Quirky World: Woman ‘fills in the blanks’ on museum artwork
A 91-year-old woman is in trouble with a museum after taking an art work depicting part of a crossword too literally.
Reading-work-piece, from 1965, was created by avant-garde artist Arthur Koepcke. It features the phrase “Insert Words” and was displayed at Nuremberg’s Neues Museum.
Museum spokesman Eva Martin said the woman, visiting with a group of pensioners, filled in blank spaces with a ballpoint pen.
Martin said officials believe the work can be restored. Museum chief Eva-Christina Kraus filed a criminal complaint, saying the case had to be reported for insurance reasons though there was no malicious intent. Police said the woman is being investigated for damage to property.
A kitchen fitter has netted £1m after placing a last-minute bet on Portuguese striker Eder to open the scoring in the Euro 2016 final.
Daman Chick forecast striker Eder would score before anyone else as Portugal beat hosts France to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy at the Stade de France at the weekend. Before kick-off the forward, 28, who failed to find the net during a stint at Swansea last season, was 14,322-1 to score as he did in the 109th minute, as the game went to extra time.
Chick had staked on a goal in the 84th minute, but BetVictor revealed he was the closest to the actual time in its Million Pound Goal competition, which was enough to bag him the cash.
A video of a toddler mimicking Sylvester Stallone’s moves while watching a clip of the training montage in Rocky II has won praise from the actor.
The video, posted on Facebook by an Ohio father, shows the nappy-wearing boy doing one-armed press-ups and pretending to work a speed bag, chop wood, and lift weights in sync with the boxer.
Stallone reposted the clip to Instagram with a note saying “this kid makes me so proud”. He jokes that he may have to fight the boy in Rocky 10.
A collection of Star Wars toys amassed over 40 years from around the world could fetch £500,000 when it is sold at auction.
The pick of the hundreds of toys for sale is a prototype Boba Fett figure which was never put into production as it fired a projectile which could have been a choking hazard.
Specialists Vectis Auctions said the unpainted and crudely-cast figure could reach £15,000-£20,000 when it is sold next week. The collection was put together by a French fan of the films who has previously loaned some of his beloved items to a museum on a rotation but has now decided to sell.
Greece will be recruiting dogs to sniff out potential tax dodgers trying to take cash out of the country, where mass bank withdrawals prompted capital controls last year.
The Finance Ministry said it would be putting together a team to assess tenders for the provision of dogs tasked with detecting cash.
More than €50bn left banks from November 2014 to July last year on fears the country could crash out of the euro. Banking sources estimate that anything between €15bn and €20bn is still being hoarded by Greeks outside the banking system. Tax evasion is still thought to be rampant.
Authorities prefer German shepherds, labradors, or Belgian malinois. A pedigree was not necessary.
Car bear
It’s a locked room mystery with a twist: Instead of a room, it was a car, and instead of a victim, it was an inquisitive bear.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado got a call about the bear who managed to get into a Subaru wagon without breaking any windows. The car’s owner even said all the doors were closed.
The bear got trapped in the car, leaving a pair of deputies to find a way to get it out.
One deputy, who recorded the escapade on his cellphone, decided to open the hatch, while the other stood guard nearby with a shotgun. The bear bounded out, leaving behind some snout marks on a window, a shredded interior, and questions about how the animal got into the vehicle.
An elderly cat is looking for a new home after losing his owner and best friend within a matter of months.
Felix, a fluffy black and white cat, came into the RSPCA’s centre in West Hatch, Somerset, under the charity’s Home for Life scheme after his previous owner died.
Cola, his best friend who came in alongside him, died from a long-standing illness and now Felix has been left all alone. Staff are now determined to find him a new home so he can enjoy his twilight years with new owners.
