
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
This cute little guy is Luntik. He is unusual because he has an extra pair of ears in front of his regular ones. The ears don’t have any canals so unfortunately the cat is not blessed with super hearing but it does make him look a little unusual. The cat was pictured at a service station in Russia and other than the extra ears appears perfectly normal.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010
A man in Austria has created what is thought to be the world’s largest lederhosen. measuring over 15ft long and four yards wide they took two months to make. Tailor Walter Sinnhofer used 77 square yards of cow hide to make the lederhosen which weigh 50kg. He is now waiting for Guinness World Records to officially confirm they are in fact the world’s largest pair.

Friday, July 09, 2010
A two headed calf has recently been born in Egypt. The calf which is normal in every other way has been hailed as a divine miracle. Its two heads are divided centrally meaning that it has two complete sets of eyes and two mouths. The calf is in a stable conditions and is expected to survive but due to the weight of its heads is currently unable to stand.

Monday, July 05, 2010
According to this article performing Shakespeare plays to cows can help them to produce more milk. Researchers have found that Shakespeare’s plays help to relax a dairy herd and boost milk production by as much as 4%. Cows also produce more like when they are played slow music as this has the similar effect of alleviating stress. In an experiment actors from a theatre group entertained cows at the Pleasant Farm near Maidstone. They found that the plays helped to relax the cows although they stick to light hearted comedies rather than tragedies which could have the opposite effect.

Friday, June 18, 2010
This giant burger could be the world’s largest. It took four men twelve hours to cook and weighs an amazing 90kg (200lb). It also contains 120 eggs, 150 slices of cheese, 1.5kg of beetroot, 2.5kg of tomatoes and 2kg of lettuce. The big question, however, is whether you want fries with that?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
In one of the more unusual animal stories I have come across recently a Jack Russell was rushed to the vet because he managed to glue his jaws together. The dog named Toby had eaten the morning post and the sticky mess of glue and envelopes had formed a substance similar to papier-mache and glued his jaws shut. His owner found her pet when she returned home and quickly realised he couldn’t open his mouth. He was rushed to the vet and sedated whilst the substance was removed and appears to have suffered no ill effects.

Sunday, June 13, 2010
This is probably one of the more unusual stories I have seen recently. It involves a man called Steven Sparks who decided that a trip to a Victorian sewer would be the prefect way to propose to his girlfriend. Whilst it might not be everyone's idea of romance it seems the lady in question was happy to accept and the proposal met with the sweet smell of success. I wonder whether the wedding will be more conventional.

Thursday, May 20, 2010
This was the outcome after an incident in Berkshire when a bus driver went under a low bridge. Luckily the driver had just dropped off the bus load of school children he was carrying and was in the bus on his own at the time. It seems the driver who usually drives a smaller bus simply forgot he was driving a double decker. Instead he now has an open top bus.

Monday, May 10, 2010
According to this article a postman in Germany has married his cat. Uwe Mitzscherlich had been told by a vet that his pet Cecilia might not have long to live. In order to show his devotion for his cat he decided to marry her. Officials refused to carry out the ceremony and man and cat eventually had to be married by an actress who played the registrar.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
In an unusual break in in New Jersey a burglar has broken into a restaurant simply to cook himself a meal. The incident happened in a restaurant called the Matsu Sushi Grill in Hillsdale, New Jersey. The thief broke in through the exhaust fan in the back wall of the restaurant. He then took some chicken from the freezer and made himself a chicken and rice dish in a frying pan. After eating he left a pile of dishes and a ignored the cash in the cash register. The thief has not been caught but it is thought it might have been a homeless person looking for some food.

Friday, March 26, 2010
A Labrador called Bracken is lucky to be alive after he swallowed a football. The football which measured 12cm became lodged next to the dogs heart and it was only when the dog developed a cough that he was given an x-ray to determine what was wrong. The ball was successfully removed after an operation and the dog appears to be no worse for wear after his ordeal.

Friday, February 05, 2010
A German man has been jailed for 14 weeks after being stopped at an airport with geckos in his underwear. The man attempted to board a plane in New Zealand with more than 40 geckos and skinks concealed in his underwear. He was convicted of two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act for taking the creatures from the wild gecko and skink populations.

Friday, January 29, 2010
A German man has been jailed for 14 weeks after being stopped at an airport with geckos in his underwear. The man attempted to board a plane in New Zealand with more than 40 geckos and skinks concealed in his underwear. He was convicted of two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act for taking the creatures from the wild gecko and skink populations.

Thursday, January 14, 2010
If you feel you have a little too much blood and would like a little more beer then this scheme could be for you. Cascade Regional Blood Services in Tacoma, Washington is offering donors a free pint of beer every time they give blood. They are hoping the scheme might encourage more people to donate. Donors have to be over 21 and are given a coupon entitling them a free pint when they donate blood through the scheme. It appears to be having the desired effect with the blood centre saying the scheme has worked so well that it is being expanded.

Thursday, November 05, 2009
Staff at a supermarket could have been justified in asking a customer this question when he was spotted behaving strangely. It appeared he was stealing food and had stuffed several sausages down his trousers before trying to walk out the door. He was stopped and searched and the sausages were confiscated. The manager of the supermarket was keen to point out that the sausages had not been returned to sale.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

A penguin called Ralph has recently been given a new wetsuit. Usually Humboldt penguins like Ralph gradually lose their feathers to be replaced by a new set. Ralph, however, lost all of his feathers in just one day leaving him at risk of severe sunburn. His wetsuit helps to protect him from the sun and allows him to do all of the things that penguins usually do.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
This is one of the more bizarre stories I have come across recently. It suggests that stoned wallabies are responsible for making crop circles in parts of Tasmania. Apparently the wallabies have been getting into fields of poppies which are being grown for medicine. The problem is that they quickly become intoxicated by the legally grown opium which makes them run around in circles creating the crop circles in the fields. Other animals such as sheep have also been spotted acting unusually in the fields so it appears the effect is not restricted to the kangaroos.

Sunday, May 31, 2009
According to this article £300,000 of taxpayers money was spent on research into finding out which kind of water ducks prefer. This hugely important and ground breaking research was carried out by Defra with the aim of making sure that ducks kept on farms are properly treated. During the three year study by Oxford University scientists offered the ducks different types of water including a trough, a pond, a shower and a nipple drinker. It was found that the ducks preferred standing under a shower and that they spent twice as long under the shower as they did in the other water.

Friday, May 29, 2009
It never fails to amaze me the strange places that images of Jesus appear. The latest one has been found on the lid of the jar of Marmite. As you can see from the image it clearly resembles an image of Jesus if you have a vivid imagination. If you don’t then it simply Marmite on a lid. I will let you decide.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
According to this article gardeners are increasingly starting to use wallabies as an alternative to lawnmowers. Apparently private orders for wallabies have jumped recently as landowners choose to use them on their land. Traditionally people with large gardens have used sheep to graze their lawns but it appears that wallabies are a friendlier alternative. Wallabies are not cheap at around £150 for a male and £650 for a female but it appears that demand for them is rising with Waveney Wildlife Britain’s biggest private supplier reporting orders doubling in the last five years. If you are looking to keep a wallaby they need about an acre of land and fences at least 5ft high so they cannot escape.

Friday, April 24, 2009
This is slightly unusual, its the story of a woman in Detroit who escaped being shot after a bullet bounced off her bra. The woman was in her house when burglars targeted the house next door. When she looked out of the window to see what was happening a shot was fired. The bullet went through her window and hit her but in lucky escape it was deflected off the wiring in her bra, Although she did sustain some injuries the bra slowed the bullet down and probably saved her life. The local police sergeant said "We need to get some bulletproof vests made from that. It is some strong wire."

Thursday, April 16, 2009
A woman in Brazil has survived being shot because she had a wad of cash stuffed into her bra. Ivonete Pereira was travelling on a bus from Salvator to Bahia when two armed robbers tried to hold up the bus. She knew that bus robberies were common so had hidden all of her money inside her bra. When a shootout began between the robbers and police Pereira was hit by a spray bullet but the cash inside her bra has slowed it enough that she was not killed. Instead she was taken to hospital to have the bullet removed. What a lucky escape.

Friday, February 27, 2009
A barman in Norfolk found himself in trouble with his boss after he cooked the pub takings. Luke Woolston, the barman at the Jolly Farmers in Ormesby, Norfolk stored the money inside an oven for safe keeping after he cashed up. Unfortunately he had failed to realise that the oven was switched on and it was only when he smelt burning that he realised he had cooked £1,000 on the pub takings. He later confessed to his boss by text message who took the unusual tactic of simply telling the customers what had happened saying I thought I could handle it in one of two ways - either give him a strong talking to or tell two or three customers, thinking it would be round the village in no time and his life would be hell for two or three weeks. It seems to have worked."

Monday, February 09, 2009
According to this article the number of UFO sightings in Britain has doubled in the past year. A total of 285 unidentified flying objects were reported in 2008 compared to just 135 in 2007. One was even reported hovering over Parliament on the 12th of February last year. I'm not entirely sure why the amount of sightings should double, perhaps it is down to people wanting to add a bit of excitement to their lives during the difficult economic conditions. Either way, one thing is for sure, if the aliens are looking for signs of intelligent life, then Parliament is the wrong place to look.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Police in Nigeria are holding a goat in connection with an armed robbery. Vigilantes had apprehended the animal which they claim was a criminal who had used black magic to turn himself into a goat. It is claimed that two men tried to steal a Mazda 323 but when pursued by the group of vigilantes one escaped and the other turned into a goat using magic. Police have been unable to confirm the story but the goat is still in custody pending any evidence that it might have actually started off as a man..

Friday, January 23, 2009
A parrot has been banned from attending football games because of his impression on the referees whistle. The parrots owner Irene Kerrigan has been taking her parrot to watch her local club Hertford Heath for some time. The parrot usually mimic the fans by repeating what they say but his latest trick on mimicking the referees whistle managed to stop the match on several occasions. When the referee realised that it was the parrot he was asked to leave.

Monday, January 05, 2009
One potential burglar in Edinburgh got a shock when he tried to break into a flat and was faced with the Norse god Thor, or at least a male dressed as Thor. The burglar leapt from the first floor window of the flat in order to escape Torvald Alexander who was dressed as Thor for a New Year's party that he was going to. Mr Alexander said the burglar may have been intimidated by his costume.

Friday, November 28, 2008
A suspected drink driver who was being chased by the police ended up running himself over with his own car. The driver was being pursued by state police after a tip off that he might be drunk. The police chased the car which swerved across two lanes of a highway before driving through a ditch and a barbed wire fence. The driver then attempted to put the truck into park but instead put it into reverse. He then fell out of the open door and both of his legs were run over. I think he might have a hard job proving he was sober.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
According to this article Mexico will dive out free Viagra and other drugs that enhance sexual performance to impotent men. The idea is simply to make people happy because as the mayor says sexuality "has a lot to do with quality of life and our happiness." The drugs will be available to the men over 70 and will be handed out at special clinics from the 1st of December.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008
A man has to be taken to hospital after he became stuck to a toilet. Emergency services were called to a public toilet after a man found himself stuck. An ambulance crew were unable to free him so he was taken to hospital still attached to the seat. A doctor used a special chemical to free the man and the toilet was later returned. It appears that someone had left glue on the seat as a prank.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A passenger on a French train had to be rescued from a train toilet after his arm became stuck. The man became trapped after he tried to fish his mobile phone out of the toilet bowl and his arm got stuck in the suction system. The high speed train was stopped for two hours to allow fireman to cut through the train's pipework. The man was eventually rescued from the train with the toilet still stuck on his arm. The fire brigade then had to saw through the toilet to remove it.

Thursday, October 23, 2008
A drunk pony had to be rescued from a swimming pool after he ate too many fermented apples and fell into the water. The pony broke into a garden in Cornwall to get to the fruit trees. He gorged himself on the fermenting apples, getting himself "punch drunk" and then ended up in the swimming pool. The pony was later rescued by a team of firefighters who used a harness to pull him out.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008
An attempt to break the world record for the world's largest sandwich has failed because onlookers ate it. The 1,500 metre long sandwich was going to be filled with ostrich meat before being displayed in the park in Tehran. As the sandwich was being measured hungry spectators rushed forward and started eating it meaning that the exact length of the sandwich could not be verified for the world record attempt.

Monday, October 20, 2008
Cooks in Iran have assembled what could be the world's largest ostrich sandwich at a food festival in Tehran. 1500 cooks used 1,000kg of ostrich meat to make a 1,500m long sandwich which they hope will be large enough to earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records. It took two days to prepare the enormous sandwich which was created as part of an effort to promote Iran's ostrich farming business.

Friday, October 17, 2008
Romanian police have arrested a horse because they suspected it was drunk. The officers noticed the horse because the cart it was pulling looked out of control. They ran an alcohol test which came back positive and the horse was then arrested. It is thought the horse had been given alcohol before it was sold to make it look stronger and healthier.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008
This is interesting, it about a herd of elephants that pass through a hotel during their migration. The Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia was built right on the elephants migration route and rather than find another way around the elephants simply walk straight though. The herd of 10 elephants appear every November and take the same route every year to get to their favourite mango trees.


Monday, October 06, 2008
A couple have been killed after a bizarre ritual which was meant to help them give up smoking. The couple died of head injuries after being beaten with broomsticks and motorbike helmets during a family gathering at a home in Kuala Lumpar. According to the family members that were detained, the beating ritual had been suggested by a nephew after the couple said they could not give up smoking. It seems that the nephew convinced the other members of the family to beat each other.

Friday, October 03, 2008
Two robbers had to leave half of their loot behind because they didn't have a big enough car to carry it away. The robbers could have escaped with £1 million when they hijacked a security van full of cash. Unfortunately when it came to fitting the loot in the car they were forced to leave half of it behind in the van. The van was later discovered with half the money still inside.

Monday, September 29, 2008
A women is Australia has been trapped inside her home by a large pig. The pig which is as big as a Shetland Pony won't let Caroline Hayes out of her house. Caroline and other neighbours had been feeding the pig which they named Bruce but he started to become aggressive when hungry. Animal rangers plan to catch him and take him to a piggery.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A confused Swedish woman checked herself in at Stockholm's Arlanda airport after misinterpreting instructions. The 78 year old lady checked in her suitcase and then climbed on the belt after it. She arrived in the baggage handling bay where she was rescued by surprised airport staff. The woman suffered no injuries and managed to get her flight on time. Perhaps this conveyor belt system could be a way of speeding up the check in process.

Thursday, August 28, 2008
Police in Bristol who were called out to deal with an escaped alligator might have been relieved to find out that it was simply a toy. Roads were sealed off as they stalked the creature which was hiding in bushes. However, after 30 minutes emergency workers used a camera to zoom in on the reptile and found that it was a harmless stuffed toy.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
A burglar was left rather red faced when he was caught by his own shoe lace. The man had smashed his way through a glass window but had then caught his foot. He was left hanging upside down until the homeowner returned. Although he protested he had been trying to stop the burglars the man was arrested and eventually admitted burglary with intent to steal.

Friday, August 22, 2008
A giant inflatable turd broke free of its moorings and brought down a power line when it escaped during a storm. The turd was a piece of modern art created by American artist Paul McCarthy. The work entitled Complex Shit was lifted by a sudden gust of wind during a storm and took off landing 200 yards away. I'm not too sure about the whole modern art thing, it looks like a pile of poo to me.

Friday, August 15, 2008
We all know that you can fined for carrying for carrying an offensive weapon such as a gun, knife or a gobstopper. Ok, maybe you weren't aware that a gobstopper could be considered an offensive weapon. It is apparently in Edinburgh where a man was fined £400 for carrying one in a sock. The man in question was found with a gobstopper the size of a snooker ball and when questioned said he needed it for protection because he had been attacked. Sheriff Kenneth McIver told him that, even though it was not in the same category as a knife or axe, it was capable of inflicting a nasty injury.

Thursday, August 14, 2008
Two people in Japan were attacked and robbed by a vicious Winnie the Pooh. Pooh was actually a man called Masayuki Ishikawa who was out with his friends who were dressed as a mouse and a panther. Apparently he took offence to being stared at, approached the couple saying "What are you staring at?" and then robbed them. It later emerged he was wearing the Winne the Pooh costume because he had run out of clean clothes, obviously he has not heard of a washing machine.

Saturday, August 09, 2008
When Hector the great dane started drooling and looking unwell, it was obvious there was something wrong with him, so his owner took him to the vet. It was only when, he was given an X-ray, however, that it emerged he has managed to swallow a 63cm stick. The stick was so long that it stretched over two thirds of the dogs body. It was later removed under anaesthetic and Hector appears to be fine despite the sticky situation.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A woman who mistakenly flushed 900 euros down the toilet managed to get it back after sewer workers were able to recover it. The money had been in her back pocket and slipped out into the toilet bowl. Not realising what had happened she flushed the toilet and then realised that the money was gone. She called the council and sewer workers used a mini camera to find the notes. The bank notes were returned to the lady and hung out to dry.

Monday, July 21, 2008
A lady from New York had a surprise when she opened her washing machine to find a 8ft python. The snake had apparently managed to climb up the pipes where it ended up among her washing. She called animal control who took the snake to New York Wild Animal Kingdom where it is recovering from its adventure.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Motorists in Doebriach in Austria had to wait for several hours after camels stopped traffic. The camels had escaped from a nearby circus and ended up wandering along a busy road. An eye witness said "I came out of a bend on the road and suddenly saw a load of camels strolling around. I could hardly believe my eyes." The camels were eventually rounded up and returned to the circus.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Nasa has appealed to its employees for donations of urine. The urine is needed for space tests on the new Orion space capsule. The testers need 30 litres of urine everyday in order to conduct the tests because as the head of support systems says "you can't make fake urine".

Thursday, July 03, 2008
A man in Connecticut who was being sought for questioning by police made their job easy for them when he crashed his truck into a police garage. Police were looking for the man in regard to a number of accidents that he had been involved in the previous day. They obviously didn't have to look very far. Not a very bright criminal.

Friday, May 23, 2008
If you get an itch whilst holding a loaded gun it would seem sensible to put the gun down and look around for something to care of the problem. One man in Texas finding he had a rather annoying itch scratched it with a loaded revolver and not surprisingly ended up shooting himself in the back. He was taken to hospital where he was treated for his injuries, it is not know whether he still has the itch.

Thursday, May 01, 2008
A man in Crowley was arrested after he tried to cash a cheque for $360 billion. He had said the cheque had been given to him by his girlfriends mother so that he could start a record business. Surprisingly staff at the bank were a little suspicious and called the lady who had supposedly written the cheque. Also surprisingly she had no knowledge of writing the cheque. Now I think I might recall writing a cheque for $360 billion. Perhaps if he was trying to get away with it, he should have chosen to cash a cheque for a slightly smaller amount.

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Actually the headline is a little misleading; it’s actually the farmer that does the tai chi and not the cows themselves.
Rob Tavener says that practising tai chi in front of his cows relaxes them and increases milk production. Apparently if he is relaxed and happy, then so are his cows. He says “Animals are very receptive to human moods and tai chi is all about leaving your problems behind and getting into a better zone,” he said. “The happier I am, the happier the cows are. And the happier they are, the more milk they produce.” I’m not convinced.

Friday, April 11, 2008
If you are driving whilst drunk I would have thought the last place you wanted to go was a police station. One
woman in Oregon, however, who worked at the police station as a cleaner did just that. Not surprisingly she was given a blood alcohol test and found to be over the limit.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A fat rat was responsible for a three hour
power outage in Stockholm’s central station after it got electrocuted. The rat caused a short circuit after it came into contact with some parts in a secondary sub station. Unfortunately for the rat the blow caused it to explode. The power outage led to delays in train traffic, stopped lifts and escalators, and caused a black out in the station.

Monday, April 07, 2008
A man is likely to face five years in jail after he attacked a boy by
throwing a hedgehog at him. William Singalargh is accused of throwing the hedgehog from 15ft to hit the boy. It hit his victim in the leg and caused a large welt and puncture wounds. The hedgehog was dead when police arrived at the scene.

Thursday, April 03, 2008
A
camel beauty contest is being held in Abu Dhabi. The contest will feature camels from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. A panel of expert camel appreciators will choose the best camel in each group. Entry is open to anyone who can prove they own a pedigree camel and there are prizes of up to £4.5m up for grabs.

Thursday, March 27, 2008
This rather bizarre looking toilet is a new Chinese invention. It is called the
TwoDaLoo and allows people to go to the toilet at the same whilst facing each other so they can have a conversation. Strange.

Thursday, March 20, 2008
A couple who brought a
second hand pram in an internet auction got more than they bargained for when they found it also contained a gun. They had collected the pram from Hamburg and later found a 9mm pistol in the side pocket. Naturally they called the police who searched the seller’s house. He said the gun didn’t belong to him.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A
man in Arizona was surprised to be told he had a large penis painted on the roof of his house. Mr Walker was contacted by a Channel 12 News crew who asked him about the penis. Although he knew nothing about it, he speculates that it might have been put there during his bachelor party. Mr Walker now plans to paint over the penis shape.

Saturday, March 15, 2008
After reports of a
miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary in the sky, around 50 people were left blinded because they had stared at the sun. The vision was said to have appeared in the sky in southeast India. After one hospital reported 48 cases of people being admitted with burned retinas churches in the area warned their congregations that looking at the sun will cause permanent blindness and that there is no miracle.

Friday, March 14, 2008
Lefkos Hajji had it all worked out, he would propose to his girlfriend by giving her a helium balloon with a diamond ring inside it. Unfortunately he had not taken into account the rather windy weather. He took the ring the £6,000 ring to a florist who put it inside the balloon for him but on leaving the shop a gust of wind blew the balloons away. Although he chased them for over two hours he eventually lost sight of the balloons and his ring. He is still hoping that someone will find the ring and return to it him.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Voters in Sri Lanka were unable to reach the polling station because it was
blocked by a herd of elephants. Security forces were brought in to drive the elephants away after they blocked access to the polling booths in the village of Wellaveli. Police reportedly sent out a security team armed with sirens and loud hailers to disperse the elephants.

Monday, March 03, 2008
I thought I was seeing things when I came across the headline “
Tony
Blair launches artistic career”. It gets much stranger than that, however,
when you learn that the Tony Blair to whom the article refers, is a rat. The
artistic rat has been causing quite a stir in art circles with his masterpiece
which is made entirely out of avocado. The rat has also produced another piece
which features a gnawed four leaf clover which he calls “Am I still Lucky?”
Tony’s owner says "I first noticed his creative potential when he walked across
some clay tiles and left his paw prints and it went from there." I must see
whether any of my cats are hiding an artistic talent.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Police dogs in Germany will get special blue plastic shoes for when they go out on patrol. All 20 of the police dogs are being trained to walk in the new shoes which have been introduced because of the high rate of paw injuries the dogs sustain whilst on duty. The shoes come in small, medium and large and even match the police officer’s uniforms.

Monday, February 11, 2008
A city in northwest Mexico has brought in
new regulations to ban amongst other things shaving whilst you are driving. People caught using an electric razor or putting on make up while driving will now face a fine of 346 pesos (£16.30). The ban will also include fines for carrying a pet whilst driving and throwing trash out of a car window.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008
A man who was accused of killing his wife came up with a really great alibi. Rather than use a more plausible explanation such as “I was in the pub”
David Clark said he had been trying to exorcise a demon from his wife’s body when it returned and killed her. Now why don’t I believe him?

Tuesday, February 05, 2008
A
Malaysian burglar was caught after he took time out from robbing a house to help himself to some cookies. As we all know, after eating cookies you really need a good nap and that’s just what the burglar did next. Needless to say when the family who owned the house arrived home the burglar was quickly discovered and was arrested for trespassing.

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Firemen in Cardiff have saved 32 Koi carp after their tank sprung a leak. When the tank began leaking worried owner Jim Senior tried to fill it up with a hosepipe. However, finding that the water was leaking faster than he could fill the tank, Jim called the fire service who kept the tank topped up with their fire pressure hoses until emergency repairs were made. All the fish were saved.

Friday, January 18, 2008
A man who
confessed his crime to his cats did not realise he was being bugged and was later caught. David Henton was suspected of battering his partner Joyce Sutton to death but as the police had no proof they decided to bug his house. Mr Heston was recorded saying “I had to something about it. I hit my Joyce” say the prosecution. It just goes to show you never know who is listening.

Monday, January 14, 2008
An FBI team on a
surveillance operation was shut down after telephone companies cut their phone lines because of unpaid bills. The team had been using wiretaps to listen in on suspected criminals and had made thousands of dollars of calls. One telephone company was owed £66,000 dollars. Late payment of bills also resulted in some wiretaps being dropped during monitoring meaning evidence was lost. The message is clear, even the FBI need to pay their bills on time.

Saturday, January 12, 2008
A man who thought he bore the mark of the beast used a circular saw to cut off his hand. As if that wasn’t enough he then microwaved it before calling the police. The man was quite calm when the police reached his home in Idaho but was soon transferred to protective custody in the mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Centre.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I read
this article about a restaurant in Ahmadabad in India that has graves between the tables. It was built over an old Muslim cemetery and has graves in the floor of the café. The graves are decorated daily with a dried flower and are scattered randomly throughout the restaurant.

Friday, December 07, 2007
A dog was blamed for
starting a house fire that caused $50,000 worth of damage. The women who owned the house had been frying fish on the stove when she took some garbage outside. Meanwhile her dog managed to shut the door behind her. Firefighters arrived in time to save both the dog and a pet bird.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007
The owner of an antique shop had his
life saved by his wedding ring when it blocked a bullet that had been fired at him. Two robbers had entered his shop and demanded money before firing at him. He put his hand up to block the shot which was deflected by his wedding ring. The bullet broke into two pieces with one part becoming stuck in his neck and the other part becoming lodged in his finger.

Thursday, November 29, 2007
A Chilean prostitute raised $4,000 for a national charity by auctioning 27 hours of sex. The money was raised during a two day campaign which is similar to Comic Relief. It will go to help poor and disabled children.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Drivers in Thailand would be forced to stop their cars when the national anthem is played if a
new law is brought into force. The law is being proposed by the government who think it would help to boost patriotism. A panel is currently reviewing the idea although some members of the Thai parliament have commented that it would be chaotic if the law was passed.

Monday, November 26, 2007
These signs have been launched in an attempt to stop Eastern European immigrants from taking fish from rivers and lakes. Fish such as carp and pike are a traditional Christmas dish in Poland and officials fear that there will be increase in fish being killed in the run up to Christmas. They follow
similar signs that were posted in order to stop people eating the swans.

Sunday, November 25, 2007
England might have played very badly against Croatia the other day but many Croatian’s found the
national anthem more entertaining than the game. British opera singer Tony Henry sung the Croatian national anthem but managed to mispronounce a word giving it a very different meaning. Instead of singing You know my dear how we love your mountains Henry instead sang "My dear, my penis is a mountain" which greatly amused the Croatian crowd.

Saturday, November 24, 2007
Some people do get married in strange places but this has got to be one of the strangest I have come across. Cyndi LaRose and Joseph David Smith decided to get married in
The Honey Dew Doughnut shop in North Kingston, Rhode Island. They plan to spend their honeymoon in a casino.

Friday, November 23, 2007
Police in southern Ohio were called out to reports of a
lion attacking vehicles. The lion had escaped from its pen and although tame caused a bit of surprise. The owner was called and was eventually able to get the lion called Lambert back into its cage.

Thursday, November 22, 2007
An initiative to cut down on
drink drivers in California has been rewarding sober drivers with a free turkey. The initiative is part of a road safety campaign in the run up to Thanksgiving weekend in the US.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Some of the early episodes of Sesame Street which were made in 1969 have been released on DVD. Unfortunately though these episodes have been deemed
unsuitable for children and carry the warning "Sesame Street: Old School is adults only". The older episodes are now considered unsuitable because in one episode Cookie Monster holds a pipe which he later eats. However, the biggest problem is that Oscar the Grouch is considered to be too miserable for today’s children. How bizarre.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007
A man in Kentucky tried to
rob an ice cream store with a stapler. He flashed the stapler at an employee before making his get away with $175. He was later arrested and police recovered a stapler, a ski mask and the money. It is still not clear whether he planned to staple the assistant to the counter or to use the stapler as a blunt instrument.

Sunday, November 18, 2007
When a driver for stopped for a bite to eat at a McDonalds restaurant,
eight cows escaped from the trailer of his truck. The cows, obviously not very happy at being so close to a McDonalds, naturally stampeded towards it, to get their revenge. The cows were eventually rounded up after about two hours.

Saturday, November 17, 2007
After a groom turned up at his wedding drunk his
bride married his brother instead. The groom had turned up drunk and misbehaved with guests upsetting the bride’s family who chased him away. Luckily the groom’s younger brother was on hand to take his place and the wedding still went ahead.

Friday, November 16, 2007
An Indian man has
married a dog in the hope it will help lift a curse. He believes he has been cursed after he stoned two dogs to death around 20 years ago. After he killed the dogs he lost the hearing in one ear and his legs and hands were paralysed.

Thursday, November 15, 2007
A German man stopped to fill his car up at a petrol station but then forgot about it and walked home. After the car had been there for around an hour a member of staff became suspicious and alerted the police. Officers then contacted the man who immediately came back to collect his car.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A 70 year old man was arrested after he admitted
robbing a bank in order to solve his financial problems. Donald Cesare used a 50 year old hand gun to rob the First National Bank in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania. He had no criminal record and when he was tracked down by police he apologised for the robbery.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007
A man in Texas who calls himself the
Texas Snake Man has broken a world record by spending 45 minutes in a bathtub with 87 rattlesnakes. The snakes had not been defanged and still contained their venom. He also set another world record last year by holding 10 rattlesnakes by their tails in his mouth at the same time. He hopes to break this world record with an attempt to try it with 11. Crazy.

Monday, November 12, 2007
A beach near Amsterdam was
covered with bananas after six containers fell off of a cargo ship during a storm. The bananas were washed up on two Dutch North Sea islands last week. The locals are now wondering what to do with them. Some suggestions include sending them to nearby zoos.

Friday, November 09, 2007
A Mum who thought she had booked a gorillagram for her teenage sons birthday was left rather embarrassed when it turned out she had actually
booked a stripper. The birthday surprise turned up at the boys school dressed as a policewoman. She then proceeded to spank the boy before asking him to rub cream over her body. It was at this point that a teacher decided to call an end to the show.

Thursday, November 08, 2007
A
man from Muncie, Indiana who picked up a parcel of baby timber rattlesnakes from the post office and took it home on a bus is facing charges. He is likely to be charged with possessing an endangered species and transportation of a dangerous reptile without a permit.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007
A
crocodile that attacked fishermen ended up spending the night in a police cell. The crocodile had attacked fishermen in a remote Australian mining village. Police and wildlife officers decided it was best to hold the crocodile in a cell until it could be safely moved to a crocodile farm.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007
A police station in
Paignton in Devon had to be evacuated after a member of the public left a hand grenade on the front desk. The man had found the hand grenade on an allotment and decided he should hand it into the police station. Although the man was trying to be helpful a spokesman for the police said they would have preferred him to leave it where he had found it.

Saturday, November 03, 2007
I read
this article about these photos of a strange creature. Some people think it’s a bear, others think it’s Bigfoot. I think it looks a big like a large ape. What do you think?

Thursday, November 01, 2007
A policeman in Sussex suffered four broken ribs and a punctured lung after being attacked by a herd of cows. He was walking his dog on the South Downs when a cow butted him in the back pushing him to the ground. The other cows in the herd also started to attack him. Mr Poole escaped when the cows were distracted by his dog running away. The RSPCA warned that although cow attacks are rare, they can become aggressive when protecting their young.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Fiona Griggs has become the first national conker champion of Scotland. The championship took place for the first time last Sunday. The event was split into three age categories and also had and event where competitors could bring their own conker. The organisers were pleased with the success of the event and hope to stage it every year.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A man on a hunting trip had the humiliation of actually getting shot by his dog. The man was shooting pheasants and had put his gun on the ground to collect a bird from over a fence. As he climbed the fence one of his hunting dogs stood on the gun, shooting him in his left leg. Officials are now investigating whether the dog was provoked.

Monday, October 29, 2007
The deputy mayor of Delhi has died after being attacked by wild monkeys. SS Bajwa suffered head injuries after falling from a first floor terrace whilst trying to fight off the monkeys. The city has long been plagued by monkeys which invade government complexes and temples and often attack passers by. They have tried to combat the problem by employing monkey catchers to move them into the forest and training larger langur monkeys to scare off the much smaller Rhesus macaques. Culling is not an option because the monkeys are seen as a manifestation on the monkey god Hanuman by devout Hindus.

Sunday, October 28, 2007
An
unfortunate squirrel with a love for nuts got into a spot of bother when he crawled into a bird feeder. Getting into the squirrel proof bird feeder was not a problem for the then thin and sleek squirrel. Getting out after consuming all the nuts proved a little more difficult. Luckily for the greedy squirrel the RSPCA were on hand to release him and the squirrel ran off unharmed but feeling a little sheepish.

Thursday, October 25, 2007
A pastor who decided to spread the word of God by putting
scripture messages into bottles before throwing them into the sea has been fined for littering. The bottles were meant to be carried out to sea and across to Holland, France and Germany but unfortunately for the Pastor they ended up on Gorlestone beach in Norfolk and he was fined for littering.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Port Allen City Council has become the second Cajun-country town to
ban saggy pants. By saggy pants I mean the style of trousers that fall below the hips often exposing the wearer’s underwear. The o ordinance requires pants to be secured at the waist so that they do not fall below the hips. Violators could be fine $25 to $250 for a first offence and $250 to $500 for repeat offences. Council member Hugh Riviere said he didn't want to view other people's undergarments, saying it "is called underwear for a reason."

Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A study carried out at the University of East Anglia suggests that swearing at work can actually help employees cope with stress. Professor Yehuda Baruch warned that attempts to stop people swearing at work could also have a negative impact on employees, although he did discourage swearing in front of customers. Apparently swearing helps by developing solidarity as well as helping staff cope with stress.

Monday, October 22, 2007
Stratford-upon-Avon is hosting a
Geesepeace event on how to deal with problem numbers of Canada geese. 50 delegates from across the UK and the USA will attend. Stratford-upon-Avon has managed to reduce its numbers of geese from 700 to 100 in less than three years through humane management. The birds can be a problem because they destroy vegetation, harass visitors and deposit around half a ton of excrement. Methods to control the geese include oiling eggs to prevent them from hatching.

Friday, October 19, 2007
A
man in Hong Kong was jailed after he drank two vials of blood on a hospital visit. The man was drunk and had staggered into the hospital for treatment on an injured toe. Surveillance cameras showed the man walking up to a laboratory counter before drinking two vials of blood. His excuse was that he was extremely thirsty.

Thursday, October 18, 2007
Horse racing fans in Sydney have had a shortage of races after an outbreak of equine flu has hit the spring racing programme. Horse racing is currently banned because of the outbreak. There is some good news, however, as some
camel races have been organised. One race was held last weekend and although people are not allowed to put official bets on a camel race due to the fact camel racing is not recognised by Australia’s betting organisation, it appeared to be a success. More camel races are planned for the future.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Grey squirrels may be given contraceptives under a scheme
designed to stop them wiping out the native red squirrels. Red squirrels once
common in the UK now only survive in a few locations. This is largely because of the invasive presence of the introduced grey squirrel. I wonder how they propose giving the contraceptive to the squirrels. If it is given in the squirrel’s food, then other animals and birds are also likely to eat it. It seems a rather odd project, what wrong with just using a few squirrels for food; I hear they taste like chicken.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Stressed pets in Lincolnshire are being offered spiritual healing in the form of Reiki. Reiki uses energy to treat physical and emotional problems. The treatment can help animals in relieving pain and boosting their immune systems. If you want to take your stressed pets then you need to go to the Four Paws Reiki clinic in Lincoln.

Friday, October 12, 2007
A
man in Australia was rushed to hospital after it was found he had ingested a large amount of ethylene glycol, which is commonly found in anti freeze. The usual treatment for this is pure alcohol which can inhibit the toxic effects. However, the hospital soon ran out of pharmaceutical grade alcohol and so the decision was taken to use vodka instead. The man was drip fed a case of vodka over three days in the intensive care unit. He made a successful recovery but I bet he had a mean hangover.

Thursday, October 11, 2007
A
tunnel of love has been built in Somerset to try and encourage some rare dormice to breed. The Tunnel consists of wire mesh and is lined with leaves and is stretched across a road at Batts Combe Quarry. The idea is that it will link two colonies of rare hazel dormice. So far none of the dormice appears to have used the tunnel but there have been reports of squirrels using it as a racetrack.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A grant has been given by the lottery fund to try and help Britain’s bats. All 17 species of Britain’s bats have declined since the end of the industrial revolution. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £600,000 to conservationists is designed to increase the awareness of the sorts of conditions bats need to survive. The project has been called England Bat Count and will give people training in how to spot bats as well as information about how to encourage them back to their former territories.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007
A pig and eight of her piglets were rescued from a hut in
Alresford, Hampshire. The hut had caught on fire and the little pigs faced a roasting until firefighters rescued them. One other piglet died before they arrived but at least the others didn't get a roasting.

Friday, October 05, 2007
In a rather unusual piece of news a chemical scare was
trigged in Soho in London
by nothing more than a few chillies. Police were first alerted after members of
the public reported an acrid cloud of smoke. Police then cordoned off three
street and emergency workers were deployed with breathing masks. After breaking
down the door of a nearby building a Hazardous Area Response Team emerged with
a 9lb pot of chillies. It later emerged the premises was a Thai restaurant and that
the chef had been preparing nam prik pao, a specialist dipping sauce which is
made from burnt-dry-fried chillies.

Thursday, October 04, 2007
A man has recently got into the record books by
skimming a stone 51 times. If you want to have a go, you might want to read these tips on how he does it. They include picking a flat, oval and palm sized stone, using the forefinger and thumb to skim and throwing the stone so it strikes the water at an angle between 10 and degrees. It all seems very complicated.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Villages across the north of England have been receiving carved stone heads. The heads are thought to be carved by local man. So far 13 of the stone heads have been left in various locations including outside the post office in Braithwell. The heads appeared in the middle of the night and although there is CCT footage of a man leaving them there, so far no one knows why. My guess is its someone looking for some publicity for their sculptures.

Monday, October 01, 2007
A woman in Phoenixville has been involved in an unusual accident. She was in a drive through McDonald’s when she managed to run over her legs. Police do not yet know how she managed to do this but she was fully conscious when speaking to emergency crews. It is thought that she placed her order and whilst the car was rolling forward managed to fall out of the moving car, which then ran her over.

Saturday, September 29, 2007
A flock of sheep in Romania have been attracting attention after they turned green overnight. The sheep had been treated with a solution of limestone to help them get rid of a skin disease. Overnight the sheep had all huddled together to keep warm and by the morning they had all turned green.

Friday, September 28, 2007
A man used a power saw to
slice a house in half after an acquaintance refused to sell it to him. He had been under the impression that his acquaintance was going to build the house and sell it to him. When he found out this was not the case he sliced through the house, cutting all the way around. The only thing that kept the two halves of the house in place was gravity.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A Croatian biker was knocked unconscious after being struck by lightening during a toilet break. He had stopped by the side of the road to “take a leak” and the next thing he knew he was in hospital. Doctors later told him that the lightening went through his body and because he was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through his penis. The biker escaped with light burns to his chest and arms and no lasting effects to his penis.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A man in Pennsylvania held up a convenience store, wearing nothing but a hat. The store clerk refused to hand over any money, instead calling the police. The naked man was charged not only with holding up the store but also with exposing himself. When asked why he decided to rob the store nude, he said it was because he was bored. There are some really strange people out there.

Monday, September 24, 2007
A Californian man has been charged with trying to smuggle
three iguanas in his false leg. He took the rare banded iguanas from a nature
reserve in Fiji and was
trying to smuggle them into the US.
He constructed a special compartment inside his prosthetic leg in order to hide
the iguanas. He was later found to have a further four iguanas at his house.

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Firefighters had to rescue a
drunk man from a chimney after he became stuck. The man had climbed down the chimney of a house belonging to his ex girlfriend at 3.30am. The Firefighters has to tear through a wall to release the man. His ex girlfriend helpfully told them to leave him there and let him die.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
This story does not have the usual humorous aspect that I usually feature on this blog. Nether less I think it does count of unusual news. It has been reported in China that a man has died after playing computer games non-stop for three days. The 30 year man fainted at an internet café where he had been playing an online gambling game. It is thought he succumbed to extreme exhaustion. Paramedics that were called to the scene were unable to revive him and he was declared dead at the scene. China is currently one of the largest markets for online games and now has several clinics to treat what is called “internet addiction” .

Monday, September 17, 2007
A hedgehog is recovering after it survived a 40 degree washing cycle. The hedgehog had crawled into a pile of clothes which were then put into the washing machine. The hedgehog, nicknamed Lucky did not appear to injured in any way but was very clean.

Friday, September 14, 2007
If you have to appear in court, I’m sure you would make all the proper preparations, such as wearing a smart suit, making sure you are not driving a stolen car, that sort of thing.
One woman who went to court to pay a traffic ticket was arrested after it was found she had driven to the court in a stolen car. Now, that’s just plain stupid.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Police investigating a vandalised building in Cheshire were able to
catch the criminal without really needing to do much. The criminal in question had helpfully written Peter Addison was here, on the wall of the vandalised building. He was quickly tracked down and arrested for the crime.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Trevor the turkey has been fitted with webbed slippers to try and straighten out his deformed toes. The slippers are made from board and surgical tape. Without them Trevor would have struggled to walk and would have been unable to feed.

Monday, September 10, 2007
A man has been arrested after viciously attacking his father with a bag of Cheetos. After an argument he threw the bag of Cheetos at his father twice causing a cut to his nose and leaving Cheeto dust on his clothing. The son was later taken to jail. It is not known whether the Cheetos were still edible.

Saturday, September 08, 2007
A man who had his foot run over by a police car
when it swerved off the road, could have been forgiven for expecting an
apology. Instead they fined him £80 because they said he had dented
their car. He was on his way home from a night out with friends when he
was rammed from behind, knocked over and had his foot crushed under the
wheels of the patrol car. A South Wales Police spokeswoman confirmed
that a fixed penalty was issued for criminal damage, adding: 'We have
received a complaint from Mr Horne and are looking into it.'

Thursday, September 06, 2007
A criminal was caught after he complained to a newspaper about the mugshot they printed and left his address. He was wanted for an attack on a man in a nightclub. On seeing his picture in the paper he wrote and complained but included his address which was passed onto the police. He was soon caught and the police were saved a lot of hard work.

Monday, September 03, 2007
A circus elephant in India has eloped with a wild bull elephant. The tame female elephant called Savitri went off into the jungle after the bull elephant broke open a gate. Three other female elephants also followed but they were later led back. Savitri, however, would not leave her new friend and is still living in the jungle.

Sunday, September 02, 2007
Cows in India are being issued with ID cards including a photograph. The cards have been introduced in order to try and stop cattle smuggling from India to Bangladesh. Thousands of cows are currently being smuggled every day from West Bengal. India currently prohibits cattle exports because eating beef is frowned upon by the Hindu population.

Saturday, September 01, 2007
A couple in Ashford in Kent have an unwelcome visitor in their garden. A grass snake they have nicknamed Sid is feasting on their fish. The couple have around 200 goldfish in their pond, but Sid has been visited daily for his fish supper and the number is gradually going down. Grass snakes also eat frogs and newts and are good swimmers so catching their prey is not difficult.

Friday, August 31, 2007
A herd of cows in Yorkshire are to be monitored by satellite as part of a conservation project. Fifty cows will be fitted with electronic collars with a Global Positioning System in them. The project is to help track where the cows go and what they eat and should help farmer improve the management of their land and also help assess the cows impact on the local ecology.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Scientists have finally done something really useful.
A team in Italy have come up with a formula for a suit which will allow the wearer to scale a wall and hang upside down, just like Spiderman. The formula is based on natural technology that enables spiders and lizards to stick to concrete and glass. It would work by coating the gloves and boots with structures called carbon nanotubes that mimic the hairs on a gecko’s foot. Obviously its very much still a work in progress, but how cool is that, we could soon be sticking to buildings.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A man who was arrested for speeding was driving at 172mph, the highest recorded speed for the offence yet in the UK. He was driving a Porsche 911 along the A420 when he was caught. He is due to be sentenced in September.

Friday, August 24, 2007
A lady unknowingly drove around for two days with a quail stuck in the grille of her car. It is thought the quail became stuck when it was crossing the road as the car passed above it. The bird was later removed unharmed and is now recovering.

Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wildlife groups in Southern India have created identification cards for wild elephants. The ID cards are a new idea to try and track the effects of poaching. The ID cards contain a picture of the elephant and records data such as tuck length, thickness, angle and arrangement, as well as the shape of the ears and tail length and any scars. The study is currently focussing on male elephants because they are more prone to being targeted by poachers.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Fire fighters in Hampshire were called out to rescue a pig after it became stuck in a drain. The pig had become stuck in the mud and fire fighters had to dig around her before putting a strap underneath to lift her out.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
A man running from the police was eventually caught when he managed to shoot himself in the groin. The incident happened in Utah when police stopped his car. The man abandoned his vehicle and tried to escape on foot. After he vaulted a fence he managed to shoot himself in groin, and was captured by police. It was later found that the car he was driving was stolen.

Friday, August 17, 2007
A cattle rancher spent seven days in a tree after he wandered into a crocodile swamp. The rancher fell from his horse and injured himself. He decided to climb back on the horse hoping it would take him home, but instead he ended up surrounded by crocodiles. He climbed a tree and spent six nights surviving on two meat sandwiches. He was later rescued by helicopter.

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Oliver the monkey has a history of escaping. Oliver lives at the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo in Mississippi but obviously craves his freedom because he keeps getting out. Oliver has managed to pick the locks of his cage and has managed to break out of his cage twice this month. His cage has now been triple secured with extra chains and locks.

Monday, August 13, 2007
I read this article about mummified birds that have been displayed in a textile factory for around a century. There are three ibises and five falcons. The birds will now be displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Animals were often mummified because of their symbolic association with certain Gods.

Sunday, August 12, 2007
Swimmers in Sandgate have been warned to be careful around a dolphin. The dolphin tolerates being patted on the head and will play with swimmers, but it is a wild dolphin and could be unpredictable. He has already been known to try and stop swimmers leaving the water when the games have finished and there are fears that he could even injure a person.

Friday, August 10, 2007
A German woman who has had a pencil stuck in her head for 50 years has just had it removed. When she was four she fell over whilst carrying a pencil and it became stuck in her head. At the time it was decided it was too dangerous to remove it because it was near to the brain. She has suffered headaches and nosebleeds since the pencil became stuck. A 2cm tip still remains in her head as it grown in to firmly to be removed.

Monday, August 06, 2007
A couple who were watching the birds in their garden were surprised to see a baby monkey climbing one of their trees. They eventually managed to catch the monkey by tempting it down with a banana. Staff from a nearby wildlife park later came to collect the monkey. It’s still not clear where he came from but he seems to be used to contact with humans.

Sunday, August 05, 2007
I came across this story about a lamb with seven legs which has been born in Wellington, New Zealand. The condition is caused by a genetic mutation that occurs once in every several million sheep. Unfortunately this lamb will have to be destroyed because it is also missing part of its bowel.

Thursday, August 02, 2007
A birth control product is to be added to bird food in an effort to control Hollywood’s pigeon population. There are currently around 5,000 pigeons in the area and the pigeon population is currently enjoying something of a boom. If the scheme works the pigeon population should halve by 2012.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007
These cute little ducklings were rescued after being washed out to sea. They were found by a canoeist and are now living in a teacup.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A crazed heifer that was on loose has now been caught meaning the people of Darlington can now sleep easy in their beds. The cow had escaped on Thursday. It was finally found in a field with other cows.... funny that.
A US town is attempting to break the record for the largest ketchup packet. The packet is 8 foot tall and four foot wide and should hold around 1,500 pounds of ketchup. The ketchup has been donated by Heinz and people will pay a bottle of ketchup for $1 which will then be poured into the packet. All the proceeds will go to charity.

Monday, July 30, 2007
This was the moment the world’s tallest horse and the world’s smallest horse were brought together. Thumbelina stands only 17 inches tall whilst radar is an amazing 6ft 7 inches tall.

Sunday, July 29, 2007
A man from Sussex hopes to break a world record by reaching speeds of more than 100mph on a jet powered skateboard. Joel King is currently the reigning UK Street Luge champion and hopes his modified board will be quick enough to beat the record.

Saturday, July 28, 2007
If you are sick of sitting in traffic jams then you may be interesting in this cool flying car. Invented by a man in Canada it can travel at 50mph, ten feet above the ground. Currently only the prototype has been made but the vehicle could soon be on sale with a £44,000 price tag. It seems a lot but then it is a flying car.

Friday, July 27, 2007
A heifer is on the loose in Darlington after it escaped from a cattle market. The cow has been described as extremely dangerous and police have warned it will attack anyone it sees. The public have been told be vigilant and not to approach it under any circumstances.

Thursday, July 26, 2007
Residents in Hampton have apparently been warned to keep their toilet lids closed. This is because the recent heavy rain has washed Chinese mitten crabs out of their burrows and into peoples gardens. The crabs whilst not dangerous could crawl up the U-bend of a toilet.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Bournemouth Council has banned its leisure centres from using armbands and rubber rings. Apparently blowing up inflatable’s by mouth spreads germs and is deemed too unsafe. So apparently it’s now more acceptable for someone to drown because they can't use a rubber ring than risk catching germs.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Dogissimo is a new ice cream for dogs. It is available in rice, vanilla-rice and soy flavours and has recently gone on sale in Vienna. Simona Leonardini who makes the ice cream tested the recipes on her own dogs until she perfected one that they all liked.

Thursday, July 19, 2007
Even the happiest of married couples have their arguments; however, most couples manage to get through the wedding day without any fights. One couple started their marriage with a fight in a hotel room, on their wedding day which led to the groom being hit with a stiletto heel and being treated for a head wound. The bride still in her wedding dress was detained by police. The couple who are still together had to pay £500 for the damaged they caused to the hotel room during the fight. Wedded Bliss.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A golfer in Nevada managed to start a grass fire when he tried to get his ball out of the rough. When he knocked his ball into the dry grass and tried to hit it back onto the fairway, the golfer managed to hit something that created a spark and the dried grass set on fire. The fire burnt 20 acres of grass before it was put out by 50 firefighters. Thats what I call a bad at golf.

Sunday, July 01, 2007
They have an unusal rat problem at the police department in India. Rats have been gnawing through beer cans and the caps of whisky bottles to get to the alcohol inside. The police department would usually sell the alcohol which is seized from illegal sellers in order to raise money, but due to their current rat problem are currently unable to do this. Rats under the influence have also been attacking people near the police buildings.

Thursday, June 14, 2007
A truck driver managed to drive four miles along a motorway with a man in a wheelchair stuck to the front of his lorry. The wheelchair with its passenger became stuck to the front grille of the truck when it stopped for gas. The truck driver then drove off at speeds of around 50 mph and was pulled over by the police four miles later to be told there was a man in a wheelchair stuck to his truck. The man in the wheelchair was not hurt but he did spill the soda he had been drinking.

Friday, June 08, 2007
You would expect the police to be very aware of simple security measures such as locking doors and windows but it seems not all policemen are. A police station in Northern Ireland was burgled after police officers went on patrol and left the windows unlocked and the alarm switched off. Great security guys.

Sunday, June 03, 2007
It seems when there is a full moon there are more violent incidents reported. That's according to the Sussex police force who have started putting more police officers on the street of Brighton when there is a full moon because of the sharp rise in trouble reported. It appears that lunar gravity encourages people out when there is a full moon. There have been no reports of anyone turning into wolves yet though.

Thursday, May 17, 2007
We can all rest easy in our beds, safe in the knowledge that were we to lose an important item such as a shuttlecock the police would investigate promptly. When two teenage girls in Cambridgeshire lost a shuttlecock in a neighbour's garden the matter was taken very seriously by police who visited the neighbour to investigate the theft of the shuttlecock. I wonder if the police would arrive that quickly if someone was trying to break into her house.

Thursday, April 05, 2007
Further to my previous post about YouTube being banned in Turkey a similar ban has now been enforced in Thailand. Thailand's government have blocked access to the website because it was showing a video which insulted their King. Insulting the monarchy is currently a criminal offence in Thailand. I wonder how many people would call for a ban if YouTube showed a video which insulted Tony Blair. Not many is my guess.

Monday, March 12, 2007
Sony is going to introduce its own 3D universe for the Playstation 3. Apparently it will allow people to chat and share content within a 3D universe as well as purchase furniture and clothes similar to Second Life. Personally I don’t really see the appeal of these virtual worlds, if I want to buy a pair a trainers I would rather have a pair that actually exist not a virtual pair within a game. It does also make me wonder whether the increase of these sorts of worlds is partially responsible for the breakdown of social skills we see in many children/teenagers today. I mean what’s wrong with actually meeting up with your friends and having a conversation rather than interacting through a virtual world. Perhaps I am just missing the point?

Monday, March 05, 2007
This is interesting from The Times online. A list of fifty nine things that would have stayed a secret, if we didn't have the Freedom of Information Act. I think my favourite is that The Thatcher government looked for the Loch Ness monster using a team of dolphins.
Also 1980s school dinners could be the cause of three young Welsh people’s deaths from the human form of mad cow disease. I always knew I was right not to eat those school dinners, no matter what my Mother tried to tell me.

Thursday, March 01, 2007
YouTube has been banned in Turkey after a video insulting the country’s leader was posted on the website. The video which sparked the ban claimed that the Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a homosexual. This led to a Turkish court ordering that access to YouTube should be blocked. Insulting Ataturk is currently a criminal offence in Turkey.