Waitrose to launch tearless onions

And other stories from the stranger side of life

An onion being sliced

Tearless onions are to go on sale at Waitrose, reported The Times. Rick Watson, a plant breeder, began working on the innovation in the late 1980s, using natural techniques rather than genetic modification to create the unique variety. Onions normally make people cry because when they are sliced they release synpropanethial-S-oxide, which irritates glands in the eyes. A taste tester said tearless onions were “sweet enough that you could sit there and eat them like popcorn, if you were inclined to do such a strange thing”.

Hairdresser finds no crisps in her crisps bag

A hairdresser could have been forgiven for shedding a few tears when she discovered not a single crisp in her bag of Walkers crisps. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Yarna Davies, after opening the packet to find there was “not even a crumb” inside. Davies said a friend told her: “Oh my god, that’s amazing, you need to do something about that.” Writing about her ordeal on Facebook, Davies said Walkers apologised and reimbursed her with vouchers. “They said there was a problem with the machines and delivery drivers,” she said.

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BBC prepared to interview flat-Earthers

The BBC has said it is ready to give a platform to flat-Earth conspiracy theorists in its quest to broadcast a range of views. David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial policy and standards, said “Flat-Earthers are not going to get as much space as people who believe that the Earth is round, but very occasionally, it might be appropriate to interview a flat-earther.” He added that BBC staff “need to be prepared to hear views which, perhaps personally, they don’t agree with”.

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