Britain a nation of ‘secret bog roll bandits’
And other stories from the stranger side of life
Britain is a nation of “secret bog roll bandits”, according to fresh research. The average user flushes 127 rolls down the loo annually, according to a report by eco tissue firm Who Gives a Crap. “Even some of the most dedicated eco-warriors massively underestimate the impact traditional toilet paper production has on our forests,” said CEO Simon Griffiths. The Daily Star said “bog roll boffins” suggest spraying your bottom with water before you wipe to reduce paper use.
Pope encourages kindness to mothers-in-law
Pope Francis has urged Catholics to be kinder to mothers-in-law, France 24 reported. In an address at St Peter’s Square yesterday, the pontiff discussed the “mythical character” of the mother-in-law and said they were often the victim of “cliches”. He added: “I’m not saying we see her as the devil, but she is always presented in a pejorative way.” The Pope also advised mothers-in-law to “be careful how you express yourselves”.
Girls ‘don’t fancy’ the ‘hard maths’ of physics
Girls do not study physics at school because they would rather not do the “hard maths”, the government’s social mobility tsar has claimed. Katharine Birbalsingh, a headteacher and chair of the Social Mobility Commission, told MPs that just 16% of her sixth-form physics students were girls, whereas they make up a majority of students in biology, chemistry and maths classes. She claimed this was because physics isn’t “something that girls tend to fancy”.
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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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