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Melissa Ibbitson, 19, gets through nearly 70 kilogrammes of tomato ketchup every year, working her way through three bottles a week. It’s the equivalent of her own body weight, 69.85kg.

The theology student from Lincoln is so addicted to the condiment that she walks out of restaurants which don’t stock the sauce.

Melissa said, “I started eating ketchup when I was a kid. I can’t remember how it became such an obsession but now I can’t live without it.

“My friends get really embarrassed when I ask for 12 sachets for my meals at the student’s union, and I’ll get extras to take home with me. I eat so much of the stuff — I dread to think what it’s doing to my body.” n

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A concert for swimmers

Wetssounds, billed as an “underwater sound gallery” is making a splash at swimming pools across Britain.

Creator Joel Cahen wanted to explore the differences between sounds in air and water by setting up speakers streaming two different live music tracks above and below the waterline.

Sound travels 4.5 times faster in water than in air, which Cahen believes creates an illusion of the noise coming from inside the listener’s head when underwater.

Music for the project has been written by composer Matthias Kispert whose track about the stock market, “Dark pool”, is performed by seven singers and Beatrice Dillon, whose piece “Two changes” relies on electronic samples and live percussion.

The show kicked off at the Ironmonger Row Baths in Islington, north London and began at Bangor Pool from March 7. It will kick off in Belfast, Ireland from May 4. n

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A snake and crocodile battle

IF you have ever wondered who would win in a fight between a snake and a crocodile — here is your answer …

A 10ft snake, thought to be a python, coiled itself around a reptile and wrestled it into submission. It then dragged the dead animal to the water’s edge and swallowed it whole!

The incredible feat, which took place at Lake Moondarra, Queensland, Australia, was caught on camera by a local, Tiffany Corlis.

The human Etch-a-Sketch

SARAH Beal’s super-sensitive body is just like the Etch-a-Sketch drawing toy, with the images on her skin disappearing within the hour.

Sarah, 43, suffers from dermatographia, which means her skin is so sensitive that even a light scratch causes it to swell up.

The condition can be painful but she also has fun with it by creating pictures which disappear in an hour as a party trick.

The British mum of five said: “My skin is so sensitive that sometimes even clothes can feel uncomfortable. The Etch-a-Sketch comparison is pretty accurate — although I wish a good shake was enough to get rid of the itching.”

The Etch-a-Sketch toy — invented by Andre Cassagnes, who died last year aged 86 — lets you draw pictures using dials then make them disappear by shaking it.

Dermatographia is thought to be caused when the cells under the surface of the skin release histamines under the slightest pressure, causing an allergic-type reaction.