News from the 1980’s that never made the headlines
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This quiz book focuses on news from the 1980’s with 20 different categories and over
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These are weird, wonderful and odd stories and all true; for quiz masters needing new and unique material and those who enjoy reading about the slightly bizarre side of real life.
Take a short fun quiz on the 1980's Quiz Book page.
False teeth for sheep
An experiment which may prevent sheep eating themselves into an early grave is being conducted by Ministry of Agriculture scientists, who have fitted more than 60 ewes with dental braces.
Because sheep constantly chew grass, their teeth eventually fail out or wear away to the point where they can no longer feed themselves.
The early death of ewes capable of lambing is having a serious economic effect on the livelihood of the country’s sheep farmers, who until now have accepted it as part of nature.
But an Edinburgh dentist, Mr Ian Thompson, thinks he has found the answer -
The device is being tested al the Ministry of Agriculture's experimental hill farm at Redesdale, Otterburn Northumberland, where the dental health of the ewes fitted with the brace will be closely monitored. Results should be known in about four years time.
Between 8 and 10 per cent of ewes died after losing their teeth before lambing for the fourth time. Recent research has shown that the fourth and fifth crop lambs are the strongest. Sheep grazing on newly seeded land after lambing are losing their teeth much faster than those which are just left on the hills.
A spokesman said: “We will be watching the success of these sheep braces very carefully." Another ministry farm at Rosemaund, near Hereford, is also trying the experiment to test the effect on lowland sheep.