I was intrigued by Emma Beddington’s article on the weight of human hands (14 August). I would love to learn how she was able to ascertain the values of 409g and 426g respectively for right and left mitts without amputation. The only other way I can think of is partial immersion in water and the invocation of Archimedes, but that would need a very special balance.
John Pye
Southampton
• Like the Jaffes (Ryanair charges elderly couple £110 after they download wrong boarding cards, 15 August), I made an error in a travel booking. I booked my car on to the 02:00 Dublin to Holyhead ferry, but joined the queue for the 2:00pm sailing. I was mortified by my mistake at check-in, but the officer said: “No charge. Don’t worry, I’ll get you on. We’re not Ryanair.”
Michael Hudson
Lincoln
• It is not only eccles cake bakers who will be affected by the shortage of dead flies if they are to be made into biodegradable plastic (Letters, 15 August). Spare a thought also for the makers of garibaldi biscuits.
Marilyn Wilson
London
• Re the digital divide (Letters, 14 August), at the public loos at the Great Wall of China, facial recognition is the only means by which the toilet paper holder dispenses its contents.
Heather Bradford
Winchester
• Jacqueline Wilson says younger readers do not have “a sense of history” (Report, 14 August). How can they acquire one if they are shielded from attitudes of the past by the rewriting of books?
Bridget Marrow
London
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