QUIRKY WORLD ... A daily look at some of the world’s stranger stories
Pope Francis brought laughter to a crowd of young people when he told them he was not “Tarzan” but gets his staying power during times of difficulty from his faith.
Speaking off the cuff at the end of a trip to Sardinia, he said he had recently marked the 60th anniversary of the day he first felt the vocation to be a priest.
“I have not regretted it. And it’s not because I feel like Tarzan and have the (physical) strength to go ahead,” he said, prompting laughter and applause for comparing himself to the fictional character raised by apes in the jungles of Africa.
“No, I have not regretted it because always, even in the darkest moments, in the times of sin, in the times of fragility, in the times of failure, I looked to Jesus and I trusted him and he did not abandon me. He is a faithful companion,” Francis said.
A 52-year-old classic car with one careful lady owner and only 32km on the clock is expected to fetch between £12,000 (€14,263) and £15,000 (€17,829) at auction.
The rare Triumph Herald is virtually brand new and still has its original 1961 tax disc, costing £15, on its windscreen.
It is set to go under the hammer in Norfolk along with two Triumph Dolomites, each with about 130km on the clock, and a 1960 Triumph Herald which has done more than 6,00km.
They are part of a private collection being sold by East Anglian Motor Auctions in Wymondham.
His compositions have regularly topped classic music charts and opinion polls but Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has also been heralded as the king of council hold music.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request by the Press Association to 150 councils showed more authorities selected the Austrian composer’s work over any other artist to keep taxpayers hanging on the telephone.
The findings came as no surprise to Mozart expert professor Colin Lawson, director of the Royal College of Music: “I think the real reason is Mozart can be listened to at so many different levels. He is at the top of the classical charts regularly. The Mozart phenomenon is an extraordinary thing.”
Couples are to have sex in a soundproof booth and then immediately be quizzed about their session by Mariella Frostrup in front of a studio audience for a new Channel 4 show.
The station said no intercourse or nudity will be seen in the Sex Box programme but the “immediacy” will encourage a more open and honest discussion about their experiences.
The hour-long programme, to be screened next month, is part of the broadcaster’s Campaign For Real Sex season, which will look at the effect of pornography on the love lives of ordinary people around the UK.
East Timor has banned the teaching of a local martial art following deadly gang violence.
At least 12 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in the past two years as a result of fighting among rival pencak silat clubs.
“Any martial arts clubs members that violate the government resolution will be dealt with under the law,” a police spokesman said. There will be “zero tolerance for martial arts activities in the country”.
Bathroom wipes — pre-moistened tissues that are often advertised as flushable — are being blamed for creating clogs and backups in America’s sewer systems.
Water firms say the wipes may go down the toilet, but even many labelled flushable are not quickly breaking down which is costing millions of dollars in extra work unclogging pipes and pumps and replacing machinery.
Manufacturers insist wipes labelled flushable are not the problem, pointing instead to things like paper towels, feminine hygiene products and baby wipes clearly marked as non-flushable.
A small snake found on a Qantas Boeing 747 airliner led to 370 passengers being grounded in Sydney overnight.
Staff found the eight-inch unidentified snake in the passenger cabin near the door before passengers were due to board at Sydney International Airport for a flight to Tokyo.
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