A floor collapsed beneath a group of about 20 members of WeightWatchers as they gathered to compare how many pounds they had shed over Christmas, The Times reports.
Members of the weight-loss club were lining up to compare readings on the scales when they heard a bang as the floor came away from the walls of their meeting room in Växjö in southern Sweden.
They abandoned the room as the floor started to give way in other …

American company called SarcMark invented a written sarcasm icon or a punctuation mark that is designed to be used in the same way as an exclamation or question mark, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Anyone concerned that the irony of their email or text message might not be appreciated by its recipient can use the symbol to close their sentence, thereby avoiding awkward misunderstandings.
The symbol – a dot inside a single spiral line – can be installed …

Ever wondered how would Soviet Union look like today, if it hadn’t collapsed in 1991? Here’s your answer: according to Soviet propaganda in 1959, people would have had free food and cars, spa on Mars, no alcohol, extreme honesty and no crime whatsoever.
Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat (Evening News) found a copy of Soviet newspaper called Komsomolskaya Pravda from the last day of 1959, but dated 1st January, 2010. It was a propaganda statement of how the …

A taxi firm are offering an unusual door-to-door service in a bid to cut drink-driving over the festive season, the Daily Mail reports.
In what is thought to be a national first, Aristacars are offering to tow home cars for motorists who have had too much to drink. The company have bought a low-loading recovery vehicle that people can hire to get them and their vehicle home safely.
The scheme is aimed at a driver who might …

Lotus F1 principal Tony Fernandes and Virgin Racing’s owner Sir Richard Branson agreed that the principal of team that gains less points at next year’s Formula One championship will serve as a stewardess on winner’s airline.
Fernandes, the founder and CEO of AirAsia, said last week that his new Malaysian-backed team had to finish ahead of Branson’s Virgin Racing “otherwise I will retire and kill myself”, Reuters reports.
Branson replied yesterday by suggesting a less painful solution. …

A runaway cat from Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, got on a ferry from Portsmouth and was discovered four days later in Spanish port town of Bilbao.
A ship hand on board the P&O ferry Pride Of Bilbao spotted the cat on the car deck as the ship was preparing to dock in Bilbao yesterday, the Daily Mail reports. The cat, named Sandi, was identified by its microchip and was returned to Portsmouth on board the ferry where he …

An apprentice spy for Israel’s Mossad intelligence service was arrested by police during an abortive training exercise in Tel Aviv, AFP reports.
The novice spy was spotted on Monday planting a dummy bomb under a vehicle in the city by a woman passer-by who swiftly alerted a passing policeman.
It was only after questioning at the the local police station that the rumbled trainee assassin managed to convince his captors that he was indeed a member of …

Here’s a little video of a song called “The London Underground Song” by Amateur Transplants. Enjoy!

The Conservative London Mayor Boris Johnson angered his party leader David Cameron’s inner circle so much with his performance at the Conservative Party conference that one member sent him a text message with a threat taken from The Godfather, The Times reports.
The two most powerful Tory politicians continue to insist that they share a relationship so close that it is characterised by Mr Johnson as “glutinous harmony”, but those relations will become harder today after …

Reportedly, French President Nicolas Sarkozy once told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he “loves” him – but not in a sexual way.
According to Financial Times, Sarkozy told Brown at the height of the global financial crisis: “You know, Gordon, I should not like you. You are Scottish, we have nothing in common and you are an economist. But somehow, Gordon, I love you. But not in a sexual way.”
The quote was recalled by Brown’s …

Since the Nobel Peace Prize is worth about $1.4 (£899,000) and it’s a “Foreign Official Gift”, the money has to be retained by the US Government, New Majority reports.
“The Nobel Committee has created a pretty little problem for White House counsel Greg Craig this morning,” the website says. “The value of the gift is $1.4 million. Technically, it’s a “Foreign Official Gift,” so it has to be retained by the US government.”
The website says that …

The world’s largest sweets’ shop was opened in Dubai on Saturday, by a company belonging to a Singaporean family that operates mainly in the Arab Gulf, Ynet reports.
The new store opened under the brand “Candylicious” at the Dubai Mall – one of the world’s largest shopping centers. The company plans to open another store in Singapore next year.
The store, which offers a wide variety of chocolate-based products, predicts an annual sales revenue of some $10 …

London Mayor Boris Johnson appeared on EastEnders last night, when he popped into the Queen Vic after his bike got a puncture.
Here’s the video of Boris’s appearance:

Indian tourism authorities will be holding English classes for auto-rickshaw drivers in New Delhi as the city prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, CNN reports.
More than 40,000 auto-rickshaws, or motorized three-wheeled taxis, run on the Indian capital’s dilapidated roads.
The city is expected to host around 100,000 tourists during the Commonwealth Games scheduled from 3-14 October in 2010. About 9,000 athletes and officials of 52 Commonwealth countries are likely to participate.
Some 8,000 auto-rickshaw drivers will …

A bar in Newcastle offers people cheap drinks for a £1 entry fee and promises that if one’s not over legal driving limit by closing time, the entry fee will be refunded.
The Trashed event at the Attic is advertised as running every Tuesday, with entry priced at £1 and drinks including sambuca, tequila and ’sourz’ just 50p before 11pm, the Daily Mail reports.
Adverts for the Tuesday night special, dubbed Trashed, say it has one simple …

Twenty short people were ordered to stand behind French President Nicolas Sarkozy so as to make him look taller while delivering a keynote televised speech, the Daily Telegraph reports.
They were bused in after being vetted by aides of Sarkozy who made sure none were taller than his own height of 5ft 5ins.
The extraordinary scenes unfolded at the Faurecia motor technology plant in Caligny, south of Caen, Normandy, last Thursday. Sarkozy looked far more statuesque than usual …