Apparently ~ He hung out with the Beatles, and his gigs sold out night after night. He shifted millions of records – only the Fab Four themselves had bigger hits in the 60s – and his trademark riffs have been pored over by critics and envious fellow artists alike.

Crazy!

Source: BBC
Link to: Why Ken Dodd has no plans to hang up his tickling stick.

A rover prototype, the Space Exploration Vehicle, has a pressurised cabin, in which crew can live for up to 14 days.

Source: BBC
Read the whole story: A look at Nasa’s rover prototype .

The Vatican has hosted a conference to study the possibility of alien life in the universe and its implication for the Catholic Church.

The study was part of events marking the UN-designated International Year of Astronomy.

The Rev Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, said “the questions of life’s origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration”.

He presented the results of a five-day conference that gathered astronomers, physicists, biologists and other experts to discuss the budding field of astrobiology – the study of the origin of life and its existence elsewhere in the cosmos.

Funes said the possibility of alien life raises “many philosophical and theological implications” but added that the gathering was mainly focused on the scientific perspective and how different disciplines can be used to explore the issue.

Source: Metro UK.
Read the whole story: Vatican looks for alien life.

It was supposed to be an isolated beauty spot in the Canadian lakes – but a stranger still managed to creep into the shot.

The cheeky squirrel jumped into Melissa Brandts and her husband’s picture when they had set the timer on their camera.

Mrs Brandts explained: ‘We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot.

Of the photo in Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park she added: ‘It was a once in a lifetime moment – we were laughing about this little guy for days!”

A woman who authorities say spent more than $2,000 to stage a dinner honouring her as ‘Nurse of the Year’ faces charges, after it turned out she isn’t a nurse at all.

Fifty-six-year-old Betty Lichtenstein of Norwalk, Connecticut was charged on Thursday with pretending to be a nurse at a doctor’s office.

Prosecutors say her employer, Dr. Gerald Weiss, believed Lichtenstein was a registered nurse, especially after she was named the Connecticut Nursing Association’s ‘Nurse of the Year’ in 2008.

According to the arrest warrant, there’s no such thing as the Connecticut Nursing Association.

The state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating after a patient complained about Lichtenstein. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted of reckless endangerment and criminal impersonation charges.

A German cat was rescued just in time after it got trapped in a washing machine that had been set on a hot cycle.

The Hannover fire service says the cat crept into the washing machine and spent the night there after its owner loaded it with clothes.

Unaware that the cat was inside, the owner’s sons switched the machine on Friday morning – choosing the 90°C cycle.

Alerted by loud noises, the boys’ mother discovered the cat and called the fire service. Officers arrived minutes later and stopped the machine. By that time, the water had reached about 30°C (86°F).

The cat was unhurt, but fire service spokesman Martin Argendorf said it was taken to a vet for checks.

Pub landlord Justin Wayman woke up recently to find his beer garden had been invaded by 50 gnomes.

He has no idea how the little visitors got there, but suspects jokers who regularly prop up the bar of the Lamb in Yapton, West Sussex.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw them. It was 8am and I was half asleep and saw all these little eyes looking up at me.

“It was the last thing I was expecting to see.

“They looked like they were having quite a party out there. Nobody has come forward to claim responsibility yet.”

He is now planning to raffle them off for charity.

Tourists are being warned not to fall for the charms of the French chipmunk and attempt to smuggle the animals into Britain.

Scores of the cuddly looking creatures have started appearing in Paris parks but many carry a tick that could cause potentially fatal Lyme disease.

Despite protests, the animals are also on sale in French pet shops priced just £10.

‘There is a particular problem in the woods around Paris, attributed mainly to people who have bought the animals as family pets and then got rid of them. This is just the type of behaviour which will lead to the chipmunk getting to Britain in huge numbers, possibly as early as this summer.’

Siberian chipmunks were first imported from Asia in the 1970s and are now on the EU’s list of the 100 most invasive species.

A man who had been sniffing petrol burst into flames after he was shot with a Taser by police in Australia.

The man, identified as Roland Mitchell, an Aboriginal man from a remote community in the Australia’s western desert, had been sniffing petrol at a house with several others when two police officers arrived and asked him to come out.

According to authorities, he ran outside carrying a lighter and a plastic bottle of what they believed was petrol. When he refused to stop running towards them, police say, he was Tasered by one officer.

Family members who witnessed the incident say that the Taser hit him on the bridge of his nose, and he was engulfed in flames.

A police spokeswoman said that the two officers immediately went to Mr Mitchell’s aid, with the male officer smothering the flames with his arms and the female officer going to fetch water.

Source: Metro (UK).

Three nuns who were pulled over for speeding at 120mph told police they were on their way to see the Pope.

The sisters said they were hurrying towards Pope Benedict XVI’s holiday home after hearing he hurt himself falling over, according to the the Daily Telegraph.

Sister Tavoletta, 56, was driving a Ford Fiesta and two other unnamed nuns, aged 65 and 78, were passengers when police stopped them.

Source and more info: Guardian (UK)