Of all the animals of prey, man is the only sociable one.
Every one of us preys upon his neighbour, and yet we herd together.
The Beggar's Opera: John Gay

Sunday 17 November 2013

Geology fail

From, of course, the Mail...

Europe's largest and most volatile volcano Mount Etna spews molten lava from the earth's core thousands of feet above the Sicilian countryside



...but then, why let the facts get in the way of a spectacular headline?

11 comments:

  1. When quite young I thought it was Mount Edna and wondered if it had anything to do with a relative of volatile temperament called Edna. There are still times when a slip of the tongue refers to Edna.

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  2. Wonderful, Demetrius!

    Did having one in the family - as far as you knew - make it inevitable that you should grow up with an interest in the subject of volcanoes?

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  3. I was living not all that far from there and people were constantly asking if anyone had heard if it had started. Everyday conversation, like,our weather.

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  4. JH, I can see that it could become something of a preoccupation.

    Meanwhile, spare a thought for my nephew who, in 2010, spent a week's geology field trip hanging about on the slopes of a stubbornly inactive Etna only to have his flight home turned into a 48-hour coach trip by the ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull.

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  5. Ah yes, the Vesuvius eruption of March 1944. An uncle was serving with the 10th Royal Hussars in Italy at the time.

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  6. Come to think of it,Demetrius, it's been a while since your most recent prognostications on the subject of the wrath of Hephaestos (or, for that matter, Poseidon); from your researches, is there anything new in the offing?

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  7. Have been tempted a time or two and there are the usual things going on. The earthquake pattern seems to have changed. At the moment I am divided between those where the quakes are twitchy and those where it has gone quiet, perhaps too quiet. Then Yellowstone seems to be rising, but what next. It will be something but how soon and how big?

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  8. Demetrius, a 4.5 in Northern France this morning - the start of a new pattern?

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