Magazine

Mach und Schebestova
0:00
/
0:00

Why are some six-year-olds prone to calling their teacher “comrade” ? Synthetic animal scents prove invaluable in reducing road accidents and the Canadian Maple Leaf coin whizzes through Prague. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarová.

This week saw the start of the new school year. Kids starting first-grade were born long after the fall of communism but, paradoxically they are still bringing communist speak into the classroom. The explanation for this surprising phenomenon is simple. A few children’s animated cartoons made under communism have retained their enormous popularity- especially the Mach and Šebestová bedtime stories about two school kids who find a magic telephone into which you need only whisper your wishes for them to come true. The stories were non-political and extremely refreshing at the time, but there is one hitch – back in communist times pupils addressed the teacher “souško učitelko” a slightly garbled version of comrade teacher, and the schoolmaster as comrade schoolmaster. That form of address remains in the cartoon otherwise perfectly dubbed by a leading Czech actor. As a result many first-graders went to school well-primed by their parents not to use this form of address, though teachers say it often happens. Funnily enough, it is parents who are agonized by the thought that their child could address the teacher in this manner – and make her wonder what kind of family the child was from and where it had got those expressions.


“Need is the mother of invention” they say and the Czech Hunters’ Association has just provided fresh proof to back the saying. Every summer the police report a high number of road accidents caused by wild animals such as deer and boar crossing roads and highways. In fact the problem had become so serious that road signs were put up at high risk places warning drivers to exercise extreme caution. All to no avail. In many European states such stretches of the road are fenced off but municipalities and the Transport Ministry said there was no money for such an investment. It seems the Hunters’ Association has provided a solution – as an experiment they placed containers with synthetic bear and wolf scents along high risk stretches of the road hoping to put off forest animals crossing it and it did the trick! On a high-risk stretch of the road north of Prague the number of accidents caused by animals went from 12 in 2007 to a mere 1 last year and none at all this year. Encouraged, hunters are now placing these “scent fences” wherever needed to protect both drivers and animals. They say they have a minor problem though - in some places the containers have started disappearing and it is not clear who is stealing them or why. It may be that having seen them work some farmers have thought to protect their own property in this manner.


The “Formula 1 in schools” project has captured the imagination of millions of students the world over – at present some 12 million students in 31 countries are involved, pitching their skills in national competitions and the annual world championship, which Great Britain is to host in a weeks time. In the Czech Republic student teams from 25 schools are taking part, but what is rather unusual is that the idea is also being used to motivate prisoners at the Rýnovice jailhouse. Two dozen prisoners have devoted hundreds of hours of their free time designing and manufacturing miniature cars to enter into the Formula 1 Rýnovice competition. Prison spokeswoman Monika Králova says the project is proving a huge success – for one because the younger prisoners who feel they are loosing precious time in jail are excited to be able to pit their skills against students and secondly because in spending long hours of their free time on the project they are developing skills which may come in handy when they are released.


Photo: CTK
The heaviest gold coin in the world –the Maple Leaf - arrived in Prague on September 1st for a very brief sojourn in the Czech Republic as part of a European city tour. Produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, the coin has a diameter of 50 centimeters and weighs 100 kilograms. The collection value of the coin is estimated at about 2.5 million euros or 64 million crowns. It was shown at the Municipal House in Prague and collectors jostled to get a glimpse – because it was only shown for a mere three hours before moving on to Vilnius in Lithuania and Copenhagen in Denmark.


Some villages have tomato fights, others have straw festivals. The village of Červená Řečice last weekend held its thirteenth annual straw festival. Young and old are invited to try their hand at sculpturing works of art out of straw – which are then displayed for three weeks in an open air gallery. Over a hundred people joined in last weekend creating works of art ranging from the Statue of Liberty to the Czech Republic’s very own Golem. The summer events in town include amateur theatre performances and workshops with donations all going to help repair the local chateau.