StrangeSights

• Insects already form part of the diet of an estimated two billion people but they may well be on even more menus in the future as experts look to alternative means of feeding people. The Food and Agriculture Organisation says that insects (and there are about a million known species) could provide a “readily available source of nutritious and protein-rich food”. To whet your appetite, the most consumed insects at present include beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps and ants, and grasshoppers, locusts and crickets. But there are many issues that need to be dealt with first - including legal hurdles against eating insects in many countries. For more, see www.fao.org.

• A Canadian astronaut has created the first music video recorded in space, singing the David Bowie song, Space Oddity, while free floating inside the International Space Station. Chris Hadfield made the video, which has gone viral, a few days before he returned to earth after his six month stint in space. The astronaut did alter some of Bowie’s lyrics to better suit his circumstances.

• A Zimbabwean man surprised mourners when he reportedly came back to life. One of those at his funeral noticed one of the man’s legs twitching and called an ambulance. The man, who had suffered from long illness before his funeral, has no recollection of the event.

• A four-year-old boy has reportedly been elected mayor of a town in Minnesota in the US. Dorset’s mayor is apparently chosen through the process of drawing a name out of a hat and this year it was Mayor Robert ‘Bobbie’ Tufts turn. The good news is that Mayor Tufts apparently does like talking to the townspeople.

• It takes the idea of life on the road to whole new level. When authorities announced plans to build a four lane highway running through where a five storey apartment building stands, the families - with the law on their side - refused to leave. So they simply built the freeway around it - leaving the multi-storey property on a small island in its midst. One of the residents at the property, located in eastern China, was reported as saying that the government didn’t offer enough compensation for them to move. To see the house, which is known as a Nail House (and for link to the full story), follow this link to our Pinterest page…

• Want a multi-tasking baby? Then the ‘Baby Mop’ might be just what you’ve been looking for. Essentially a romper suit (or ‘onesie’) with mop fringes attached, the baby mop enables your baby to clean the floor while crawling about it. The idea reportedly came from a Japanese spoof ad, according to the company that produces it - US website BetterThanPants - and since it’s release, sales have gone through the roof. They say not only will the baby mop teach your baby a strong work ethic and give them a good workout, it will also save you “lots of money on house cleaning costs”.

• It’s the low cost hotel that takes pride in a bad reputation. A low priced hostel in Amsterdam - the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel -says it has been “proudly disappointing travellers for forty years”. Its website boasts that levels of comfort in the hotel are “comparable to a minimum-security prison”, noting that the “Hans Brinker also offers some plumbing and an intermittently open canteen serving a wide range of dishes based on runny eggs”. Other features at the hotel include “a basement bar with limited light and no fresh air”, “an elevator that almost never breaks down between floors” and “the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, Amsterdam Luxury Ambassadorial Suite (featuring the Hans Brinker’s one and only bath-tub).” The self-critical marketing campaign has reportedly proved something of a hit with its rather brave clientele.

• Questions are apparently being asked about the citizenship of iconic cat cutie Hello Kitty following the publication of a new book, Hello Kitty’s Guide to Japan in English and Japanese. According to the official biography published by Sanrio, the company that owns the rights to her, Hello Kitty (real name Kitty White) was born in London. But, according to some, Kitty is so knowledgable about Japan in the new guide, which was reportedly authorised by Sanrio, that “the reader can only surmise she is either Japanese or an amazingly bilingual Japanese studies scholar”. The catfight has raised the ire of many in Japan and elsewhere and sparked countless internet debates but so far there’s been no official clarification forthcoming. Stay tuned.

• The voice of former German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck has been heard for the first time in 100 years in a series of remarkable recordings digitally restored by the Thomas Edison National Park museum in the US. The recordings, in which Bismarck can be heard reciting parts of songs and poetry in English, Latin, French, and German - including France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise - and advising his son Herbert to “live life in moderation”, was made in 1889 using a wax cylinder phonograph. Discovered in 1957, research on the recordings did not reportedly start until 2005.

• Being able to say words backwards is quite a remarkable feat yet Alyssa, a girl from Oklahoma in the US seems to be able to do so with little effort. In a video clip posted on YouTube which has, yes, gone viral around the globe, Alyssa is seen repeating backwards any word that’s thrown at her. You can see the video here.

• Never taking the loyalty of friends and family for granted, taking time off from work to enjoy the world around you and not bullying people because of their ability or religion or beliefs were among ideas for 10 Commandments for the 21st century thought up by school children in the UK. The children were asked to come up with 10 Commandments as part of the English city of York’s inaugural Festival of Ideas. Three winning entries were chosen, one of which suggested that the 10 Commandments should be produced on banknotes to remind people that while money is important, “there are other things that should take priority in life”.

• It’s a chance to own some movie memorabilia with a difference. A US company has built a replica of Carl Fredrickson’s house from the animated Pixar movie Up and it’s now reportedly on the market for around $US400,000. The four bedroom property, which is located in Utah, was built by Bangerter Homes and fitted out to reflect the 1950s - the era in which the movie property was built. It is painted in the same colors as that featured in the film and even features the same picture of Paradise Falls over the fireplace. While Mr Fredrickson flew his house to South America, this house doesn’t come fitted with balloons.

• Flying cars might seem a long way off but the concept took a great step forward this month when US authorities approved a two seater model that reportedly takes just 20 hours to learn how to fly. Or is that drive? The Terrafugia Transition features wings that fold up automatically after landing and is powered by high octane unleaded petrol.

• As pranks go, it was pretty elaborate. Staff at Legoland California reportedly decided to prank their boss by swapping his real-life Volvo SUV - parked in the company car park - for a lifesize replica made completely out of Lego. The model was made from more than 201,000 Lego bricks.

• A US man has come up with a way of both spending time with his baby and getting some exercise. Joshua Levitt was reportedly lifting his baby (now an eight-year-old) up and down in an attempt to soothe her when he realised, in his words, he was “multi-tasking” by getting some exercise at the same time. He’s now developed an entire exercise routine - described in his book Baby Barbells - which includes a ‘baby bench press’ and ‘lullaby lunges’.

• Ah, the years slip by so fast. Yes, it was time for the annual Wife-Carrying World Championships in Finland last week and once again, Finns Kristiina Haapanen and Taisto Miettinen reportedly took the prize, defeating 46 other couples to win their third successive championship. The event, which takes place over a 253.5 metre course featuring two dry and one water obstacle, traces its roots back to 19th century bandit who stole food and girls from villages.

• Fans of Japanese girl band AKB 48 got a shock this week when they were informed that the band’s newest member, 16-year-old Aimi Eguchi, wasn’t in fact a person at all. Turns out Aimi is a virtual creation, her features a composite of the other band members, manufactured as part of a marketing campaign the band is undertaking with sweet company Glico.

• As far as wrong turns go, it was a big one. An Emperor Penguin was found on Peka Peka Beach on New Zealand’s North Island last week, apparently having made a wrong turn when swimming in Antarctica. The bird, which was eating sand in the mistaken belief it was snow, was taken to Wellington Zoo where it is undergoing treatment before its future is decided. And it’s name? Yep, Happy Feet.

• We all know (or should) that it can be unwise to advertise the fact you’re on a holiday miles from home on a social networking site like Facebook. Ah, hello, burglars. Now a London-based security company, Precreate Solutions, has gone a step further - they’re reportedly offering to update your Facebook or Twitter page while you’re away with comments that make it look as if you’re still, in fact, at home. Don’t they have internet all around the world now?

• Still in the UK, and parents at a Plymouth school have reportedly criticised a proposal to put up child-shaped bollards outside the school as a traffic calming measure, saying the bollards were “too scary” and looked like something out of Dr Who. Surely a Dalek would be just as effective?