Where does ‘panda diplomacy’ come from? 

Black and white politics

Two pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian, left Edinburgh Zoo for China after their 12-year loan to Britain ended. But contrary to popular belief, ‘panda diplomacy’ didn’t begin in 1972 when Chairman Mao gave two to the visiting Richard Nixon – and received two musk oxen in return. (In 1974, Mao also gave British PM Ted Heath the pandas that later inspired the World Wildlife Fund’s logo.) Instead, the first pandas sent by China to the West were from Soong Mei-ling, the wife of the Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek, in 1941 to thank the Americans for their help in repelling the Japanese invasion. The animals were caught by an American missionary, flown to the Philippines, put in a camouflaged ship and transported to San Francisco. While they were en route, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The pandas were later put on display at Bronx Zoo.

Magma carta

While Iceland continued to wait for an expected volcanic eruption in the south of the country, 11 hikers were killed in an eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia. How many people are killed in volcanic eruptions? Some notable death tolls:

1815 Tambora, Indonesia            60,000

1883 Krakatoa, Indonesia           36,425

1902 Mount Pelée, Martinique  29,025

1985 Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia 23,151

2018 Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala   446

2010 Mount Merapi, Indonesia         376

2014 Mount Ontake, Japan                63

2021 Mount Semeru, Indonesia        57

2019 White Island, New Zealand       22

Spending cuts

What did people cut back on, and not cut back on, during the cost-of-living crisis? Percentage change in volumes of goods and services bought between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2023:

Furnishing, household goods and routine maintenance    –8.7

Food and non-alcoholic beverages   –5.8

Alcohol, tobacco, narcotics              –5.0

Recreation/culture                               –1.4

Water/electricity/gas                           +0.4

Communication                                   +1.0

Clothing/footwear                               +1.0

Education                                              +7.3

Transport                                              +8.2

Restaurants/hotels                             +10.7

Our collective response to the oft-quoted choice of ‘heating or eating’ seems to be that we chose to sacrifice a little more of the second (unless we could afford to eat out).