I really detest getting my hair done. It is such a traumatic experience for me. I am not at all melodramatic but I never know if I will look great or if I will look like a circus clown, not to mention sitting for hours is really torturous. But if I am to be taken seriously in this world I just have to suffer for beauty. If anyone ever told you looks do not matter, they lied!

But recently, however, I decided to use my time wisely and go through the newspapers whilst I endured the pain. I always browse through the papers but I have now made it a point to always look for that one story that covers a topic I would not normally read and it has been quite intriguing. I have learnt something new each time. My interest normally lies in politics and social matters but the last story I read was about the seal population in Namibia. Did you know they say there are over 1.2 million seals in this country! That is one seal for every two people. That’s a whole lot of seals! They could take over, like in George Orwell’s book: Animal Farm (A highly recommended novel if you don’t already know it).

Now the problem is that this many seals is drastically decreasing Namibia’s fish population. I guess fish is to seals what Oshikandela is to me. Random, but I can never get tired of Oshikandela. It’s my staple food. Anyways, back to the seals: the methods they use to kill these creatures in order to control their population have been highly controversial; Google ‘Namibia seal killing videos ‘ and all I can say is if you’re an animal lover, you might want to sit down before you click on the links. However, reading the article, that led me to writing this piece, I learnt there is another way of controlling this ballooning population without spilling a single drop of blood. The mating rituals can be disrupted, that way the number of pups that will be born is drastically reduced. Now I am curious to know more and find out how exactly this disruption (family planning methodJ) works, food for thought.

So the next time you find yourself with time to spare or time you really wish to kill, don’t waste it. Do or read something that will make you just that little bit smarter or interesting in group conversations.

By: Robin Sparkles