Man makes "extremely surprising" discovery after cutting his IKEA desk in half

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/man-makes-extremely-surprising-discovery-11912385

Everyone loves a bit of IKEA furniture.
It can completely transform your home without breaking the bank.
Most of us accept that the cheap and cheerful price tags normally mean it's probably not going to be made out of solid oak - but it does the job and it looks great.
But one customer was still surprised when he saw exactly what his IKEA desk was made of.....

Baby Locked In Safe In Niagara Falls Hotel Room

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/baby-locked-in-safe-in-niagara-falls-hotel-room_us_55d65195e4b020c386de2918 The parents of an infant who was locked in a hotel safe in Niagara Falls, Canada, won’t be charged, officials said. The child was placed inside a small safe in a room at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Tuesday by an older sibling during a game of hide-and-seek, and the safe door was somehow locked, NJ.com reports. The parents called hotel employees who opened the safe, which is 20 inches wide, 14 inches tall, and 17 inches deep, according to Newser.

Inspirational

Driver jailed for using bus 'as weapon'

A bus driver who used his bus like a 'weapon' to knock a cyclist to the ground has been jailed for 17 months, a court official said. Gavin Hill was shown on CCTV in an exchange with cyclist Phillip Mead before he lurched the bus sharply into the cyclist's path, throwing him from his bike

Man survives in snowed-in car for two months

A Swedish man who spent two months snowed inside his car as temperatures outside dropped to -30C is "awake and able to communicate", according to the hospital treating him, where stunned doctors believe he was kept alive by the "igloo effect" of his vehicle.

The man, believed to be Peter Skyllberg, 44, who was found near the north-eastern town of Umeå on Friday by passers-by, told police he had been in the car since 19 December without food, surviving only by eating snow and staying inside his warm clothes and sleeping bag.

Dr Ulf Segerberg, the chief medical officer at Noorland's University Hospital, said he had never seen a case like it. The man had probably been kept alive, he said, by the natural warming properties of his snowed-in car which would have acted as "the equivalent of an igloo".

"This man obviously had good clothes; he's had a sleeping bag and he's been in a car that's been snowed over," said Segerberg. "Igloos usually have a temperature of a couple of degrees below 0C and if you have good clothes you would survive in those temperatures and be able to preserve your body temperature. Obviously he has managed to preserve his body temperature or he wouldn't have made it because us humans can't really stand being cooled down like reptiles, for instance, which can change the body temperature."

Two months was at the "upper limit" of what a person would be able to survive without food, added Segerberg.

Skyllberg was found emaciated and very weak by a pair of snowmobilers who thought they had found a crashed car. They dug down through about a metre of snow to see its driver lying on the back seat in his sleeping bag, according to Ebbe Nyberg, a local police officer.

"They were amazed at what they found: a man in his mid-40s huddled inside in a sleeping bag, starving and barely able to move or speak," Nyberg, working in Vaesterbotten county, was quoted as saying.

A rescuer told the local newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren: "It's just incredible that he's alive considering that he had no food, but also since it's been really cold for some time after Christmas."

Police said temperatures around Umeå had fallen to -30C. One doctor, Stefan Branth, said Skyllberg may have survived by going into hibernation mode. "A bit like a bear that hibernates. Humans can do that. He probably had a body temperature of around 31C which the body adjusted to. Due to the low temperature, not much energy was used up."

But Segerberg said he was "sceptical" of this suggestion. "We can't lower body temperature very much. A little bit we can, but if we lower body temperatures more than just a little bit, we lose consciousness and go into a coma," he said, cautioning that it was not his area of expertise.

Skyllberg is being treated in an ordinary ward in the University Hospital, where Segerberg said he was "feeling well". It was unclear how he had come to be stranded in the deserted lane.

Segerberg said that, even in a part of the world where sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow are the norm, this case was unusual. "There have been cases of people caught out in the mountains, and if they can dig themselves down in the snow they are able to survive and be found. But there must be something special in this case."

Lightning kills entire soccer team

All 11 members of a soccer team were killed by a bolt of lightning which left the other team unhurt, a Congolese newspaper has reported.

Thirty other people received burns at the match in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kinshasa daily newspaper L'Avenir said local opinion - known to believe in charms and spells - was divided over whether someone had cursed the team.

The two sides were drawing 1-1 in the match in eastern Kasai Province when the lightning struck the visiting team.

"The athletes from [the home team] Basanga curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed," the paper said.

There was no official confirmation of the report - a rebel war affects much of the east of the country.

In a similar incident at the weekend, a premier league soccer match in Johannesburg was brought to an abrupt end when lightning struck the ground.

Half the players from both teams - the Jomo Cosmos and the Moroka Swallows - dropped to the turf.

Several writhed on the grass holding their ears and their eyes. Spectators and coaching staff ran onto the pitch to help. Fortunately no-one was killed.

Ship wrecks bridge

A cargo ship plowed through a Kentucky bridge, leaving a 300-foot gap in the middle of the structure and carrying off a load of asphalt and metal on the ship’s bow.

The 312-foot-long ship, the Delta Mariner, struck the Eggner Ferry Bridge in Benton, Ky., about 9 p.m. on Thursday. The ship was too tall to pass under the structure, and destroyed two sections of the bridge.

Four cars were on the bridge and 20 workers were on the ship that was carrying rocket parts, but no one was injured.

“We are grateful that this wreck caused no injuries or loss of life. Since that bridge carries 2,800 cars every day, we were very fortunate that no one was on the span at that time,” Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statement. “We’ll turn our attention to a full inspection of the bridge and determine what steps we can take next to speed up the replacement of that important artery.”

Inspectors and emergency responders from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet rushed to the scene to assess the damage.

The bridge was in the process of being replaced.

House made of shredded money

What would you do with $1.82 billion worth of shredded money? In Ireland, people build houses out of it — at least that's what Dublin-based artist Frank Buckley did. The unemployed artist originally wanted to create a gallery for his series of mixed-media artworks called "Expressions of Recession," but he ended up building a house instead.

Buckley has been working roughly 12 hours a day every day since the beginning of December. During the early part of the construction process, he made bricks out of the decommissioned Euros Ireland's mint lent him. In all, around 50,000 money bricks went into building the house that consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room. He plans to continue expanding the house that sits on an empty office building to include a kitchen, a shower, and a patio.

If you're wondering how it feels to live in a house made out of paper currency, he said that it's quite warm inside: "Whatever you say about the Euro, it's a great insulator." Frank is one of the countless people all over the globe affected by recession, and he built the house because he "wanted to create something from nothing." It will take around seven more weeks to complete building his new home, but Buckley (who's been living in the house since December) welcomes any visitor who wants to take a look at his billion-dollar masterpiece.

Student hangs own painting in museum

THE director of a major Polish museum says it was a "witty artistic happening" when an art student secretly hung his own painting in the museum as part of a campaign to open up galleries to young artists.

Director of the National Museum in Wroclaw, Mariusz Hermansdorfer, said he treated the campaign as a joke and has kept the painting on display - in the museum's cafe.

It will be offered for sale at a charity auction.

Last month, Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy student Andrzej Sobiepan put up his small painting of a green leaf in the Polish contemporary art gallery. Museum officials didn't notice the new painting for three days.

He said later he wanted to draw public attention to young artists who are denied exhibition space in museums.

Sobiepan said he was inspired by the elusive British graffiti artist known only as Banksy.

"I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this," Sobiepan told TVN24.

"I want to benefit from them in the here and now."

Goal Balls

In their latest bid to stop people riding on top of crowded trains, railway officials in Indonesia have begun hanging heavy concrete balls over train tracks.

The balls, named by state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api the "Goal Bola-bola" (Goal Balls), are hung on chains from a metal frame much like a goal post, the Jakarta Post reported. Hung slightly only higher than train roofs, they are designed to swing into "anything that happens to be on top of the train."

Each ball is around the size of a grapefruit and "could deliver serious blows to the head," according to the Associated Press.

The first of them were hung this morning near a train station just outside the capital, Jakarta. Others are due to be installed at railway crossings. If successful, Kerata Api plans to expand the scheme, spokesman Mateta Rizahulhaq told the AP.

Soccer trophy run over by bus in Madrid

Chaotic celebrations after Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey fell a little flat when the prized trophy was dropped from the top of the ceremonial open-top bus.

One of the players, Sergio Ramos, managed to lose his grip on the cup after holding it above his head.

It ended up under the wheels of the double-decker bus before being retrieved by police on the ground, who returned it to the bus driver.

Thousands of euphoric fans watched the trophy fall after packing into the Spanish capital to welcome the champions home.

Fined for walking dog while in car

An elderly disabled woman in Wisconsin was ticketed for allowing her dog to walk free without a leash while she drove behind in a car, The Capital Times reported yesterday.

Police said the 70-year-old woman's neighbours had called in about the unleashed dog wreaking havoc in Madison, Wisconsin.

"At the time of the complaints, the officer tried, without success, to contact the pet owner," police spokesman Joel DeSpain told the paper. "Now, after seeing the little white dog strolling down East Mifflin with a car following close behind, it rang a bell and he had the chance to talk to her."

As the officer approached the vehicle, the dog fell back and jumped into the front seat on his owner's lap, the report said.

The woman was slapped with a $114 fine for "permitting a dog to run at large" and given a stern warning not to repeat the mistake again.

Man superglued tiny hat to his head

AN ENGLISH man got himself in a sticky predicament when he didn't quite think through his Halloween costume.

Shawn Merter had a tiny sequinned top-hat to round out his outfit, but rather than tie it on with string, he superglued it to his head.

"I had fabric glue which is washable, but it wasn't sticky enough," he says in the video.

The point at which he realised his mistake is unknown, but the next morning an embarrassed Shawn was in the emergency ward at the hospital to have the formerly fashionable, now ridiculous headpiece removed.

His understanding boyfriend was there to offer support and muffled giggles as the doctor gave him the bad news; the best they could do is cut off part of the hat, leaving the rim stuck to his scalp until it came off on its own.



Source

Cow poop fetish man jailed

A BRITISH man with a fetish for cow manure was beginning a two-year jail sentence today after he was caught sexually pleasuring himself while covered in dung on a farm in southwestern England.

David Truscott, 41, was found naked apart from a single sock by farmer Clive Roth's 16-year-old son last month, on Woodbury House Farm in Penzance, local newspaper The Falmouth Packet reported.

When officers arrived, he was covered in a large amount of slurry and mud and was surrounded by tissues.

It was the third time he was caught in similar circumstances at the same farm. He was previously jailed for offenses linked to his fetish.

Judge Christopher Elwen, presiding at Truro Crown Court, turned down defense calls for a suspended sentence, saying that Truscott had to be jailed for his "bizarre and perverted activities."

Truscott pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching a restraining order and causing harassment.

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Raw Video: Skiing on Watermelons

Watermelon skiing isn't for the faint hearted, nor is it for those with feeble bones. But that's not stopping folks in Queensland, Australia from giving it a whirl.

Britain's unluckiest woman?

A WOMAN who dumped her truck-driver boyfriend for being dull, only to see him scoop a Lotto fortune, has been branded Britain's unluckiest woman.

Kerry Graves, 31, has known self-confessed Mr Boring Matthew Breach, 37, since schooldays.

They were a couple for 14 years but Ms Graves then walked out, telling pals she wanted "lots of sex".

She is now in a dingy bedsit with failed web cafe owner Travis Mains-Marten, 28, and their baby Blake.

Meanwhile Mr Breach, who admits his hobby is sleeping, is working out how to spend his jackpot, which was worth almost $30 million.

A friend said: "Kerry's got to be the unluckiest woman in the country. She was with Matthew through all the hard times and that inevitably caused strains - but after she walked out on him he struck it rich."

His mum Sandra, 67, added: "It's a shame because she was a lovely girl and we really liked her."

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Boy almost buys fighter jet

AN overenthusiastic seven-year-old London boy almost bought his very own real-life Harrier fighter jet on eBay for £69,999 ($113,515).

The British-built Harrier jump jet was for sale on the site - but for a fixed price instead of an auction.

The youngster hit the "buy it now" button to purchase the restored fighter jet, causing his father to quickly apologize to the sellers and tell them his son was not able to buy the aircraft out of his pocket money.

"His dad rang up and profusely apologised to us, so it's still for sale. We've put it on as an auction now so that won't happen again," said a spokeswoman for Jet Art Aviation, of Bradford, central England, which is selling the Harrier.

The British-built jet was integral to the nation's arsenal in the Falklands War, but the Government put the elite fighting machines out of service in 1997.

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Vegetarian couple barred from adopting

A VEGETARIAN couple on the Greek island of Crete has been barred from adopting a child because of doubts about their diet, a local social welfare official said today.

The decision was taken because the would-be adoptive parents, who have gone to court to overturn it, eat no meat or fish and officials feared this regimen would be applied to the child as well.

"We asked the University of Crete medical school on the issue and they said the child's diet must include meat, fish, etc," the head of the city's welfare services, Spyros Epitropakis, said.

"We do not discriminate but we were obliged to check this out. The issue is now in the hands of the judicial authorities," he said.

The university expert whose recommendation was used by the welfare services to reject the application has labeled the affair "unreasonable."

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Mistaken Address

A man from Birmingham,UK, is being plagued by police calling at his house in error, due to an address mix-up.

Matthew Jillard, of Bordesley Green, said he had been visited by police more than 40 times in the past 18 months, often in the middle of the night. He said police confused his house in Repton Road with a nearby address in Repton Grove.

West Midlands Police said it had taken measures to stop it happening again, but Mr Jillard said they had failed.

The 38-year-old labourer said in Christmas week police had mistakenly called at his house five times, disturbing the friends and family he had staying with him, including one call at 0300 GMT and one at 0500 GMT.

"I just don't know what to do. Nine out of 10 times they are really apologetic. When my girlfriend rang Police HQ at Lloyd House the gaffer there said he knew all about it because they had seminars about not getting it wrong. We used to get post for the address in Repton Grove but that has stopped after we contacted them. We've put up signs, we've tried to get them to change their records. Some officers have said it is their sat-nav because they're not always that accurate. I really don't know what more we can do."

A police spokeswoman said: "West Midlands Police can confirm that officers have attended an incorrect address in Repton Road on several occasions. Officers have been in regular contact with the occupier to apologise for the mistakes. A number of measures have been put in place to stop this from happening again."

Streaker tackler gets red carded

A non-league footballer who was sent off for tackling a pitch invader who was dressed in a mankini has escaped a three-match ban. Dorchester Town's player-manager Ashley Vickers, 39, said he thought he was doing the stewards a favour by tackling Alan Young during the match on 7 March.

Vickers said he was "dumbfounded" by the red card and the Conference South club lodged an appeal last week. The FA said the red card still stands but it has withdrawn the match ban.

The organisation said the referee was right to dismiss the defender for violent conduct under the laws of the game but said the circumstances were exceptional - hence the withdrawal of the ban.

The incident happened during Dorchester's game away to Havant and Waterlooville. The score was at 1-1 at the time, with Vickers' team going on to suffer a 3-1 defeat.
Borat film

Pitch invader Mr Young had evaded the attention of three officials for about 30 seconds before he was pulled to the ground. Havant & Waterlooville fan Mr Young admitted he ran onto the pitch for a bet and the club has since been charged with supporter misconduct by the FA.

Mr Young told BBC News last week: "It was only a bit of a joke. We all agreed at my local pub on Sunday I'd do it as a bet. The security there were too slow but Vickers caught me quite well. He should be a rugby player."