In 2008, a New Zealand couple lost custody of their 9-year-old daughter because they had named her Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. "The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment that this child's parents have shown in choosingthis name," said the Family Court judge. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily." The judge criticised the trend of giving children bizarre names, citing as recent examples Midnight Chardonnay, Number 16 Bus Shelter, and, "tragically, Violence." In 2004, Sara Leisten of Gothenburg, Sweden, sought to name her baby Superman (Staalman) because he was born with one arm outstretched. A judge blocked her effort, claiming the child would be ridiculed in later life. Swedish MPs pointed out that the law is inconsistent, as the names Tarzan and Batman are allowed. In 1995, angry about bank charges, Leeds marketing consultant Michael Howerd changed his name to "Yorkshire Bank PLC Are Fascist B*******." When the bank asked him to close his account, he asked them to repay his balance by cheque in his full new name. In 1867, Godey's Magazine reported that a woman had been fined in London for using unjust weights. Her name was Virtue Innocent.
Save the Children's latest Global Childhood Report shows that in the past 20 years kids' lives have improved in 173 out of 176 countries. Compared with 2000, now there are:
• 4.4 million fewer child deaths per year
• 49 million fewer stunted children
• 130 million more children in school
• 94 million fewer child labourers
• 11 million fewer girls forced into marriage or married early
Met old lady on dog walk. Her dog died two years ago. She found she missed the walk as much as the dog, so she started doing her usual route at her usual time, with a bag of treats, and greets everyone else's dogs instead. I told her she was a Fairy Dogmother. (Via @Lucyvfreeman)
