QUIRKY WORLD ... A daily look at some of the world’s stranger stories
Chart-toppers One Direction are revealed as the stars with which the nation wants to spend the next 12 months, after topping the best-selling calendar list.
The heartthrobs — whose Midnight Memories album is at number one — headed the sales top 10 compiled by official licensed calendar firm Danilo for a second year running. They were just ahead of cult computer game Minecraft, which has taken children and young teens by storm.
The 50th anniversary Doctor Who calendar took third place in the chart, compiled from sales through Amazon, HMV, Calendar Club and other retailers. The only other music to figure in the top 10 was Cliff Richard, who took sixth position.
If psychic diva Marcia Fernandes is proven right, millions of Brazilians will be disappointed next July as she forecast a German win in the World Cup final.
“Germany is going to prevail,” the popular medium said in a highly anticipated prediction at Mystic Fair, an esoteric fest that drew more than 40,000 people at an exhibition centre in suburban Sao Paulo.
Prominent Brazilian astrologist Serena Salgado softened the blow somewhat by telling the crowd that hosts Brazil had a good chance of winning the tournament, but she was not as categorical.
“I think that Brazil can conquer the Cup... this is a possibility,” she said, noting that the Selecao were likely to face traditional adversaries such as Italy, Germany, or Argentina.
Brazil will be bidding for a sixth World Cup success when they host the high-profile event for the first time since 1950.
For Germany, victory in the final at Rio’s iconic Maracana stadium would avenge their defeat to Spain in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Although the World Cup forecast was the climax of the two-day Mystic Fair, it was not the main concern of the predominantly female crowd who thronged stands offering free classes on tarot reading, numerology, reiki, and other esoteric practices.
Fernandes, a medium who hosts a wildly popular radio show, said that 2014 would be “a very good year for business, especially April and May, a year of love, a year of marriage” after a tumultuous 2013.
A bird snatched a video camera that was recording crocodiles in north west Australia and took it on a cross-country journey.
Wildlife rangers in the remote Kimberley region released footage that reveals the sea eagle’s flapping wings as it grabs the device and soars across the landscape. The eagle later poses for a ‘selfie’, poking its face into the camera lens.
The camera was found near a river about 110km from where it vanished. The footage inside revealed the real culprit.
If you want to stimulate your toddler’s mind, place the tot in a high chair, provide a plentiful supply of gloopy non-solid food such as jelly or porridge — and stand back.
Scientists have shown that making a mess with food helps small children to learn and is good for their brains.
The approach is most effective when the child is placed in a high chair, which is generally seen as a cue to get messy.
Psychologist Larissa Samuelson, an expert in child learning from the University of Iowa, said: “It may look like your child is playing in the high chair, throwing things on the ground, and they may be doing that, but they are getting information out of those actions. And, it turns out, they can use that information later.”
Previous research has shown that toddlers are quicker to learn about solid objects due to their unchanging size and shape. The mess method helps them identify and name non-solid materials that can be prodded, squished, thrown, and shoved in the mouth.
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