Odd death signal
In a number of Balkan countries, a tub filled with water beside the door is a sign that death has visited the home. It is a friendly gesture meant to placate the Grim Reaper by providing a place where he can wash his scythe. (Via Lindsay Gazette, 1934)
Flyering high
George Arkless was so fed up with the relentless tide of leaflets dumped through his letterbox by a local estate agent that he applied for a judge's order to make it illegal. Now, in the first case of its kind, the agent has been told he has no right of access to deliver the flyers. Arkless, 58, won the case after arguing that the junk mail posed a security risk when he was away from his Essex, UK home.
A judge agreed that the flyers, which were often left hanging out of his letterbox, alerted people to the fact he was out. Arkless also argued that people walking down his path were trespassing: "It's a bit of a hammer to crack a nut but I'm so fed up with these people. I've got a notice on my door saying 'No Flyers' but they still come ... " He complained directly to the Kings Group estate and letting agency but nothing changed. Kings Group were ordered to pay £200 ($382) damages and £50 costs. (Source: The Mirror)
