Royal babies: Five things you didn't know

Amid all the excitement and wall-to-wall media coverage about the eagerly-awaited new addition to the royal family, you may think you know all you could ever want to about royal babies. But did you know...

A government minister used to be present at royal births, to make sure the baby was not switched

The practice is believed to have begun in 1688, when dozens of officials watched Mary of Modena, wife of James II, give birth to a son, to scotch rumors that Mary was not really pregnant and that the baby was to be smuggled into the room in a bedpan.

The tradition continued well into the 20th century. The last royal birth to be witnessed by a government minister was that of Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, Princess Alexandra in 1936, and the practice was only officially halted shortly before the birth of Prince Charles in 1948.

Royal husbands have not always attended the birth of their children

Queen Elizabeth II may not have had to contend with ministerial interference in her birth plan, but she also didn't have her husband there for support; while she gave birth to Prince Charles, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh was busy playing squash.

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Prince Charles was on hand when Diana had Prince William, but William himself may not be there for his own child's birth -- expected any day now -- if he's at work as a search-and-rescue pilot when the big moment arrives.

If for any reason William can't get to the hospital on time, the Duchess of Cambridge is reported to have asked her mother, Carole Middleton, to be there to support her.

Queen Victoria was the first royal to use anesthesia in childbirth

The long-reigning monarch and mother-of-nine was given chloroform for pain relief during the births of her eighth and ninth children, Prince Leopold (born in 1853) and Princess Beatrice (born in 1857).

Her decision to opt for an anesthetic is credited with popularizing the use of painkillers during childbirth among the well-to-do of the time.

John Snow, the doctor who administered the drug, is better known as one of the founding fathers of epidemiology, after he traced a deadly outbreak of cholera to a Soho water pump.

Prince William was the first heir to the throne to be born in hospital

William was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, on June 21, 1982. His brother was born at the same hospital two years later, and William's new son or daughter is also expected to come into the world there.

While that might seem the normal way of things, in fact it was something of a break with tradition -- until then, all heirs to the throne had been born at home (or at one of the royal family's homes at least).

Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace; Elizabeth II herself was born in the Mayfair home of her grandfather in 1926 -- though at the time she was not expected to become queen as her uncle, and not her father, was next in line to the throne.

Titled royal babies do not have surnames

Members of the royal family are famously burdened with plenty of names -- Prince William was christened William Arthur Philip Louis, and his father is Charles Philip Arthur George -- but many (those titled His or Her Royal Highness) do not have a surname.

Prince William and Prince Harry have used "Wales" at school and during their military careers, but this comes from their father's official title as Prince of Wales. William and Kate may continue to use this for their new baby.

As descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, they could also use Windsor, or Mountbatten-Windsor -- both of which are relatively new inventions, adopted during World War I to disguise the family's German origins.

Alternatively, the royal parents-to-be could even opt to found their own dynasty, using "Cambridge" as a surname.

Blind student learns to read Braille with lips

Tsang Tsz-Kwan may look like an average student in Hong Kong with her standard-issue blue shift dress with a Chinese collar and sensible black shoes. But her ordinary appearance and shy manner mask a steely determination to triumph over tremendous odds.

She recently scored within the top 5% for nearly all her subjects in the city's college entrance examination -- despite being blind and severely hearing-impaired from a young age. She also lacks sensitivity in her fingertips, which denies her the ability to feel the raised dots of Braille characters.

Rather than admit defeat, the 20 year old found an alternative way to read Braille -- with her lips.

"In Primary 1 (the equivalent of Grade 1 in the United States), I noticed that she was always leaning forward," said Mee-Lin Chiu, a teacher at the Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired -- the only special needs school in Hong Kong dedicated to the blind.

"She told me it was because she could read more clearly with her lips than her hands."

This is the first I have heard of someone being successful using the lips.
Diane Wormsely, North Carolina Central University

Tsang herself admitted: "I know it's not a common approach and it sounds rather strange. Even I myself don't know how it came about," she added, calling it "miraculous."

In actual fact, the lips, tongue, and fingertips are particularly adept at spatial discrimination — they can perceive two points that are only 1-3 millimeters apart, according to the classic anatomy text, Field's Anatomy, Palpation and Surface Markings. In comparison, the legs or back of the hands can only detect two points with a separation of more than 50-100 millimeters.

While Tsang may not be the very first person to resort to lip-reading Braille, she appears to be a rare case. "This is the first I have heard of someone being successful using the lips," said Diane Wormsely, a professor at North Carolina Central University who specializes in education for the visually impaired. Chiu also said that Tsang was the only student at Ebenezer to have used their lips -- and is the sole case she is aware of in Hong Kong.

Lip-reading Braille is not without its challenges, however.

"Nobody could accept it in the beginning," Tsang said. "Even now, many people find it odd ... It's caused some embarrassment when I read in public places and in front of people that I don't have a close relationship with."

Nobody could accept it in the beginning...Even now, many people find it odd.
Tsang Tsz-Kwan

It also poses practical problems, as Braille books are typically large and heavy.

Nonetheless, Tsang said she is "grateful" to still have a way to learn about the world through the written word. Reading is one of her favorite past times -- a source of intellectual stimulation and psychological refuge.

She also believes she can transcend her disabilities through hard work, determination, and the willingness to push herself outside of her comfort zone.

"Without the courage to challenge myself, there is surely no possibility of success," she said.

At Ebenezer, her classes were comprised of only ten students, whose shared disability enabled them to easily build close friendships. All materials were prepared in Braille and teachers were specially trained to work with the blind.

But in Form 1 (the equivalent of Grade 7 in the United States), Tsang decided to leave the comfort of Ebenezer and move to a regular secondary school, wanting to immerse herself in a more authentic, mainstream environment. "I have to facilitate my adaptation to society when I finish my studies and have to enter the workplace," she said.

Her transition to the city's Ying Wa Girls' School was not always easy. Classes were much larger and teachers did not have specialized training to work with blind students. Tsang had to send all printed materials to Ebenezer or the Hong Kong Society for the Blind for transcription into Braille. Reading and writing took her twice the amount of time it did for her peers, she said.

She learned she had to be more independent and make a greater effort to express her feelings and needs with staff and students, who were welcoming but unaccustomed to dealing with a blind person.

Without the courage to challenge myself, there is surely no possibility of success.

Tsang Tsz-Kwan

One of her teachers, Kwong Ho-Ka, said that staff learned over time when to intervene to help her.

"If she needs something, she will let us know," Kwong said, adding that her fiercely independent student walked around the school campus unassisted, eschewing a walking stick and elevators and taking the stairs by herself.

Kwong, who clearly holds deep affection for her student, said that while Tsang was never bullied, social integration has been a gradual process.

"She has friends, but she's not part of some big group. For example, a gaggle of girls may be chatting about pop culture, but it can be difficult for her to enter the conversation. She may not recognize who is speaking in overlapping conversations and she lacks familiarity with pop culture."

Attending class with the same cohort of students over the past three years has helped a lot, Kwong said, and students have learned to make an effort to include Tsang in conversations.

Tsang said that she has made close friends. "I am grateful for their acceptance of me as a normal member of their social circle and throughout these years, they have given me a great deal of support and encouragement."

While her academic feats -- she scored 5**, the highest possible grade, for Chinese, English, and Liberal Studies, 5* for Chinese Literature and English Literature and 4 for Math — have won her much acclaim in Hong Kong, Tsang admits that she surprised herself.

"I was really astonished and excited when I heard that my results in some of the subjects were far from my expectations," she said. "I felt my hard work this year has finally paid off."

I'm going to treasure what I still have.

Tsang Tsz-Kwan

She hopes to study translation at university starting this fall to have a "balanced development in both Chinese and English."

"Whenever I come across some thought-provoking and touching books, I really wish I could translate them into different languages so as to share them with more readers," she added.

As she embarks on the new phase of her hard-won education, Tsang maintains matter-of-fact and philosophical. "The inconveniences and limitations (my impairments) bring will follow me my whole life ...and I must have the courage to face the facts...I'm going to treasure what I still have."

"I would like to encourage everyone to have the courage and perseverance to go through all the ups and downs in our lives because I know everyone has their own difficulties. But one thing is for sure: where there's a will, there's a way."

PayPal accidentally credits man $92 quadrillion

When Chris Reynolds opened his June PayPal e-mail statement, something was off.

The Pennsylvania PR executive's account balance had swelled to a whopping $92,233,720,368,547,800.

That's $92 QUADRILLION (and change).

Money that would make Reynolds -- who also sells auto parts on eBay in his spare time -- the richest man in the world by a long shot.

Rich, as in more than a million times richer than Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim. And he's worth $67 billion.

Oh, if only.

"It's a curious thing. I don't know, maybe someone was having fun," Reynolds said.

So he logged online, and reality bit back. His account balance read $0. The correct amount.

PayPal admitted the error and offered to donate an unspecified amount of money to a cause of Reynolds' choice.

"This is obviously an error and we appreciate that Mr. Reynolds understood this was the case," PayPal said in a statement.

Before this incident, the most Reynolds ever made on PayPal was "a little over $1,000" selling a set of vintage BMW tires on eBay.

So what would the would-be quadrillionaire have done with all that cash?

"I probably would have paid down the national debt," he said.