StrangeSights

• Jesus played cricket? An Armenian scholar, Dr Abraham Terian, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reportedly says that an ancient manuscript - the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy (translated into Armenian in the 6th century from an older Syriac document) - contains a passage in which Jesus played a game with a club and ball which could be considered a precursor to cricket. Experts say that games similar to cricket are known to have been played in the Punjab region as early as the 8th century.

• Ever wanted to attend church in a “bouncy castle“? In a bid to cater for the needs of beachgoers, a Catholic group announced earlier this month it intended to set up an inflatable church on the beach in the town of Molise on the Adriatic Coast. It apparently follows an attempt to do so in Sardinia in July which was foiled by strong winds.

• Superheroes have worn them for years but now it’s apparently your average bloke on the street whose adopted a penchant for pantihose (or is it ‘mantihose’?). European retailers have apparently reported a surge in the number of men buying the products, apparently out of appreciation for their added insulation in cold weather, ability to provide support, stimulate circulation and alleviate muscle fatigue. Whether it will catch on in a place like Australia is another question altogether.

• Always wanted to tell a colleague about an annoying habit but never dared to do it face-to-face? A new website www.NiceCritic.com allows you to send them an anonymous email and politely tell them about their annoying habits. As the website puts it: “This free service gives users the ability to say something to someone that has been on their minds in a safe, non-embarrassing environment”. Emails can be sent in nine categories including ‘personal hygiene’, ‘appearance’, ‘office behaviour’, ’sports etiquette’ and ‘anonymous praise’ and the site carries a warning that the service is to be used by “responsible individuals”. After all, it says, this is supposed to be a “positive experience” for the parties involved. But, in line with the age-old advice, the site does note that “your first choice should always be to tell someone something face-to-face”.

• Personal jetpacks are no longer just the realm of Bond movies. A New Zealand inventor, Glenn Martin, has unveiled “the world’s first practical jetpack” in the US and says he is looking to start selling them next year for the sum of $US100,000. While the jetpack has so far only flown at a height of 1.8 metres, Mr Martin says it can fly higher. One wonders what the ramifications will be for airspace regulations.

• The infamous “cone of silence” used in the TV series Get Smart (and seen in an updated form in the recent movie), apparently set off alarm bells when it was first aired in the Sixties. Writing in The Washington Post earlier this year, Thomas Boghardt - an historian at the International Spy Museum - said the device apparently resembled in some form a real device created by the CIA which allowed conversations to be carried out in “secure bubbles”. And while Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone may have been fantasy, apparently East European spy services did like to hide bugs in the heels of Western diplomats.