June 20, 2011 - IMM@BUCT

newscriptsMELON MINES, BEAR SCARE, DOG DAYS15 th AnnualGreen Chemistry& EngineeringConference&5th InternationalConference onGreen andSustainableChemistryWashington, D.C.June 21-23, 2011www.gcande.orgThe official first day of summer is finallyhere, and the Newscripts gang hasbeen hankering for a hunk of juicywatermelon. But we recently learned thattrying to speed up the delivery of summer’ssignature fruit is not without its hazards.Farmers in eastern China recently had tododge flying pips and fleshy fruit shrapnelduring an outbreak of EXPLODING WATER-MELONS. The culprit? A combination ofimpatience and the chemical forchlorfenuron.The plant growth accelerator, which isused on grapes and kiwi in the U.S., appearsto have been applied too late in the seasonand during a rainy period in China. The results:fibrous watermelons with white seedsthat burst like “land mines,” according to aChinese Central Television (CCTV) report.“On May 7, I cameout and counted 80[bursting watermelons],but bythe afternoon, itwas 100,” farmerLiu Mingsuo toldCCTV. “Two dayslater, I didn’tbother to countanymore.” In all, 20farmers and 115 Watermelons:Growing so fastacres of melonsthat they burst.were affected. But Frighteningthe bad news for inflatable: Drawingmelon lovers has from patent showsbeen a boon forhow a bear-scaringdevice works.pigs and fish—they’re feasting onthe pulpy remains of the fruit-gone-boom.U.S. PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE SHUTTERSTOCKIn other news of things that go boom,thanks to Marc Abrahams’ June 6“Improbable Research” column in theGuardian newspaper, we recently learnedof a proposed DEVICE FOR SCARINGBEARS, moose, and mountain lions thatmight cross your path during a wildernesshike.In 2003, Adam Bell and Anthony Saundersapplied for a patent for the so-calledPop-Up Device for Deterring an AttackingAnimal Such as a Bear (U.S. Patent ApplicationNo. 10/634,719). It features aninflatable figure designed to pop up froma knapsack, piece of clothing, or the hilt ofa walking stick to scare belligerent bears.Noises, smoke, projectiles, or a musky odorcould be added to convince the bears thatthis is not an inflatable doll to be messedwith.In describing the action of the device,Bell and Saunders note, “The figure shouldbe fully inflated within less than 1 minute,or within less than 30 seconds, or preferablywithin less than 10 seconds, or mostpreferably within less than 5 seconds.”Furthermore, they say, the device is “detachableand may be left in place, betweenthe human and the bear as the humanretreats.” Sadly, the patent appears to havebeen abandoned.Although it’s not the dog daysof summer yet, the chemistrydepartment at the University ofRichmond has been havingdog days for the pastfive months—as theyhelp RAISE A PUPPYfor Guiding Eyes forthe Blind. The dog,named Dell, goeshome each night withchemistry facultymembers Carol Parishand Marty Zeldin, buthe spends his daysamong the students.“We spend time teachinghim basic commands and socializinghim to new and different environments,”Parish says.It turns out that a chemistry departmentis a great place to raise a guide dog, Parishtells Newscripts. Dell encounters manydifferent types of people and has to learnto handle all sorts of distractions. Parishnotes that because she’s a theoretician, labsafety isn’t an issue, and students know tosteer the pup clear of harm’s way.Dell is now eight months old and will staywith the department for at least anothereight months before he heads off to harnesstraining with Guiding Eyes. “If he makes thegrade,” Parish says, “he’ll eventually becomea service dog to a visually impaired person.”BETHANY HALFORD wrote this column.Please send comments and suggestions tonewscripts@acs.org.WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 48 JUNE 20, 2011