Rare orange lobster released back to sea

A shopper in New York rescued an ultra-rare orange lobster from a grocery store tank and helped return it to the ocean.

Kyle Brancato spotted the lobster, bought it to save it from being eaten, and kept it in a temporary tank until Humane Long Island took over. The group nicknamed the crustacean “Jean-Clawd Van Dam” before releasing it into Long Island Sound.

Orange lobsters are estimated to occur once in 30 million. Researchers believe the colour is genetic, as shown by another rare lobster, Peaches, whose offspring shared the same hue.

Woman breaks neck after forceful yawn

A 36-year-old woman in Milton Keynes nearly lost her life after a powerful yawn caused two neck bones to shift dangerously into her spine.

Hayley Black felt an “electric shock” shoot through her body, leaving her arm frozen in the air. Scans later revealed that her C6 and C7 vertebrae had slipped forward — a rare, life-threatening injury.

Emergency surgery saved her from paralysis, though she was left with nerve damage and spent six months in a wheelchair. Now living with chronic pain, she says she still panics whenever she yawns but is grateful simply to walk again.

Fingernail clippings sold for traditional medicine

What most people throw away as waste is fetching money in parts of China, where fingernail clippings are being used in traditional medicine.

Practitioners say ground nail powder can treat ailments such as abdominal swelling in children and tonsillitis. Producers buy clippings from schools and villages, then wash, dry and grind them for use.

A woman from Hebei recently listed her lifelong collection online, offering it for 150 yuan (£17) per kilogram. Since adults only grow around 100 grams of fingernails a year, supply is scarce and prices stay high. Toenails, however, are strictly rejected by processors.

Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate oddball science

The Ig Nobel Prizes returned to Boston for their 35th year, once again honouring research that “makes people laugh, then think.” Nobel laureates handed out quirky awards across categories like biology, psychology and engineering.

Among the standout winners were Japanese scientists who found that painting cows with zebra stripes makes them half as likely to be bitten by flies, and researchers in Togo who discovered that rainbow lizards at a seaside resort prefer four-cheese pizza over any other flavour.

Other winners included a psychology study linking high IQ scores to short-term narcissism. The “Digestion”-themed ceremony also featured a mini-opera and a talk on how using a smartphone on the toilet might lead to haemorrhoids.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 18th, 2025