QUIRKY WORLD ... Students want teacher back after nude photo furore

USA: Some South Carolina high school students have started an online petition to bring back a teacher who resigned after a student spread a nude picture of her through text messages and social media.

Union County High School teacher Leigh Anne Arthur, 33, told news outlets she left her mobile phone on her desk as she monitored a hallway during a class change. A 16-year-old boy took her phone, and with his own phone took pictures of nude images of Ms Arthur on her phone, she said.

Ms Arthur said she took the picture to send to her husband for Valentine’s Day.

The petition had 1,300 signatures. But David Eubanks, interim superintendent of Union County schools, said Ms Arthur was in the wrong because the phone was unlocked. Mr Eubanks said he is unsure if the student will face disciplinary action.

Explosive situation

AUSTRIA: The police station in Eisenstadt, east of Vienna, was evacuated after a woman walked in with a live tank shell in her hand.

A police statement says the shell exploded without incident after experts transported it to a nearby sandpit. But they have issued a warning to all not to touch or pick up anything that could be ordnance left over from the Second World War.

The statement says the woman who brought in the shell told police her son had found it over six months ago — and they had been storing it in their garage ever since.

Meth madness

USA: Northeast Ohio police hoping to figure out who left a bag of methamphetamine in a hotel room rubbish bin can say their department feels horrible for the owner’s loss and wants to help.

The tongue-in-cheek message posted to the Macedonia police Facebook page asks the owner to call or stop by to claim them so officers can, in their words, “make your day”.

A photograph shows a bag containing what a detective says is a gramme of high-grade crystal methamphetamine worth as much as $160 (€146).

Police haven’t identified who rented the roomusing a gift card.

Gorilla gene

USA: If the man in your life has gorilla-like tendencies, this could be why: Scientists have discovered a strong similarity between the human and gorilla Y chromosome.

Both have more in common with each other than they do with the same male-specific chromosome in the chimpanzee, our closest animal cousin.

Lead researcher Professor Kateryna Makova, from Pennsylvania State University in the US, said: “Surprisingly, we found that in many ways the gorilla Y chromosome is more similar to the human Y chromosome than either is to the chimpanzee Y chromosome.”

Glass act

USA: Thrill-seekers looking to take their fear of heights to a new level can come to downtown Los Angeles this summer and careen down a clear glass slide atop the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

The “Skyslide” is scheduled to begin sending urban adventurers down the relatively brief ride 1,000ft above the ground in June. It will span 45ft from the 70th to the 69th floor of the US Bank Tower downtown.

Nothing but one-and-a-quarter-inch glass separates riders from the ground, promising to provide both a thrill and quite the view for anyone willing to open their eyes along the way.

On a clear day, the 72-story tower provides panoramic views that extend to Catalina Island 22 miles off the Pacific Coast and over the Santa Monica Mountains to the city’s sprawling San Fernando Valley.