No, I’m not referring to the number of casualties after the Sichuan earthquake. This is about ducks. Peking ducks, naturally. On Friday July 4, at 6.10 p.m., in the Shunyi district of Beijing (not far from my work), no fewer than 80,000 ducks died when a freak mini-tornado hit a poultry farm.

The ducks were meant for consumption at the well-known Peking duck chain Quanjude. The manager of the farm claims they will have replenished their numbers of ducks within a month.