Fat penguins fall over more and other tall tales

Our pick of the strange but true stories from around the world.

Fat penguins fall over more

Researchers in Antarctica have released a study into how weight effects king penguins' ability to walk and evade predators – and discovered that fatter animals fall over more than their thinner counterparts. Ten king penguins weighing more than 22lbs were caught by scientists and put on treadmills, with their weight monitored closely to study the effects of bulking up for mating season.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"91416","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Girl scout sells cookies outside pot shop

An enterprising girl scout in the United States has found a novel way of boosting business for her cookie sales - by setting up shop outside a legal marijuana dispensary to help customers "deal with the munchies". The store owners cut a deal with the girl and were reportedly selling a "Girl Scout Cookie" strain of the drug to go with the biscuits. The Girl Scouts of the USA association is reportedly unhappy about the arrangement. However, the girl's aunt told reporters that "they don't condone this, but it's not against the rules".

Man changes name to 'Bacon Double Cheeseburger'

Bacon Double Cheeseburger has revealed he changed his name after a night at the pub with his friends. Originally named Sam Smith, he chose his new moniker because "it was the first thing that came up" during a conversation about names. "My mum was furious but my dad thinks it's hilarious," 33-year-old Cheeseburger told reporters. "He's more than happy to use my new name. I've no regrets at all."