Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
World's most expensive pack of cigarettes?
A man in the United States popped out to his local petrol station to buy a pack of cigarettes - only to find out his card was charged more then $23 quadrillion (£14 quadrillion) - many times the US national debt."I thought somebody had bought Europe with my credit card," said Josh Muszynski, from New Hampshire.
He says his appeals to his bank first met with little understanding, though it eventually corrected the error.
It also waived the usual $15 overdraft fee.
"It was all back to normal," Mr Muszynski told his local television station, WMUR. "They reversed the negative balance fee, which was nice."
Debt crisis
His nightmare began when he checked his online bank account a few hours after buying the cigarettes.
When Josh Muszynski checked his bank account online, he didn't expect to find a $23 quadrillion debit.
He thought he would be a couple of hundred dollars in the black. But his overdraft had pushed him into the red - by an amount equivalent to many times the entire US national debt.
"It is a lot of money in the negative," he said. "Something I could never, ever, afford to pay back.
The 17-digit amount on his online bill shocked Mr Muszynski
"My children could not afford it, grandchildren, nothing like that."
In panic, Mr Muszynski rushed back to the petrol station, but they were unable to help. He says he then spent two hours on the phone with the Bank of America.
Eventually, it assured him it would be fixed - and the next morning, it had been.
But no-one has yet explained to Mr Muszynski how such a astonishing error could have been made.
$23 Quadrillion Question Remains Unanswered.
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Giant golf course to open in Australian outback
Covering roughly the same distance as Land's End to John O'Groats, it is a golf course that requires a driver at every single hole.Australia's Nullarbor Links is the largest course in the world, crossing two time zones and encompassing some of the flattest, driest terrain on the planet.
It spans two states, stretching 848 miles from Ceduna in the south to the old gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
The holes are so far apart that players will have to be bused from one to the next and are likely to encounters some native Australian wildlife, including kangaroos, bush turkeys, emus, snakes and, of course, flies, on their way.
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Police arrest five dangerous criminals
The police thought that these little kittens were criminals.
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Elephant carwash raises zoo cash
A wildlife safari in Oregon, USA, has come up with an unusual way to raise money in the tough economic climate.For $20, visitors can have their car washed by the zoo's elephants, who scrub with sponges and rinse with their trunks.
Wildlife Safari Executive Director, Dan Van Slyke, and Elephant Supervisor, Carol Matthews, claim that the elephants don't mind the work, and that the fundraiser has been a hit.
VIDEO
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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Children use pet dogs to cheat on pedometer study
Children taking part in a study to measure how much exercise they do fooled researchers by attaching their pedometers to their pet dogs.About 200 children in east London were given pedometers to automatically count how many steps they walked and ran.
Mile End Center for Sports and Exercise Medicine was surprised by the activity levels recorded in some obese children.
Professor Nicola Maffulli said: "Then we realised they were attaching the pedometers to their dogs' collars."
'Extremely active'
The pilot study in Whitechapel required 11 and 12-year-olds to clip a pedometer to their waists, with researchers at the center collecting the readings by satellite.
"But after a week we found there were some kids who were extremely active but still obese," said Professor Maffulli.
It was "not unheard of" for participants in previous studies to manipulate the readings of pedometers, he added.
Once adjusted to take into account the help from pets, the study indicated that boys in the borough walk or run 12,620 steps a day, below the recommended level of 15,000 steps.
It also found that girls take 10,150 steps, falling short of the recommended 12,000 steps.
It indicated that more than a third of 11 and 12-year-olds in the borough of Tower Hamlets are overweight or obese - 11% higher than the national average.
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In the News....
Bride pans her own gold for wedding rings
A Leeds student has told how she turned gold panned from British rivers into wedding rings for herself and her new husband.
Daisy Thurkettle-Roper, 25, has bee n panning for gold in Britain since she was a toddler, reports the Daily Telegraph.
"I've kept all the gold I have ever found and there seemed to be nothing more perfect and romantic than using it for our wedding rings."
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Jackson Butter
Plans to erect a giant statue of Michael Jackson made from butter at the Iowa State Fair are being put to the vote.
Fair organizers announced their intention to create the butter tribute to the King of Pop just days after Jackson's death.
But the idea has proved so controversial that they are now to hold an online poll to decide whether or not to go ahead with it.
Spokeswoman Lori Chappell says Jackson was to be part of a sculpture commemorating the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's moon landing.
She says because of the overwhelming response about the Jackson sculpture, both positive and negative, the fair are now conducting an online poll.
People can vote at Iowa State Fair
Results will be announced on 17 July, and the fair will run from 13 to 23 August.
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A Leeds student has told how she turned gold panned from British rivers into wedding rings for herself and her new husband.
Daisy Thurkettle-Roper, 25, has bee n panning for gold in Britain since she was a toddler, reports the Daily Telegraph.
"I've kept all the gold I have ever found and there seemed to be nothing more perfect and romantic than using it for our wedding rings."
.
Jackson Butter
Plans to erect a giant statue of Michael Jackson made from butter at the Iowa State Fair are being put to the vote.
Fair organizers announced their intention to create the butter tribute to the King of Pop just days after Jackson's death.
But the idea has proved so controversial that they are now to hold an online poll to decide whether or not to go ahead with it.
Spokeswoman Lori Chappell says Jackson was to be part of a sculpture commemorating the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's moon landing.
She says because of the overwhelming response about the Jackson sculpture, both positive and negative, the fair are now conducting an online poll.
People can vote at Iowa State Fair
Results will be announced on 17 July, and the fair will run from 13 to 23 August.
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