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Weird and Wonderful Weekly
March 13, 2009 12:07 PM
Bizarre Incidents, Quotes and People from Around the World
By GABRIEL O'RORKE, ABC News London
Quotes of the Week
“He looked like a banjo player in Appalachia. There goes my knighthood.” Photographer David Bailey gives a description of the young Prince Charles that does him no Royal favors.
“It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.” President Obama warns against human cloning after lifting restrictions on funding for stem-cell research.
“For every ten years we delay, another 0.5C will be added to the likely temperature rise,” cautions Dr Vicky Pope, Met Office Head of Climate Change Advice.
“Believe me, real men don’t twitter,” British journalist, Matthew Parris, from The Times stands strong against the Twitter frenzy.
"Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MoT. Very high maintenance - some rust." This was the description used by builder for his wife when he placed an advertisement for her sale in a British trade magazine.
WWW News
Chili at the Wheel: Police in China have come up with a hot new way of preventing drivers from falling asleep at the wheel: raw chili. In the southwest Chongqing region drivers are being given chili peppers when they stop at highway service stations. A van driver, Chen Jun, was quoted in a Chinese newspaper saying that chilies make you alert. "It's really good to have some hot peppers when you are tired from driving," Jun said.
No Phones at School: In a bid to boost education Tajikistan in Central Asia has banned mobile phones from all schools and universities. A member of parliament, Dodikhudo Saimutdinov, said that cell phones are a distraction: "This measure has been taken in order to improve the quality of teaching at schools."
To Reset or To Overcharge? In a gesture which aimed to symbolize improved relations between Russia and the United states, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a red "reset button". The meaning, however, was lost in translation. The gift, a yellow box with a red button, read "Peregruzka", which means "overcharge," rather than “reset.” "You got it wrong," said Lavrov, but he assured Mrs Clinton he would put it on his desk.
Liberated by the Washing Machine: The Vatican had a novel take on International Women’s Day: women should give thanks for the washing machine. The article, entitled “The washing machine and the emancipation of women: put in the powder, close the lid and relax”, was published in the official Vatican newspaper, Osservatore Romano. It argued that freedom from the sink has done more for women’s liberation than the contraceptive pill or working outside the home.
Facts and Figures
$50 trillion is the figure that simply disappeared from world finances in 2008. According to the World Bank, the global economy will sink this year for the first time since the Second World War.
$35 million was the price tag for an entire village put up for sale in Hampshire, England. The package included a cricket club and manor house.
$18 million is the amount of funds set aside for therapy to help people in England suffering from “recession depression”.
96 million metres of fabric has been used in the production of clothes for Barbie dolls during the past 50 years. Barbie is available in 150 countries, and one doll is sold every 3 seconds.
355 people have dropped off the Forbes rich list, losing their “billionaire” titles.
25% of Iraqi women have no access to a daily water supply (according studies by Oxfam).
21 couples shared a joint wedding in Somalia, in an effort to cut the cost of tying the knot. The mass-nuptials were carried out at a hotel in Hargeisa, and were arranged by Telsom, a telecoms company that employs all the bridegrooms.
Read more blog by Gabriel O'Rorke
Read more blogs by ABC News Staff
March 13, 2009 in Gabriel O'Rorke | Permalink | User Comments (4)
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Wierd and Wonderful Weekly - weird is mispelled in the headline.
Posted by: PJ Achramowicz | Mar 13, 2009 2:02:08 PM
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