Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill April 2009

Filmed over the period of a few months in and around Edinburgh by Dave Sowerby, this video of Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill features probably the best collection of street/street trials riding ever seen. There's some huge riding, but also some of the most technically difficult and imaginative lines you will ever see. Without a doubt, this video pushes the envelope of what is perceived as possible on a trials bike.

Danny MacAskill's mini film, Inspired Bicycles, is third in YouTube's worldwide most viewed on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old street trials biker jumps across roofs, off roofs and even along a spiky railing in the video.

He told BBC Scotland he took it as "the best compliment" that some people thought his stunts were fake.

The force is strong

Eight police officers serving with Scotland's largest force listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms, it has emerged.

Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which features in the Star Wars movies.

The details were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by Jane's Police Review.

Strathclyde was the only force in the UK to admit it had Jedi officers.

Egg Jarping Champion

About 40 people turned up to contend a bizarre Easter-inspired world championship in County Durham. The 26th world egg-jarping championship took place at a Peterlee social club on Monday evening.

The event resembles a game of conkers, with two players clashing the pointed end of hard boiled eggs together to see which one cracks first.

Ann Watson, 65, of Peterlee, won the knockout competition and received a first prize of £75. Ms Watson, who entered on impulse, said: "I was surprised to win - I guess I just had a good egg!"

The event also raised £100 for Macmillian Cancer Support.

Entrants in Monday's event at Helford Road Sports Club in Peterlee, submitted eggs to be hard boiled the day before, which were stamped and locked away. Strict rules are in place to prevent competitors toughening the shell.

Judges especially look out for eggs which have been dipped in beer, brushed with nail varnish or warmed against radiators.

Organiser Roy Simpson, added: "We've been told that egg-jarping is springing up all over the world. We've got ex-pats from the North East organising contests in Majorca and even in Poland."

Russian doctors find tree growing in man's lung

Surgeons in Russia's Urals Region were staggered to find a 5-centimeter high spruce growing inside a man's lung, the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported on Monday.

The discovery was made while Artyom Sidorkin, 28, from the Urals city of Izhevsk, was undergoing surgery.

Sidorkin had complained of extreme pain in his chest and had been coughing up blood, doctors suspected cancer.

"I blinked three times and thought I was seeing things," Izhevsk surgeon Vladimir Kamashev told the paper.

Medical staff believe Sidorkin had somehow inhaled a seed, which later sprouted inside his lung. The spruce, which was touching the man's capillaries and causing severe pain, was removed.

"It was very painful. But to be honest I did not feel any foreign object inside me," Sidorkin said.

Lego Jesus

Parishioners at a church in Sweden celebrated Easter on Sunday by unveiling a 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) statue of Jesus that they had built out of 30,000 Lego blocks.

It took the 40 volunteers about 18 months to put all the tiny plastic blocks together, and their creation shows a standing Jesus facing forward with his arms outstretched.

The Protestant church was filled to capacity with about 400 worshippers on Sunday when the statue went on display behind the altar, and some of the children in the congregation couldn't help but touch the white art work.

Church spokesman Per Wilder said the statue at the Onsta Gryta church in the central Swedish city of Vasteras is a copy of Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen's "Christus" statue on display in Copenhagen.

He also said that even though the statue is all white on the outside, many of the donated Legos that the church received were of other colors and were placed inside.

Polish Drunk Cyclists

Poland's Constitutional Court upheld a ruling this week that drunken cyclists should be treated like drunken motorists and face prison if caught. Two thousand Poles are currently in prison for riding a bicycle whilst under the influence of alcohol.

The ruling has sparked a lively debate about whether cyclists should face such strict punishment. The Constitutional Court ruled that drunken cyclists should be tried as criminals just as drink drivers are.

Under a law passed in 2000, anyone riding a bike under the influence of alcohol faces a fine or up to two years in prison, depending on the level of their intoxication.

Many courts here apply the stricter penalty and the average sentence is 11.5 months imprisonment. Such a state of affairs has been criticised by both the prison service and some judges.

Jaroslaw Sielecki, a 37-year-old judge from western Poland, called it absurd and draconian, adding that it can drag whole families into poverty. He argued that intoxicated cyclists should be treated like drunken pedestrians, who face a fine rather than jail, as both use their own muscles to achieve motion.

The Constitutional Court, however, ruled that cyclists use public roads and are considerably more dangerous because of the speed they can travel.

Rue Matics

Crash test dummy

A Philippine plane with 80 passengers aboard narrowly avoided a crash - after a man teaching his girlfriend to drive sped across the runway as the aircraft landed.

The Cebu Pacific plane briefly touched down at Legazpi airport in the central Philippines on Saturday, but took off again as the van being driven by the couple crossed the runway.

'That van could have turned us into a fireball had I not successfully aborted landing,' said pilot Christopher Nowioki. According to the Philippine Star newspaper, the culprit was actually the son of the airport manager.

It's thought that he may have thought all the flights to the airport were completed for the day, and decided to use the runway to give his girlfriend a driving lesson. However, a recent increase in the number of scheduled flights, combined with poor visibility, caught him out.

His father, Frisco Sto. Domingo, has now been sacked, the Philippine Star reports.

Crockpots

Police in Spain have seized a 'crockery' dinner set made out of 20 kilos of cocaine. Madrid police said that they had detained a 35-year-old man who received a parcel in the mail from Venezuela containing the pretend 42-piece dinner set made up of cups, plates and bowls, which had arrived at his home in Barcelona.

The package, containing 44 lbs of the drug, was sent to Barcelona from Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city, via London in the middle of February. Police suspect the man had been recruited by a Venezuelan drug trafficking gang to receive the package which he was supposed to hand over to members of the group who would then extract the cocaine so it could be packaged and sold.

Barcelona has been the scene in recent days of several creative attempts to smuggle cocaine into Spain, the main entry point for the drug into Europe.

Tongue insured for $14m

The tongue of the chief coffee taster for a worldwide chain of coffee shops has been insured for £10m ($13.95m).

Gennaro Pelliccia personally tastes a sample of each batch of raw coffee beans at its London plant before they are roasted and shipped to its stores.

"My 18 years of experience enable me to distinguish between thousands of flavours," he says.

Costa Coffee, which sells 108 million cups of coffee worldwide each year, aims to double its number of outlets.

The insurance policy was taken out with Lloyds of London.

"The taste buds of a Master of Coffee are as important as the vocal cords of a singer or the legs of a top model, and this is one of the biggest single insurance policies taken out for one person," said a spokesman for Lloyd's broker Glencairn Limited, which arranged the insurance cover.

"In my profession my taste buds and sensory skills are crucial... and allow me to distinguish any defects," said Mr Pelliccia.

Gay Ducks

Keepers at a bird sanctuary in West Sussex hoped that the last remaining female Blue Duck in the country - called Cherry - might mate with either of the drakes, Ben or Jerry.

But neither male duck appeared interested and are now inseparable at the Arundel Wetland Centre, leaving Cherry to her own devices. Centre warden Paul Stevens said he was disappointed that efforts to produce new Blue Duck offspring had failed but said the two male birds made "a lovely couple".

"They stay together all the time, parading up and down their enclosure and whistling to each other as a male might do with a female he wants to mate with," he said.

"People who visit the centre think they're a fantastic couple, without really coming around to the idea that they are two males. They both have very big personalities and people come from all over the country to come and see them. Cherry doesn't seem bothered by it, she's just happy to keep herself to herself."

Blue ducks originate from New Zealand but there were thought to be just three birds in the UK. Keepers initially introduced Ben to Cherry, but neither seemed keen. They then brought Jerry down from a sanctuary in London.

Mr Stevens said: "Cherry showed some interest in him. She displayed typical mating behaviour - she approached him and called to him, she even looked like she was nesting.

"We thought it was great and it was all going to happen but nothing ever did."

Mr Stevens said the male ducks were then placed in the same enclosure: "To our surprise the two males really took to each other and it was obvious that they really liked each other.

The long and short of it ...

A pony with short legs and a long body has caused numerous people to call the emergency services in England, in the mistaken belief she is stuck in the mud. Hampshire fire crews were last alerted on Tuesday as Mayflower was grazing by the River Test in Southampton.

An animal rescue expert said Mayflower seemed to be a cross between a Shetland and a New Forest pony, making her look like a "sausage-dog horse".

Her owner is now considering erecting signs advising passers-by.

Rescue specialist Anton Phillips said Mayflower could appear to be stuck in mud as she was half the height of other nearby ponies.... "We have been called out several times for the animal now and it is getting a bit ridiculous. We are changing our mobilising policy for this particular area now and in future we will only send out an animal rescue specialist to evaluate the call-out before sending a full team out," he said.

"These calls from the public are with good intent. When viewed at long range, this pony looks like it is trapped, particularly if it is standing still next to its mates which are twice its height."

Bush "shoe thrower" Jailed

An Iraqi journalist hailed as a hero in the Arab world for throwing his shoes at former US President George W Bush has been jailed for three years.

Muntadar al-Zaidi had told the court his actions were "natural, just like any Iraqi" against a leader whose forces had occupied his country.

Shoe hurling is a grave insult in Arab culture, but Mr Bush - on a farewell trip to Iraq - shrugged off the attack.

Defence lawyers described the sentence as "harsh" and said they would appeal.

The head of Zaidi's team Dhiaa al-Saadi said the sentence was "not in harmony with the law" because his client had not meant to cause injury, but rather to express contempt

Man vs Truck vs Train

There’s luck, and then there’s the luck Turkish haulier Cem Tokac has.

Tokac was waiting by a rail line for a train to pass, when a truck drove in front of the train next to where he was standing. The train hits the truck, and the truck hits Tokac, who goes straight to the ground.

His injuries: cuts, bruises, and probably a soiled pair of pants.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV at two different angles. Watching it you just can’t believe that he walked away.

Can you break a $1,000 ?

Three teenagers fell foul of the law after ignoring one of the cardinal rules of safe-robbing: if you try to use the money you've taken from the safe, make sure that it's not antique bank notes that haven't been printed in over 60 years.

According to authorities, the teenaged friends allegedly stole the safe containing the bank notes last Thursday from one of their parents in Texas Township, which (confusingly) is in Michigan.

They then drove south in a stolen van, eventually winding up around 600 miles away in Birmingham, Alabama. That's where the 18-year-old member of the party tried to exchange a $1,000 bill at a bank.

Unfortunately for them, the U.S. Treasury hasn't printed $1,000 bills since 1945.

The bank called police, who arrested the 18-year-old and his 15-year-old friends. They remain in custody, waiting to be taken back to Michigan.

Caving in

A family that is living in a cave to see out the recession may be booted out after falling back on payments. Curt and Deborah Sleeper bought the three acres property and a cave in Festus, Missouri after they spotted it online.

They fell in love with the unique geography of the old mining cave and figured out how to build a house inside it.

But they've got a big payment coming due on the property and don't think they can afford it. If they can't secure new financing, they've got a backup plan - auctioning their cave home through eBay. Bidding starts at $300,000.

"I get the financing, or I sell the property, or I lose everything," Curt Sleeper, a self-employed Web designer and small business consultant, said while giving a tour of the home.

Inside, the walls and ceiling are comprised of the natural cave stone. Three large dehumidifiers keep the interior from getting too damp or musty.

Curt Sleeper said there are no bats in the cave, and no bugs beyond the normal stuff. "Nothing a cat or two won't handle," he wrote on a Web site.

One plus to living in a cave is climate control. The cave is at a constant 62 degrees. In fact, the home doesn't even include a furnace or air conditioner.

Sleeper said he'd never want to own a traditional house after his time in the cave home.

"I'd never live in a box again," he said.

Pee charge

Irish budget airline Ryanair has said it is considering charging passengers for using the toilet while flying. Chief executive Michael O'Leary told the BBC that the Dublin-based carrier was looking at maybe installing a "coin slot on the toilet door".

Consumer group Which? said the airline was putting "profit before passengers". Ryanair's PR chief Steven McNamara later played down the idea, saying: "I don't think it's going to happen in the foreseeable future".

"Will it happen long-term, I'm not really sure," he said.

"It's one of those things that when Michael starts looking at something, you know, it's always up for discussion."

Last week Ryanair confirmed it planned to close all of its airport check-in desks by the end of the year in a bid to reduce the cost of its flights.
Ryanair aims to offer low basic ticket prices, and then charge extra for items such as checking in at the airport or for additional luggage.

"One thing we have looked at in the past, and are looking at again, is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door, so that people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in future

Robber applies for police job

A man suspected of robbing a California store has landed in custody after turning up to take a police entrance examination in the same town.

Chula Vista police realised Romeo Montillano was a suspect in the December robbery when he signed up for a police test two months later.

Detectives doubted he would show up after he phoned in from Las Vegas to say he was having car problems.

But he arrived on time, by bus, only to be arrested by astonished officers.

Detectives were waiting at the registration table when he walked up and signed himself in as Romeo Ogilve Montillano, Chula Vista police spokesman Bernard Gonzales was quoted as saying by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Momentarily stunned, they called Mr Montillano out of the exam room and into a nearby office, where they arrested him for the robbery of the town's KMart discount store on 8 December last year.

In the robbery, a man stole a TV set, a DVD player and a telephone from the store, according to reports in the Union-Tribune.

During his arrest, Mr Montillano asked if he would still be able to take the exam.

When told that he could not, he then asked if he could re-apply and maybe take the test later, Mr Gonzales added.

Romeo Montillano was arrested for investigation of robbery, making criminal threats and grand theft, and remained in jail on Saturday in lieu of $110,000 (£77,000) bail, the Associated Press reports.

Potty

A cannabis grower let police in on his secret hobby after posting home videos of the crop on YouTube. The 25-year-old was arrested after officers saw footage on the website documenting the stages of growth at his home in Bridgwater, Somerset, UK.

The man made his arrest even easier after using his real name as his "internet handle".

Police searched the house and seized one large cannabis plant and associated hydroponics equipment used to maximise heat and light conditions.

PC Adrian Peck, of Avon and Somerset police, said: "The male had been videoing the growth of the plant over a number of months and uploading his horticultural endeavours onto the site to document it - providing us with fairly conclusive evidence.

"The cultivation of cannabis is illegal. If you break the law and are foolish enough to then advertise your criminal activities on the internet, it makes it very easy for the Police to catch you."

Police said the cannabis produced by the single plant could have had a potential street value of up to £500 ($750); both the plant and growing equipment will be destroyed.

The man admitted the offence of cultivating cannabis, now a Class B drug, and received an official police warning.

The force said it was not its policy to release the names of people who are warned.

Smashing

A Queensland man has broken his own world record by smashing 47 watermelons with his head.

The four-day Chinchilla Melon Festival began on Saturday in Queensland's southern inland.

Festival president Jason Johnston says 29-year-old John Allwood set a record last year by using his head to break 40 melons in one minute - and he smashed that number this year.