Editor’s Note: Fascinating feat saved by Durbanites

Dutch artist Stef Veldhuis, left, and technician Jelle Reith with their apparatus connecting a mussel under uShaka Pier to organ pipes enabling people visiting the Heavy Waters exhibition to “hear” the sensitive organisms that scientists monitor to read the state of the ocean. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad ANA/African News Agency

Dutch artist Stef Veldhuis, left, and technician Jelle Reith with their apparatus connecting a mussel under uShaka Pier to organ pipes enabling people visiting the Heavy Waters exhibition to “hear” the sensitive organisms that scientists monitor to read the state of the ocean. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad ANA/African News Agency

Published Jun 10, 2023

Share

Today is the last day to catch an unusual, truly fascinating exhibition which is equal parts art and scientific wizardry.

A Dutch artist has come up with a way to read the heartbeat of a mussel and play its pulses through organ pipes. While officialdom at OR Tambo International Airport did its best to ensure the beat would not go on, Durbanites stepped in and saved the day (Page 1).

Still in the animal kingdom, researchers say that more than half of South Africa’s white rhinos are privately owned, the costs of which are becoming prohibitive. What, then, is the solution for one of the planet’s most endangered animals? See Page 5.

How often have we pondered how much lawyers get paid for cases and court processes that even we non-legal people can see are badly handled? A Gauteng judge, however, was having none of it and ordered lawyers for Unisa and the Justice Department, no less, to not charge anything for their services, and to refund anything they had already been paid for their shoddy work. See Page 3.

And I must remind you to get your tickets for next Friday’s CraftFest.

Brought to you by the Independent on Saturday and the Shongweni Farmers and Craft Market, there will be an array of craft foods, drinks and other items on offer. With free entertainment for kids, and much else besides, CraftFest demands you set aside time at the start of the long weekend.

The Independent on Saturday