StrangeSights

• Scientists have reportedly said they are 95 per cent sure that the mythical snow-monster, the yeti, is living in Siberia in Russia. A recent two day expedition in the region found “irrefutable evidence” of the existence of the yeti, it was claimed by the Kemerovo government which oversees the region. This included footprints and hairs. The conference had attracted scientists and enthusiasts from as far afield as Canada and the US, Sweden and Estonia. The yeti, also known as the abominable snowman and sasquatch, are also said to exist in the Himalayas and in North America.

• Don’t worry about trying to get the ball back. News has swept around the world of a golf course in Brisbane which has a rather unusual hazard - half a dozen bull sharks in the course’s 21 hectare lake. The shark’s, then juveniles, reportedly moved into the lake at the Carbrook Golf Course when the nearby Logan River flooded in the 1990s. The golfers are apparently unfazed - the club now hosts a monthly competition called the Shark Lake Challenge.

• Getting the silent treatment for your local traffic director? It could be because, like in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, they’ve reportedly employed 120 professional mimes to take on the job. Wearing clown outfits, the mimes were charged with reprimanding bad drivers in a bid to encourage politeness on the road. And they’re apparently not alone with mimes being put to good use in controlling traffic and pedestrians in Brazil and Colombia.

• 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.

• In a case of life imitating art (or a cartoon, in this case), a team of scientists in the US have replicated the scene in the movie Up in which grumpy old man Carl Fredricksen’s attaches hundreds of helium balloons to his house to lift it into the air. The house reportedly didn’t get blown to South America like Carl’s, it did reach as high as 10,000 feet and set a new record for the largest cluster balloon flight ever attempted while doing so. The experiment was conducted by National Geographic as part of a TV series.

• When you get lemons, make lemonade. That’s what one Christchurch resident has done after a 30 tonne boulder crashed into his house during the earthquake which shook the city last month. Phil Johnson decided to raise some money for the the victims of the earthquake and auctioned off Rocky - for such was the boulder named - online. The sale reportedly raised more than $NZ60,000.

• Ever wondered what it would be like to drive a giant shoe? Your chance may yet come - a footwear maker in China has created an electric car which resembles a giant shoe. The shoe company is planning to make 40 more of the oversize clogs and use them as promotional tools. It’s not the first time we’ve seen a shoe car - a high heeled shoe car made headlines which it appeared in Washington DC back in 2007.