“Perhaps catastrophe is the natural human environment, and even though we spend a good deal of energy trying to get away from it, we are programmed for survival amid catastrophe”*…
On January 21, a huge boulder smashed through a farm in Northern Italy after being dislodged by a landslide. The massive rock narrowly missed a farm house, destroyed a barn, and stopped in a vineyard at the property in Ronchi di Termeno.
A second giant boulder detached during the landslide stopped behind the house.
The family living there was unharmed.
[via the BBC]
* Germaine Greer
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As we count our blessings, we might recall that it was on this date in 1938 that a series of freak waves struck Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The waves, which pulled people back into the sea, caused 5 deaths by drowning and necessitated the rescue of a further 250 who been dragged hundreds of yards off shore. The day has become known as “Black Sunday” in Australia.
Bondi Beach in more placid times