StrangeSights

• The South Pacific island nation of Samoa is reportedly jumping ahead a day in a bid to facilitate better business with neighbours Australia and New Zealand. The country intends jumping the International Date Line, from the east side, where it currently lies, to the west side on 29th December. This will see the country go from being 21 hours behind Sydney to three hours ahead. The move isn’t unprecedented - in 1892 Samoa jumped the dateline to the eastern side in an effort to help business links with the US and Europe.

• The Home Alone house has reportedly gone on the market in the US with an asking price of $US2.4 million. The red brick house in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka was seen in both the 1990 film and its sequel, Home Alone 2. The couple who are selling the house bought it just 18 months before it was spotted by the film’s director John Hughes.

• It took seven years to build and reportedly cost $4.8 million. The world’s largest model airport recently went on display in Germany. The model, based on Hamburg Airport, includes moving vehicles and plans that fly with the use of wires along with 15,000 figurines, 10,000 trees and 500 cars.

• The heart symbol (meaning to love) has entered the Oxford English Dictionary as one of more than 45,000 new words and meanings added to the latest version of what is considered by many to be the most authoritative English language dictionary in the world. Among the other new entries are “Tinfoil hat” (used with allusion to the belief that such a hat will protect the wearer from mind control or surveillance); the 10 or five or one “second rule” (allowing for the eating of a delicious morsel that has fallen to the floor, provided that it is retrieved within the specified period of time), and “IMHO” (in my humble opinion) as well as Australianisms “flat white” (a style of espresso drink with finely textured foamed milk) and “tragic” (a ‘boring or socially inept person, especially one with an obsessive interest or hobby).

• Finding the walk between golf holes a bit hard lately? Forget the buggy, a course in Germany has introduced a 150 metre travelator to take golfers up an admittedly rather steep hill from the first green to the second tee. Known as the “magic carpet”, the travelator at the course in Schloss Auel Golf Club near Cologne reportedly works in all weather and starts automatically when a player - and buggy - hop on board. The introduction of the travelator has apparently met with the approval of the (one imagines, rather tired) club’s members.

• It’s a busy life being a member of the police SWAT team in Beijing so there’s little time to find that someone special. To give officers a helping hand, police chiefs reportedly launched a match-making service at an annual Police Open Day recently, posting pictures of 54 unmarried recruits on large boards in a police station in the hope of catching the eye of some of the visitors. Such was the interest, police have already vowed to repeat the service in the future.

• Mr Burns attracted the ire of Springfield’s citizens when he blocked out the sun in The Simpsons. But now come reports of a plan to use artificially created “clouds” to do the same in Qatar, not to extort its citizens for money as was the case with Mr Burns, but to try and keep the ground temperature down during the World Cup in 2022. The mechanical clouds would hover above the stadium in an attempt to deflect some of the sun’s strength during games.

• He’s a real-life transformer. Californian Drew Beaumier - apparently an ardent fan of Transformers when a child - has created a costume, using parts of a children’s toy, that enables him to ‘transform’ into an car. He’s now reportedly hoping to develop the costume to make it available for purchase by mail order.

• As audiences go, it was probably one of the more passive ones. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played to an auditorium filled with potted plants in London this week in an experiment commissioned by TV shopping channel QVC to test the theory that plants grow better when played classical music. The three hour concert apparently included Mozart’s Symphony Number 40.

• Excitement is growing ahead of Britain’s upcoming Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton and the range of souvenirs continues to grow - everything from commemorative plates, tea towels, coins and replica rings to name but a few. One commemorative mug produced by a firm in China, however, has been manufactured with what appears to be a slight flaw - it bears a portrait of the wrong prince. Next to a portrait of Kate Middleton is that of Prince Harry, her future brother-in-law, instead of that of her future husband Prince William.

• For the fashionista who likes to stand out from the crowd, look no further than these distinctive boots, designed to resemble a pair of horse’s hooves. The limited edition boots were released by UK betting company Betfair at the Cheltenham Festival to commemorate the horse-racing meet’s centenary. Reportedly priced at £1,300 a pair, they come in either ankle or knee length.

• Forget about calling yourself rich if you’ve only got a million dollars. A survey by US financial firm Fidelity Investments has found that 42 per cent of US millionaires said they did not feel wealthy (compared with 46 per cent in 2009), adding that they didn’t think they would do so unless they had at least $US7.5 million. Tough for some.

• 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.

• Regular visitors might recall reading about Seattle’s Guardian and the existence of ‘Real Life Super Heroes’ in the US some weeks ago. It seems the trend is catching - now comes news of self-appointed ’superheroes’ in the UK. Foremost among them is The Statesman (aka bank worker Scott Cooke), who hits the streets of Birmingham with justice on his mind (and, reportedly, a mobile phone in case things turn nasty). But there are apparently others - as many as 16 according to one report - bearing names such as Black Arrow, Lionheart and the even-more-oddly-monikered, Vague. No word yet on any arch villains.

• Priests were seen hitting the slopes in Poland earlier this month to take part in an annual ski championship for the clergy. With many dressed in clerical robes and collars, they were competing in the Pope John Paul II Cup. The annual event, which includes several different skiing disciplines, was held at the ski resort of Wisla. The former pope was apparently a keen skier and a regular visitor to ski slopes in Italy.

• A selection of some of the oddest spying devices you’ve ever seen has gone on display in an online gallery posted by the CIA Museum on photo-sharing website Flickr. The weird devices developed by the US organisation include everything from a robot fish and a mosquito-like “unmanned aerial vehicle” to a lady’s compact which, if viewed from a certain angle, reveals a hidden code, and a camera designed to be carried by a pigeon.

• It was an unusual idea as far as Valentine’s Day’s gifts go. The Bronx Zoo in New York offered lovers the chance to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after their beloved for a small donation and more than 5,700 took up the offer for $10, raising more $57,000 to save wildlife around the world. “We are thankful to everyone who believed that naming a roach after a loved one was more romantic than chocolate or roses,” said zoo spokesperson John Cavelli. The zoo, officially known as the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo, has more than 58,000 of the roaches living in its Madagascar! exhibit. It says that while the naming opportunity is now closed for this year, they’ll be looking to do it again next year.

• Spectacular natural rock terraces in New Zealand - referred to as the eighth wonder of the world - have reportedly been rediscovered at the bottom of a lake on the North Island. The Pink Terraces had been one of the island nation’s key tourist attractions until they disappeared when Mount Tarawera erupted in 1886. Scientists now believe they have found them 60 metres under Lake Rotomahana after sending in underwater vehicles to capture images. The terraces are the largest silica terraces in the world.

• Building a backyard bird house can be a good project to undertake with the kids. A Canadian, however, has taken the craft to the next level, creating a series of bird hotels with one reportedly boasting as many as 103 rooms and a swimming pool. Toronto resident John Looser came up with the idea of building the “extreme birdhouses” after a car accident led to an early retirement and now creates them for a living, selling his hand-made birdhouses (prices range well into the thousands of dollars) and the plans to make them.

• A US designer has come up with a new way to keep your face warm - a woolly hat that comes complete with an attached woolly beard to cover the chin and cheeks. The hat and beard combo, available from www.beardhead.com come in a range of styles: from a ‘Viking’ complete with horns on the hat to the long grey beard of the ‘Grandpa’ through to the ‘Lumberjack’ and the pink ‘Bunny’.

• That noisy kid on the plane bothering you? Ban them, ban them all! A survey for the Business Travel & Meetings Show happening in London next week revealed that a massive 74 per cent of business travellers, when asked what annoys them first about first class travel, answered children. Eighteen per cent said what annoyed them most was people who had been upgraded for free when they’d paid the full fare, 15 per cent wanted more privacy from the plebs in economy and 12 per cent thought they received only an economy class service even when they’d paid for first class. The news has sparked calls for adults only cabins in planes.

• UK artist Aaron Savage has recreated famous album covers in Lego. Covered artists include Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, David Bowie and Blondie. Follow this link to see if you can guess which albums the covers represent…

• A self-styled superhero in the US city of Seattle has reportedly had his nose broken while trying to break up a fight. Phoenix Jones, part of a group of at least nine called the Rain City Superhero Movement, wears a superhero outfit including a mask and body armour when he patrols the streets of the city. Others in the group include Gemini, Catastrophe and Thunder 88. Jones, who goes by the moniker ‘Guardian of Seattle’, was apparently injured when he saw the makings of a brawl and intervened. The group is apparently part of a growing movement in the US called the Real Life Super Heroes (or RLSH).

• When the local council said it was considering closing down the Stony Stratford Library near Milton Keynes in the UK, locals took umbrage and launched a somewhat unusual protest. They reportedly borrowed out all 16,000 of the library’s books. The Friends of Stony Stratford Library have also launched a Facebook page in their protest to keep it open.

• A cat has been ordered to sit on a jury in the US. Tabby Sal’s owners reportedly told Boston authorities that a mistake had been made when the cat was summoned for jury service but were apparently told it still had to attend. The cat had been listed as household resident on a recent census.

• Britain’s medieval peasants were twice as wealthy as people living in the world’s poorest countries today, according to the findings of new research. A team at the University of Warwick has put the average income in the late Middle Ages, expressed in 1990 dollars, at around $US1,000 compared with only $US249 in Zaire, $US479 in Burundi and $US514 in Niger. The team found that even on the eve of the Black Death, which killed thousands when it first struck in 1348-49, incomes were more than $US800 per capita.

• They’re the words and phrases we love to hate. According to The Marist Poll in the US, “whatever” is the most annoying word or phrase used in conversation today with 39 per cent of the respondents putting it top of their list for the second year in a row. “Like”, as in “like wow”, comes a close second with 28 per cent followed by “you know what I mean” (15 per cent), “to tell you the truth” (10 per cent), and “actually” (five per cent).

• It’s a find worthy of Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, and this time it’s contained in the eyes the Mona Lisa. An Italian researcher has reportedly claimed to have found tiny letters in the famous painting’s eyes which he believes may reveal the identity of the woman whose portrait Leonardo Da Vinci painted. According to Silvano Vinceti the letters are invisible to the naked eye but high resolution imaging shows that the painting’s right pupil contains the letters LV, for Leonardo da Vinci, and the left pupil the letters B or S or the initials CE, possibly letters corresponding the name of the sitter. The find could cast into doubt that commonly held belief that the woman is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant. Vinceti, meanwhile, plans to announce his theories next month.