h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Irradiated duck - I have no idea, but like you, I hope so.

Is that article available online?

I confess, I struggled to think of a title clue for this one, so went with an idea I couldn't quite shake which was a misdirection into think about gourmet foods.

Oops I missed Mu Beta off the legend

Mu Beta -3

You asked about the online edition try
http://www.analogsf.com/2011_04/index.shtml
they might charge for individual articles.

Can see the article - can't read it. Oh well.

All controversy aside, I'm eyeing up that Muscovy duck in my freezer and wondering how much we like crispy fried duck anyway!

Aside: ascillococcinum, I remember seing the advert on tv when I was a lad. I had no idea it was homeopathy It looked quite efficient, with big orange virtual scarves wrapping around large red virtual dots on people's throats*.

* I may confuse adverts here.

And here was me wondering whether to risk that perfumery stuff from the civet.

"I had no idea it was homeopathy."



Cant say I'm surprised. there's an ongoing campaign to get homeopathy to carry a warning label akin to cigarettes "WARNING: THIS IS NOT MEDICINE"

The UK government set up a committee to assess the validity of homeopaths the science and technology committee is a delight to read it excoriates homeopathy on every page as liars, dishonest manipulative and without a shred of evidence the government's reply was "we don't care. We think consumers should exercise choice."

But this is the same kind of exemption from scrutiny that you see in France which as you anecdotally point out means uninformed choices are made by people who don't know what a colossal fraud it is.

http://www.1023.org.uk/

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmsctech/45/4502.htm

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_117810

I'd say, at that time I was too little to care probably, though I don't remember the advert saying anything. If I saw one today, I might be more wary, but then again, I don't know how much the advertisers have to be truthful about their product but I'd certainly be more critical. Here in Germany it always makes me sad (and yes, actually sad) when I see a chemist who advertises homeopathy on their window

Speaking of cigarettes: in a coupe of months in France they will have to be adorned with yukky pictures, like for example
http://static.lexpress.fr/medias/1291/661258_un-exemple-d-image-choc-utilisee-sur-les-paquets-de-cigarettes.jpg
or
http://www.toutlenetenparle.fr/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/photo-choc-cigarette.jpg

I remember vividly running into the kitchen as a wee young thing and insisting to my mum that Flash detergent was the best detergent ever because the tv said so.

Ha ha! It reminds me of the old days laundry detergent advers, it was always the big brand comparing to "la lessive classique", classical detergent. At some point I think I believed there was such thing as "la lessive classique", in a strict sense (written on the box and all)

An artful crossword's definition by Georges Perec: "Génie, ou rival de Génie". Answer: "Ariel"

"a homeopathic 'rememedy' called "Oscillococcinum" by a French company Boiron, who once a year take a single duck and remove it's heart and liver, mash it up into a paste and then dilute the paste"

The same duck every year? No wonder it's expensive.

I think Mitchell and Webb's Homeopathic A&E sketch sums it up brilliantly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0