No snorting, please, and more

No snorting, please

An Italian hospital director has sent out a memo requesting that doctors and nurses stop snorting cocaine while on duty. Director Giuseppe Di Maria said he’d received tips that his staff was using cocaine while at the hospital, but government officials said he made “an error” in sending out a memo. “The alleged consumption of cocaine in a hospital environment should certainly not be dealt with in this way,” said an official.

Revisiting the Mona Lisa's eyes

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In a discovery that seems straight out of The Da Vinci Code, Italian art experts have found mysterious letters and numbers inscribed in the Mona Lisa’s eyes, apparently placed there by Leonardo da Vinci himself. New high-magnification techniques revealed the tiny symbols, which apparently include the number “72” and the letters “CE” and “B,” as well as “LV”—the artist’s initials. “We also know that da Vinci was very esoteric and used symbols in his work to give out messages,” says Silvano Vincenti, president of Italy’s National Committee for National Heritage. “We are confident they were a message from him.”

Pilot saved by 20-tons of chicken manure

A veteran Australian pilot likely owes his life to a huge pile of chicken manure. Pilot Ben Buckley was attempting to land a vintage, 1910 light aircraft when it veered off the runway and headed for disaster. Instead, the plane rammed into a 20-ton heap of chicken droppings piled up there. “There was a bit of give in it,” said Buckley of the manure. “I’m still a bit stiff and sore, though, I can tell you.”