The fruit that looks like coronavirus

Familiar Sight: A strawberry picked from a reader's garden looks a lot like the coronavirus and its nasty little spike proteins.

Greg Berwick was looking at some old photos when he found this one from 2018.

"It's a photo of a strawberry picked from my garden and I thought it looked a lot like the images we see almost every day in the papers of coronavirus," Greg said.

The photo does indeed send a bit of a shiver down our spine, given that the green shoots remind us of the nasty spike proteins from SARS-2-CoV - the virus that causes COVID-19.

This reminds us of a recent piece in The Conversation by University of Newcastle senior lecturer in the School of Creative Industries, Simon Weaving.

Simon noted that the virus had been depicted in many colours, including red, orange, blue, yellow and green.

Simon urged designers creating images of the virus to "embrace the colourless sub-microscopic world that viruses inhabit and accept their greyness".

The idea of greyness fits the "scientific notion that viruses are suspended somewhere between the dead and the living".

Only problem is, there isn't any grey fruit.

The New Normal

Birthday Ritual: Blowing out candles may end. Picture: Leo Hidalgo

Glen Fredericks, of Adamstown Heights, wonders what the "new normal" will be like when the pandemic ends.

"I think that when things go back to normal and birthday parties are back to being a part of our everyday life, blowing out candles (and all over the cake) will be a thing of the past," Glen said.

Send your thoughts on the new normal to topics@newcastleherald.com.au.

Sharks and Panthers

Tony Davis, of Elermore Vale, enjoyed our story about a black panther sighting at Redhead.

"Years ago, around the 1960s, a group of us ran on the beach at Redhead in the early mornings," Tony said.

"We normally ran to Second Creek and back to the clubhouse, then had a swim and a shower and drove home and got dressed to go to work. Most of us were teachers."

In those days, there were several exchange teachers from the US working in local schools.

One, named John, was at Whitebridge High School. He joined the group of beach runners.

John asked: "Are there sharks in the water here, guys?"

One of the runners, Graham, replied: "Yes John, but don't worry too much."

"What should I do, Graham, if I see a shark approaching me when I'm in the water?"

"Well," replied Graham, "You must float on your back, then pull your legs up under your chin, pretending to be a duck. Then make a noise like a duck."

John: "Why is this, Graham?"

Graham: "Well, sharks hate feathers and, having bitten you, he will spit you straight out again!"

The group continued to run, swim and enjoy each other's company for many years. They never did see any sharks.

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