Bits & Bobs Europe Humour

Belgium Advances!

Quirky news of the day: A local amateur historian taking a walk in forest near to the Belgian village of Erquelinnes discovered two weeks ago that the stone dating back to 1819 had been moved 2.29 metres (7.5ft). The farmer’s perimeter fence had also been shifted. The Franco-Belgian border, stretching 390 miles (620km), was formally […]

Politics UK

John Major Warns….

Boris about Scotland. Another entry in my John Major Warns series (a whopping four entries long now!), a grey Famous Five collection. Delaying a second vote on Scottish independence may be “unwise”, former UK prime minister John Major said – as he warned a “hardline” refusal to allow another vote on the matter for a […]

Environment

Too hot? Open the window

The Guardian reports that the US National Academy of Science has proposed a study of large-scale geo-engineering to reduce the amount of sunlight and heat that is reaching the planets’ surface. Proponents of geoengineering argue that impacts of global heating could be so great that every option to limit these must be explored. Opponents argue […]

Arts Oddities

Exhibition of Unusable Objects

A collection of failures, flops and surrealist design curated by Sylvie Sauvignet is opening virtually in Saint Etienne. From a wavy ping pong table to a watering can that waters itself, some of these items are wonderfully absurd, and some are flawed designs that just didn’t work (like the Delorean). The exhibition has dedicated a […]

Life

Read More, read deeply

Read more, read widely, take time to read deeply. The effects on your brain are good: Different experts disagree on some of the finer details, but a growing body of scientific literature shows that reading is basically an empathy workout. By nudging us to take the perspective of characters very different from ourselves, it boosts our […]