KEY POINTS:
Cam Townshend came home to find a real estate sign for a neighbouring property hard up against his letterbox. "The real estate company had not made any effort to advise us of their intention to have our mail stopped by erecting this barrier in its absurd position," he says. "I can report, however, our postie has overcome this hurdle and the mail still gets through."
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A private detective hid inside a body bag to catch the man who waged a three-year campaign of vandalism against a firm of funeral directors. The bag was put in the back of a hearse, one of a number that had been repeatedly attacked over the years, and for days the detective lay in wait. His perseverance paid off when he caught Richard Bullen stabbing the wheels of the vehicle. Surveillance experts launched the £4000 ($11,000) operation while investigating the hate campaign against the Co-operative Funeral Directors in Portsmouth.
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Inject-a-tan: The Food & Drug Administration has warned a Tennessee company to stop its online sales of Melanotan II, an injectable tanning product that the firm claims is "effective in protecting against skin cancer". The FDA reckons if Melanocorp wants to make such claims about its product it will have to be classified as a drug. While there is no evidence the product is safe or effective for its labelled uses, it does cause the unusual side-effect of increased arousal - in one study, it caused erections in 80 per cent of participants - and reduced appetite, which is why the media promptly dubbed it the "Barbie Pill". (Source: Consumerist.com)
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Yesterday's reader who saw the man walking the dog and failing to pick up dog mess should know that anyone who takes a picture of this offence or even notes down the car registration can inform the council, who can issue a $500 ticket for not cleaning up dog waste, says another reader. "So next time, whip out the mobile phone, take a photo and call the council. My neighbour frequently used the front verge of my house as her dog's personal toilet, until the council contacted her."
