Pollution causes human penises to shrink
Dr. Shanna Swan has warned in her new book that humanity faces an "existential crisis" in fertility rates as a result of phthalates, a chemical used when manufacturing plastics that has an adverse impact on the hormone-producing endocrine system.
Credit: Pierre Rousseau/Belga/PA Images
Dr. Swan claims in her book 'Count Down' that as a result of pollution, a growing number of babies are being born with small penises.
Her research began by examining phthalate syndrome, which was observed in rats and found that fetuses exposed to the chemical were likely to be born with shrunken genitals.
Dr. Swan then discovered that male human babies who had been exposed to the phthalates had a shorter anogenital distance - something that correlated with penile volume.
Dead snake discovered in tumble dryer
Alyson Pring revealed that she called out a technician when the dryer began malfunctioning and technician Darrell Cobble initially suspected it would be an easy repair job.
However, he was stunned to discover the reptile's body in the motor.
It is thought that the snake slithered up an exhaust vent prior to its death.
Cobble said: "It's not something you normally find in there but you find them, On the outside, they normally have a grate that kind of stops it from going up there. They didn't have one, so it kind of found its way."
The snake has now been removed and the dryer is working properly once again.
Pring remarked: "Could've been much worse, but I'm glad it was dead, done, fixed it up and ready to go."
Wallet found at school after being missing for 70 years
Officials at the school in the US state of Virginia said that a contractor working on the renovation project at Poquoson Middle School was going through the rubble of the building's demolished gym when he discovered the wallet.
Information found in the wallet identified the owner as 85-year-old Ester French and the wallet's contents included a 1951 calendar and a pair of photos.
Staff at the school were able to contact French through a relative and she recalled the incident which caused her to lose the wallet.
She told WTKR-TV: "There was a ledge [in the gym] that I had placed my wallet on, and when I went to get it, it wasn't there, but there was a hole - opening behind that ledge - and so my wallet apparently had fallen down and gone beneath the school, and there was nothing to do about it."
17-year-old pretends to be 43 when stopped by police
Greater Manchester Police revealed on Twitter that the young man had been driving on the motorway in an Audi when he was stopped by officers. He then opted to pretend that he was a man more than twice his age.
Predictably, his lie was soon rumbled and the car was taken away from him by the police.
The force wrote on social media: "Stopped above the M60 motorway in Stockport by #XT41.
"Driver who was 17 tried to claim he was actually 43 years old.
"Nope not falling for that one, true details passed and he will be reported. Vehicle seized."
Many social media users saw the funny side of the incident.
One posted: "I do that all the time. I'm 52 but claim to be 17.
"Doesn't work for me either. You cops are too good."
Oldest living shark believed to be 397 years old
The discovery was made during a study into a group of Greenland sharks, with scientists estimating that one of the females in a group of 28 sharks was almost 400 years old.
Julius Nielsen, the lead author of the study, said: "We had our expectations that we were dealing with an unusual animal, but I think everyone doing this research was very surprised to learn the sharks were as old as they were."
Scientists usually examine ear bones, which form a series of rings, to determine the ages of many fish but Greenland sharks are more difficult as no parts of the body show growth layers.
Steven Campana, a shark expert from the University of Iceland, added: "Given that this shark is the apex predator (king of the food chain) in Arctic waters, it is almost unbelievable that we didn't know whether the shark lives for 20 years, or for 1000 years."
Pair caught smuggling gold through airport under wigs
Customs officers in India stopped the pair after they noticed their 'suspicious hairstyles'.
On closer inspection, it was found that they had glued black packets and gold paste to monk-like shaved patches on the top of their heads.
Officials peeled back the fake hair to reveal black packets filled with cash and gold paste stuck to their heads.
Gold was also discovered in the pair's socks after stopping them at Chennai International Airport with the duo - who had arrived from Dubai - later arrested.
Air customs officials confirmed that they had seized gold and foreign currency worth a total of £278,000 in Sunday's (21.03.21) incident.
Swan infuriates humans by constantly knocking on doors
The animal, named Cedric, pecks at letterboxes for hours on end at the homes opposite the lake where he lives in Northampton.
The swan knocks on doors throughout the summer months and often wakes up residents. Nobody is sure why the creature does it - although some have suggested that it is looking for food.
Stephen Legg, one of Cedric's victims, told The Sun newspaper: "It doesn’t do any damage but it’s extremely irritating.
"Sometimes it does it for three hours at a time, other times only once or twice. It is a nuisance."
Wendy Howard, who lives nearby, added: "It is pretty funny to see when walking past.
"But I’m glad it isn’t my house because it is very noisy."
Theme parks in US told to protect guests from rollercoaster screams
Attractions in California have been asked to take extra steps to make sure visitors aren't spreading COVID-19 by screaming on the rides when the parks reopen in the US state next month.
The California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA) wrote in its reopening plan: "Face covering usage and/or modifications to seat loading patterns will be required on amusement park rides to mitigate the effects of shouting.
"Additionally, on rides, guests generally face in one direction."
CAPA have also called on the parks to limit any activities that involve singing and shouting to minimise the spread of the virus.
Theme parks in California have been closed since March 2020 and attractions such as Disneyland are preparing to reopen to visitors in April.
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