Ten things which raised an eyebrow this week
Ten things which raised an eyebrow this week
EP brings you a brief round-up of some of the news items which were perhaps as surprising as they were enlightening
- According to official records, this is the first week since 1939 in which London recovered its missing millions as the number of people living in the Capital has finally surpassed its previous pre-war high
- Knowing she was allergic to it, a group of 4th graders in New York tried to kill their teacher with antibacterial hand-wash after growing tired of her shouting at the class and picking on students
- Including BP, Total and ExxonMobil, a report by the journal "Climactic Change" shows that only 90 companies around the world are responsible for 914 billion tonnes or two-thirds of all CO2 emissions between 1751 and 2010
- Charged with "wilful absence from duty", a Senior official of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in India was finally sacked this week after not showing up to work for 25 years!
- Banned under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, there have been 63 reported cases of drive-by pedestrian-splashing reported to the Police in England & Wales in the last 5 years - including one against a bus driver who (deliberately?) drove through a puddle, soaking half a dozen people waiting at a bus stop
- In the wake of the tragedy at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, it is heart-warming to see that Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, the hero of the October attacks on Canada's House of Parliament, was this week named Canadian Ambassador to Ireland! Of Irish descent himself, and with family in Co. Cork, Mr. Vickers is said to be proud and excited to take up his new post
- After a private plane crashed in Venezuela, investigators were initially curious as to why the pilot was flying so low as to be under the radar, however upon discovery of more than £55million of cocaine in the form of 880lb of gear in 362 packets, scattered over 14,000ft of mountain range it became apparent that they had happened upon one of the largest illegal hauls in recent times
- Trying the patience of a Saint! Brother Noah of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in New Mexico was left frustrated and vocal in his condemnation of United Airlines customer service after being advised to drive the 3 hours to the airline's HQ in order to have his grievances about cancelled travel plans dealt with
- The annual American Time Use Survey of how unemployed people spend their days details a minute-by-minute account of the lives of 147 men and 147 women, indicating that while both sexes will spend the majority of their day looking for work, men will spend most of the rest of their time watching TV while women do housework and care for others
- If you think your New Year is off to a bad start, then spare a thought for Liverpudlian Jessica Threadgold whose drunken logic told her to drive to the ATM to get cash for a taxi home after a night out, as she knew herself to be over the limit. Following her arrest, the erstwhile clean-living 19 year old student was banned from driving for 16 months and fined £220, including costs
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