A German cleaner at a museum in Dortmund set about removing what she thought was an unsightly stain on a plastic bowl and ended up destroying a piece of art valued at £690,000. The artwork was “When It Starts Dripping From The Ceilings”, a piece by the late artist Martin Kippenberger and comprised a tower of wooden slats with a …
Brave move by Quantas
A very brave and unprecedented move by Australian airline Qantas as it announced the immediate grounding of its entire global fleet indefinitely until unions representing pilots and ground staff reach an agreement with the airline over pay and conditions. There was at least some good news as the action was announced, Qantas stating that “Aircraft currently in the air will …
Must have been an E Haw
A Zimbabwean man has told a court that he hired a prostitute who during the night transformed into a donkey, and that he is now “seriously in love” with the animal, according to state media. Zimbabwean man claims prostitute turned to donkey
Julian Barnes wins the Man Booker Prize
After falling short on three previous occasions, Julian Barnes has won the Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sense of an Ending, a story about childhood friendship and the imperfections of memory. Barnes was presented with the £50,000 prize at London’s Guildhall. However, the judges were criticised in some quarters for putting a focus on ‘readability’, although why anyone …
Another cunning plan from Ryanair
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s controversial chief executive, has stopped short of suggesting a Dutch style ‘wee bag’ system but has announced plans to remove all but one of the toilets on his planes to allow for six more seats.
Solving a wee problem
The3 Dutch National Railways is introducing emergency plastic bags for passengers to urinate in as part of its first-aid provision on some commuter trains without existing toilet facilities, the ‘wee bags’ being intended for use in emergency situations such as power failures. Wee bags Hopefully Michael O’Leary won’t read this or they will no doubt become a compulsory ‘additional’ item …
If it’s good enough for the rest of the world
You would think that politicians, amongst others, would have better things to do than waste time and taxpayer money on such matters, but you’d be wrong. Storm over ‘English’ term WC on roadsigns in Wales
Ig Nobel Prizes 2011
The Ig Nobel prize, the alternative to the regular Nobel Price, has gained in stature so much that this year, seven out of the ten recipients attended the ceremony. And they pay their own expenses, too. A bit like the Oscar alternative, the Razzie.
Concentrating on the important things
We may be unable to stop wars, powerless to halt the spread of disease and incapable of avoiding financial crises as a result of perpetual greed, but it seems we do at least have sufficient time and energy to study the things that matter, such as whether millions of virtual monkeys could, over billions of years, accidentally recreate the works …
Going back in time
While most are embracing new social media technologies for spreading information, some are heading in the opposite direction. Liverpool has appointed the city’s first official town crier for over 200 years, following auditions held outside Liverpool Town Hall. Terry Stubbings, aged 65 years, is a former town crier for Lincoln and will now represent Liverpool at the Huddersfield Town Crier …