Monday 20 October 2014

Doing it like the fishes...

A team of scientists led by an Australian have discovered that the first creatures to have sex were odd little fish called Microbrachius Dicki (no, I’m not making it up) which seems to be the first animal to actually reproduce by, um, coupling…

Usually fish simply put sperm and eggs into the water and let them find their own way to each other, but our Microbrachius Dicki male has a sideways version of genitalia which he could ‘lock into’ the female in a slightly weird sideways mating game.  The female, in turn, was roughly made (like a cheese grater) to ensure that things stayed locked together, like Velcro.  Sadly (but perhaps understandably) this didn’t’ seem to catch on, and fish went back to the spawning method for a few million years until sharks and rays had another go at pairing up.

Everybody seems to have got the hang of it now though, eh?

Monday 13 October 2014

The sweet smell of flowers

OK, so most weddings feature a bouquet or buttonholes in some shape or form.  Now an enterprising florist from Colorado in the USA (where cannabis use has just been legalised) has hit on the idea of incorporating cannabis into her floral wedding arrangements.

Bec Koop used to work in a medicinal cannabis dispensary, so she knows what she's doing.  Her arrangements can feature different types of cannabis buds according to whether you want to wake your guests up or relax them at the end of the party.

Despite cannabis having been legalised in Colorado, not all venues allow it to be smoked, so Bec even hires out a limousine as a private smoking lounge.

I'm not condoning drug use so I think I'll stick to the 'roses and greenery' kind of flower arrangement!



Monday 6 October 2014

What is it about Maidenhead??

You’ll remember back in April, that I reported on Maidenhead being the nookie capital of the UK…

Well, Maidenhead has gone and done it again…  This time it’s the ITALIAN divorce capital of the UK.

It seems that the Italian divorce system is very slow…. so unhappy Italian couples have been paying €4,000 to a Dr Frederica Russo in the UK to get them a divorce after pretending that one of them lives in the UK.  It might have gone on for many more years unnoticed but for an eagle-eyed court attendant who spotted the same address on two separate divorces.  After bringing the matter to the attention of a Judge, more sleuthing was done and it became evident that 178 other couples all lived at the same address.  Which was all the more remarkable when the address turned out to be no more than a mailbox.

DS Jonathan Groenen, the investigating officer, dryly remarked:  “It is not possible for 179 applicants or respondents to reside at this address.  Indeed, given the dimensions of the mailbox it is clear that not even a single individual, however small, could possibly reside in it.”

All of the divorces have now been declared void, and social media is awash with stories of this inevitably reinforcing national stereotypes - Hollywood stars and A List lawyers go to romantic Venice for their wedding, while Italians choose Maidenhead as a passion killer.