StrangeSights

• Cat stew anyone? Beppe Bigazzi, host of an Italian cooking show, has been suspended for suggesting just that. The segment - in which Bigazzi offered the recipe for ‘casserole of cat’ - apparently sparked scores of complaints from viewers but the chef has reportedly refused to apologise, saying that cat was “a lot better than many other animals”.

• As spelling mistakes go, it was a big one. Some thousands of 50 peso coins were issued in Chile in 2008 - with the name of the country spelt as Chiie. The mistake apparently wasn’t picked up until late last year and the coins have since become collectors’ items. Needless to say, the general manager of the mint has been sacked.

• A new website launched earlier this month which provides updates on when people aren’t at home has sparked concern that it could be used by burglars to target properties. But the Dutch makers of ‘Please Rob Me’ reportedly say the website - which draws on information provided by people on social networking websites - is simply about highlighting the dangers of posting too much information online and came after the launch of a social network application which pinpoints where people are at a given time. “We’re not trying to get people robbed, but helping them not to get robbed,” co-founder Frank Groeneveld was quoted as saying in the UK’s Daily Mail. “We’re just presenting this information in a more obvious way. And that’s our point: Everyone can see this on Twitter.”

• ‘Crabzilla’ has reportedly been unearthed off the coast of Japan. The two-metre Japanese Spider Crab, which is being transported via Britain to Belgium where it will go on display, is two metres long but experts have apparently said the species can grow as large as four metres long.

• It was reportedly billed as the biggest event of its kind - a camel beauty contest. Thousands of the animals were brought to a desert location in the United Arab Emirates at the end of January for the 10 day event which saw camels compete in some 48 different categories. The camels, which can cost well into the thousands of dollars, are apparently bought for their beauty - head size, a shapely hump and leg shape all count - as well as to race or for producing milk.

• An Australian man has recently achieved a new world record for, wait for it, swallowing the most swords. Chayne Hultgren, 31, has beaten his own 2008 record of 17 by swallowing 18 swords at once in a feat performed outside the Sydney Opera House. “I don’t just straight away grab 18 blades and shove them down my throat,” he was quoted as saying. “You’ve got to practice a lot and build up to it.” Quite.

Meanwhile, in case you missed it:

• One in three British children aged between five and 16 reportedly believe their teacher could be an alien. The startling poll of 1,000 children, conducted by 20th Century Fox to mark the DVD release of Aliens In The Attic, also found that two-thirds of the respondants believed in alien life.

• And the UK’s Daily Telegraph recently ran a story about an emerging sport - rabbit jumping. It involves, apparently, egging on rabbits to jump over barriers much as a horse does in a steeplechase.