Safari Magazine | December 2012 Issue | Views And Reviews

With the cover page showing the high resolution photograph of Cassowary – the December 2012 issue of Safari – the science and knowledge magazine from India – hit the newsstand a few days ago. Here are our personal reviews for the same.

The inside cover page is the dedicated place for the MegaPixel – a high resolution photograph of something interesting. This month there is the photograph titled – a pod of killer whales – by Donald LeRoi, NOAA. The aerial view photograph is interesting.

Indian Navy have decided to set up a missile testing site on one of the islands of Nicobar. There is a bird known as The Megapode Bird found on the island chosen. There seems to be no connection (apart from both refers to the same geographical place) right? Actually, there is. The Megapode Bird is considered as the VIP inhabitant of the island and hence environmentalists raised their concern of being the same in danger if the Nay plan is materialized. Read more details about the debate in an article focusing the same, written by Harshal Pushkarna. It will at least make you know some details about The Megapode Bird.

When to talk about the king of fruits, Mango is considered as the most eligible candidate of the same, at least for many of us. But, are you familiar with Coco De Mer from the island of Seychelles? Do you know that before selling the coco de mer the Seychelles government sticks a label that bears the permit number on each fruit? Read some more interesting information about this fruit in a detailed article. A nice read.

Do you believe in coincidence? Of course, most of us have witnessed or heard about a lot of coincidences which sometimes found strange or unbelievable but true. The arguably most famous is the case of similarities seen in the life and death of two USA presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy. There are so many such cases. Do they represent a fate or are they fact of math representing the principal of probability? Sudhir Mehta’s article about such stuff refers some such incidents and probably it will be considered as most interesting article of this issue, as the subject of the article is found interesting by majority of the readers.

Cassowary is the bird species found in Australia. It is considered as one of the most dangerous bird species of the world. The bird is wingless so it uses physical strength and art of fighting for self defense! Read more facts about this species in an article by B. M. Purohit and you will get to know some interesting facts about this little known species like before so many year (around 80 million years!) the ancestors of this bird had wings, and more. A detailed article.

Fast facts section this month brings in the information about Magician Blaine’s death-defying “high voltage” stunt. It makes you believe in the proverb, truth is sometimes stranger than the fiction!

How do we recognize people? Mostly by face right? However as we know that the face can be similar (or to say duplicate) hence we use a person’s fingerprint to identify him/her from rest of people around the world (for legal stuff mainly). As it is considered that no two people can have same fingerprints. As we know (mostly by reading science generals or knowledge articles or by watching sci-fi movies) that the cornea is also unique for each of us. Actually even both of our eyes have different pattern found in iris. So you can say that there are no duplicate eyes! In addition there are number of other characteristics and/or attributes which make a person different than the others in the world. Read more about these other attributes in an article focused on finding the unique identification of each of us (humans). This is interesting read.

The Q&A Fact Finder section brings you the answers of the following questions:

• Who first thought of programmable computer that could carry out different types of operations?
• Which is the most valuable object relative to its weight and size?
• Why is diamond so hard even though it is basically graphite, a substance used in pencil lead?
• Is our Milky Way a static object or rotates like planets and stars?
• What is heavy water? Why is it used in a nuclear power reactor?
• Is there a fish that can live out of water for a considerable length of time?
• Why is the Oilbird of South America so named?
• In view of Einstein’s relativity theories, does time slow down in case of astronauts who are travelling at high speed in orbit?
• How a radio telescope differs from an optical telescope and how does it work?
• What kind of snake is a spitting cobra, which has a remarkable ability to eject venom with deadly accuracy?

The Super Quiz section in this issue is focused on the famous and infamous diamonds of India. It will interest not only diamond lovers but also the people who love to know interesting facts.

There were computers which sized almost a room, than came the desktops, the laptops and now it is the time of tablets. A number of companies make tablets these days from cheaper one to the costlier than an average laptop also. An article to summarize all information about the Tablets is found inside the magazine which is worth reading. It may also help you decide whether you should go for a tablet and which one.

Overall it is a genuine reading material focused on knowledge and gives you value for your money.