Claire's Weird News

25th May

A man whose camcorder was stolen has got back at the suspected thief by uploading to YouTube a video that the suspect took with the camera, in which he reveals his name, shows his face and admits he stole it.

When police arrested a man and returned the camera to Chris Rochester, 25, of Milwaukee, one video caught his eye.

"This is my house, yes, and a stolen camera that I stole. But it's OK, the cop won't figure it out,'' the suspect says as he pans around a home and points out the kitchen and bathroom. Later he adds, ``Oh yeah, to introduce you, my name is Houaka Yang. So yeah, how do you do.'' Finally, he turns the camera to reveal his face and says with a smile, ``And this is me. Hi.''

Yang, 20, has been charged with being party to theft and carrying a concealed weapon. He faces a maximum penalty of two years and three months in jail.

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An 84 year old Swedish woman has had to be rescued after getting stuck in a sun lounger for two days.

She was sitting on the balcony of her flat when she suddenly fell through the seat and became trapped.

The pensioner was finally found when concerned friends, who hadn't seen her in a couple of days, called in the building's caretaker with a spare set of keys.

She was taken to the local hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries.

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A Japanese beauty website has unveiled its latest wacky weapon in the fight against ageing - a £70 helmet.

The Pin Up Face Support Mask - which looks a bit like a rugby scrum cap - has tight fastening straps that go under the chin and around the ears. It claims to be able to reduce sagging and firm up your face while you sleep.

The site also offers a nose straighterner which has too prongs that you insert into the nostrils, and another device which applies vibrations to help push the nose higher and make it firmer.

24th May

A stuntman has became the first person to jump out of a helicopter and land without using a parachute - after plunging 2,400ft to earth.

Gary Connery, 42, of Henley-on-Thames, used a special "wingsuit'' to make the death-defying leap above the fields of Oxfordshire, the first time anyone has successfully jumped from such a height without deploying a parachute.

The adrenaline junkie, who has performed stunts in Hollywood films including Indiana Jones, Batman Begins and The Beach, helped develop the suit, which enables him to glide through the air, and jumped out of the helicopter and plummeted at speeds of around 80mph before landing on a specially-made ``runway''  of around 18,000 cardboard boxes.

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The world's meatiest sandwich has been created, using 40 different cuts of meat and weighing more than 2st!

It is 1.2ft high, 24 inches wide and includes 5kg of ham, salami, turkey, bacon, sausages and chorizo.

It took chef Tristan Welch four hours to create, and it's thought would take someone more than 10 hours to eat.

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A bar where you can bring your own food along - and use their cutlery, plates and napkins - has opened in Amsterdam.

The staff at Basis will even let you use their microwave to heat up whatever you've brought - all customers have to do is pay for the drinks they order.

The people behind it say they wanted to give people the experience of eating out.. without the costs.

23rd May

Video footage of a penguin in the antarctic meeting a human for the first time has been posted online by a travel blogger.

It shows the baby penguin approaching Joel Oleson as he lays down to take a break from exploring.

At first the bird tries to jump over him, thinking he's a large rock, but then he realises Joel is something else entirely and starts affectionately pecking his face and hat, while chirping away happily.

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The world's tallest tower, the Tokyo Sky Tree, has opened to the public.

Nearly 8,000 visitors were expected to take high-speed elevators up to the observation decks of the 2,080ft tower to mark its opening. The Sky Tree will serve as a broadcast tower for television and radio, along with being a tourist attraction.

It is recognised by Guinness World Records as the tallest tower, beating the Canton Tower in China, which is 1,968ft. The world's tallest structure is Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which stands at 2,717ft. That is in a different category because it is a skyscraper, not a tower.

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Construction workers in China are using hundreds of steel wheels to move an entire museum building 100 metres down the road.

The Yellow River Museum in Henan province is right where town bosses want to build a new underground railway system..

But it was considered too important to knock down, so instead, the 400 tonne building is being shifted centimetre by centimetre along a specially built track to its new destination.

22nd May

A man has run a half marathon while travelling in a hot air balloon, over Australia, in aid of charity.

Rob Ginnivan completed the run on a small treadmill inside the balloon, having to take small steps because there wasn't enough room for a full size one.

He says that, and the freezing weather and high altitudes he had to battle against meant the job took twice as long as it would have on land.

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A video of what could be the best first dance at a wedding ever has been posted on the internet.

It shows Ryan Van Horn and new wife Frankie dazzling their guests with an acrobatic routine, including cartwheels, swings and flips.

A man - who calls himself a guerrilla gardener - is on a quest to brighten our streets by filling in pesky potholes

Steve Wheen turns the holes which appear in pavements and roads, into miniature gardens... complete with sections of turf, small trees, flowers, and even tiny benches, wheel barrows, and gnomes. He started doing it near his home in London... and has since taken his art form all over the world.

But he says his creations have a short life -- with his first only lasting two hours before it was destroyed by cars.

21st May

A 73-year-old Japanese woman has climbed Mount Everest, smashing her own record to again become the oldest woman to scale the world's highest mountain.

Ang Tshering of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association said Tamae Watanabe reached Everest's 29,035ft-high summit from the northern side of the mountain in Tibet this morning with four other team members.

Mr Tshering said Ms Watanabe and the other team members are in good condition and are on their way back to the base of the mountain.


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A psychic pig is set to predict the winners in the upcoming European championship soccer games in Ukraine and Poland.

Kiev's city government said the prognosticating porker would provide its telepathic tips at 4pm every tournament day.

Kiev's city fathers called the pig "a unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic that knows the mysteries of football''.


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A top London gallery is to push the boundaries of visual art with an exhibition of works which you can't see.

The Hayward Gallery is gathering together 50 "invisible" works including an empty plinth by Andy Warhol, blank piece of paper which an artist spent 1,000 hours staring at and an empty space cursed by a witch.

Gallery bosses say it's all about "firing the imagination", rather than simply just looking at objects.

18th May

A video of a man balancing and then knocking down 60,000 dominoes has gone viral on YouTube.

It took the man more than 60 hours to set up 60 rows each made up of 990 dominoes with another 600 used to spell out numbers on the floor.

They took just 12 seconds to knock over.

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A dog who has become a hit online after being videoed riding a scooter, has gone one better and learned how to ride a bicycle.

Two and a half year old Norman, a Briard, is able to push each of his back legs down to begin the pedaling motion on his personalised bike.

It took him 10 weeks to learn how to do it, which is quicker than some children.

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One of Australia's Olympic stars could be wearing a "mankini" at the opening ceremony for the Games in July after losing a bet.

Russell Mark who's competed in shooting events at six previous Olympics, promised he'd wear the one piece - just like Sacha Baron Cohen's character Borat... if his favourite football team lost a certain match in their league.

They did lose and now he faces having to follow through on the bet, saying the outfit is actually preferable to the green blazer and white trouser combo the rest of the team will be wearing.

17th May

The world's largest Chocolate sculpture's been unveiled in California.

It's 6ft high, weighs more than 8,000kg (which is the equivalent of two elephants) and is a replica of an ancient Mayan temple.

The base of the sculpture measures 10 feet by 10 feet and it is one-thirtieth of the size of the original Kukulcan pyramid based in Chichen Itza in Mexico.

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An Alabama teenager is set to graduate from high school with a perfect attendance record since she entered nursery school 13 years ago.

Gennesaret Sealy will graduate on June 5 from Loveless Academic Magnet Programme High School in Montgomery after a school career that included days when she did not feel like getting out of bed, a time when family car problems forced her to take a city bus and the day she and her mother were in a car crash on the way to school.

Her brother Sosthenes also graduated with a perfect record. Their father Greg, a pastor and evangelist originally from Barbados, said: ``The opportunity to go to school is God's gift to us. Our gift to God is to make the most of it.''

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Washington University is looking for volunteers to only eat fast food for three months...  and who'll get paid more than 2 thousand pounds each to do it.

It is for a study on obesity and the volunteers will have to 1,000 extra calories a day to their normal diet and end up at least 5% heavier by the end of the project.

They will be regularly tested to see how the food affects them. Afterwards they will all be put on a six month weight loss program to shift the pounds.

 

 

16th May

A mysterious benefactor in Paris is spreading love, cash and hair appliances along a rugged stretch of New Zealand.

Police are baffled by at least four parcels that have been sent from different Paris addresses to residents of the South Island's sparsely populated West Coast.

They contain either a hair dryer or hair clippers plus a sum of money - either one hundred New Zealand dollars (£48) or one hundred euros (£80).

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A New York man has spent more than $60,000 (£37,000) on lawyers trying to win custody of his dog after his ex-girlfriend took it to California.

Craig Dershowitz said he has spent his life savings but it is worth it as he considers his dog, Knuckles, his "son''.

He's now trying to raise money via a website offering a virtual smooch from Knuckles for $10, a Knuckles t-shirt for $25 or a signed and numbered professional portrait of the pooch for $200.

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Getting too engrossed in your phone while walking along could get you into trouble with the law in one town in New Jersey.

Police in Fort Lee are handing out $85 fines to anyone caught walking while texting. 117 fines have been handed out for so called "reckless walking" in just over a month.

It comes as a study of text-walkers in New York found they were 60% more likely to swerve in the wrong direction while looking at their phones.

15th May

Daredevil Nik Wallenda has performed his first practice walk on the tightrope he will use above Niagara Falls next month.

The Buffalo News said about 200 people came to watch him as he slowly crossed the two-inch steel cable strung between two cranes in front of the Seneca Niagara Casino. His high-wire walk is set for June 15 and if successful, he will be the first to walk above the falls themselves.

Wallenda, from the famous family the Great Wallendas who are also known as the Flying Wallendas, stopped after walking about a third of the wire's length because he could feel the cable moving beneath his feet. He later placed a short weighted pole on the cable to prevent movement.

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A cafe where customers can have drinks while playing with cats has opened in Austria.

Felines Sonja, Thomas, Moritz, Luca and Momo are your hosts at Cafe Neko in Vienna and freely roam about the venue, taking naps and waiting to be stroked.

Owner Takako Ishimitsu spent three years in talks with city officials about hygiene before the cafe could open.

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A pair of silk knickers - said to have been owned by the Queen - have gone up for sale on eBay.

The bloomers - which are embroidered with the letter E and a picture of a crown - were allegedly left on a private plane during the Queen's visit to Chile in 1968, and passed to a collector by the pilot.

They haven't been confirmed as authentic but are described on the site as a "once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire and own a piece of collectable Royal memorabilia".

 

14th May

A shark has confounded her keepers by spurning all offers of tasty fish - in favour of lettuce.

The displays team at Birmingham's National Sea Life Centre is resorting to devious tactics to make sure Florence, a six-foot tropical nurse shark, gets the protein she needs.

"We're having to hide pieces of fish inside celery sticks, hollowed out cucumbers and between the leaves of lettuces to get her to eat them,'' said curator Graham Burrows. Florence's mouth is filled with razor-sharp, serrated teeth designed for demolishing fish and crustaceans.

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A new study has found that if dogs hear their owners yawning, they are compelled to do the same.

Researchers in Lisbon tested 29 dogs and found the canines reacted to an audio cue such as a yawn even if they didn't see the yawning action.

Nearly half yawned when they heard a taped yawning noise, and they were fives times more likely to do the same when they heard their owner's voice played back to them.

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An American man's completed a triathalon while juggling all the way round the course.

The 31 year old - who's been juggling since he was 8 years old - swam for a quarter of a mile and ran four miles while juggling three balls,  then cycled just over 16 miles juggling two balls in the air with one hand.

He has been recognised by an unofficial record website but not the Guinness Book of World Records who say he needed to have cycled with no hands to make it official.

11th May

A video of baby bears lining up like they're doing the conga has become an online hit.

It was filmed at a bear reservation and shows the litter of ten filing in line to groom the cub in front.

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A new bra which keeps you cool in the summer has been unveiled in Japan.

It features removable gel pads which can be placed in the freezer before wearing and was created to encourage people to cut down on air conditions.

It also has a sprig of mint and a miniature wind chime attached which the makers say offers a "refreshing fragrance and sound".

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A 13 year old from Connecticut believes she's invented a lollipop which can cure a bout of the hiccups.

Mallory Kievman tried almost 100 different remedies including swallowing saltwater and eating a spoonful of sugar, before settling on a mixture of apple cider vinegar and sugar in lollipop form.

She now setting up a company to market the "Hiccupop" which works by overstimulating the nerves in your throat and mouth and cancelling out the message to hiccup.

10th May

A robot vacuum cleaner which speaks three languages has been launched in Japan.

Cocorobo, which can also send photos taken from your home to your mobile phone, says 36 phrases including "Long time no see'' and "Hello'' in Japanese, English and Chinese.

It has infra-red sensors to ensure it does not bump into things around your house, and also purifies the room as it goes.

It will also find its way back to its docking station when the batteries are running low.


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Cheddar enthusiasts are being asked to write musical tributes to the popular cheese.

The British Cheese Board is asking cheese-lovers to write original lyrics to the tunes of either God Save The Queen, Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem so cheddar have its own anthem.

Entries should be submitted in video or audio format to britishcheese@kindredagency.com by June 15 and the overall winner will be chosen by a public vote on the website http://britishcheese.com.

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A 5 year old Australian girl's thought to be the world's youngest professional artist... after earning more than 100 thousand pounds from her paintings.

Aelita Andre started painting aged 11 months, since then her work's been displayed at two exhibitions and will be shown at a third in New York next month.

The youngster's paintings have been compared to people like Jackson Pollack and Pablo Picasso and mostly sell for between £5,000 and £10,000

 

9th May

Huge plant-eating dinosaurs may have produced enough greenhouse gas by breaking wind to alter the Earth's climate, research suggests.

Like leviathan cows, the mighty sauropods would have generated enormous quantities of methane. Sauropods, recognisable by their long necks and tails, were widespread around 150 million years ago. They included some of the largest animals to walk the Earth, such as Diplodocus, which measured 150 feet and weighed up to 45 tonnes.

Scientists believe that, just as in cows, methane-producing bacteria aided the digestion of sauropods by fermenting their plant food.

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A singer has recorded the Star Wars theme tune, using just his voice to mimic an entire symphony orchestra.
 
Nick McKaig sang 90 different tracks - recreating everything from trombones to violins - for the four minute long track.

 

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A woman has changed her name by deed poll to what is thought to be world's longest nam. at 161 word's long.

Dawn McManus from Hartlepool is now called Red Wacky League Antlez Broke the Stereo Neon Tide Bring Back Honesty Coalition Feedback Hand of Aces Keep Going Captain Let's Pretend Lost State of Dance Paper Taxis Lunar Road Up Down Strange All and I Neon Sheep Eve Hornby Faye Bradley AJ Wilde Michael Rice Dion Watts Matthew Appleyard John Ashurst Lauren Swales Zoe Angus Jaspreet Singh Emma Matthews Nicola Brown Leanne Pickering Victoria Davies Rachel Burnside Gil Parker Freya Watson Alisha Watts James Pearson Jacob Sotheran Darley Beth Lowery Jasmine Hewitt Chloe Gibson Molly Farquhar Lewis Murphy Abbie Coulson Nick Davies Harvey Parker Kyran Williamson Michael Anderson Bethany Murray Sophie Hamilton Amy Wilkins Emma Simpson Liam Wales Jacob Bartram Alex Hooks Rebecca Miller Caitlin Miller Sean McCloskey Dominic Parker Abbey Sharpe Elena Larkin Rebecca Simpson Nick Dixon Abbie Farrelly Liam Grieves Casey Smith Liam Downing Ben Wignall Elizabeth Hann Danielle Walker Lauren Glen James Johnson Ben Ervine Kate Burton James Hudson Daniel Mayes Matthew Kitching Josh Bennett Evolution Dreams.

Dawn, or Red changed it to encourage people to give to the charity she runs and has taken on the names of all the people she works with. She says she's not sure how it'll fit on her passport or bankcard but hopefully she will be allowed to use inititals.

8th May

An elephant named Shanthi at the National Zoo in the US capital is developing her musical talents - by playing a harmonica with her trunk.

Video released by the zoo shows the 36-year-old Asian elephant has a harmonica attached to her stall and plays tunes even when no humans are around.

Elephant keeper Debbie Flinkman says Shanthi is musically inclined, playing her own songs that always have a big crescendo at the end. Shanthi also likes to tap things, flap her ears against objects to make noise and rub her leg up and down shrubs to repeat noises.

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Hundreds of tiny dogs dressed up like tacos, ballerinas and a variety of other things fell short of setting a world record, but organisers say they are encouraged by the turnout for the inaugural Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua parade.

Organiser Mark Valentine said about 500 dogs, most of them Chihuahuas, showed up in costume for the parade in Kansas City, Missouri. That is a few hundred short of the goal of 700, which would have been a record.

Shortly after 11am, owners of the Chihuahuas lifted their pets into the air, creating a sea of miniature heads draped in sombreros, cowboy hats and bows. Participants then lined up and participated in a slow-moving procession along a pavement, as dozens of people watched the colourful animals strut past.

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A penthouse apartment with its own 18ft stainless steel slide has gone on sale in New York,

The slide which cost $250,000 to build was put in by the apartment's owner - a professional poker player - who wanted a fun and fast way of getting from the office on the top floor to the downstairs living room.

For the £3.9 million asking price you'll also get four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a garden, a games room with a $35,000 glass pool table and a 18t high atrium.

 

4th May

A woman who hit the jackpot when she found a winning lottery ticket in a rubbish bin has been ordered by a US judge to pay the one million dollar (#610,000) prize to another woman who threw the ticket away after claiming a lottery machine incorrectly told her it was a loser.

Sharon Jones of Arkansas used the cash to pay off her debts, give thousands of dollars to her children and buy a gleaming new pickup truck.

Now her lawyers are appealing against the ruling that the money belongs to Sharon Duncan. Meanwhile the 490,000 dollars (#303,000) remaining has been frozen.

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A new world record's been set for the world's fastest motorised toilet.

Canadian stuntwoman Jolene Van Vugt reached 46mph on the loo during trials at a speedway track in Syney, beating the previous record by about 4.5mph.

Although a few technical issues threatened to derail the attempt, she completed the stunt in both directions with an average of the two speeds taken to give her the new world record.

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In the future when you visit the hairdressers you could find a robot giving you a wash and blowdry.

The Head Care Robot is currently being tested out in a salon in Japan by makers Panasonic who originally designed it for use in nursing homes.

It has sensors in each of its 24 fingers which measure your head and then give you a tailored treatment, including spraying on pre-lathered shampoo, gently rubbing it in, rinsing it off and then giving you a head massage as it dries your locks.

 

3rd May

A baby wallaby has made her home in a zoo-keeper's rucksack after being found outside her mother's pouch.

Seven-month-old Tilly is being carried around by Whipsnade Zoo keeper Jo Shirley wherever she goes after being discovered outside her mother's pouch a month ago. The Bennett's wallaby needed bottle-feeding special milk and vitamin supplements around the clock when she was first found.

Ms Shirley will look after the wallaby until she is ready to live on the zoo's children's farm, where she will join other hand-reared wallabies Ruby, Pip and Fidget. Whipsnade, in Bedfordshire, has around 300 wallabies.

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The search is on for someone to buy a small American town, which has about 700 residents, one convenience store, a florist, a cabinet shop and a post office.

A developer, who owns many of the properties in Toomsboro, south Georgia, is putting them on the market.

He bought bought some of the properties from preservationist Bill Lucado and bid for others at auction with the intention of turning Toomsboro into a quaint tourist town. But his plans changed and now he and Mr Lucado are putting the town up for sale with the suggestion it would be a perfect fit for a movie production company seeking a set.

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The world's first health resort for stressed out toddlers has opened in Germany.

Under 5s who need some time out from a hectic diary of appointments and playdates are treated to a range of therapies at the kindgarten in Stuttgart. They include footbaths, massage, barefoot walks through wet grass and simply lying quietly thinking of their favourite things.

The nursery says the de-stressing increases youngsters' resistance to catching a common cold by 60%.

2nd May

A boating festival which had been threatened due to drought fears has now been postponed because there is too much water.

The annual Northampton Boat Gathering on the River Nene was scheduled to take place at Becket's Park between May 4 and 7.

But following a number of flood warnings being put in place by the Environment Agency, the festival has now been postponed for the first time in 15 years.

Some 45 boats were expected to take part in the event, which has been running since the 1950s.

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Slackers may have brains that are wired for under-achievement according to a new study.

Scientists in the US have used brain-scans to find neural pathways that appear to determine if a person wants to work hard to earn money.

Subjects who were willing to work harder in the study had higher levels of a nerve-signalling chemical called "dopamine" in their brains.

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A German hairdresser and performer has opened up her salon in Berlin to offer lessons in yodelling to locals.

Doreen Kutzke says she wanted to bring the art form from the Alps to the streets and fight against yodelling clichés.

She teaches students how to quickly alternate between shrill falsetto and a rough chest voiceand says yodelling out loud is a great stress buster. Doreen recomends her beginners practice in their cars so as not to annoy the neighbours.

 

1st May

A big black bear who wandered onto a US University campus and then took up residence up a tree there has been returned to the wild after an extraordinary rescue operation.

The 200lb bear was tranquilised with two darts by wildlife officers and then, as a group of students looked on, he dozily fell 15ft to the ground and onto a carefully placed crash mat underneath.

The bear was later tagged and released in the mountains west of Boulder.





Penguins have been carrying out a series of thefts at the London Aquarium.

As the mating season begins, gentoo penguins have been stealing pebbles from rival nests to line their own breeding ground. But as the number of "break-ins'' increase, the gentoos have become suspicious of their fellow colony members, and have started defending their nests.

The colony of 10, which arrived at the attraction last year, are in the middle of their first mating season at the aquarium. Males declare their interest in a female by selecting and presenting a "love token'' in the form of a pebble to their chosen female.

If it is accepted, the couple then begin collecting more pebbles to line their doughnut-shaped nest.

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Two university students in the States have come to the rescue of female party goers who end up having to hold their mobile phone or purse in their hands because they don't have any pockets in their outfit.

They have invented a bra with a pocket under one arm which securely holds your phone, keys or other small items.

The students say no amount of items will change the way it fits you and it'll look completely normal under clothing.

 

30th April

A photographer's been left with a $300,000 bill after a 2,600 year old sculpture was accidentally knocked over and smashed during an art shoot.

The 50lb African statue, made of terracotta and owned by collector Corice Arman had been destined for a New York museum.

But it ended up in pieces after a magazine team moved it from one side of its owner's apartment to the other and somewhere along the line it was knocked to the ground.

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The 16 sets of twins in the same year at a high school in the US have a lot of people seeing double, so much so that it could break the world record held by another school in the same state.

Parents and officials at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, told The Advocate of Stamford that they plan to submit documentation to Guinness World Records seeking the record for the most twins in the same academic year at the same school.

The Guinness website says the current record is held by the 13 sets of twins who graduated in 2010 from Pomperaug High School in Southbury.


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A beekeeper in China has  covered his body with more than 331,000 bees in a bid to break a world record.

The bees, weighing a combined total of just over 33kilos, concealed nearly all of She Ping, apart from a small part of his face and head, and took an hour to assemble.

Mr She, whose family have been keeping bees for generations says he hadn't washed himself for days to make it easier to attract the creatures.

 

27th April

A girl had to be rescued by a passing taxi driver after the pavement swallowed her up in China.

She was walking along in the northern city of Xi'an when the pavement caved in under her weight, and she fell into a 20ft pit.

The dramatic moment was caught on CCTV camera.

A puppy named Byrdie caused chaos at New York's LaGuardia Airport when she escaped from her crate and ran around a busy runway.

The Port Authority said the dog was loose for about 10 minutes while staff tried to catch her and several flights had to be delayed

Eventually they had to find the dog's owner on board the Memphis-bound Delta Air Lines flight to help catch her.

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A man has created a four-storey pirate getaway in his back garden in Surrey for when things at home get too much.

Keith Brown's cave has working cannons, its own electric drawbridge, a crow's nest and its own bar and dance floor. The retired shop managed has spent 20 years crafting the hideaway as an escape from his wife and two daughters.

He says if there's too much arguing , he escapes to his cave, "raises the drawbridge", and settles in with a cocktail.

 

26th April

A Scottish village called Dull is hoping to be twinned with a US town called Boring.

Villages back here made contact with their American counterparts after a resident of Dull cycled through Boring in Oregon on a biking holiday.

Now a "declaration of sistership" has been established and people living in both places are looking forward to the prospect of a sign along the lines of "Welcome to Dull, a sister community of Boring".

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A woman in Slovakia claims her dogs were attacked by a kung fu guinea pig while they were out for a stroll on heathland near her home.

The rodent displayed a series of spinning kicks, chops and leaps when the dogs got too close, leaving the pooches a bit scared.

Local wildlife experts believe the he or she is a household pet that's either escaped or been abandoned.

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A shed in one of London's most upmarket locations has gone up for sale for £260,000.

The flat roof brick building which is an old barn is in Highgate Village in north London. The 224 sq ft property comes complete with a shower room, kitchenette, skylights and wooden floor but the new owner will only be able to spend a couple of nights a week there because of restrictions in the lease.

Estate agents says it's definitely a "niche market".

25th April

A dog has become a star after making an impromptu appearance on screen during an American  news bulletin.

Storm the weather dog popped his head into view from beneath the table as presenter Leslie Roberts was introducing a story.

A real-life version of Star Trek medic Dr McCoy's diagnostic marvel, the tricorder, is being developed by British scientists using viruses that behave like spaghetti.

The shoe box-sized prototype can already detect dangerous E.coli bugs in a sample in five minutes and future devices will identify a whole range of infections at the same time, and may be small enough to attach to a smart phone.

The tricorder has caught the public imagination to the extent that a £6.16 million prize is waiting to be claimed by anyone who can build one, or something like it.

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A rubber chicken called Camilla, who has more than 20,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook, has been sent into space.

Students in California attached the Nasa mascot to a helium balloon and sent her 25 miles up into the sky to test radiation from a solar storm.

Cameras, a special thermometer and GPS trackers inside the modified lunchbox acting as Camilla's spacecraft then tracked her progress before the balloon popped and she was parachuted safely back to Earth.

24th April

One in 10 single men would rather have an iPad 3 than a new partner, according to a poll.

The research found that 11% of bachelors would rather own the popular gadget than gain a new love interest.

And 3% said they would happily leave a current partner if they were rewarded with the device

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A woman has been arrested after a mannequin was entered as a candidate for the upcoming council elections.

The dummy, named Helena Torry, was entered in the Hazlehead, Ashley and Queens Cross ward in Aberdeen.

Its election "agent'', Renee Slater, was charged by Grampian Police under the Representation of the People Act. A force spokeswoman said a report would be sent to the procurator fiscal in due course.

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The pilot of a Coastguard helicopter has been suspended after images were posted online which appeared to show the aircraft stopping on a Scottish island to collect meat from a butcher.

An investigation has been launched after the Shetland-based machine was filmed landing in a field at the back of the shop on Orkney.

A private company provides the helicopter to the Coastguard Agency, - they  insist the aircraft were on a training exercise, although footage appears to show the crew collecting a parcel from the butchers before getting back on board.

23rd April

Matt the Producer is getting ideas about this one!

A Radio Producer in New Zealand has been mobbed by hundreds of girls who thought he was a member of One Direction.

Guy Parsons had been interviewing the band in a hotel in Auckland; despite being 23 and taller than any of the band, he put on dark glasses a beeny hat and covered his face with a scarf as he left and that was enough to convince the girls he was one of the band and he was chased down the street by dozens of them.

Guy says he wouldn't want it to happen every day but it was quiet fun for three minutes!

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A Premier League superstar was mobbed by fans after he had a £6 haircut at an ordinary barber's in a terraced row of shops.

Newcastle United hitman Papiss Cisse, believed to earn at least £40,000 a week, visited The Barber Shop in Felling, Gateshead. By the time the trim was complete, about 50 young fans had got word of the star striker's presence and mobbed him when he left.

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A new red-hot weapon has been unveiled in the fight against problem birds.

The deterrent, developed by Rentokil Pest Control, contains chilli extract which sticks to birds' feet then gives them a surprise when they tuck them up next to their more 'sensitive' parts.

20th April

A US promoter hopes to break a world record by parading at least 700 costumed dogs, mostly Chihuahuas, down a city street on a holiday celebrating the Mexican heritage.

Mark Valentine says the Kansas City parade will introduce Chihuahuas to their cultural heritage - their name comes from the name of the Mexican state.

He is hoping to get enough dogs involved to try for the record next month.

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The little college town of Louisburg, North Carolina, is welcoming whistlers for the 39th annual International Whistling Convention, with more than 60 contestants coming from as far away as Japan and Australia.

Competitors from primary school age to their 90s will vie in categories ranging from classical to popular to "allied arts'' - which can includes bird calls, musical accompaniment and even magic tricks. People are scored on such things as resonance, intonation, articulation and "stage presence''.

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A man in South Africa has been dubbed the shark whisperer for his ability to put Great White sharks into a trance like state.

Andre Hartman is able to hypnotise the huge creatures by simply tickling them on the end of their noses.

It is apparently one of the most sensitive places on a shark and it overloads their sensory system meaning they forget everything else apart from that sensation.

He perfected his technique during years of free diving in the waters of Cape Province.

 

19th April

When four-year-old Eddie Nicholls took part in a balloon race at school, he was hoping he would get a response.

He did - from Education Secretary Michael Gove, who replied after the balloon landed outside his department.

Eddie was thrilled, although his father, Henry, said the fact it was from Mr Gove had rather "passed him by''. Mr Gove's letter, dated March 30, arrived weeks after Eddie - now five - and his classmates at Halstow Primary School in Greenwich, south-east London, sent their balloons into the skies.

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Four beer barrels, a bottle of champagne and a medal have been stolen from Parliament, figures showed.

A floral display, a bicycle repair kit and a pair of spectacles were also among 23 items pinched from the Palace of Westminster since June 2011, according to the House of Commons Commission.

The thieves' haul was revealed following a written Parliamentary question by Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee.

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An on demand TV channel for dogs is being rolled out across the US after proving a big success in San Diego.

"Dog TV" is designed to keep canines relaxed, stimulated and entertained... has no adverts or repeats and none of the loud noises normally found in shows on regular TV.

Programming includes shots of dogs running, playing and sleeping as well as images and noises they see every day like traffic, babies, doorbells and other pets.

18th April

A hotel is offering visitors the chance to order a 10 minute comedy show from its room service menu.

Along with food and drink, people staying at the Hotel Indigo Edinburgh will be able to ring up and ask for award winning comedian Jane Godley to be brought to their room to tell jokes.

It's to celebrate the hotel's opening - Jane says she's done comedy acts in lots of different places before but this is a first for her.

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A ten month old baby boy has been caught on camera showing off his impressive chin-up skills.

A video of Baby Jonas, posted online shows him gripping the side of a computer desk and pulling himself up to try to get a glimpse of what's playing on the screen of the PC.

More than 100,000 people have watched the clip since it was uploaded.

See it here

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A noisy poltergeist who apparently likes smoking and pinching barmaids' bottoms is causing chaos at a pub in Birmingham.

Staff at the Queens Arms have reported seeing mysterious clouds of smoke, chairs moving on their own and a bald headed figure walking through walls at the 170 year old pub.

Strange noises have also been heard after hours and several employees say their bottoms have been grabbed by the spook.

A team of investigators are set to visit in the next few weeks.

 

17th April

A British explorer who skied 140 miles alone to the North Pole discovered a couple getting married there when he arrived.

Mark Wood was invited to join in the celebrations by Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland and his new bride Helge who are the first ever couple to get hitched at the icy site.

They and their 30 guests had been flown in by helicopters and celebrated with champagne and fireworks.

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Workers at a firm in London are trying out the world's first ever lickable lift.

It's made up of 1,325 jaffa cakes and took food technicians and artists four weeks to develop and create.

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The story of a cow called Yvonne who went on the run for three months after escaping from a farm in Germany is being turned into a Hollywood movie.

Cow on the Run will show how she ended up on Germany's most wanted list after breaking through an electric fence and hiding in woodland for three months while she evaded helicopter search teams and hunters.

Yvonne, who now lives at an animal sanctuary - will even get a love interest in the animated adventure.

 

16th April

A 7 year old's been filmed showing off his impressive pizza making skills - throwing the dough into the air, swinging it above his head at his father's restaurant in New Jersey.

Michael Testa was given practice dough two months ago and has now mastered all the tricks his dad's taught him.

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A woman in America says she now believes in miracles after sewer workers found the $6,000 diamond wedding ring she accidentally flushed down the toilet 18 months before.

Mechelle Rieger claimed the seven-diamond ring at City Hall in Kuna, Idaho, bringing with her a photo and the March 2001 appraisal from the jeweller that made it.

Ms Rieger said she freaked out and ``just started screaming'' when the ring accidentally fell in the toilet. She thanked city workers Travis Fleming and Carey Knight, who spotted the ring along with loose coins in a filtration basket while doing routine maintenance last week.

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A vending machine - that asks for love in return for a can of drink - has been installed at the National University of Singapore.

Instead of the usual idea of putting coins into a slot, you have to give the machine a hug, squeezing the sides until it releases a can.

The people behind it say it's been very popular, with people queuing up to use it. They say they hope it'll encourage people to 'bring positivity, optimism and fun into their lives'.

 

13th April

A four-year-old girl has been accepted into Mensa after achieving a score of 159 in an IQ test.

Heidi Hankins was spotted as being of a "genius level'' of intelligence after she taught herself to read, add and subtract and was able to count to 40 at the age of two.

Her father, Matthew Hankins, 46, from Winchester, Hampshire, who works as a lecturer at the University of Southampton, said she had showed signs of high development from a very early age.

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A chihuahua called Milly is vying for the title of world's smallest dog.

The three month old from Puerto Rico is just 6 and a half centimetres high, weighs less than 170g and can fit in the palm of a hand.

She has barely grown since her birth and is so tiny she's had to be hand reared and fed using an eye dropper.Milly is a good 3 centimetres smaller than the current world record holder Boo Boo.

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There was no horse drawn carriage or limousine to escort new bride Zhang Yun from the church to the reception on her wedding day.

Instead she, her groom and their friends and family were escorted on a fleet of red tractors decorated with bows and ballons.

People lined the streets of their hometown of Shilpu in China to catch a glimpse of the bizarre convoy.

Groom Liu Fei who drives a tractor for a living said he's couldn't ignore his profession on his wedding day.

 

12th April

A hamster spent the Easter break recovering after eating a Spider-Man magnet - and becoming stuck to the metal bars of its cage.

Smurf the four-month-old pet is thought to have swallowed the foot of the action figure, which had a magnet attached, and was seen "distressed'' as it appeared to be stuck to the side of the metal cage.

Mother-of-four Kate Meech told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo she had the magnet removed before transferring the animal to a plastic cage.

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A man who auctioned off his entire life on eBay after he was left broken-hearted has bought his own Caribbean island and found new love.

When 48-year-old Ian Usher's wife Laura left him six years after they emigrated from Britain to Australia, he used the website to sell everything he owned and has now had the rights to his story snapped up by Disney.

He used the proceeds to build a new life - and to fulfil a "bucket list'' of 100 things he resolved to do before he died, and has since run with bulls, dived with great white sharks, learned to fly, met Sir Richard Branson and joined the mile high club, as well as travelling to dozens of countries, swum with a humpback whale and her calf, ridden a motorbike on a wall of death, and played a bit-part in a Hollywood movie.

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Some of the weirdest emergencies firefighters have been called to... have been revealed... by crews in Leicester.

They include a woman who dialled 999 after she got trapped inside a flatpack wardrobe she was putting up. She was stuck for around 90 minutes..before calling emergency services for help... they found her smokng her way through a pack of cigarettes.

Other call outs include a toddler whose head got stuck in a toilet training seat and a man who couldn't get his toe out of a tap.

 

11th April

A Royal Mail postman is embarking on his longest ever round as he trundles his trolley 150 miles across the country - before delivering a single letter.

Mike Chandler, 55, will wend his way on foot through Ross-on-Wye, Gloucester, Oxford and Buckinghamshire, running the length of a marathon every day for a week before ending in London.

He will then ditch his postie's trolley and take up his place in the London Marathon, which will see him clock up nearly 180 miles to raise money for breast cancer charity The Haven.

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A poll of thousands of women has found the perfect man eats meat, drives an Audi and phones his mum twice a week.

According to the study Mr Perfect would also be 6ft tall with short dark hair, he'd be clean shaven and earning a comfortable £48,000 a year.

And to top it off he'd drink larger or beer, rather than wine or spirits and have a smart dress sense and smooth chest.

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Could Charlie's Body Brolly have been the inspiration behind this new invention?

Called the "Nu-brella" it's a hands free umbrella which is strapped on via a shoulder support, and then unfolds to form a big see through canopy over your head and shoulders. It is also designed to withstand winds of up to 50mph.

Its inventor says the umbrella was long overdue for innovation and it is perfect for cyclists and people working outdoors.

 

 

10th April

Female admirers have often thought he was a bit tasty, and now the Duke of Cambridge has been turned into a giant edible work of art.

A 20ft mural of William has been made using more than 3,000 pieces of liquorice. It took four artists more than five hours to create.

It was commissioned by Finnish sweet company Panda Liquorice to mark the Duke's 30th birthday in June. Shoppers in Manchester were treated to the mural when it went on display in Spinningfields.

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A teenager burglar has been arrested after he was identified by his dance moves.
 
The 16 year old from Texas was caught on CCTV busting some moves at the scene of the crime - but his dancing was recognised by officials at his high school who said he'd demonstrated similar skills in the school corridors.

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A new machine that allows you to print your own 3D chocolate treats goes on sale this morning.

Melted chocolate is placed in a syringe attached to a computer which then tells it when, where and how to pump it out depending on the design you choose.

The printer then builds up layers of the sweet stuff until your three dimensional chocolate object is complete. The machine is going on sale on eBay for a cool 2 thousand 500 hundred pounds.

5th April

A 93 year old grandmother from Florida is selling the car she's owned for 48 years, after racking up 576,000 miles in it.

The 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente has outlasted three marriages, been through three sets of shock absorbers, eight exhaust mufflers and had 18 battery changes.

The car is due to appear in an antique vehicle show in Wisconsin this July, where it has been valued at around £7,500.

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It is third time lucky for Nottinghamshire as another set of lottery jackpot winners from the region spoke of their shock at banking more than £4 million.

Jim Emerton, 56, and his wife Maureen, 55, from Carlton in Nottingham, scooped a £4,449,039 prize after matching all six numbers in Saturday's Lotto draw.

The region has had its fair share of good luck this year - on January 20 Gareth and Catherine Bull, from Mansfield, banked £40,627,241, while Cassey Carrington and Matt Topham, both 22 and from Stapleford, took home a cool £45,160,170.50 after winning on February 7.

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A 86 year old gymnast's become an internet sensation after a video of her wowing the crowds at a World Cup tournament in Germany was posted online,

Johanna Quass is seen performing a floor-routine packed full of cartwheels, headspins and rotations in front of a cheering audience in Brandenburg.

She's also filmed balancing upside down on the parallel bars and holding up her own body weight mid air,

Johanna recently won 11 gymnastic medals at the German senior citizen championships.

 

4th April

Police officers smashed their way into a parked car to save a dog they feared was overheating but found the sleeping animal was really a £4.50 cuddly toy.

They were called in by a worried member of the public who had spotted the animal in the car in Nottinghamshire in temperatures of 18c.

When attempts to rouse the dog failed, officers smashed a window and reached inside to rescue it, only to find they were dealing with a toy.

The police force has agreed to pay for the damage so the owner can replace the window.

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Lovers of facial hair have taken to the street in Washington DC to demand tax relief on moustache grooming products.

About 100 people, waving banners and placards, took part in the "Million Moustache March" from the US Capitol to the White House.

Dr John Yeutter, of Northeastern State University, said: "Science demonstrates a moustache improves good looks by 38% and therefore owning and operating a proper moustache provides what should be a tax-deductible service to the US economy."

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In future, rather than having to LISTEN to your sat nav, you could be able to FEEL it as it gives you directions.

Computer scientists in the States have unveiled a new system which vibrates your steering wheel. It is  made up of 20 feedback points that buzz in a clockwise pattern if a driver has to turn right, or anti clockwise for left.

The team behind it say it could also be programmed to shake if a specific danger's close by like another driver in your blind spot.

3rd April

A chocolate shop where money is of no use has opened in Copenhagen.

The managers of the Anthon Berg Generous Store allow you to pay for your sweet treats in good deeds instead.

Each box of chocolates comes with a tag which includes prices such as "don't comment on your girlfriend's driving for a week",  "help clean a friend's house" or serve "breakfast in bed to your loved one".

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A toddler who fell down a 40ft well has been rescued with the help of an iPhone.

The little boy kept slipping out of a rescue harness as firefighters attempted to pull him out of the hole in a village near Mengzi City in China.

So crews lowered a phone into the well and used its video camera to show them the boy's exact position and how to arrange the ropes around him. The youngster was pulled to safety and taken to hospital with minor injuries. 

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A teenager has beaten more than 100 other people to win the title of Japan's Fastest Hands for the fourth year in a row.

The 2012 Sport Stacking Competition saw contestants stacking a set of 12 plastic cups into a pyramid in the shortest time possible. 15 year old Sota Takamori managed it in 1.93 seconds.

Organisers say the the sport teaches hand to eye coordination and uses as much energy as archery, bowling or volleyball.

 

2nd April

Officials in a US state aren't crying over thousands of litres of spilled milk - they are sprinkling lime on it.

The Evening Sun newspaper in Hanover, central Pennsylvania, reports that clean-up crews put lime on top of milk that spilled during a crash to prevent it from curdling, which could cause a horrendous smell and attract flies.

A lorry overturned near York Springs, spilling the milk into a stream. State environmental officials cleaned up about 90% of it with vacuum trucks.

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A house, thought to be Britain's cheapest home, has been sold for the bargain price of £8,250.

The two bedroom property in County Durham house, which is need of major refurbishment, had been empty for more than a decade before being put up for auction online.

Bidding started at just £1.

A similar property on the same street recently sold for £18,500, while the potential resale value of the house is estimated at over £30,000.

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A fat cat which weighs more than 9kg (1st 7lbs) has made it to the final of a national pet fit competition

Fifi Bottomley is double the size she should be after stealing food from other cats.

Now she is battling it out with ten other flabby pets - including a roast dinner loving dog and a rabbit which weighs more than the average c cat.
 
The animal who loses the most weight in six months will win a year's supply of pet food and a holiday for their owners.