Burglar's car entry plan a knockout
Surveillance video released in February by the Irish Independent showed a burglar trying to break into a car at 1am in front of the Pheasant bar in Drogheda, Ireland, by smashing a window with a brick but the brick rebounded and knocked the man out. Gerry Brady, owner of the bar, was just closing and found the burglar dazed, but the man came round and left before police arrived. Only when Brady later viewed the video of the front of his bar did he realise what the man had been up to. (via newsoftheweird.com)
Purr-fect chill out music
Scientists have developed the purr-fect music for cats after discovering they hate the sound human songsmiths make. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States claim they have composed a tune that has a positive effect on pets. To humans it sounds like a combination of scraping a violin string against a backdrop of purring. But to cats, it's their equivalent of a catchy number, scientists say. The researchers wrote the "cat music" after discovering the human kind had no effect on them, they told the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science. The cat music was deliberately set an octave higher to attract the extra sensitive hearing of the domestic feline and used the tempo of purring to get the right rhythm. They then played snatches of classical composers like Mozart and their own kitten composition to a sample group of 47 pet cats in their own homes. Psychology researchers from the university found the reaction was far more positive to the specially written music than the classical tunes. The findings could be used for rescue shelters, catteries or zoos for those who use music to try to stimulate animals in various forms of captivity. (via Telegraph Group Ltd).
Get on your bike
Matt Hancock writes: "When I first moved to Auckland 14 years ago I drove to work. Within a couple of months I realised sitting in traffic for an hour to and from work was not for me. So, I did what I thought was a rational thing to do, and started riding my bicycle to work. I'm still doing it, only now I also occasionally ride a motorbike. Unless you specifically need a car during your day at work, or you collect children along the way I can't see many downsides to cheaper, faster, healthier transport options."
NZ has helpful angle on Gold Coast's wee problem
A reader writes: Regarding Gold Coast's proposal to apply "anti-peeing paint" to some of its exterior walls, someone worked out a solution to the problem in New Zealand years ago. Public telephones here now include a stainless steel ledge at a level and incline to send a silent message to any man who is tempted to "show Stanley the stainless". No man likes wetting his footwear or feet, so perhaps all Gold Coast Council needs do is ask our bright Sparks how effective their solution has been.
