The weekly weird

Published September 20, 2014

Walking lane for ‘zombie pedestrians’

TROUBLE walking down the lane where you bump into other people while texting on your cellphone? Well here is a solution. A special walking lane for (‘zombie pedestrians’) people hooked to their mobile phones has been introduced in Chongqing, China.

Over 100ft of pavement on Chongqing has been marked with special paint to direct people who just can’t take their eyes off the screens. Now pavement along Foreigner Street has the word ‘cellphones’ painted on the ground along with arrows that mark out a separate walking lane. And in the next lane, a ‘no cellphones’ sign marks out a clear pathway for those who are in a rush.


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Fossil named after Mick Jagger

A NEWLY-UNEARTHED prehistoric beast has taken his name from 71-year-old, Mick Jagger. Scientists who found fossils of the Jaggermeryx naida — or Jagger’s water nymph — in Egypt gave it its name because it had huge lips like the singer.

Anthropologist Dr Ellen Miller team said in a study the 19 million-year-old creature’s jaw bones suggest it was the size of a small deer and looked like a slim hippo. They believe it belonged to a family of hoofed animals called anthracotheres.

Gregg Gunnell, co-author of the study published in the Journal of Palaeontology, said: “The animal probably had a muzzle and mobile and tactile lips, thus the Jagger reference.”

Geological data suggests the desert where it was discovered was a swampy tropical in the creature’s time.


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Woman having 300 lifelike dolls

LITTLE girls usually love dolls and often possess a huge collection but to 36-year-old Marilyn Mansfield, dolls are like her children.

Marilyn’s obsession has gone so far that she has spent thousands of pounds on her 300 dolls’ collection which has taken up most of the space in her home. Marilyn can often be found walking the streets of New York with a pram full of the inanimate figures and she admits that her obsession for the plastic babies started when she was a child.

“I’ve been fascinated with dolls since as early as I can remember — when I was two-year-old I had a cookie monster dolls and wouldn’t let it go.”

Marilyn’s husband, Zoth is very supportive of his wife’s bizarre obsession and the house is never too full for a new addition to the family.


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Fat cat starts fitness regime

OBESITY is one of the biggest problems around the world. Wait a minute... we are not talking about obese people here, but about obese pets! You will be astonished to read that this feline weighs 23lbs, that is more than 10 kilogrammes.

This 10-year-old cat, aptly named King Leo, was found on the side of the road in Nashville, Tennessee, with severely matted hair it was taken to Cat Shoppe Rescue where he received care, before being adopted by veterinary technician, LaTisha Lampley who gave him a trim and is working on reducing his weight.

King Leo’s health is now being monitored, and he is going through a physical therapy regime that includes water treadmill sessions. It is believed that King Leo must have fallen on some tough times before he was found, and animal rescue workers believe his unhealthy weight was a form of abuse by his old owners, however, LaTisha says he is a perfect happy cat.

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