How safe are Covid vaccines?

According to the NYT, no one died out of 75,000 people in trials of all all five vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax and J&J. Compare that to a representative group of 75,000 American adults, of whom about 150 have died from Covid. Also, last Tuesday, The Lancet reported that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine “appears safe and effective.”

Do you take vitamins to protect against Covid?

Protect? Probably not. They might, however, minimize the effects if I do get it. FWIW, I take vitamins C (1000 mg) and D3 (2000 IU) daily. See here.

What happened to The Seekers?

They’re still around — probably the only ‘60s group still performing with its original (1962) line-up. The pop-rock quartet had a bunch of Top Ten hits, including I’ll Never Find Another You, Morningtown Ride, Georgy Girl and The Carnival Is Over.

Why do quarters and dimes have milled edges?

Milling (more properly, reeding) dates from Roman times, when hustlers would clip off the edges of coins for their gold and silver value. Milling made this scam obvious. Although the US stopped using silver in “silver” coinage in 1965, the practice still persists.

What’s Plymouth Hoe?

(a) A grassy area next to Plymouth town in Cornwall, UK, where (supposedly) Sir Francis Drake finished his game of lawn bowls before sailing out to defend England against the Spanish Armada

(b) A place-name banned by Facebook last week under its “offensive terms” policy. (Wonder what FB will make of other well-known UK place names, e.g. Offa’s Dyke? Knob Hill? Cockfosters? Scunthorpe?) FB later apologized.

What climate change effect concerns you most?

Ocean acidification. See here.

When do we start getting exposed to microbes like viruses and bacteria?

In the mother’s birth canal en route to being born. Until then, we’re “germ-free,” the result of some 23,000 genes inherited from our parents. (Vaginal bacteria are good: allergies and asthma are far more common in C-section babies than vaginal-birth babies.)

Who took that photo-meme of Bernie at the inauguration?

Brendan Smialowski. a Washington-based photojournalist. “That picture is really not that great, it’s not the nicest composition in the world,” he told CNBC.

Where’s Bernie?