A real smell of money. . .
QUESTION What have been the world’s strangest currencies?
CONCH shells, beads, salt and even giant stones, which were used on the tiny Micronesian island of Yap, are strange types of payment used in the past.
A scratch and sniff coin is one of the weirder currencies of recent times.
In the 18th century, the paper money issued by several British-American colonies featured the portentous words: ‘To counterfeit is death.’
In the inter-war period, Germany suffered from hyper-inflation. Towns issued notgeld (emergency money) printed on everything from wood and aluminium foil to playing cards to try to circumvent the depreciating value of the mark.
When Joseph Mobutu was overthrown in 1997, the new Congolese government could not afford to print its own currency. It took large stacks of old 20,000 Zaire notes and simply punched out Mobutu’s image.
The Pacific nation of Palau is famous for its strange coins. A former German colony, in 2010 it celebrated the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War by issuing a colourful coin of a knight thrusting two swords into the ground.
In 2010, its Scent of Paradise coin featured a surfer on a blue scratch-and-sniff wave that released the scent of the ocean.
In 2008, on the 150th anniversary of the first apparition seen by St Bernadette in southern France, Palau issued a commemorative coin with a pipette containing holy water from Lourdes.
In 2007, Mongolia issued a 500 Tugrik coin that featured the image of assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy, with a button that, when pressed, played a short clip from his famous ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech.
In 2008, Somalia produced 3D coins in the shape of a pyramid, cube, orb, cylinder and cone. The silver-plated cupro-nickel coins had a denomination of $1. They were so popular they were re-issued in 2014. Somalia has also released coins in the shape of a car, bike and guitar.
Michael Reeve, Beaumaris, Anglesey.
QUESTION Was there any fighting in Venice during World War II?
BY SPRING 1945, northern Italy’s railways and roads had been damaged severely, forcing the German occupiers to resort to shipping goods into Venice and then along rivers and canals.
An attack on the harbour was deemed necessary by Allied Command, despite the high risk of damage to the city’s architectural and artistic treasures.
on March 21, 1945, British officer George Westlake commanded operation Bowler to knock out German shipping in Venice. The Allied commanders let it be known that anyone who damaged Venice’s architectural heritage in the strike would be ‘bowler-hatted’, that is, discharged from the military.
Westlake led the dive-bombing run, a nearly vertical descent from 10,000 ft, which destroyed German vessels. Venetians on rooftops watched the bombing raid unscathed.
The Allies’ major ground offensive began on April 6, 1945, advancing northwards towards the Alps.
By April 28, the 2nd new Zealand Division of the 8th Army were at Padua, 25 miles from Venice and the last major obstacle on the line of advance.
Venice rose up against the Fascist-nazi occupation. Political prisoners were liberated from Santa Maria Maggiore prison to join the struggle, and there were battles at Piazzale roma and the harbour station. In several parts of the city there were skirmishes and gunfire. on April 29, 1945, the day after the execution of the country’s Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, Venice was liberated by the British Eighth Army under the command of Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg of the new Zealand 2nd Division. Before leaving for Trieste, Freyberg ‘captured’ the famous hotel Danieli for his officer’s digs — it was rumoured he’d spent his honeymoon there. Alexander Briggs, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
QUESTION Is there proof copper and/or magnetic bracelets ease arthritis?
WEARING therapeutic copper or magnetic bracelets to relieve ailments dates to ancient times.
Copper is an essential trace mineral that helps form red blood cells and keeps bones healthy. The theory behind wearing a copper bracelet is that minute quantities of the metal leach through the skin into the bloodstream to replenish any deficit.
A similar theory relates to static magnets, whose magnetic field is thought to attract iron in red blood cells and increase the circulation of nutrients through the body — despite the fact that iron in blood isn’t ferromagnetic.
In 2013, a randomised controlled study to assess the efficacy of copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps was conducted by a team led by Dr Stewart richmond, a research fellow in the Department of health Sciences at York University.
Seventy patients with arthritis wore bracelets made of copper, magnets or a placebo for five months. They reported how they felt and were given blood tests to check inflammation levels.
It was concluded neither the copper nor the magnets were any more effective than the placebo.
Dr richmond suggests there are two reasons why wearers sometimes report benefit: ‘Devices such as these provide a placebo effect for users who believe in them. People normally begin wearing them during a flare-up. As symptoms subside naturally over time, they confuse this with a therapeutic effect.’ Dr Ian Smith, Cambridge.
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