Deadly caterpillars have invaded London

London is a world-class city. Its history and pageantry are combined with its status as a global financial center. It’s not surprising that more than forty-two million tourists are expected to visit the city this year.

But if you’re planning a visit this summer, avoid the caterpillars.

A particular breed (technically the larval stage of the oak processionary moth) has been deemed toxic by authorities at the UK’s Forestry Commission. The caterpillar’s sixty-two thousand hairs seem to trigger severe allergic reactions in humans. They can cause skin rash, difficulty in breathing, and even death by anaphylactic shock.

Here’s my question: if you have no plans to visit London, what about this story caused you to read it?

A second item in the news: doctors have identified five habits that could help you live a decade longer.

A new study names the five: never smoke, maintain a healthy body-mass index, keep up moderate to vigorous exercise, don’t drink too much alcohol, and eat a healthy diet. Adhering to these five lifestyle factors at age fifty, compared with not adhering to any of them, was associated with fourteen additional years of life for women and 12.2 added years for men.

Once again, what about this story caused you to read it?

What’s wrong with fear

I recently read Hans Rosling’s Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. Bill Gates calls it “one of the most important books I’ve ever read.” I can see why.

One reason we’re “wrong about the world,” according to Rosling, is that we’re afraid of it. He notes that fears of physical harm, captivity, and contamination by invisible substances that can poison or infect us are “hard-wired deep in our brains.”

In our media-saturated day, one very effective way for a news outlet to get our attention is to tell us stories that stoke such fears. Stories on declining malaria rates or mild weather won’t get past our…