Teachers ‘give higher grades to girls’
And other stories from the stranger side of life

Teachers give girls higher grades than boys because they find them to be better behaved, neater and easier to teach, according to a new study. Researchers in Italy found that the teachers helped to create and widen a “gender grade gap” by giving girls higher grades than boys even when they had “identical competence” in a subject. A 2015 study by the OECD reached the same conclusion, finding that girls’ work was being “marked up”, said The Times.
Couple find lucrative ancient coins under kitchen
A couple cashed in during home renovations when they uncovered a treasure trove of coins beneath their kitchen floor, said the Yorkshire Post. The owners of an 18th-century home in a village near Hull were relaying their kitchen floor when they found 264 rare gold coins, which later sold for £754,000 at auction. The coins, dating from 1610-1727, are believed to have belonged to a merchant family who made their fortune from trading with Baltic ports.
Fattest parrot ‘cancelled’ from contest
The world’s fattest parrot has been banned from a bird of the year contest, reported The Telegraph. As voting began in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest, anger was growing over a decision to ban the owl parrot, which won the contest in 2008 and 2020, and came runner-up in 2021. “Bird of the Year is so woke”, complained a fan, suggesting the kakapo had been “cancelled” and the contest had become a “participation award” for ugly birds.
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