CHAIN SMOKE: A Malaysian teacher forced a student to smoke 42 cigarettes for four hours as punishment after a cigarette and lighter was found in his locker, a news report said. A school official confirmed that the English teacher subjected the student to the unusual punishment, but said the teenager was made to smoke fewer than 42 cigarettes. He declined to elaborate.He said the teacher was upset when she found a model student, 16-year-old Mohamad Alif Arifin, had a cigarette and lighter in his locker in the school in the northern island of Langkawi. —— Msnbc.
RAINING MONEY: California authorities say a man caused a traffic jam when he threw money onto a Los Angeles-area freeway and people dashed into the lanes to grab the cash.Highway Patrol Sgt Kurt Stormes says the man tossed money from his car on Interstate 210 shortly before noon on Sunday, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported. Stormes says about 10 people ran into traffic lanes to get it.Police recovered about US$1 000.Police Lt Steve Hunt says the 56-year-old man told officers he wanted to kill himself and was hospitalised for mental evaluation. —— Msnbc.
BURGLING BRAT: Police investigating a burglary at a kindergarten in Romania were shocked to find the mastermind was a five-year-old boy.Officers in Jirlau, Braila county, were called to investigate the break in after the caretaker found a back window broken.After talking to staff, they discovered all that was missing was part of the nursery’s collection of toys.Detectives questioned neighbours and two boys, aged five and 13, who live nearby, admitted to the crime.The younger boy told police he “missed his toys and just couldn’t wait till school term starts again in September”. —— Ananova. BARGAIN BOOB: Hundreds of holidaymakers struck lucky when they chanced upon a very special offer – a mistake in a hotel booking system which offered a romantic four-star weekend in Italy’s lagoon city of Venice for one cent.The offer, a tiny fraction of the Crowne Plaza Quarto D’Altino’s normal rate of up to US$214 a night, was quickly withdrawn when staff realised the mistake, Italian state TV reported.In just a few hours, some 1 400 nights had been booked under the tariff, costing an estimated 90 000 euros for the hotel, part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group, the world’s largest chain, media reported. —— Reuters.
POISON VEGGIES: A customer shopping at a discount supermarket store in Germany found stems of a poisonous weed in mixed salad bags, triggering concerns about potential health risks, the store said.Traces of senecio vulgaris or common groundsel, that can cause extensive liver damage if ingested in large amounts, were discovered by a customer with a specialised knowledge of plants in a Plus store in the northern city of Hanover. —— Reuters.
TATTOOED FISH: Pet shops in a city in south-west China are offering fish tattooed with patterns and lucky characters intended to bring their owners good fortune and happiness.The Qingshiqiao pet market in Chengdu sells a variety of ornamental “fortune fish” decorated with flowers, rainbows and characters, Huaxi Metropolis Daily reported.Tropical parrotfish are usually used for tattooing, often with the Chinese characters meaning “May your business boom”, the regional newspaper said on its website.A dealer said lasers were used to tattoo the fish. An ordinary parrotfish sells for just 10 yuan (US$1.80) while a tattooed one goes for at least 25 yuan. —— AFP.
