Dumb-Ways-To-Die Video Goes Viral – Australia

A cute and funny train safety video has been viewed more than seven million times on YouTube.

The Dumb Ways To Die animation shows how colourful characters pop their clogs in silly ways – bobbing along to a catchy tune in various states of decapitation.

Created for Metro Trains in Melbourne, it aims to warn about the dangers of railways.

A Metro spokesman said: “We’re running this campaign to stop people  doing something dumb and being hit by a train.” See the clip at tntmagazine.com

 

Fine For Calling Kiwi Woman Aussie – United Kingdom

A woman has been found guilty of racially abusing her Kiwi neighbour – calling her a “stupid fat Australian”.

British/New Zealand-born Chelsea O’Reilly was on the receiving end of Czech-born Petra Mills’ drunken rant outside her house in Macclesfield, Chester.

Mills, 31, denied the charges, telling Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court: “Yes, I shouted at her but it had nothing to do with racism. I did not used the word Australian.”

However, O’Reilly said of the incident in September: “Because of my accent there can be some confusion over my nationality. She knew I was from New Zealand. She was trying to be offensive.”

Chairman of the bench Brian Donohue said: “The word ‘Australian’ was used. It was racially aggravated and the main reason it was used was in hostility.”

Mills was fined and ordered to pay costs.

Apes Have A Midlife Crisis Like Men– United Kingdom

Apes go through a similar pattern of behaviour as humans when it comes to the midlife crisis according to a study.

While humans, particularly men, are prone to buying swanky new cars to compensate for reaching middle age, it seems our ape ancestors go through a similar process.

The behaviour of more than 500 captive orang-utans and chimpanzees was monitored over the world.

The results showed that wellbeing in the apes dipped during their middle years – in their late 20s and early 30s – then recovered.

“It reflects some evolved tendency for middle-aged individuals to have lower wellbeing,” Edinburgh Uni’s Alex Weiss said.

 

 

Land Not Ahoy! Maps Wrong About Island – Australia

A group of explorers have ‘unfound’ an island after going in search of land in the South Pacific.

Chief scientist Maria Seton and her crew attempted to sail to Sandy Island, which exists on Google Earth, marine charts and world maps, and allegedly sits between Australia and New Caledonia.

However, they found nothing but miles of ocean.

“We became suspicious when the navigation charts used by the ship showed a depth of 1400 metres in an area where our scientific maps and Google Earth showed the existence of a large island,” Dr Seton, from the University of Sydney, said.

The missing island has appeared in scientific publications since 2000.

 

Woman ‘Used Bones As Sex Toys’ – Sweden

A woman in Sweden has been accused of masturbating with skeletons.

The unnamed 37-year-old has been charged with “brott mot griftesfriden”, which means disturbing the peace of the dead, using the bones as self-pleasuring aides.

Prosecutor Kristina Ehrenborg-Staffas claimed the human remains were used in an “unethical” way.

Evidence for the prosecution allegedly includes a CD with the label, “My necrophilia” and, “My first experience”.

The woman is said to be psychologically able to stand trial and is expected to plead not guilty with the claim she’s interested in history and that she “collected the remains like other people might collect stamps”.

 

Girl Has Arm, Hand Removed From Back– China

A girl in Beijing had surgery to remove a large growth on her back – containing an arm, hand and breast.

The 11-year-old schoolgirl had the remnants of an identical twin removed from her body, a case reported by the medical journal BMJ Case Reports.

Writing in the journal Professor Peng said: “Based on physical examination and imaging findings, a diagnosis of fetus in fetu was made pre-operatively.”

Fetus in fetu is a condition in which parts of an underdeveloped body are found in a living twin. It is rare, but this is the first case of it occurring in a child’s back.

 

Photos: Getty, AAP