Welsh teen posted himself home from Australia

And other stories from the stranger side of life

A wooden crate

A Welsh man is trying to find two men who helped him return home from Australia in 1965 by packing him up and mailing him in a crate. When Brian Robson, then 19, became homesick he was unable to afford the airfare home. He claims he came up with a “stupid” plan to buy a small wooden crate and have himself sent as freight. The flight to the UK was full so he was transferred to a flight to the US where he was spotted and questioned by the FBI before being allowed home to Wales. He said the whole experience was “quite horrific”.

Russia-Ukraine tension shows Messiah coming

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are a sign that the coming of the Messiah is near, according to an expert in “end of days” theories. Rabbi Pinchas Winston said the situation in Eastern Europe parallels the War of Gog and Magog, believed to be the precursor to the Messiah. He cites an ancient prophecy that stated: “When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started.”

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Longest fingernails are cut

The woman with the world’s longest fingernails has finally succumbed and had her prize possession cut. An electric rotary tool was needed to cut the nails of Guinness World Records title holder Ayanna Williams. They had reached a length of 733.55cm and will now be preserved and put on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida.

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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.