Wicked Thoughts

Some dad advice

Passing on wisdom to your children can be one of the joys of parenting – even though much of the time it isn’t asked for.

That is certainly the case for New York City dad and entrepreneur Rufus Griscom, 48, whose sons Declan, 11, Grey, 8, and Rye, 5, may ‘appear to have very little interest’ in his advice, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to give it to them anyway.

In a very popular post on Medium entitled Unsolicited Advice for My Three Sons, In No Particular Order, Rufus offers up insight for his young boys on everything from avoiding hangovers to honesty to saving money at Starbucks:

First, he makes the odd choice of starting off his list with the statement: ‘Begin conversations with people on airplanes when you hear “We have begun our descent,”’ based on the idea that if they are awful you only have to deal with them for 15 minutes.

Elsewhere in his post, Rufus tells his boys to try green tea 30 times without sugar because that’s how long it will take to develop a taste for it, to buy bunches of the same shirt for the weekdays to show ‘that you are focused’, and to make a point of remembering people’s names. He also insists on sticking to peanut butter over caviar and to remember that hangovers are more about the quantity over type of liquor.

‘Habits are for lazy people. And you are lazy,’ he explains at another point. ‘We all are. Habits are shortcuts to getting a whole lot of things done without spending too much of your finite supply of willpower. So use em.’

Among the stranger nuggets of wisdom, Rufus tells the boys to ‘wear funny shirts on the weekends’ in order to work as an ‘antidote’ to people taking themselves too seriously and also to order a small coffee in a medium cup at Starbucks to avoid over-pouring baristas and save a bit of cash.

Original story here

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Restaurant is named town’s best with five-star reviews on TripAdvisor despite only having ONE thing on the menu: “A restaurant has been named as a town’s best restaurant – despite only having one item on the menu. The ‘Steak Frites’ restaurant in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, serves up a single choice of steak and chips but has proved so popular it is now the top-rated TripAdisor restaurant in the seaside resort. Owner Bradley Walker said: ‘It is simple and a lot of people like simple rather than being faced with a huge menu.’ The Welsh rib-eye steak is served with chips, Bradley’s Béarnaise sauce, green salad and walnuts with mustard vinaigrette. Mr Walker was inspired to open the eatery after cycling through France and the restaurant has pictures of Paris on the walls. The first steak-only restaurant was opened in 1959 by Paul Gineste de Saurs’ in Paris.”

Nutter gets himself shot: “A Baltimore TV station has been evacuated after a man dressed as a hedgehog walked in claiming to have a bomb. The unidentified suspect dressed in costume entered the Fox 45 offices on the city’s TV Hill at 1:00pm and told staff he had an explosive strapped to his chest. It turned out the ‘device’ was actually a ‘flotation device’ with chocolate bars attached together with wire, according to police. Pictures taken from outside the building show the individual – wearing a white onesie with grey ears – leaning against the wall of the lobby and looking relaxed. He also appeared to be wearing a white medical mask and black sunglasses during the bizarre confrontation. Shortly after the building was cleared, he reportedly left and walked towards heavily-armed SWAT officers. After a stand-off where he ignored police orders, he was shot by a police counter sniper. His condition is not known.”

Strange sea creature: “It’s one of the most hostile places on Earth and extends seven miles (11km) below the waves at its deepest point, but the Mariana Trench is full of secrets. A deepwater exploration mission of the area has spotted beautiful, unknown jellyfish with two types of tentacles as well as a number of other bizarre animals just one week into the study. The orb-like jellyfish was spotted on a dive at a location named Engima Seamount at a depth of 12,139ft (3,700 metres). While experts were able to identify it as belonging to the genus Crossota, they are unable to assign a precise name to the pretty hydromedusa. They filmed the jellyfish ‘floating’ through the depths with its long tentacles extended outwards and its bell motionless, suggesting ‘an ambush predation mode’. It is thought the red colour in the bell is the creature’s radial canals, while the bright yellow may be its gonads.”

‘We’d rather go back to the streets than eat vegan food,’ homeless tell famous Italian chef: “A famous chef’s vegan offerings proved to be so unpopular at a soup kitchen in Italy with homeless people, some threatened to “return to the streets”. TV star Simone Salvini, from Tuscany, created a healthier menu for the Antoniano shelter in Bologna but some of those in need rebelled against the vegan food and said they needed meat. “Some of the poor people told me ‘we are heading back to the streets because we need meat’,” Salvini said, the Times reported. “My staff and I are trying to cook, as best as we can, a range of healthy, organic food and vegetables,” the famous vegetarian chef said, who began helping at the centre last week. Rather than serving bean soup, Salvini perhaps should have taken greater heed of the city’s specialty: tagliatelle al ragu, pasta with meat sauce. He later attempted to appease his critics, serving vegetables shaped like meatballs and soya ragu”

Former Olympic wrestling champion fights off SEVEN police officers who hit him with batons and pepper spray after he was stopped for drink driving: “Vyacheslav Oliynyk, who won a gold medal for Ukraine in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, shrugged off pepper spray and batons as officers attempted to restrain him in Kiev. The former wrestling champion, who had been celebrating his 50th birthday, was eventually tackled to the ground by police who accused him of drink-driving. A video of the incident, which was later released by local traffic officials, shows Oliynyk arguing with police officers after they pull him over. He appears to shove one of the officers, who responds by firing pepper spray in his face. But instead of calming the former athlete, it appears to send him into a rage and he begins grappling with two officers. One can be seen striking him with a baton and it isn’t long before Oliynyk is bleeding from his head. It finally takes seven police officers to tackle Oliynyk to the ground”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

A cuddle from a sloth

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Diner shoots his friend dead at Turkish restaurant because he’d paid for his food: “İdris Alakuş shot and killed Hasan Erdemir after an alleged argument over who was to pay for their soup in the capital’s Bakirkoy district in the early hours of Sunday. CCTV shows Mr Erdemir paying for the bill, before Mr Alakuş appears in the frame clutching a gun, opening fire on the men. Mr Erdemir had reportedly met Mr Alakus in the restaurant in the early hours of Sunday alongside two friends, and had been invited to join the latter at his table. After finishing their meal, Mr Alakus had intended to pay the bill, but became infuriated when he found out that Mr Erdemir had pre-empted his move, The Telegraph reports. Mr Erdemir died in hospital, while his two companions remain in care. Mr Alakuş fled the scene, but was soon caught by police and taken into custody”

Truck-eating bridge: “A notoriously low bridge has been hit by two trucks in the space of just a few hours, marking the 100th and 101st time it has been crashed into in recent years. The pair of trucks slammed into the Montague Street bridge in Melbourne on Wednesday, with the first accident taking place about 11am and the second shortly before 3pm. The first truck that crashed into the bridge was carrying the skip that fell off when it slammed into the bridge, Triple M reports. The second accident of the day appeared to be more dramatic than the first, with photographs showing a heavily damaged truck under the bridge. The back of the truck was almost entirely ripped from the truck. It had been almost three weeks since the bridge was last hit earlier this month, when a bus crashed into it. It comes after another packed bus crashed into the bridge in February, with passengers narrowly avoiding serious injury by dropping to the floor of the coach. All 15 people on board, including the driver, managed to escape serious injury after the vehicle ignored warning signage and ploughed into the bridge”

‘To the girls who let him go, thank you so much’: “Women are posting open letters to their partner’s exes on social media alongside loved-up selfies in a new viral craze that’s left the internet divided. The letter thanks the ex-girlfriends for letting him go and freeing him up for a loving relationship, as well as promising to give him the time, affection and support he didn’t get in the past. But the craze has been branded ‘vomit-inducing’ by many commenters who say the letter is ‘drivel’ that makes women look ‘feeble’. ‘I will do all the things you failed to do for him, like be there for him when he feels so alone, prioritise him and not make him feel like he is just an option, give him time and affection even when he is not asking for it. ‘I will take care of the man you failed to appreciate. I will love the man you took for granted”

Taliban suicide bomber accidentally triggers explosives early, killing himself and eight other would-be martyrs: “A Taliban suicide bomber accidentally killed himself and eight fellow militants after triggering his explosives vest by mistake. The jihadist fighters had been ordered to carry out an attack in Kunduz city, Afghanistan, but all died before their got there. However, one of the militants detonated his vest shortly after leaving a Taliban base in Dasht-e-Archi, triggering everyone elses explosives, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. The Taliban have been trying to recapture Kunduz, a city which they held for just 14 days after months of fighting with government forces. Masoom Baha, a senior doctor at the city’s public hospital,said medical staff were barely able to keep up with casualtiesof the fighting, mainly from rockets and artillery fire”

Baby bear has a lucky escape: “This adorable baby bear came narrowly close to getting a whiff of more than he bargained for – when he tried to play chase with a skunk. The cub decided to wander over to another area of the event where a skunk was also acting as model, embarking on a cheeky game of chase. The adorable creature then bounded over to the skunk in an attempt to play with him – though it only served to annoy the animal. The skunk didn’t take kindly to the cub’s bid to play and attempted to spray the bear in the face with its pungent scent gland, which luckily for the bear had been de-scented. ‘He was very cute and inquisitive. He was really curious about the skunk and wanted to play but the skunk wanted nothing to do with him. ‘I’m thankful he didn’t as the skunk’s spray is so strong it is almost impossible to get rid of. If you’re driving down the road and you come across an area where as skunk was hit, it will still smell, it’s that bad”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Big cats like cuddles too

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Elevator molester is beaten by woman who slaps him in the face and kicks him in the crotch: “An incredible video has emerged online of a woman getting her own back on a man who tried to molest her in a lift in China. In the footage, the woman can be seen looking at her phone in the lift while the man is in a corner. He tries to get closer to her and she instantly moves away from the man before putting her phone back into her bag. He then gets close to the woman again, getting right up behind her and putting his arm on her shoulders as if to reach down to her chest. The woman reacts straight away slapping the man so fiercely that he falls into the corner of the lift. As he starts to go towards her again, she kicks him right in the crotch before then kicking him in the face. The pervert then falls to the floor looking as though he’s in severe pain as the elevator doors open and the woman walks out”

Lawyer EATS incriminating evidence to clear his client of drink-driving in Russia: “The incident, in the town of Kyzyl in central Russia’s autonomous Republic of Tuva, was caught on CCTV cameras. The lawyer, who has not been named, was studying papers in the office of a judge relating to a client who had been accused of causing an accident while drink-driving. He is seen picking up the breathalyser report revealing the level of alcohol in his client’s blood. The lawyer first stashes the evidence in his bag but then appears to have second thoughts and takes it out again, nearly puts it in his pocket before ultimately deciding to put it in his mouth and start chewing. Local media say he managed to eliminate the most important piece of evidence in the case while the judge and her secretary were out of the office”

British village descends into chaos after phone company mix-up leaves residents with each OTHERS’ phone numbers: “A village has been thrown into chaos after an engineering mix-up which left residents with their neighbours’ phone numbers. BT workers went to the village of Cliffords Mesne in Gloucestershire after complaints that a cable was being damaged by rubbing against a tree. But after the work was finished last week, around 50 homes in the area were left with the wrong phone number, according to locals. The blunder, which has not yet been fixed, meant that anyone trying to get through to a villager would end up speaking to their neighbour instead. John Franklin, a 65-year-old retired lecturer, said: ‘We get the supply via a trunk cable and part of that had been rubbing against a tree and giving faults, so had to be replaced. ‘So they cut out a section, but apparently the new cable was different from the old one, and they got mixed up”

Beer-drinking FISH: “This thirsty river creature was more than happy to take a few gulps from a can of beer in Brazil. A video of the shocking sight proves the old saying clearly has an element of truth, when much to the amazement of a group of anglers the fish rose out the water to demand a sip of their Skol. The animal is then seen perched on the side of the boat with its neck raised ready for a taste. One of the fisherman gladly obliges and pours the skol latao out of a yellow beer can into its mouth. Remarkably the fish-out-of-water appears to start taking large gulps of the beer. The anglers laugh in amazement as the animal takes over 20 mouthfuls of the alcoholic drink. By then the fish has clearly had enough and dives back into the river”

Extraordinary Amazon packaging again: “A disabled woman was left in shock after she struggled to open a ‘ridiculously’ large Amazon cardboard delivery box to find just one tiny ‘Dad to Be’ rosette inside. Wheelchair user Catrina Farnell, 28, heard the delivery driver knock on the door but was not able to answer before he left. The package, which was longer than two feet and too big to fit through the letterbox, was handed to her neighbour in Steeton, West Yorkshire meaning she had to struggle over the road to collect it. To her disbelief, the enormous box with a large amount of unnecessary packaging only contained a single rosette, which at 7ins by 3.5ins could easily have fit through the letterbox. ‘It has happened before, several times, and not only with Amazon,’ said Miss Farnell, a former dancer and teaching assistant. Miss Farnell was so shocked by Amazon’s ‘ridiculous’ package, she took to Facebook to point out the issue on Amazon’s official page”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Nursery rhyme updated

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Mature student, 61, awarded £750 compensation after claiming her university creative writing course was ‘sex obsessed’ and that Shakespeare’s Hamlet ‘involved incest and child abuse’: “A university has been ordered to pay £750 in compensation to a mature student who complained that her creative writing course was too ‘sex obsessed’. Mother-of-two Angie Marynicz, 61, from Pencader near Carmarthen in West Wales complained the way her creative writing course was being taught was ‘very worrying’ because of the focus on sex. Mrs Marynicz complained that her male lecturer, quoting a female poet, told the class: ‘All literature is about sex because sex is the most important thing in the world.’ ‘The second lecture in that module was the Freudian idea that Shakespeare’s Hamlet had an Oedipus complex ie child sex abuse/incest. I was told by the Head of School, in no uncertain terms, that this was good art and they would carry on teaching it as such.'”

Dentist charged for work on a toothless baby!: “A fraudulent dentist who scammed the NHS by charging for work on a toothless baby as part of a £220,000 NHS swindle so he could buy a Ferrari has been struck off. Mark Walewski, 68, was locked up for three years earlier this year for the systematic fraud at the New Dental Surgery in Hindhead, Surrey. He used to charge both the patient and the NHS for treatments and also claimed for work not carried out between 2006 and 2012, the General Dental Council was told. Most of the 6,608 fraudulent claims were for small children and babies – one of which was reported to be only 17 days old and without any teeth. Walewski then used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle and buy a fleet of sports cars even though he earned on average £150,000 a year”

Pitbull adopts ducklings: “A delightful video shows the large dog gently nuzzling the cheeping birds, their bodies not even as big as his face. Named Jake, the friendly giant reportedly befriended his tiny companions as soon he set eyes upon them, nominating himself as their caregiver. It is said he keeps them warm and protects them as they sleep by lying next to them through the night. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey, so they’re lucky they have someone to look out for them. After all who’s doing to pick a fight with a pit bull?

New Zealand’s new $5 note is named the best bank note in the world: “New Zealand’s five-dollar note has been handed the ‘Bank Note of the Year Award’ for 2015 coming in as a ‘clear winner’ among a record 20 countries who placed their banknotes on the ballot. The International Bank Note Society assesses the money for its artistic merit and security features including the use of colour, contrast and balance. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand began releasing a new family of ‘Brighter Money’ banknotes in 2015 ‘to stay one step ahead of the game’ of counterfeiting. Printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company in Ottawa, on a dominant orange hue the five-dollar note features a map of New Zealand in a polymer window, New Zealand mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary, South Island’s Mount Cook and a colour changing yellow-eyed penguin. The back design again features the native penguin, the hoiho, as well as local flora.

Some people are born happy: “For the first time in history, researchers have isolated the parts of the human genome that could explain the differences in how humans experience happiness. The researchers found three genetic variants for happiness, two that can account for differences in symptoms of depression, and eleven that could account for varying degrees of neuroticism. The genetic variants for happiness are mainly expressed in the central nervous system, the adrenal glands and the pancreatic system. These findings are from a large-scale international study in over 298,000 people, conducted by VU Amsterdam professors Meike Bartels and Philipp Koellinger. The researchers then asked the participants to discuss how happy they feel about their life, if they’ve ever had depression or depressive symptoms and signs of neurotic behaviour.”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Friendly cat

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Jewish Hitlers: “In 1933, what if you were Jewish, your family name was Hitler and you were living in the heart of Brooklyn? What would life be like for you and your two young children? Back in June of that year, JTA ran a story on the Hitler family living in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn and the struggles that members of this Jewish family were facing because of their last name. At that time, according to Rose Hitler, there were more than 30 Jewish families living in the New York area with that surname”

Ditch tampons and use SEA SPONGES instead: “A political party in Spain has raised eyebrows by suggesting women with an environmental conscience should ditch tampons in favour of sea sponges. Candidatura de Unidad Popular, often called the anti-system party, says other options should also be considered, such as menstrual cups and ‘ridding the body of its natural fluids by exercising pelvic floor muscle control’. Members of CUP in the Catalan town of Manresa stress they aren’t against all the traditional products but they do think women should know about and consider all the alternatives to help with a greener world. Sea sponges, which can be rinsed out and used internally each month, can last up to a year. Any natural sea sponge can be used but NOT the manufactured one for washing up! The sea sponges are said to be much better for the environment, cheaper and more comfortable”

Albino shark dubbed Casper goes on display at a British aquarium: “Marine experts have dropped their jaws at the latest friendly arrival at an aquarium – this extremely rare albino shark. The lesser spotted dogfish has gone on display at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Hastings, East Sussex, and was nicknamed ‘Casper’ after the famous ghost. The little shark, which measures just over three feet in length, shares his home with a collection of brightly-coloured triggerfish. Leanna Lawson, a spokesman for the aquarium, said: ‘True albinism in marine species in general is highly unusual and it’s virtually unheard of in sharks. ‘As well as being rare, white or albino sharks do not tend to survive for long in the wild as they rely on their natural camouflage to protect them from larger predators”

Rome metro eternally delayed: “In power for two years, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has initiated many reforms aimed at invigorating the anaemic economy, including his flagship overhaul of the constitution which has been approved by parliament. But the woes of a major infrastructure project right under his feet reveal how much work still must be done to get Italy back on track. Rome’s Metro C was meant to link the city’s two main cathedrals in time for the Holy Year in 2000. Sixteen years later, the underground line has not yet reached the first church and might never make it to the second, St Peter’s Basilica. While the initial section of the state-of-the-art driverless network was finally inaugurated in 2014, no one knows where the underground line will end or when the next station might open. The state of confusion reflects similar problems besetting myriad business projects in the eurozone’s third-largest economy, where, despite Renzi’s reform drive, bureaucracy and tangled laws are dragging down Italian development”

Children who have married parents thrive: “Marriage matters and is a central factor in children’s chances of success in life, according to a Government report. Children do worse if they are brought up by a lone parent or by parents who are not married, researchers found. The large-scale report rejects the idea that marriage is no more than a lifestyle option or a choice favoured by better-off couples, and presents powerful fresh evidence that a couple who commit to each other with a wedding are much more likely to have a successful family. The 134-page report, written by a group headed by Professor Gordon Harold, was based on a review of existing evidence and analysis of the Understanding Society survey, which follows the lives of people in 40,000 homes.

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

A furry friend

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

A new prostate cancer zapper that won’t ruin your love life: “Thousands of men with prostate cancer could be spared incontinence and sex-life problems thanks to a highly accurate new way of ‘cooking’ their tumours. At present, many men with early-stage prostate cancer opt to have the whole organ removed, to maximise the chance of being cured. But this approach carries a significant risk of being left incontinent, impotent, or both. An alternative, called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound or ‘HiFu’, kills the tumour alone by using a thin beam of energy to heat up cancer cells to 90C. This leaves the prostate, and vital surrounding tissues, intact. But the technique has never really taken off due to concerns over its effectiveness. The trouble is that medics have been unable to use HiFu machines, which usually contain steel, at the same time as MRI scanners, which contain huge magnets. They must therefore operate using an MRI scan taken beforehand. Now, HiFu machines are being made without steel, enabling both devices to be used in combination”

Justice: Murderous creep ripped off by his wife: “Phil Spector has filed for divorce from his third wife of 10 years because she is splashing out on luxury sports cars, jets and homes with his money while he remains behind bars, TMZ reports. The 76-year-old music producer married Rachelle Short in 2006, just one month before he was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot in the head in Spector’s California mansion. Spector is only reportedly allocated $300 a month as he continues to serve 19 years to life for second-degree murder in the California State Prison’s Health Care Facility in Stockton. Rachelle, a 35-year-old waitress-turned-pilot, has dropped $350,000 of her husband’s money on a plane according to TMZ. The gossip website also said she purchased two homes for her mother, as well as a Ferrari, Aston Martin, and expensive jewelry”

Serial puddle splasher ‘who goes out for fun in the rain looking for people to soak in a 4×4’ is hunted by police: “A motorist who is believed to deliberately drench people by driving through puddles in a 4×4 is being hunted by police. The serial puddle splasher allegedly goes out for fun around the Kentish Town area in North London every time it rains and looks for unsuspecting people to give a soaking. According to witnesses the driver has struck countless times over the past few months by travelling straight through puddles while close to the kerb. Police were aware of the incidents but were unable to track the driver down because they did not know his registration number. However the most recent splash attack was caught on camera and the number plate was on show. The force are now trying to trace the owner with a view to charging them with careless driving.

Is meditation key to a youthful mind? People using relaxation technique ‘have brains 7 YEARS younger’: “Regular meditation knocks seven and a half years off the middle-aged brain, a study found. The researchers said that the combination of intense concentration and relaxation may trigger the growth of new brain cells. And while they didn’t look at whether the meditators were also smarter, brain shrinkage is linked to Alzheimer’s and other memory-robbing diseases. The scientists scanned the brains of 50 American men and women who regularly meditated and 50 non-meditators. In general, the non-meditators’ brain age and actual age were the same, so a 55 year old’s brain looked like it was 55. However, the meditators’ brains were younger than their years, with the average 50-year-old having a brain that belonged in a 42 or 43 year-old’s body. However, he cautioned that those who mediate may lead healthier lifestyles in general.”

A domestic COW: “Beryl is the family pet with a difference- she’s a cow. Beryl the Brahman has become a social media star after her owners, Sally and Jake Webster, decided to share her dog-like antics with the world. From lazing on the couch to going on family holidays the 8-month-old cow is part of the family. ‘Ever since she was little she has done everything with us. She’s just so comfortable with us and I guess we just like to go with the flow,’ Ms Webster told Daily Mail Australia. Ms Webster and her partner Jake raise Beryl on their cattle farm in North Queensland, 90 kilometers west of Georgetown. Ms Webster says that Beryl’s personality sets her apart from most cows. ‘I’d say we’ve know she’s been extraordinary right from the start. We raise a number of Brahmans every year but not all possess such a flamboyant and amazing personality.'”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

No thanks!

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Is this Britain’s dumbest mother?: “A young mother, who hit the headlines last year after admitting she did not know who [Prime Minister] David Cameron is, has been left red faced once more after mistaking the late Prince for a member of the Royal family. Devon Boon, 22, from Stoke-on-Trent, left her friends rolling their eyes when she posted on Facebook: ‘The prince died on the Queen’s birthday… Illuminati’ immediately after hearing about the American artist’s death. Devon’s friends commented on the post in an attempt to correct her mishap, but the mother-of-one replied: ‘I know he’s a singer but he’s still a prince,’ before asking: ‘Royal people can still sing can’t they?’ Eventually Devon was put up to speed by her friend Adam but admits that up until then she had felt sorry for the Queen having lost a member of her family on her birthday”

Oil giant Shell unveils super-economy car: “The Project M, dubbed an ‘energy efficient concept car’, was revealed on Friday. Made up of a three-seat city-car design and a 660cc powerplant that can achieve a claimed 107mpg, it’s based on an F1-derived platform that’s already well tested. The space-age shape is the brain child of former McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray. With a one-plus-two seat layout (one at the front and two at the back), it’s a reasonably comfortable city vehicle for three, even though it has a road footprint no more than a quarter that of a Ford Mondeo. And don’t assume because it’s tiny it’s unsafe; the T27, an updated version of the T25 with an electric motor, passed Euro NCAP’s high-speed crash tests in 2011. The ‘iStream’ design, now in its third guise as part of the Shell partnership, is now more fuel efficient thanks to a bespoke engine lubricant. Tipping the scales at 550kg, it’s half as heavy as a conventional city car”

Eight hefty USC players in elevator were more than elevator could handle: “Zach Banner, a 360-pound USC football player, got stuck in an elevator with seven of his teammates as they made their way to dinner and began to live tweet the experience with hilarious results. The men’s combined weight far exceeded the recommended weight allowance for the elevator and much to their shock, they became stuck between floors. Despite the heat generated by the players in the small space, they attempted to make the best of the uncomfortable situation. ‘Zach Banner, USC, checking in. We’re stuck on the elevator. Eight O-linemen. We’re screwed,’ he said in the first tweet, which was sent around 6:30 p.m. Firefighters arrived a short time later with beverages and snacks, and began working to get the group out of the elevator, he tweeted. The football players also got creative during the hour-long incident, breaking into the ‘elevator rap’ at one point. They were finally freed at 7:30 p.m.”

Mini cruise ships can be good too: “Glen Etive, the latest addition to the Majestic Line fleet, is a little gem, with just six cabins. Built in the Ardmaleish Boatyard on the Clyde, she is a beauty, furnished in the style of a gentleman’s yacht, with lots of shiny brass and polished wood. Glen Etive joins Glen Tarsan and Glen Massan – two former fishing boats sailing the inlets and sea lochs of Argyll and the Hebrides – in offering luxury cruises of up to ten nights. Guests can spot golden eagles, sea eagles and porpoises on wildlife-watching trips, take coastal walks, visit remote islands such as St Kilda and Mingulay, or just gaze at the scenery in between gourmet meals made from freshly caught mackerel, crabs and lobsters. And here are some more great little cruise ships exploring destinations further afield. Hebridean Princess has a country house hotel atmosphere for a maximum of 50 guests, and usually sails around the west of Scotland from her base in Oban”

This is why you might not find room 420 in your hotel: “It’s not a widespread practice, but some hotel operators have taken to avoiding room number 420 entirely because of its association with cannabis and the troublemaking that sometimes occurs in rooms numbered as such. Yesterday in Australia, and today in other parts of the world, weed enthusiasts celebrated April 20 — or 4/20, in accordance with American date-keeping — by blazing up with pride, usually at 4.20pm on the dot, and celebrating pot culture generally. And so enthusiastic are some stoners about their drug of choice they have taken to stealing room 420 signs from hotels for souvenirs, or blazing up in the room itself. More here

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

A Question on Quora: What have you witnessed someone do that made you realize they are really, really smart?

A: When I was in high school our physics teacher gave us a challenge that involved making a paper air plane of any shape. The only objective was to get it to fly as far as possible. I had some paper air plane making skills so I made the best plane I could and it flew pretty far.

One guy made the greatest, yet simplest paper airplane of all time. He stood there at the starting line with a regular piece of paper. Some classmates scratched their head while silently chuckling to themselves. Moments later he took the flat piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it down the hall way.

He beat the class with ease.

Some of the students got mad and said that he cheated.

The physics teacher said, “How so? I said it could be any shape. A paper ball is indeed a shape.”

He won the contest with flying colors.

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Horny Bangladeshi in trouble: “An airline passenger could be sent to jail for up to two years if convicted after he allegedly recorded video of cabin crew members as they carried out her duties on board a cross-country flight in India. The incident occurred on a low-cost IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Mumbai while employees were serving drinks and snacks to passengers. Witnesses said a man allegedly ignored orders to stop after he was caught recording video of female flight attendants. A fellow passenger tipped off cabin crew after noticing a man shooting video of cabin crew and the plane’s interior, a spokesperson for the budget airline told the Hindustan Times. A report in the Indian Express stated that flight attendants asked the man and his travel companions to stop and then alerted the captain after he refused to put his mobile phone away.”

An ancient song will be heard for the first time in 1,000 years this week, after a 20 year project to reconstruct it: “‘Songs of Consolation’, will be performed at Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge on April 23, and is reconstructed from neumes, symbols representing musical notation commonly used in the Middle Ages. It draws heavily on an 11th century manuscript leaf that was stolen from Cambridge and presumed lost for 142 years. 1,000 years ago, music was written in a way that recorded melodic outlines known as neumes, but not ‘notes’ as today’s musicians would recognise them; relying on aural traditions and the memory of musicians to keep them alive. Because these aural traditions died out in the 12th century, it has often been thought impossible to reconstruct ‘lost’ music from this era – precisely because the pitches are unknown. The new performance has music set to the poetic portions of Roman philosopher Boethius’ magnum opus The Consolation of Philosophy”

Bendy bird: “It’s said that if you don’t like the way things are, try looking at the world another way. And this short-eared owl, pictured, seemed to take the advice to heart – turning its entire gaze upside down. Photographer Alain Balthazard, 49, who captured the head-turning shot, said the birds can pivot their heads up to 270 degrees in a display of surprise and curiosity. He added: ‘It’s always amazing to observe.’ The bendy birds breed primarily in the coastal marshes of England and Scotland, but this particular specimen was snapped in north-eastern France.

Stricken shipping firm sells off its ships… for $1 each ship: “A heavily indebted shipping firm has been forced to sell off its fleet for as little as $1 a piece as the global shipping crisis takes its toll. Goldenport Holdings said on Friday that it would sell six of its eight vessels for a token consideration of $1 each, while it would look for the best price it can get on its two remaining ships. The company will also delist from the London Stock Exchange after its debt pile spiralled “significantly higher” than the value of its fleet. The global shipping market has been violently shaken by the Chinese economic slowdown after a rapid debt-fuelled expansion in the early years of this decade. The world’s shipping fleet doubled from 2010 to 2013 even as demand for shipped commodities dwindled. Loss-making vessels have nonetheless stubbornly remained in the market, accepting tenders well below their cost base, in order to pay down the minimum interest on crippling bank loans. These so-called ‘zombie vessels’ have forced freight rates lower still, plunging the market into crisis”

The tiny car that sold for big bucks: “The Peel P50 might be dinky in size, puny in terms of power and paltry on passenger and luggage space, but it’s definitely big in one department – price. One of the 1960’s three-wheeled micro machines fetched an astounding $176,000 when it sold at auction in Florida at the weekend – more than 60,000 times its original value. With just 26 other original P50s – the smallest production car of all time – remaining in existence, it means 25 others are currently in ownership of pocket-sized cars with a wallet-busting value. And it’s not just the availability of the Peel P50 that’s titchy: at just 134cm long and 99cm wide it’s the most minuscule of all mass-production motors on record. Even the wheel count is on the small side with three in total measuring 4.1 inches wrapped in donut-size tyres. All the power generated by the two-stroke 49cc moped engine is sent to the single rear wheel, though thankfully the horsepower output is a more pony like at a meagre 4.5hp that’s capable of a fairly pedestrian 38mph”

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.

Another picture retrospective now up

To see my pick of what the “best” pictures were on this blog over May and June last year see here or here

Dieting in Texas

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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

A REALLY bad trip: “A man in France is in a serious condition after he partially cut his own penis off while on an LSD trip. According to The Local, the 30-year-old man was taking the hallucinogenic drug in the city of Lille last night when things got out of control. He is alleged to have beaten his girlfriend before attempting to slice off his own genitals. After becoming extremely agitated, he then jumped from a second storey window, landing on the street below. Police were called to the scene at around 5am this morning. They say he is now in a serious condition, but his injuries are not life threatening. The man could be in for a shock when he eventually comes around, and realises what he’s done. And, since LSD is not legal in France, he may well have a few questions to answer as well.

British man went to the toilet and found a 6ft long SNAKE slithering around in the bowl: “A charity shop volunteer got the fright of his life when he went to the toilet and found a six-foot long snake in the bowl. Peter Edge, 30, who volunteers with the Blue Cross, initially thought a colleague at the charity’s shop in Solihill, West Midlands, had played a practical joke on him, until he saw the creature’s head start to move. Mr Edge then called his assistant manager for help and together the pair freed the reptile’s tail from the cistern before trying to trap it in a picnic basket. However, the snake managed to slither away from their grasp and down the u-bend before disappearing out of sight. One customer, a veterinary nursing college student, who was inside the animal charity store at the time has since identified it as a corn snake”

Three idiot robbers are foiled after arming themselves with a ‘gun’ carved from a tree branch: “Three wannabe robbers in Guatemala were easily caught after reportedly planning to threaten their victims with a fake gun made out of wood. The trio apparently decided the best way to get rich quick was to stage an armed robbery, but realised they needed a gun to intimidate the victim. Because they did not have any weapons, according to reports they decided to make a fake gun out of wood, as well as a fake grenade. As these pictures show, this extremely poor imitation looks more like a tree branch than a gun, with even the trigger only held in place by string. They were arrested by police after a tip-off from locals who spotted them with the fake gun in the town of Amatitlan in southern Guatemala. Police found the men with the fake weapon and they apparently admitted they planned to use it to carry out a robbery”

Police uncover £25,000 of cannabis and scary circus mask in drug dealers’ car after spotting baseball bat and MACHETES on parcel shelf: “Bungling drug dealers lost their stash when police found their car with £25,000 worth of cannabis inside – after spotting a haul of machetes on the parcel shelf. Officers then carried out a full search of the car and discovered a white clown mask, three 1ft-long blades, a baseball bat, two knuckle dusters, class A drugs and cannabis inside. They initially became suspicious when they spotted a silver Honda Civic wanted in connection with other crimes parked outside an industrial unit in Saltley, Birmingham, West Mids. A West Midlands Police spokesman said: ‘Officers from the Birmingham East Gangs and Organised Crime Team have seized cannabis worth approximately £25,000 from vehicle on Highfield Road, Saltley. ‘Officers came across a vehicle parked up which had previously made off from police.

Barman, 23, got tattoo to surprise his friend … who’s called ISIS: “Callum Spragg, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, paid £30 to have ‘Isis’ written above his ankle, in honour of his friend who is named after the Egyptian goddess of love. But just weeks after the 2012 tattoo session, the name started to appear in headlines across the world as Islamic State, also known as ISIS, grew in notoriety. He said: ‘When I had it done Islamic State wasn’t as notorious as it is now, it was barely reported on. ‘I just had it done for a joke. It’s hard to believe that of all the names I could’ve had tattooed on me, it had to be that. ‘It was very much on the spur of the moment but by then it was too late. Isis didn’t believe me at first, she thought it was a wind up but when she realised I had really done it, she thought it was hilarious.’

And don’t forget to catch up with all the Strange Justice before you go.