StrangeSights

• News from the UK this week that a man has changed his name to Buzz Lightyear. Steve Bolton, 26, apparently changed his name by Deed Poll because he was such a “massive fan” of Toy Story. A quick trawl of the net shows that odd names used for babies in the UK have included Justin Case, Barb Dwyer, Paige Turner and Mary Christmas while odd places names in the world include Australia’s Bang Bang Jump Up - a hill in Queensland, Blubberhouses - a village in North Yorkshire, UK, and Chugwater - a town in Wyoming, US.

• Seems the dummy didn’t quite do the job it was supposed to. Two prisoners has reportedly escaped from an Argentinian jail after a dummy, a football wearing a guard’s cap (think of the volleyball Wilson in the movie Cast Away) was used to man a guard tower due to staff shortages.

• Feeling lonely? Why not rent instead of buy? A US-based website, which has just been launched in the UK, reportedly allows people to ‘rent-a-friend’, paying an hourly rate to have someone accompany them to family and social occasions, watch a film, share a meal or even play sport. More than 200,000 friends are apparently available for hire in the US on the website, Rentafriend.com.

• Ever noticed that a person’s surname will often resemble their job (one need think no further than Seinfeld’s ‘library detective’, Mr Bookman, for an example!) Well, it may not be just you who thinks so. A series of studies in the US has found that a person’s surname may well influence the career they choose later in life. Carried out by Professor Ernest Abel, of Wayne State University in Michigan, the research apparently shows that doctors and lawyers are “disproportionately more likely” to have surnames resembling their professions, ie. Doctor for a doctor and Lawyer for a lawyer.

• Kissing while driving, building sandcastles and wearing squeaky sandals are among the activities reportedly banned in parts of Italy after a raft of new public order laws were introduced by local authorities as part of a campaign to stop anti-social behaviour. Other bans are reportedly aimed at feeding pigeons and stray cats, gathering in groups of more than two in public parks at night, and, wait for it, opening a kebab shop in Lucca, Tuscany (officials want to protect the town’s culinary heritage).

• Sick of gossip in the office? A US financial firm, Bridgewater Associates, has reportedly adopted a novel approach to the issue by banning such chat under a three strikes and you’re fired policy. Company president Ray Dalio has also reportedly ordered that all company meetings be recorded and stored in a ‘transparent library’ so the 1,000 staff can hear what they’re bosses are saying about them.