Tesco demands ID from man buying sausage

A shopper said he was “very surprised” when asked if he was old enough to buy a sausage at the self-checkout in Tesco. A tech error meant the supermarket accidentally listed a saucisson sec, a dry-cured pork product, as secateurs, which, as a bladed item, meant potential buyers must prove their age. Fufu Fang, 30, said: “I did a double-take and thought, ‘I hope I've bought the right kind of sausage’.”

Mind-reading robot unveiled in China

A mind-reading robot unveiled in China is “96% accurate” at reading human brain waves, scientists have claimed. The device, which scans a user’s brainwaves and muscle activity, has been designed by the Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Technology Centre at China Three Gorges University. A boffin said the device followed commands of people most of the time but did need volunteers to “concentrate very hard” for their brain messages to be read.

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Soldier’s letter delivered 76 years late

A letter sent from a US soldier stationed in Germany to his mother in the US has been delivered 76 years after it was sent. Army Sgt John Gonsalves sent the letter to Woburn, Massachusetts, in December 1945, but it sat unopened for more than 75 years before being found in a US Postal Service distribution facility in Pittsburgh. His widow, who received the message, said: “It’s like he came back to me, you know?”