중앙데일리

Pushing the ethical envelope

"Les Animaux Denatures" ("You Shall Know Them") by the French writer and illustrator, Jean Bruller (1902-1991), shocks readers. In the novel, published in 1953, an anthropologist happens to meet a very odd tribe during his travels in Africa. In the book, it is difficult to judge whether the tribe is human beings or apes. To judge, the anthropologist marries a "female" in the tribe and becomes the father of a hybrid child. But he finally kills the…

Dec 17,2002
Missiles and starry dreams

Among the pioneers of rocketry, many were impressed by the science fiction in their youth. Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) of Germany, who developed the V-2, the first modern rocket, was an avid reader of "Round the Moon," by Jules Verne (1828-1905) and "The First Men in the Moon," by H. G. Wells (1866-1946). Mr. Braun's teacher, Hermann Oberth, read "From the Earth to the Moon," by Mr. Verne. Robert H. Goddard, called the "father of America's mode…

Dec 16,2002
When moving day is years

The Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's congress, had a heated historical debate in Bonn on June 20, 1991. Although it was agreed that Berlin would be the new capital city upon unification, the location of congress and the administration had not been decided. One hundred and four legislators appealed to congress to vote for either Berlin or Bonn. Regardless of partisanship, all the lawmakers were divided. Those from East Germany supported…

Dec 14,2002
Two symbols of reliability

Since 1966, Koreans have used the 10-won coin, which has a value of about 8/10 of a cent. The coin is inscribed with the Dabotap, a pagoda standing at the center of a Buddhist temple, national treasure No. 20 built in 756 during the Silla Dynasty. Ten won was the largest denomination for coins at the time; it was cast by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corpor-ation under the aegis of Park Chung Hee, who had seized power in a military c…

Dec 13,2002
Keep it simple, stupid!

"Keep it simple, stupid!" That short sentence embodied the initial strategy of the multinational fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. This came to be known by many as the acronym KISS. Corporate history states that McDonald's was established by Ray Kroc in 1955. But the symbolic golden-arched M and the company's key "original fast food" strategy all originated from the brothers Morris and Richard McDonald. The brothers from New Hampshire mo…

Dec 12,2002
Alexander the not-so-Great

The northwestern region of Pakistan, now well known as the possible hideout for remaining Taliban squads, is a cultural area shared by ancient occidental and oriental peoples. In Chitral in the Hindukushi mountains exist the ancestors of a primitive pagan group named Kafir-Kalash, also known as "Wearers of Black Robes." Symbols of a cultural exchange between the East and the West, these people are the offspring of ancient Greeks. They still be…

Dec 11,2002
Inside intelligence

Who do you think employs the most mathematicians? The answer is the National Security Agency in Washington, D.C., where secret information about every country is saved on computers. Where would you think the most computer engineers work? Again, the National Security Agency. At this moment, engineers at the agency are doing their best to develop or to install new electronic devices. A good number of linguists there are also helping to decode bugge…

Dec 10,2002
Puff, puff, puff

Imagine this: "Smokers have disappeared all over the world, except in Japan. Even in that despised, cigarette-underdeveloped country, an anti-smoking movement has begun to gear up at last. "In the beginning, smokers debated non-smokers in newspapers and magazines. But as time went by, columns supporting smoking disappeared in the media. Finally, cigarette shops were closed down and nonsmoking activists burned down the few shops that dared t…

Dec 09,2002
A burning issue

To see candles decorating a dinner table at a Western restaurant is a common sight. At this time of year, many homeowners in the West light candles as well. In fact, a visitor to a home there often inspires lighting candles for a meal. The consumption of candles is great all over the world. A department store or a supermarket usually has a candle section, and there are shops specializing in candles. In those shops, hundreds of kinds of candles ex…

Dec 07,2002
Keeping the faith in these times

"There is neither the Lord's supper nor the Church without the dignity of the bishop," said St. Ignatius in a letter he wrote in 107 A.D., putting emphasis on the importance of priests. Ignatius wrote seven letters that would be the spiritual cornerstone of early Christianity. The bulk of the letters emphasized the bishop's authority. An archbishop, he offered, could be interpreted as a protege of the Twelve Apostles, who preached the authorit…

Dec 06,2002

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