Study finds UK’s most popular conspiracy theory
And other stories from the stranger side of life

One in three people in the UK believe Princess Diana’s death was not an accident, according to a new survey. In a Sky HISTORY study of the public’s belief in conspiracy theories, 7% said they believed that Paul McCartney secretly died in 1966, with The Beatles hiring a lookalike to take his place. Some 20% of those asked said the Roswell incident was covered up and 12% said world governments use chemtrails to secretly poison their people.
Boar-pig hybrid emerges in nuclear wasteland
Japanese scientists have discovered that a hybrid species of wild boar and domestic pigs is living in the nuclear wasteland of Fukushima. The Telegraph says a “biological invasion” began after the 2011 tsunami, when wild boar from surrounding mountains gradually moved into depopulated towns meeting domestic pigs that ran wild after farmers were forced to flee the area.
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Teens use lemon juice to fake Covid test results
Students have been using lemon juice to fake positive Covid tests in an attempt to force their “bubbles” to miss school. Teenagers are sharing their tips with the world by posting tutorials on TikTok after experts said fizzy drinks and acidic fruits can trigger what looks like a positive result. The General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are sure this involves a very small minority of pupils, and that for the most part the tests are used correctly.”
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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.
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