Man eats live snakes over a beer 男子配啤酒生吃活蛇

A Chinese man says he likes to relax by eating live snakes and washing them down with beer.

Wen Xide, 41, of Wangzhuang village, Zhumadian, says he has been eating live snakes for 10 years.

He started by eating one to win a bet with friends for a packet of cigarettes.

"From then on I became addicted to eating live snakes," he said.

Wen demonstrated his habit to a visiting journalist from Oriental Today by chewing down two live snakes bit by bit over a bottle of beer.

"It's a bit smelly, but they're very delicious," he exclaimed - although watching villagers said the sight gave them goosebumps and two vomited at the scene.

Wen says his son is now following his lead and has eaten eight live snakes this year.

But Wang Tianming, a doctor specialising in digestion at a local hospital, said Wen could suffer nerve problems and risked infection from parasites. (Oriental Today)

Schoolboy tycoon makes £30k a month 英少年大亨月賺近150萬台幣

A schoolboy is raking in £30,000 (逾148萬台幣) a month from a business he runs in his spare time.

Gary Cooper, 16, employs four staff selling mobile phones and gadgets on the internet, reports The Sun.

During the day he studies for four A-levels at Southend High School for Boys in Essex. But before and after lessons he runs his business.

Gary, who believes the firm will make its first £1million in a few years, pays himself £500 a month and is saving for a speedboat.

He said: "My staff look after day-to-day running. That leaves me free to oversee major items and get school work done."

Gary, from Benfleet, Essex, even has a deal with Southend United FC to put his firm's name GC's PCs on the scoreboard. (The Sun)

Boy, 9, writes book on how to talk to girls 9歲男童出書教人泡妞

A nine-year-old boy has had a book published in the US - called How to Talk to Girls.

Alec Greven's book began life as a creative writing project in school at Castle Rock, Colorado.

His handwritten pamphlet was then sold for $5 at a school book fair where it was the surprise bestseller.

Local news outlets took up the story, Alec was then invited on to a TV talkshow which led to him sealing a publishing deal with HarperCollins.

And his book is now available as a 46-page hardcover version across the US.

"I saw a lot of boys that had trouble talking to girls," Alec told the New York Post's Jennifer Fermino. "If I say hi and you say hi back, we're probably off to a good start," he said.

His advice to boys includes - stop showing off, go easy on the compliments and be wary of "pretty girls".

"It is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewellery," he writes in chapter three. "Pretty girls are like cars that need a lot of oil."

And he continues: "The best choice for most boys is a regular girl. Remember, some pretty girls are coldhearted when it comes to boys. Don't let them get to you."

Alec's mother, Erin Greven, says her son's insight is down to his avid reading: "He reads non-stop. At dinner, I say, 'Put your book down,' " she said. (roundup)

Walrus plays the saxophone 海象吹薩克斯風

A walrus has become a star attraction with visitors at a zoo in Turkey by learning to play the saxophone.

Under the direction of her trainer, Sara the Walrus grips the brass instrument between her flippers and blasts out a note.

Russian trainer Sergiy has also taught her to strike a nonchalant pose, leaning on a worktop with one flipper under her chin and looking bored.

Sara's skills at mimicking humans extend to dressing up as a railway platform conductor and blowing a whistle.

Sara is delighting onlookers with her routines at Istanbul Dolphinarium in Istanbul which opened its doors this week. (roundup)

Britain's oldest newly-weds 英國年紀最大的新婚夫婦

A Devon couple with a combined age of 179 have become Britain's oldest newlyweds.

John Dawkins, 89, and his bride Penny Cooper, 90, wed nine months after she took advantage of a Leap Year and proposed to him, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The wartime navy veterans have become the most senior sweethearts in the country to exchange vows, according to Statistics Authority records.

Mr Dawkins, of Exmouth, said: "It is a wonderful thing to love. It gives me a great amount of pleasure to be with her.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, I would have been a very grumpy old man if I had not met Penny."

The couple, who fell in love after meeting nine years ago, are now settling into happily married life.

Mr and Mrs Dawkins were married at Honiton Register Office, Devon, and the service was attended by their family of four children, five grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

It was their joint navy background which finally brought them together at a charity social event in Exeter in 1999.

Mr Dawkins was urged by his friends to strike up a friendship with his new wife but says he didn't need much encouragement.

He said: "She was the most beautiful young lady in the room." (Daily Telegraph)

Farmer builds 26 robots 大陸農民建造26個機器人

A Chinese farmer fascinated by technology has built himself 26 robots over the past 30 years.

Wu Yulu, 46, who has only a basic school education, designs the robots himself and builds them from scrap materials.

"When I was 11, one day I was sitting on the doorstep, and while watching villagers passing by I suddenly came up with the idea of building a machine that walks like a man," he told the Beijing Times.

His first robot took several years to build and could only shuffle along in small steps as it could not raise its legs.

But his designs became more and more sophisticated, and he has built robots capable of climbing walls, serving water, lighting cigarettes, playing musical instruments and writing calligraphy.

Wu, who lives near Beijing, sees all the robots as his sons, and names them according to the order in which they were invented, from Wu No.1 through to Wu No.26.

"They are all my sons, so they must bear my surname," he said.

Out of all of his mechanical 'sons', Wu says he loves Wu No.25, a robot which can pull a rickshaw, the best.

Each day, Wu No.25 pulls his inventor around the local area. It can walk for up to six hours on one battery charge.

Wu says he has to sell off some of his robot collection after plunging his family into debt by spending up to two-thirds of his monthly income on his obsession. (Beijing Times)

Cheerleading nuns 修女啦啦隊

Basketball fans in Italy say they have been converted after watching a new group of cheerleaders made up of nuns.

The sisters, along with monks and priests, used special dance routines to disco music to wow crowds at a match in Sassari, southern Italy.

A video clip of the routine - shown on You Tube - shows the dancers in traditional robes and habits dancing in the middle of the court.

"You wanted us to speak your language - well here we are," choreographer Father Steven told the audience.

Now the troupe is on a tour of Italian discos and nightclubs to spread the message of Christianity to young people. (Ananova.com)

Man granted divorce for mother-in-law's nagging 岳母太嘮叨 男子獲准離婚

A hen-pecked husband (妻管嚴或家有母老虎的先生) has been granted a divorce in Italy because his mother-in-law keeps nagging him.

Shopkeeper Luca Rossi, 36, told the court in Salerno that his wife's mother didn't leave him alone throughout four months of marriage.

"I'd never believed stories and jokes about mothers-in-law but my marriage was hell and it was all her fault," he said after the hearing.

"It was hell right from the moment we said 'I do' at our wedding until the moment we split, just because my mother-in-law interfered in every single thing in our lives.

"It was impossible. It led to one argument after another and there was no way a marriage could survive after that."

Rossi said he would consider marriage again - but only if he did not have to deal with a mother-in-law.

"Next time I'm hoping to find a girl who's an orphan," he added. (ananova.com)

Woman arrested for calling Japanese police 7,177 times 日女子狂打7,177通電話給警方而被捕

Japanese police arrested a woman for making more than 7,000 emergency telephone calls because an officer did not take her initial complaint seriously, a police spokesman said.

The 38-year-old was arrested on November 4 on charges of obstructing police work, a police spokesman in western Osaka said.

She made 7,177 calls during the day or night between September 14 and October 13 this year, sometimes shouting "drop dead" at police, he said.

The woman first called in 2005 to say she had been hit by a man, but the officer who answered her call "did not take the allegation seriously, because what she said was hard to understand," he said.

"She apparently had a grudge against police officials," he said. (AFP)

Man builds Lamborghini in cellar 美男子在地窖自製藍寶堅尼跑車

A US man who built a Lamborghini sportscar in his cellar had to dig into the foundations of his house to get it out.

Ken Imhoff began building the sportscar after falling in love with it during the movie Cannonball Run, reports the Daily Telegraph.

But it took him 17 years to build his own version of the car in the basement of his home in Wisconsin.

However, when he finished assembling it, he was confronted with the problem of how to get the car out.

He had to hire an excavator to gouge out a slope in his garden and then dig down into the foundations of his house. The car was then hooked up to the excavator and pulled out.

Despite the amount of effort involved, Mr Imhoff said that it was all worth it.

He said: "I was like an expectant father watching it come through the wall. I was literally shaking and running the supposed plan over and over in my head. 'Have I overlooked anything? Is some of the wall going to fall on my work of seventeen years?'

"The neighbours started gathering around as it emerged, waiting for me to remove the blankets. It was like an artist unwrapping his masterpiece. I had never seen it in the light of day either.

"As the last blanket and car cover were removed I knew at that moment I had accomplished what I had dreamed about so many years ago and to see it sitting there in front of me was surreal.

"The next day we filled the hole in the basement with new blocks. In no time it was good as new." (Daily Telegraph)

Teen's 'fantastic' new name 19歲少年的新怪名

A Somerset teenager has changed his name to Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined.

Music graduate George Garratt, 19, changed his name by deed poll online for £10, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Captain Fantastic said: "I wanted to be unique. I decided upon a theme of superheroes."

He joins a number of people with unusually long names, including Rhoshandiatellyneshiaunneveshenk Koyaanisquatsiuth Williams, a girl born in Texas in 1984.

The teenager, from Glastonbury, added that while he thought the new name was "crazy", his grandmother was no longer speaking to him. (Daily Telegraph)

Daredevil fisherman 不怕死的釣客

A daredevil angler who fishes while balancing on a narrow pipe high above a river is attracting crowds in China.

People who gathered around Tuoban Bridge, in Nanjing, were amazed to see the young man's technique, reports Modern Express.

They were were even more amazed to discover that he was fishing without any bait, but simply dropping his hook into the water to catch fish.

Within half an hour, the young man had already caught four fish. His partner on the bridge said with pride that no fish were safe when his friend goes fishing.

The fisherman told onlookers he was a wholesaler at a nearby market who had come fishing for fun because business was slow.

Responding to concerns about his safety, he added: "I have a good sense of balance. And anyway, I'm a good swimmer!" (Modern Express – 現代快報)

Man puts wife up for sale 男子在中古車網站賣妻

A Romanian man has put his 25-year-old wife up for sale on a website specialising in used cars.

Alex Cretu, 20, who lives in Bucharest, hoped to get around £4m but has lowered his price to £3,000 for a quick sale.

His ad on www.okazii.ro reads: "Wife for sale. Model 1983, good condition. Full option, nice suspensions, spacious boot, second owner.

"Price is negotiable, comes with three-year-old and five-year-old accessories. Seriousness demanded."

Alex says he placed his ad on the site partly because he had got fed up of his wife nagging him all of the time and partly as a joke.

He said he waited until his wife left for a job in Spain so as she wouldn't know about the sale.

He had received a number of offers but none were acceptable so far as the potential purchasers either offered too low a price or wanted to buy her in instalments. (Roundup)

Virgin at 105 105歲的老處女

A Cornish woman says she is still a virgin - at the age of 105.

Clara Meadmore says she decided as a child never to wed or have sex - and insists she has never missed it.

She told the Daily Mirror: "I've just never been interested in or fancied having sex. I imagine there is a lot of hassle involved and I have always been busy doing other things.

"I made my mind up at 12 never to marry and I've not gone back on that."

Clara, born in 1903, instead spent her youth in Egypt, Canada and New Zealand before coming home in her 20s to become a secretary.

She added: "I've never had a boyfriend or been bothered about relationships. When I was a girl you had sex only with your husband.

"I've had lots of platonic friendships with men but never felt the need to go further."

Clara now lives in a nursing home in Perranporth, Cornwall, and spends most of her time glued to Radio 4.

Best pal Josie Harvey, 72, who visits daily, said: "You're as young as you feel. Clara is by no means 105 in many ways.

"Maybe never having a man under her feet has kept her young all these years." (Daily Mirror)

Man catches bullet in teeth, spits it out 男子用牙齒咬住射來的子彈，然後吐掉

A Croatian man has impersonated Superman by catching a bullet in his teeth and spitting out the hot lead.

Just like in the comics his attacker fled.

The drama occurred after Stipe and Mirna Cavlovic, both 37, got caught up in a row between two men. One of the men fired at the couple but the bullet ricocheted off Mirna's cheek and got stuck in Stipe's false teeth.

The surprised Stipe then spat out the hot bullet, terrifying his attacker, according to Telegraph.co.uk.

I thought I was dead for sure," he told police. "I didn't even see the bullet hit my wife. I just saw the flash of the gun's barrel.

"The next thing I knew was something hit my false tooth and I spat out the hot lead. It hurt like hell but we're both still alive."

Police believe he survived because the bullet lost so much speed when it grazed Marla's cheek. She was also uninjured.

The 58-year-old gunman was arrested. (Metro.co.uk)

Girl, 16, is UK's youngest pilot 16歲少女成為英最年輕駕駛員

A 16-year-old schoolgirl has become Britain's youngest qualified pilot.

Sally Cluley passed her flying test at the end of August, but must wait until her birthday next week to be handed a private pilot's licence as 17 is the minimum age.

She told The Sun: "I'm going to stay on at school to finish my A-levels. Then I'd love to try to join the RAF. I'd consider becoming a commercial pilot if I don't make the grade with the RAF."

The teenager, who has racked up nearly 50 flying hours, joined 1947 training squadron at RAF Birstall near her Leicester home in 2006.

She took the test to gain her wings in a Piper Cherokee at the POM flying school, Humberside.

Sally added: "Flying just seemed to come naturally to me. It makes me feel as free as a bird."

RAF Birstall is part of the Air Training Corps, the world's largest youth air training organisation.

ATC Commandant Air Commodore Ian Stewart said: "We are all extremely proud of what Sally has achieved. She will do well in whichever career she chooses." (The Sun)

Still climbing trees - at 90 90歲仍在爬樹

An elderly Chinese man is still climbing trees - at the age of 90.

Gu Quanxi, of Xiabao village, Baoding, says tree climbing is the best thing in his life, and there's no tree he can't climb.

"My family was very poor when I was a child, so I climbed trees each day to fetch leaves to make food for the family," he told Yanzhao Metropolis News.

"Now my family prohibits me from climbing tall trees, and they ask me to use a ladder to climb even shorter trees."

However, he revealed that he often wanders to the mountain side alone and climbs 30ft-60ft high trees to satisfy his addiction.

Gu said the 40-year old walnut tree in his family yard has also been a good playground over the years.

"Each year, the job of climbing and harvesting the nuts is all mine," he added. (Yanzhao Metropolis News)

Boy, 5, blew £60,000 at shops 5歲男童購物花掉6萬英鎊

A five-year-old boy went on a £60,000 (台幣逾335萬元) shopping spree after finding a fortune in cash in his dad's safe.

The boy took a gang of friends to a shopping mall and blew the lot on clothes, toys, bicycles, sweets, computers and games.

His father Slobodan Markovic, a Serbian businessman, kept the money in a safe at home, only realised what had happened when his son and his friends came home with dozens of shopping bags.

He said: "I must have forgotten to lock the safe and he just saw the money and took it. I have asked the police to investigate because it is unbelievable that the shop owners let such a young boy do this."

A Belgrade police spokesman confirmed they are investigating Djodja Markovic's spending spree. (Ananova.com)

Graduate shuns £100k a year job 英女碩士棄年薪10萬英鎊工作 寧願當泥水匠

A student has turned down a £100,000-a-year job offer so she can train as a plasterer.

Gemma McCoyd recently graduated with a first-class masters degree in maths, but has shunned a lucrative offer to become an actuary for a top London firm.

Instead, the 24-year-old has enrolled on an advanced plastering course.

Gemma, from Halstead in Essex, got interested in plastering on an art course while studying for her degree in the US.

She told The Sun: "If I was an actuary I could earn £100,000 a year. Instead I earn less than £6,000.

"Some people say I'm crazy but I have to do what I love or I'll always regret it. I didn't want to sit in an office bored out of my mind. This is what I'm passionate about."

Ms McCoyd is the only female in her 30-strong class at Leicester College.

She told The Times: "I'm still not the fastest, but I've actually become the best. When I do a job I charge by square metre rather than by the day, so the customer knows they're getting a job well done."

Ms McCoyd, who is dyslexic, plans to specialise in restoration.

"The parts of the course I enjoy the best are intricate things like fibrous plastering, cornices, coving and fireplaces," she told The Times. (Roundup)

Home-made submarine 陸男無師自通 在家造出潛艇

A Chinese labourer with only a basic school education has made a submarine at home.

Tao Xiangli made the 1.6 tonnes submarine mostly from metal barrels and improvised parts by hand, reports Zhong'an Online.

"Metal barrels are possibly the best material for me because of their low cost," said Tao, a migrant worker in Beijing.

The 20ft submarine is cramped inside with room for only one person but it features pressure metres, monitoring cameras, a TV set, oxygen supply and headlights.

"Although the equipment is simple, it's enough for a basic submarine, and more importantly, it enables the passenger to see things clearly underwater," said Tao.

It took Tao more than a year of research and experiments, but he says the most difficult challenge he faced was not a lack of knowledge, but of funds.

"The devices for submarines are all expensive, so because I couldn't afford them I found a lot of inexpensive replacements," he said.

Tao said the basic submarine cost him £2,200, the equivalent of a year's pay.

Tao is now in the final phase of debugging the submarine and hopes it will make its maiden voyage within the next week in Beijing. He says it can dive to a maximum depth of 10 meters, and should be quite safe.

Although he has only an elementary school education, Tao owns 17 patents, including a head massager, a washing machine and a shoe polisher. (Zhong'an Online)