if it’s news to me, it must be news to you!
Scourge of the pipes: Bagpipers are being warned of a potentially fatal consequence of their hobby as a Manchester man dies of ‘bagpipe lung’. Personally, I’d be more concerned for my eardrums.
Cry foul: It has been scientifically proven that boys are better than girls at spotting an offside goal because they play more team sports.
Y-front protest: The coach of Mongolian wrestler stripped to his underwear when his Olympic prodigy was denied a bronze medal after being penalised a point for taunting his opponent.
True Olympic spirit: New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin has been awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship after stopping to help a fallen runner in the 5,000 metre heats.
It’s in the stars: One last Olympics reference (I hope). What do Mo Farah, Jason Kenny, Chris Hoy and Steve Redgrave have in common? They share the same birthday, 23rd March, as does Roger Bannister. Maybe not such a coincidence – in a group of 75 people, there’s a 99.9% chance that at least two will share the same birthday.
Flag of inconvenience: China’s social media networks went into meltdown after Olympic organisers used the wrong national flag not once, but twice. It’s all about the positioning of the four smaller stars apparently.
Long John Blue: How tall are you? According to research from the UK, the taller you are, the more likely you are to vote Conservative.
Bad news, worse news: The University of Oxford has produced a league table of psychopathy that puts Hillary Clinton above Nero and Oliver Cromwell. The worse news is that Donald Trump tops Adolf Hitler, although below Saddam Hussein and Henry VIII. Mind you, Jesus and Paul the Apostle nestle mid-table.
Bad new, good news: Men are set to replace women as the ones who do the majority of housework and household chores. The good news is that this won’t happen for another 52 years.
Do the dodo: The skeleton of a dodo could fetch €30,000 when it goes to auction which seems a swiz since it is actually a composite of several dodos, rather than just one bird. If your budget doesn’t run to that, you can always take a look at the 3D skeleton at Sci News.
Dump the damp: For some inexplicable reason, the word ‘moist’ is the front runner for the most despised word in the English language, according to the Oxford University Press. I’m not sure why this should be. What about moist cakes or lips? Personally, I’d go for the words ‘going’ and ‘forwards’ which seems to have replaced ‘future’ in the media/politico babble.
Brief lives: Arthur Hiller who directed Love Story; Gita Hall, the actress once call ‘the next Lana Turner’; Benjamin Britten’s lover John Woolford; clown priest Roly Bain; Lou Perlman, boy-band impresario and con-man; Bobby Hutcherson, jazz vibraphonist.
And Anthony Jay whose Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister series were not only extremely funny, but actually made government and politics interesting. It was also gentler than The Thick of It.