Mould, papers, and Super Volcanic Eruptions
First off, I have a couple of replies to make to commenters..
Armin [www.ministryofpropaganda.co.uk] responded to my last entry, helpfully explaining that it was The Independent that had carried the drunken calling story [news.independent.co.uk]. So that is good. 
Secondly I had a few commenters asking how mould is formed. To be honest I can’t quite remember the specifics. Mould is organic growth that forms when spores from the air make contact with foodstuffs and have a suitable environment to live in (things like light, heat, moisture). Mould will grow quicker and better in a moist warm environment. Here’s a page about mould [www.airearthandwater.com].
You can tell from my mouldy bread project what happens when a piece of preservative-added bread is kept fairly dry - you get virtually no mould at all.
The past few days have seen a programme on BBC1 about Super Volcanoes [news.bbc.co.uk] backed up by sciencey follow-ups on BBC2. It wasn’t majorly gripping drama, but it was pretty interesting because it had a reasonable scientific basis and, I suppose, could happen. If we had a giant volcanic eruption over in the US then most of the US would be destroyed and the rest of the world would be plunged into permanent winter for a good few years. We can’t do anything about it with present technology. So there’s something to ponder, eh?
