide, it was still in perfect condition, right down to the laces, when it was found in a cave in Armenia. The shoe had been stuffed with grass, which was as old as the leather used to craft the right foot shoe anywhere between 5,387 and 5,637 years ago.”

“Amazing.”

“In order to raise awareness of European beach pollution, environmental campaigners have built a temporary hotel largely from rubbish in the Italian capital of Rome. Save the Beach Hotel, which is taking guests for four days only, is adorned with debris from the world’s beaches. Its five rooms and reception are lined with 12 tonnes of rubbish, including cans, toys and car exhaust pipes.”

“What a novel way to make us aware of the havoc we are causing the world over.”

“My next one is a funny one: A kookaburra has been sent to a fitness camp to lose weight because she weighed 565 grams, which is nearly 40% heavier than a normal adult bird, after she ate too many sausages. Following a rigorous exercise regime, she is winning her battle of the bulge.”

“They must have put her on a diet and stopped feeding her sausages. She couldn’t be walking on a treadmill or lifting weights though!”

“This news was reported in Open Magazine of June 18, by Alok Singh.”