Big is beautiful at Club Bounce

The woman behind a club for larger than life ladies in California says business is booming.

Lisa Marie Garbo, a 5ft 7in, 19st 4lbs self-proclaimed 'size-acceptance activist', opened Club Bounce in Long Beach five years ago.
It has proven such a success that she has recently opened another in Phoenix and has plans for a third in Dallas.
Club Bounce, logo: "Where Size And Style Meet", claims to be the world's first dance club for plus-sized ladies.
It's regularly packed dance floor is a magnet for BBW (big beautiful women) and the BHM (big handsome men) who love their curves.
Ms Garbo's aim was to provide a place where women could go and have their size accepted and celebrated.
She says she has only learned to love her own curves since hitting 30 - until then, she says, she felt ugly and unattractive.
But the club has also come in for criticism from some people who say she is promoting obesity.
Ms Garbo argues that many of the women who come to the club are actively trying to shed the pounds.
"But why must these women sit at home watching TV until the weight, which they may actually never lose, is gone?" she asks.
Club Bizarre (db Pure Radio Edit)

Unemployed man for sale on eBay

A man who has been jobless for six months has offered himself for work on eBay.

Richard Lloyd from Golcar, near Huddersfield claimed he would be an "outstanding employee."

The former pub boss says he will consider any role.

He is yet to receive a job offer, reports the Daily Mirror.

Man stole motorbike - part by part

A Chinese man was arrested for stealing a motorcycle - part by part over five years from the factory where he worked.

Zhang, an assembly line worker in a motorcycle factory in Chongqing, had always wanted his own motorbike but could never afford one.
He started stealing parts from the factory warehouse and assembling them at home in 2003, reports the Chongqing Times.
"I don't have that much money, so I came up with the idea of taking the parts home and assembling them on my own," said Zhang.
After five years, he had finally built himself a brand new SUV motorcycle and proudly started driving it on the road.
But, almost immediately, he was pulled up by police who discovered that he had no driving licence or paperwork for the bike.
Zhang admitted theft and was fined the equivalent of £440, put on probation for a year, and ordered to return the motorcycle to the factory.

Cop arrests girl, 5 - twice

A German police chief has come under fire after arresting a five-year-old girl for playing too roughly with his son - and then charging her for giving him the finger.

Little Monika Kretzmer was in tears when the police chief - named only as Wolfgang M for legal reasons - drove her home under arrest when she upset his son at a sandpit.
But the furious cop arrested her again a few days later when she saw him in uniform and allegedly stuck a finger up at him.
The police chief despatched a team of officers to the family home in Chiemgau, Germany, to warn her parents of her actions and tell them she would be charged with anti social behaviour.
But family lawyer Roland Netzer said: "This sort of behaviour by the police in the city casts a shadow over their reputation.
"We have filed a complaint with the Interior Ministry and we can assure the policeman she doesn't even know what it means to show someone the finger."

Jailed for yawning

A US man has been jailed for yawning 'boisterously' in court.

Clifton Williams, 33, was watching cousin Jason Mayfield plead guilty to a drug charge when he stretched and let out a yawn, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Judge Daniel Rozak sentenced Mayfield to two years' probation in Joliet, Illinois, then sentenced Williams to six months in jail.

Williams' father, also called Clifton Williams, complained: "I was flabbergasted because I didn't realise a judge could do that. It seems to me like a yawn is an involuntary action."

Mayfield also said it was 'not an outrageous yawn' but Chuck Pelkie, from the state's attorney office, insisted: "It was not a simple yawn - it was a loud and boisterous attempt to disrupt the proceedings."

Alton Towers bans Speedos

Alton Towers has banned male visitors from wearing Speedos in its waterpark on grounds of taste.

The bosses of the Staffordshire tourist attraction are also considering introducing mandatory bikini waxing for men.
The company said a number of men had been seen sporting ultra-tight trunks this summer, reports the Daily Telegraph.
A company statement said: "To prevent embarrassment among fellow members of the public and to maintain the family friendly atmosphere at the resort, bosses have taken the extreme measure of banning these tight trunks from their popular waterpark located within the Splash Landings Hotel.
"While women may hail the return of the skimpy bathers, the style itself is not deemed public or family friendly, and therefore we are requesting that male swimmers wear more appropriate styles such as boardshorts.
"The resort is also considering introducing mandatory bikini waxing for men, in a bid to prevent unsightly hair from being on display."
Morwenna Angove, Alton Towers Resort sales and marking director, said "We feel this small brief style is not appropriate for a family venue so we are advising male bathers to wear more protective swimwear such as shorts.
"We are also looking into offering complimentary male waxing, which will ensure preserve the dignity of all our guests."

One-and-a-half mile wedding dress

A Chinese bride is hoping to get her name in the record books after getting married in a 1.4 mile-long wedding dress.

More than 200 guests took over three hours to unroll Lin Rong's wedding train and pin on 9,999 red silk roses for her wedding, reports the Xinhua news agency.

Groom Zhao Peng28, a railway worker from northeast Jilin province, said he wanted to challenge the current world record of 1,579 metres.

"Both the length of the dress and the number of silk roses pinned on the wedding dress can make history. But it doesn't matter whether I can successfully register it on Guinness," he said.

Zhao said he had sent an application to Guinness World Records and would also send a video of his wedding with his 25-year-old school teacher.

"I do not want a cliche wedding parade or banquet," the groom said, "nor can I afford the extravagance of a hot balloon wedding."

But even so, his family was initially not too impressed at the £3,500 cost.

"It is a waste of money in my opinion," his mother said. "Though I understand that he wants to show his love on the big day."

Lin Rong, the bride, reportedly laughed and cried at the romantic gesture.

Zhao bought the materials and asked his relatives for help in making the wedding dress by hand, which took three months to finish.

Too hairy for love

A Chinese man says he can't get a girlfriend because much of his body is covered in thick hair.

Xiao Song, 23, of Changchun in northeast China's Jilin province, was born with large birthmarks which now sprout thick hairs.

"I can't even wear T-shirts or shirts, since my hair is so hard that they penetrate through the material," he said.

Song's entire back and most of his front are covered with hair, reports the New Culture Daily.

"The most frustrating thing is no girl wants to keep a relationship with me once they know my secret," he said.

"And when one girl said she didn't care about that, her family forced her to split up with me because they were worried my condition could be passed on to our children."

Man to marry pillow

A Nigerian man who says he cannot get a girlfriend because of his bad stutter has announced plans to marry his pillow.

Okeke Ikechukwu, 26, a labourer, from Lagos, told the Daily Metro that his stammer made it difficult for him to speak to girls.

"Since I am a stutterer, ladies have always laughed at me whenever I try to talk to them," he said.

"I have needs, and so I have taken to sleeping with my pillow in my arms ever since I was 16. I have grown to fall in love with it, and I intend to spend the rest of my life with it."

Mr Ikechukwu also said that, unlike a woman, the pillow would cost him little or nothing to maintain for the rest of its life.

"I think it will make the ideal mate for me," he said.

Bikini record bid bust

A bid to set a new world record for the number of women being photographed wearing bikinis failed - after only 42 turned up.

Organisers had hoped to enter the record books by getting more than 1,923 women wearing bikinis on the beach at Southend-on-Sea.

A poor weather forecast in the Essex seaside town was blamed for the disappointing turnout, reports the Daily Telegraph.

One said that only 42 had turned out to raise money for Southend Hospital's breast cancer appeal, the oldest of whom was in her 80s.

Debbie Reynolds, 23, said she thought they would at least break the UK record of 320.

She said: "It was sunny and everything, so we thought we'd get a good turnout, but it was very sad when we realised that 42 was the grand total.

"It's pretty rubbish I must admit. We really need to try harder. It made be feel pretty embarrassed to be British when we can't even mount a decent challenge."

Tracy Jones added: "I don't think the terrible weather yesterday and forecast today helped. It was a beautiful day but I think a lot of people made up their minds yesterday."

It means the existing world record of 1,923 bikini-clad women, set in Russia last year, still stands.

Cheese lost in space?

A lump of cheese has been lost - possibly in space.

A West Country cheesemakers group launched the piece of Cheddar within a capsule in a weather balloon.
But the organisers' GPS tracking system has stopped working and now they have no idea where it could be.
It's thought it could land anywhere between Pewsey in Wiltshire and Hertfordshire.
Dom Lane, of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group, told the BBC: "We've been tracking the trajectory and the current prediction is that it could land anywhere from here in Wiltshire to Hemel Hemsptead.
"The GPS isn't coming through on the web so we might need listeners' help to find it because we're not sure where it is at the moment."
The plan was for the balloon to burst at the edge of space, leaving the capsule to float back to the ground on a parachute.
Chairman of the company Philip Crawford added: "We are very proud of our authentic Cheddar which we make by hand on our farms and we set ourselves the very highest standards.
"It seemed appropriate, therefore, that we should mark the anniversary of the first Moon landing with a giant leap for 'cheesekind'."

Village sick of living in F***king

Desperate town hall chiefs in F***ing, Austria, have installed CCTV cameras to stop tourists getting frisky in front of the village signs.

The tiny rural hamlet has been plagued by randy summer visitors filming themselves romping with the name 'F***ing' in the background.

"I'm sure each of them think they're the first to think of it but believe me they're not. We've grown very tired of it and we're doing something about it," said one fed up resident in the village near Salzburg with a population of just 104.

"We are a very traditional community and we find this sort of public display shocking," they added.

Now CCTV cameras are going up above the town name signs to deter tourists from going all the way.

"It might make them think twice and just pose for a picture instead," said one hopeful resident.

The village's bizarre name is understood to come from a sixth century noble called Lord Focko, with 'ing' being old German for 'family of'.

eBay's mini skirt meteorology

The length of women's mini skirts being sold online can predict changes in the weather ahead of the Met Office, according to eBay.

Analysts at the company said the length of skirts sold on the website becomes shorter several days before the weather changes for the better, and lengthens when colder conditions are due.

On occasions, the trend is said to have predicted a shift in the weather before any advice has been issued by the Met Office using more traditional meteorological methods.

Demand for skirts on the internet auction site reportedly rose by 200 per cent a week before the recent hot weather began, several days before forecasters had announced it.

Ruth Szyszkowski, of eBay, told the Daily Mail: "We're calling it mini skirt meteorology. If you want to know what the weather is going to be like in three days, just take a look at hemlines."

Giraffes can swim

Scientists have used maths to prove that giraffes can swim - even though they wouldn't be very good at it and nobody has ever seen them do it.

Dr Darren Naish, of the University of Portsmouth, and Dr Donald Henderson, of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada, decided to investigate whether or not giraffes could swim.

Their study, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, examines what happened when scientists placed a 'digital giraffe' in 'digital water'.

Dr Naish said: "Many previous studies have claimed that giraffes cannot swim and that they avoid water like the plague, even in an emergency, but we wanted to put the theory to the test in proper controlled experiments."

Creating a digital giraffe involved calculations on weight, mass, size, shape, lung capacity and centre of gravity. Calculations were made to discover rotation dynamics, flotation dynamics and the external surface area of both a giraffe and - for comparison - a horse.

The authors found that a full-sized adult giraffe would become buoyant in 2.8metres of water. Giraffes can wade across bodies of water that are shallower.

But after becoming buoyant, a giraffe would be unstable in the water due to its long, heavy legs, short body and long neck.

The unusual shape of the giraffe meant that it floated in a peculiar manner, with the long front limbs pulling the body downwards.

Dr Naish said: "Our models show that while it's feasible for a giraffe to swim, it is much harder than it is for a horse.

"It is fair to say that giraffes might be hesitant to enter the water knowing that they are at a decided disadvantage compared to being on solid ground."

World's biggest beach towel

Don't tell the Germans, but the world's largest towel has just been created covering a whopping 2,240 square metres of beach.

A team of 25 spent 15 days making the towel and more than 50 people were needed to roll it out on the beach near Las Palmas on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.

More than 1,000 people registered to spend the day on the towel and Guinness World Records officials ruled it had topped the previous record set in Cyprus two years ago.

"You could leave this over every sun lounger on the whole beach and then take your pick," said one helper.

Another Guinness World Record bid was made in Sydney at the weekend when cafe owner Joe El-Ajouz created the world's biggest commerical burger.

The 15 stone burger took 24 hours to cook and was made of 81kg of mince, 120 eggs, 16 tomatoes, 120 cheese slices, 2kg of lettuce, 21kg of bread and half a kilo of barbecue sauce.

Man lives in telephone box

A man has been living in a telephone box for the last two years in China.

The man, who refuses to give his name or even talk to anyone, lives in a phone booth in Dalian city, Liaoning province.

He sleeps during the day then comes out at night to beg for food, reports the Bandao Morning Post.

The man sleeps by curling up into a ball on top of cushions - but he has tried to add a few home comforts to the booth.

By his side are a neatly stacked pile of food boxes and mineral water bottles while his spare clothes hang from the roof.

The janitor of the neighbouring building said the man had good personal hygiene and washed in public facilities.

"He wears old and patched clothes, but he looks very clean. Quite often he checks his appearance in a mirror to tidy his moustache," said the janitor.

"He talks to himself in the mirror, but he never speaks to anyone else. Sometimes we offer him some food but he won't accept, and he won't speak a word."

The phone booth is in busy Zhongshan Square in the heart of downtown Dalian city but the man has got used to ignoring curious passers-by.

A community worker said: "We want to find his family and send him home. But he never talks to anybody. It's hard for us to know how to help him."

Wellie power to charge phones

A special pair of Wellington boots will do more than keep your feet dry at this year's festivals - they'll charge your mobile phone too.

Orange Power Wellies use a unique 'power generating sole' that converts heat from your feet into an electrical current.

Being launched at Glastonbury, by Orange in collaboration with renewable energy experts GotWind, the boots will charge a mobile phone for one hour after 12 hours walking.

After a full days festival frolics you plug your phone into the power output at the top of the welly and use the energy that has been generated throughout the day to charge your phone.

You can also boost the length of time you can charge your phone for by getting energetic in the dance tent, because the hotter your feet get, the more energy you produce.

The power collected in the 'power generating sole' is collected via a process known as the 'Seebeck' effect, in which heat from the foot and cold from the ground effect thermoelectric modules to generate electricity.

Andrew Pearcey of Orange UK says: "Orange remain committed to researching exciting new energy sources that can be used on site to ensure people can stay in touch with their nearest and dearest.

"The Orange Power Wellies use clean and renewable energy to create valuable electricity ensuring festival goers can text and phone their mates for the duration of the weekend."

Villager disrupts nude photo shoot

A naked photo shoot in China was disrupted when an outraged local villager began attacking photographers.

The 20-year-old model and more than 10 photographers descended on the Shenxiandong Forestry Park in central China's Henan province to shoot a series of arty nude pictures.

They were accidentally discovered by a local villager who quickly informed other residents to come and look.

Unsurprisingly it wasn't long before a group of male 'art' lovers had gathered at the scene to watch.

However, their wives were not so appreciative and were quick to scold their errant husbands and send them home.

Then several hours into the photo shoot a local pensioner, armed with a tree branch, made his disapproval clear when he attacked the photographers.

The man, Shen Guoxian, 60, said: "These people are here to shoot naked pictures, which is too dirty and polluting to the environment. It damaged the family bonds in the village."

However, one of the photographers involved complained that the villagers were "too narrow-minded".

Another added: "Body art is a high-end art. The human body is the most beautiful work of mother nature."

Park manager Wu Guangwei said: "They, as tourists, have bought tickets and have the right to take pictures. It's hard to us to balance the two ends; the villagers and the artists."

Porno burger van busted

Two teenage 'entrepreneurs' have been arrested for selling burgers and beer - with free porn DVDs - from a caravan near clubs and bars.

They allegedly screened porn movies onto a nearby wall to attract custom to their unlicensed venture in Driffield, East Yorkshire.

The pair even had a Facebook page - Driffield Porn Burger Caravan Lads for Junior Apprentice 2011 - set up in their 'honour'.

Customers were allegedly given a free porn DVD if they spent more than £5 on food and drink, reports the Driffield Times.

But the offer was spotted by outraged locals who alerted police and two men were arrested following an undercover operation.

Police also seized their caravan which was parked on an access road in the centre of the market town, close to clubs and bars.

Sgt David Jenkins said: "We received complaints that free porn DVDs were being offered to everyone who spent £5 or more on beer and burgers.

"Undercover officers made test purchases and found this to be true before Saturday night's operation when the caravan was seized.

"It was inevitable that we would have to take some action along with our colleagues from licensing, the food standards agency and trading standards.

"Enquiries are ongoing and there are decisions to be made as to the fate of the van and the entrepreneurs."

The owl and the pussycat

A baby owl had an amazing escape after it fell from its nest in a Devon zoo - almost landing on top of an adult lioness.

The tiny tawny owl chick landed beside Indu, a seven year old Asiatic lion, in the lion enclosure at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park.
Keeper Lucy Manning said: "The tawny owls nest in a lime tree in the lion enclosure. One day the chick just turned up on the ground.
"Indu peered at it for a while but then lost interest. I think it was too small to eat. We believe it got away - if she had eaten it there would have been fluff and feathers.
"It probably flew off - the bird keepers said it was nearly ready to fledge. An adult tawny owl was seen nearby."
Zoo staff and visitors were keen to rescue the chick, but no one could go in while the lions were in the paddock.
Ms Manning added: "The wonderful thing about the photo is the look on the owlet's face - it seems to be demanding food!"
The picture was taken by a visitor to the zoo.

Cobbler builds his own aeroplane

A Chinese cobbler who left school with only a basic education has completed a maiden flight in his home-made aircraft.

Huang Jianjun, 34, of Taoyuan county, Hunan province, spent six years designing and building his aeroplane.

"I always had the dream of making a plane for myself," he told the China News Network.

Despite the protests of his family, he gave up his job making shoes in 2004 and started buying and studying aviation books to learn all he could.

Huang poured more £10,000 of his savings into the project and spent the following years collecting parts and assembling them.

Finally he was ready for take off and his plane reached a height of more than 500 metres before returning successfully to earth.

Huang says he is still not ready to find a job and instead plans to continue improving his design and enjoy flying his plane.

Digital number plates to tackle deficit?

California is considering using digital car number plates, which would show ads when cars were stuck in traffic, to help tackle its budget deficit.

The electronic plates would look like standard plates when the car was in motion, showing the registration number, reports the Daily Telegraph.

But when a car stopped for more than four seconds, scrolling adverts would be displayed to people sitting in the vehicles behind.

Advertisers would buy space from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, helping to pay back California's £12.8bn deficit.

Drivers would also be able to pay to have their plates show personal messages, such as the name of their favourite sports team.

Obscene messages would not be allowed and a section of the plate would continue to show the registration number at all times.

In emergencies, the plates could also be used to display public service announcements like missing children alerts, or traffic information.

Curren Price, a California state senator, said California was trying to be the first US state to introduce the technology.

"We're just trying to find creative ways of generating additional revenues. It's an exciting marriage of technology with need, and an opportunity to keep California in the forefront," he said.

A company called Smart Plate in San Francisco is already developing the plates.

Naked Cowboy sues Naked Cowgirl

New York's famous Naked Cowboy is threatening legal action against a Naked Cowgirl who's been stealing his thunder.

The Naked Cowboy, frequently seen in Times Square strumming a guitar while wearing only a cowboy hat and white briefs, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Naked Cowgirl, reports Metro.

Robert Burck is demanding that the Naked Cowgirl - also known as Sandy Kane - stops performing in a red, white and blue cowboy hat and matching bikini.

Burck says if Kane's going to make money by posing for photos, he wants her to sign a Naked Cowboy Franchise Agreement.

Most of his licensed franchisees are required to pay $5,000 a year or $500 a month, and must go through a screening process.

Kane, who is in her 50s and whose real name is Sandra Brodsky, is a former stripper who's now a fixture of the city comedy scene. She insists that she doesn't owe Burck anything.

Maggots ground plane

A plane was stopped from taking off in the US when maggots began falling from an overhead luggage locker.

Horrified passengers raised the alarm as the maggots began falling on an unsuspecting passenger.

The US Airways flight, bound for Charlotte from Atlanta, was preparing for takeoff at the time.

"It was like out of a creepy movie," passenger Donna Adamo told NewsChannel 36. "It was disturbing."

Another passenger, Desiree Harnell, is demanding a refund from the airline after the incident.

"There's tonnes of them, and they never stop growing and rolling around. I just couldn't wait to get off the flight," she said.

A US Airways spokesperson said the problem was traced to spoiled meat in a carry-on bag.

The plane returned to the gate and a cleaning crew was brought in while passengers waited in the terminal for more than an hour.

An airline spokesperson said the man who packed the meat in his bag was placed on another flight.

The plane was taken out of service after arriving in Charlotte and was fumigated as a precaution.

YouTube adds vuvuzelas

Video sharing website YouTube has added a button which plays the sound of vuvuzela horns over its clips.

The World Cup feature appears in the shape of a football on the bottom right hand corner below the screen.

It allows fans of the controversial African plastic trumpet to overlay its sound on film clips, often to hilarious effect.

Clips that are proving popular thanks to the new feature include David Cameron's speech on being voted into 10 Downing Street, and a USA vs England Lego match.

A fist fight in the Nigerian parliament following the suspension of 11 legislators takes on an entirely new flavour thanks to the button, as do the antics of a group of baby panda bears on a slide.

But the film clip best suited to the vuvuzela soundtrack is President Barack Obama's duel with a fly during a broadcast interview with MSNBC.

However, many technology blogs have reacted with despair to the website's move.

"YouTube always has had a way with pranks," Tech Crunch's Jason Kincaid wrote. "Clicking it will activate an endless, incredibly annoying sound that sounds vaguely like a swarm of insects."

And Stan Schroeder, on social media blog Mashable, said: "As if we haven't been hearing the buzzing sound of vuvuzelas enough in the last couple of days."

Denim' nappies for cool babies

A babywear manufacturer has launched a 'denim' nappy for fashion conscious toddlers.

The jean nappy has denim-style pockets at the side and the back along with the usual inner lining to stop unfortunate leakages.

Manufacturer Huggies says it means parents only have to bother with one bottom layer for their children, instead of putting clothes over nappies.

But the company runs the risk of being accused of foisting fashion on youngsters, reports the Daily Mail.

An advertisement on YouTube shows onlookers going slack-jawed at the sight of a 'cool' toddler clad wearing the denim nappy.

Then up comes the slogan: "The coolest you'll look pooping your pants."

The jean nappies are modified disposable Huggies Little Movers and cost £8 for 29, in three different sizes.

They are not actually denim but designed to look like jeans and are currently available in the US where they have been a huge success.

A Huggies spokesman said: "Jeans have always been a Mommy fashion must-have, but now it's time for their little ones to steal the style.

"Denim has always been a summer style staple, and the Huggies Jeans Diapers are no exception - they are a unique, fun and stylish way to make your little one the coolest and cutest around."

Dating ban for Chinese soldiers

China's People's Liberation Army has promised to help its soldiers find love after a new rule banned troops from internet dating.

Members of the 2.3 million-strong Chinese army stationed in remote posts have relied on the internet for romance in recent years.

But the PLA is worried that lonely hearts might let sensitive information slip, and has now banned online dating, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"Soldiers stationed on frontiers, for example in Tibet, have few opportunities to make contact with the outside world," said Yang Jigui, an officer at the Xigaze base in Tibet.

"But people with ulterior motives may make use of the soldiers' personal information and pose a threat to the safety of the army," he added.

The base has already held a meeting to discuss how to find partners for its unmarried men through the local branch of the All China Women's Federation, an NGO to support women.

On the island of Hainan, a paramilitary police officer has already organised a party for older cadres to meet women working at a local branch of China Mobile, the mobile phone company.

The new regulation, which came into force earlier this month, also bans soldiers from writing blogs or diaries online and from using Chinese social networking sites to make friends.

"The internet is complicated and we should guard against online traps," said Wan Long, the political commissar of a regiment in Guangzhou.

He added that it was too easy for ill-intentioned parties to use the information on the web to identify specific army units and their location.

Bouncy Titanic goes down badly

A bouncy castle version of the Titanic - complete with inflatable icebergs - has been branded "sick" by critics at a toy trade fair.

The 40ft high slide is a replica of the ill-fated luxury liner which sank on its maiden voyage to New York in 1912 drowning 1,517 passengers and crew.

It shows the crippled liner sinking with its keel raised high in the air as if it is just about to disappear under the waves forever.

Organisers of the bouncy castle fair in Ibach, Switzerland, say the exhibit has gone down well with visitors.

But Switzerland's Titanic Club spokesman Gunter Babler said: "Is it ethical to let kids slide down the decks of a blow up Titanic? Hundreds of people died sliding down those decks."

And one visitor said: "It's pretty sick. It's like having a bouncy graveyard.

"No-one could forget that scene from the Titanic movie with all the people sliding down the decks to their deaths. It's very insensitive."

But organiser Franziska Bhend explained: "The tragic Titanic accident happened years ago and those emotions have been dealt with long ago.

"Now people are having fun on the slide and enjoying themselves."

Runaway tortoise's great escape

A runaway tortoise has been found by her worried owners after nearly two years - a mile-and-a-half from home.

Lottie the tortoise disappeared just two days after she had been given to schoolgirl Maddie Tibble as a ninth birthday present.

The enterprising reptile escaped out of the back garden and into adjoining school playing fields, reports the Daily Mail.

Maddie, of Grays, Essex, was naturally very upset but eventually accepted she would never see her tortoise again.

But, 22 months later, Lottie was found plodding down a road on the far side of the playing fields - just one-and-a-half miles from home.

Despite having to fend for herself and having to endure one of the hardest winters in decades, she survived in fine health.

Lottie was handed in to the local vets who was able to return the pet to her astonished owner because she had been fitted with a microchip.

"I just didn't believe it was her,"said Maddie, 10. "I was really shocked I just thought it must be another tortoise, but I am so pleased to have her back."

Her mother Beth Tibble, 44, added: "We are so pleased to have Lottie back and in good health.

"Maddie was so upset. We did get a new tortoise but we gave it away because it was just not the same."

Unlikely best friends

A wolf and a goat have become unlikely best friends in China.

The orphan wolf cub was found in the wild by villagers from Nanyuanzi village, Xinjiang, three years ago, reports People's Daily.

Chen Ming said: "Some villagers went out hunting and found this newborn wolf, and they gave it to me to raise as my goat had milk."

Chen raised the wolf at his home, giving it goat's milk, and says that the now three-year-old wolf is inseparable from his goat mate.

"They eat and sleep together. Everyone who comes to my home is surprised by the scene; that prey is very good friends with the predator," added Chen.

However, he said he was planning to release the wolf back into the wild so it could live a more natural life.

Shakespeare 'boosts milk production'

Farmers claim that performing William Shakespeare's plays to cows can help them produce more milk.

The Bard's works were said to relax a dairy herd and help boost production by as much as four per cent, reports the Daily Telegraph.

A Kent theatre group staged the "bizarre experiment" to see if drama would have the same beneficial effect as classical music on cows.

The Changeling Theatre Company, which specialise in 'very quirky, open-air Shakespeare productions', performed for Friesian cows at a farm near Maidstone.

Scenes from The Merry Wives of Windsor apparently led to an increase in milk yields of four per cent.

Rob Forknall, the group's artistic director, said: "It started off as a rather a bizarre experiment after I was talking to a farmer about whether Shakespeare would have the same effect on cows as classical music.

"We were all slightly surprised when it did. Since then we've done several rehearsals with the cows. It saves us having to book rehearsal space and the farmer's very pleased to get more milk.

"We chose a light-hearted comedy because we thought some of the heavier, woeful scenes from the Bard's tragedies might have had the opposite effect."

Liam Batt, a farm worker, added: "Anything that calms the animals and reduces their stress is good and Shakespeare ticks all the right boxes.

"Perhaps there is something in the language of Shakespeare - we don't know, but it seems to work and milk production has gone up four per cent."

Bionic cat gets new legs

A cat has received two bionic legs in a world-first operation which could transform treatment for human amputees.

Oscar lost both of his back paws when they were cut off by a combine harvester, but can now run and leap again thanks to the mechanical implants.

They were drilled into his ankle then treated with a substance that allows bone and skin to grow around them, reports the BBC.

Fake paws were then fitted on "see-saw" joints at the end of the prosthetics, giving full movement.

A day after the £4,000 operation by pioneering Surrey vet Noel Fitzpatrick, Oscar tried to stand.

Four months later he bore weight equally. Now he runs. Dr Fitzpatrick said the techniques are "set to transform the future" of orthopaedics.

Owner Mike Nolan, of the Channel Isles, said: "It can be carried over to humans, so that's good for everyone."

The prosthetic legs were developed by a team from University College London led by Professor Gordon Blunn.

Professor Blunn and his team have worked in partnership with Mr Fitzpatrick to develop weight-bearing implants, combining engineering mechanics with biology.

The Itap technology has already been used to create a prosthetic limb for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.

Woman flashes for peace and quiet

A Canadian woman is to escape charges after flashing her breasts at a five-year-old boy to settle a noise dispute.

Marika De Florio said the boy was driving her mad by driving a loud all-terrain vehicle past her house, the Toronto Sun reported.

She decided to go topless in the street so the boy's grandparents would be forced to call him inside.

The raunchy tactic did the trick but horrified Mike and Nancy Berry called the police in Seeley's Bay, Ontario, to report her.

"I'm not happy with what has been going on," Mr Berry said. "It isn't right to go around topless in front of kids."

Ms De Florio, 56, said her unusual tactic was a last resort after police ignored her complaints about the "maddening" noise.

"I'm going mental," she told the Toronto Sun. "I can't breathe and I'm not moving, but I need some peace.

"I can't believe I did this, but they pulled the kid inside and then called police because of their small town mentality."

Police said that Ms De Florio was not doing anything illegal as Canadian law permits women to go topless in public.

Bank left door open

Police in Hampshire were called in to guard an unlocked high street bank after a member of the public found the door open.

Officers were called to the HSBC branch in Tadley and remained on guard until the keyholder arrived, reports the BBC.

Police said everything inside the branch appeared to be in order and nothing had been taken.

A spokesman for HSBC said it was not clear whether the bank had been left open all night.

He said: "We are still investigating the chain of events. It's hard to say how long the door was open - but unlikely it was open all night.

"Nothing untoward happened when the door was open. We would like to thank the member of the public who reported the open door."

A spokesman for Hampshire Police said: "There was nothing suspicious about it apart from the fact that the door was open."

Mayor sorry for trouser mishap

The Lord Mayor of Leicester has apologised after his trousers fell down during a visit to a local library.

Colin Hall suffered the mishap on a visit to Southfields library in Leicester, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He was a guest at a summer showcase organised by the Global Education Leicester/Shire organisation, a city council spokesman confirmed today.

The spokesman said Mr Hall offered his ''deepest apologies'' for anyone who might have been offended when his trousers came loose and fell down at the event.

The spokesman said: ''The Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Colin Hall, attended a function at a local library yesterday where he suffered an unfortunate problem with his trousers.

"He was not wearing a belt and the trousers came loose and fell.

''The Lord Mayor has offered his deepest apologies to those attending the event for any offence caused by the accident.''

Some interesting facts...

01.A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
02.A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
03.A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
04.A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
05.A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
06.A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
07.A snail can sleep for three years.
08.Al Capo NE's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
09.All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
10.Almonds are a member of the peach family.
11.An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
12.Babies are born without kneecaps.
13.They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
14.Butterflies taste with their feet.
15.Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about Ten.
16."Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "MT".
17.February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
18.In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
19.If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
20.If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
21.It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
22.Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
23.Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
24.A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
25.Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
26.Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
27."Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.
28.The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
29.The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of die! Sel that it burns.
30.The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
31.The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the l! Azy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.
32.The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
33.The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
34.There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
35.There are more chickens than people in the world.
36.There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
37.There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."
38.There's no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins.
39.Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
40.TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
41.Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
42.Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
43.Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself

Elephants brighten London streets

AP / Ian Nicholson ©

More than 250 brightly painted life-size elephants are making their mark in central London.

In an attempt to raise awareness and money to save the endangered Asian elephant, the Elephant Parade has hit the city's streets attracting an estimated audience of 25 million people.

Event organiser Elephant Family said the parade, which has been running since May, was expected to raise £2 million ($3.4 million) to benefit 17 conservation charities in the UK.

"The Asian elephant is a truly magnificent creature but sadly it's on the brink of extinction, marooned in ever-decreasing pockets of forest by the spread of human settlements, farming, mining and railways," the Elephant Family organisation said.

"In the past 100 years, the elephant population in Asia has shrunk by 90 per cent. In another 30 years, it could easily vanish altogether."

Each of the parade's fibreglass elephants weighs 70kg and will be available for purchase at auctions on June 30 and July 3.

The fake elephants have an anti-graffiti coating to protect them from London's taggers.

The elephants' artists have named their creation according to their painted themes - Union Jack, Taxi, Karma, Monopoly Community Chest, Strawberry and Mammoth Metaphor, which has the highest current auction bid of £52,000.

10 Amazing Animal Facts

The animal kingdom has long been a mysterious one for humans and every day we learn something new about it. This is a list of ten little known facts about animals.

10. Crocodiles Eat Stones

The stomach of a crocodile is a rocky place to be, for more than one reason. To begin with, a croc’s digestive system encounters everything from turtles, fish and birds to giraffes, buffaloes, lions and even (when defending territory) other crocodiles. In addition to that bellyful-o’-ecosystem, rocks show up too. The reptiles swallow large stones that stay permanently in their bellies. It’s been suggested these are used for ballast in diving.

9. Whale Milk is 50% Fat

Nursing a newborn is no “small” feat for the whale, whose calf emerges, after 10 to 12 months in the womb, about a third the mother’s length (that’s a 30-foot baby for the Blue whale). The mother squirts milk into the newborn’s mouth using muscles around the mammary gland while the baby holds tight to a nipple (yes, whales have them). At nearly 50 percent fat, whale milk has around 10 times the fat content of human milk, which helps calves achieve some serious growth spurtseas much as 200 pounds per day.

8. Birds Recognize Landmarks

Can you imagine a road trip vacation without missed exits, stubborn drivers or map-folding disasters? Of course noteyou’re not a bird. Pigeons can fly thousands of miles to find the same roosting spot with no navigational difficulties. Some species of birds, like the Arctic tern, make a 25,000 mile round-trip journey every year. Many species use built-in ferromagnets to detect their orientation with respect to the Earth’s magnetic field. A November 2006 study published in Animal Behaviour suggests that pigeons also use familiar landmarks on the ground below to help find their way home

7. Beavers have Longer Days in Winter

Beavers become near shut-ins during winter, living off of previously stored food or the deposits of fat in their distinctive tails. They conserve energy by avoiding the cold outdoors, opting instead to remain in dark lodgings inside their pile of wood and mud. As a result these rodents, which normally emerge at sunset and turn in at sunrise, have no light cues to entrain their sleep cycle. The beaver’s biological sense of time shifts, and she develops a “free running circadian rhythm” of 29-hour days.

6. Mole-Rats are not Blind

With their puny eyes and underground lifestyle, African mole-rats have long been considered the Mr. Magoos of rodents, detecting little light and, it has been suggested, using their eyes more for sensing changes in air currents than for actual vision. But findings of the past few years have shown that African mole-rats have a keen, if limited, sense of sight. And they don’t like what they see, according to a report in the November 2006 Animal Behaviour. Light may suggest that a predator has broken into a tunnel, which could explain why subterranean diggers developed sight in the first place.

5. Baby Chicks are Altruistic

It’s a mistake to think of evolution as producing selfish animals concerned only with their own survival. Altruism abounds in cases where a helping hand will encourage the survival of genetic material similar to one’s own. Baby chicks practice this “kin selection” by making a special chirp while feeding. This call announces the food find to nearby chicks, who are probably close relations and so share many of the chick’s genes. The key to natural selection isn’t survival of the fittest animal. It’s survival of the fittest genetic material, and so brotherly behavior that favors close relations will thrive.

4. Many Fish Swap Sex Organs

With so many land creatures to wonder at, it’s easy to forget that some of the weirdest activities take place deep in the ocean. The strange practice of hermaphroditism is more common among species of fish than within any other group of vertebrates. Some fish change sex in response to hormonal cycle or environmental changes. Others simultaneously possess both male and female sex organs.

3. Giraffes have Unique Blood Flow

The stately giraffe, whose head sits some 16 feet up atop an unlikely pedestal, adapted his long neck to compete for foliage with other grazers. While the advantage of reach is obvious, some difficulties arise at such a height. The heart must pump twice as hard as a cow’s to get blood up to the brain, and a complex blood vessel system is needed to ensure that blood doesn’t rush to the head when bent over. Six feet below the heart, the skin of the legs must then be extremely tight to prevent blood from pooling at the hooves.

2. Elephants are Smart

Elephants have the largest brain, nearly 11 pounds on average of any mammal that ever walked the earth. Do they use that gray matter to the fullest? Intelligence is hard to quantify in humans or animals, but the encephalization quotient (EQ), a ratio of an animal’s observed brain size to the expected brain size given the animal’s mass, correlates well with an ability to navigate novel challenges and obstacles. The average elephant EQ is 1.88. (Humans range from 7.33 to 7.69, chimpanzees average 2.45, pigs 0.27.) Intelligence and memory are thought to go hand in hand, suggesting that elephant memories, while not infallible, are quite good.

1. Parrots Understand

Parrot speech is commonly regarded as the brainless squawking of a feathered voice recorder. But studies over the past 30 years continually show that parrots engage in much more than mere mimicry. Our avian friends can solve certain linguistic processing tasks as deftly as 4-6 year-old children. Parrots appear to grasp concepts like “same” and “different”, “bigger” and “smaller”, “none” and numbers. Perhaps most interestingly, they can combine labels and phrases in novel ways. A January 2007 study in Language Sciences suggests using patterns of parrot speech learning to develop artificial speech skills in robots.

Rat-eating plant discovered in Philippines

A carnivorous pitcher plant that eats rats and insects has been discovered in the Philippines. The plant is among the largest of all pitchers and is believed to be the largest meat-eating shrub, dissolving rats with acid-like enzymes.

The team of botanists, led by British experts Stewart McPherson and Alastair Robinson, found the plant on Mount Victoria in the Philippines. They were inspired to search for the plant after word that it is existed came from two Christian missionaries who described seeing a large carnivorous pitcher in 2000 after they climbed the mountain.

Mr McPherson, of Poole Dorset, said: “The plant produces spectacular traps which catch not only insects, but also rodents. It is remarkable that it remained undiscovered until the 21st century.” The team, which found the plant in 2007 following a two-month expedition, published details of their discovery in the Botanical Journal of Linnean Society earlier this year following a three-year study of all 120 species of pitcher plant.

They decided to name the plant Nepenthes attenboroughii, after the wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

“My team and I named it in honour of Sir David whose work has inspired generations toward a better understanding of the beauty and diversity of the natural world,” added Mr McPherson.

Sir David, 83, said: “I was contacted by the team shortly after the discovery and they asked if they could name it after me. I was delighted and told them, ‘Thank you very much’.

“I’m absolutely flattered. This is a remarkable species the largest of its kind. I’m told it can catch rats then eat them with its digestive enzymes. It’s certainly capable of that.”

Source: Independent UK

MOST EXPENSIVE SUIT OF THE WORLD

“A tailor and jeweller with a taste for the extravagant have joined forced to produce the world’s most expensive suit. Made from cashmere wool, skill, and studded with 480 high quality diamonds it’s easy to see why the suit is expensive. But at a whopping $738,000, the price-tag could be enough to make even the most wealthy Russian oligarch think twice before handing over his credit-card. Jeweller Stuart Hughes said he and pal Richard Jewels spent over 600 man hours putting the suit together but they haven’t dared try it on themselves.”