These were phased out in 1985 for computer graphics, although the basic design of symbols was kept the same. These forecasts were widely acclaimed for their simplicity, winning an award from the Royal Television Society.
Possibly the most famous of the forecasters is the now retired Michael Fish. Famous for his informal manner and eccentric dress sense (he once wore a blue and green blazer emblazoned with all the weather symbols), he was a viewer favourite despite an unfortunate comment before The Great Storm of 1987.
During a weather forecast some hours before the storm, Michael Fish started his forecast with the now famous line
Although he was actually referring to a Florida hurricane (Floyd), and went on to forecast stormy conditions over the South of England, the statement has gone down in popular culture as one of the worst mistakes made so publicly.
On 2 October 2000 BBC Weather underwent a more significant change. Whilst there was not much change to the existing weather symbols new symbols giving information Pollen and Sun levels were introduced. A new more detailed map of Britain was used based on satellite data.
16 May 2005 saw the end of the weather symbols on television after 29 years and 9 months on air. They were replaced by a controversial format as the forecast underwent another redesign, with the flat map replaced by a 3D globe, and weather conditions shown by coloured areas. Cloud cover is indicated by the brightness of the map, while rain and snow are indicated by animated blue and white areas respectively.
The graphics are provided by Weatherscape XT, which was developed by the commercial arm of the New Zealand Metservice.
The move polarised opinion; some saw it as more accurate and modern, while others disliked the brown colour chosen for the landmass and the presumed high cost of the graphics. Poor angling of the map, in order to show the curvature of the Earth, led to Scotland appearing little larger than Devon, and Shetland being almost invisible while exaggerating London and the South East. This led to many Scottish commentators claiming the BBC was guilty of a London bias. As a result, the map was realigned, and the moving tour of the UK was lengthened.
The new look won a prestigious Silver Award at the Promax/BDA Awards in 2006. Criticism has been ongoing however, with some viewers complaining about the colour scheme, and of a lack of detail beyond 36 hours.
There have been continuous developments since May 2005. In 2006, a rippling effect was introduced to define seas and oceans.
The BBC Weather website provides outlook weather forecasts for UK and international locations using animated symbols and a format similar in design to that used for the televised broadcasts.
The website also runs frequent special features about seasonal sports, White Christmas, nature and meteorological science. It also has world weather, UK outlook and weather news. A new beta weather site is currently being developed, to fit in with the rest of the BBC site style.
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick are a rock band from Illinois, USA. They were very popular in the 1970s and 80s. Some of their hits include: Surrender, Dream Police and I Want You to Want Me. They are still very big in Japan and are called the "American Beatles" in Japan.
Strychnine
Strychnine is a poisonous substance which is naturally produced by the plant "Strychnos nux-vomica". Together with brucine, another poison, strychnine is found in the leaves and seeds of this plant. They are a rather extreme example of the way some plants protect themselves against herbivores. The substances were discovered early in the 19th century, but it took about 150 years before Robert Robinson worked out their structure.
When purified, strychnine is a very toxic colorless crystalline alkaloid. It is very poisonous, the LD is about 10 mg. Strychnine is soluble in alcohol and chloroform, but not in water.
Strychnine has few uses today. It can act as a stimulant, much like caffeine, and is on the list of substances tested for doping in sports.
It was used as a pesticide, for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents.
Strychnine causes muscular convulsions. It leads to death through asphyxia or exhaustion. The most common source is from the seeds of the "Strychnos nux vomica" tree. Strychnine is one of the most bitter substances known. Its taste is detectable in concentrations as low as 1 ppm.
Between 30 and 120 mg can kill an adult human. Strychnine is rapidly absorbed by the mucous membranes. If it is given under the skin, or intravenously, a quantity of 15 mg may be enough to kill an adult. Benzodiazepines (such as Diazepam) are used by default for emergency treatment.
Unlike the illustrations given in fiction crime novels, Strychnine is not very good for killing someone (when given orally). This is because even diluted at 1:130.000 it can still be tasted. Despite this, some murders happened with Strychnine. Thomas Neill Cream, a serial killer, used it on some of his victims.
Because of its high toxicity and tendency to cause convulsions, the use of strychnine in medicine was eventually abandoned once safer alternatives became available.
Alkaloid
An alkaloid is a chemical compounds that can be made naturally. They contain basic nitrogen atoms. The name comes from the word alkaline and was used to describe any alkaline containing nitrogen. Alkaloids are made by a large variety of organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and are part of the group of natural products (also called secondary metabolites). Many alkaloids can be purified from basic substances by acid-base extraction. Many alkaloids are toxic to other organisms. Some alkaloids have a bitter taste.
All of the following alkaloids are produced by flowering plants. They are one of the main ways plants reduce or avoid being eaten by herbivores.
Quinine
Quinine is an alkaloid which can reduce fever, work against malaria, pain and swelling. The bark of the Cinchona family of trees contains quinine. Quinine can be made artificially, but this is more expensive than extracting it from the bark of the tree. This tree is found in the Andes, South America, Indonesia, and Congo.
Quinine was the first treatment for malaria, known from 1631 in Europe, and probably much earlier to the native peoples of South America. Even today, quinine is used to treat certain forms of malaria, when other drugs fail or are unavailable. In that way, quinine is currently one of the best treatments for "malaria tropica", which is caused by plasmodium falciparum. For the other forms of malaria, quinine is no longer used, as other drugs have replaced it.
Quinine relaxes muscles, and was used by the Inca of Peru to stop people from shivering. Europeans first reported using quinine against malaria in Rome in 1631.
The best type of quinine used to treat malaria was found by Charles Marie de La Condamine in 1737. Quinine helped Europeans colonize Africa. A historian said that "it was quinine ... that gave colonists fresh opportunities to swarm into the Gold Coast, Nigeria and other parts of west Africa".
Quinine can cause cinchonism and even death (usually by pulmonary oedema) in some cases. Quinine can make someone paralyzed if it is injected into a nerve. It is very toxic in overdose.
Quinine has a bitter taste. It was first added to drinks like Bitter Lemon and Tonic Water Quinine was added to have some protection against Malaria. In China, it is sometimes added to drugs against the Common cold. Quinine is also often used to add a bitter taste to food. Usually this has to be declared though. Quinine can also stimulate the muscles of the uterus. For this reason, pregnant women should not take too much of it. Sometimes it is used in combination with Heroin.
Progressive bluegrass