Swedish town baffled by wooden penises
And other stories from the stranger side of life

Residents of Hagfors in western Sweden are searching for the owner of a large wooden penis, described by a local official as "over a metre long, and very well made", left in a park in the centre of town. It is the latest in a series of carved penises left in public places in the region. "The people or person who makes them has been putting a lot of effort into it. Sometimes they're lacquered, sometimes painted," the official said.
'Smart vest' turns stray dogs into guardians
A Thai advertising agency has developed a "smart vest" for dogs, with the aim of turning the country's stray animal population into guardians for its citizens. The vest is activated by the animal's barking, turning on a video camera, which sends a live feed of any activity that has caught the dogs' attention.
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Baby poisoned by homeopathic healing bracelet
A nine-month-old child in Connecticut is recovering after doctors discovered dangerously high levels of lead in her blood. The source of the lead poisoning was determined to be a "homeopathic magnetic hematite healing bracelet" sold to the parents to help ease the baby's teething pains.
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