French ‘have got lazier’
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A study has found that the French have got “even lazier”, said The Telegraph. Researchers in 1990 found that 60% of French people said work was “very important” in their life, compared to 31% for leisure. Asked the same questions today, just 24% of the French thought work was important while 41% regarded leisure as very important. “Famed for their marathon holidays, extended lunches and 35-hour working week”, the French “have long basked in the enviable image of enjoying life’s pleasures”, said The Telegraph.
Randy pensioners are causing surge at sexual health clinics
Pensioners are behind a surge in demand for sexual health services due to online dating, reported The Times. Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise among the over-65s, with new diagnoses up from 2,280 in 2017 to 2,748 in 2019. Doctors say randy older Brits are using online dating to find new sexual partners after a divorce or bereavement and some do not use condoms owing to the low risk of pregnancy, putting them at heightened risk of STIs.
Man pushes skipping rope up his penis
Meanwhile, an elderly man in Japan had a bad time of it when he pushed a skipping rope so far up his penis that he got it stuck in his bladder. Commenting on the plight of the 79-year-old man, a medic said they hadn’t seen anything more “extreme” than it. The bladder was surgically removed. However, said the Daily Star, why the man inserted the rope inside himself “remains a mystery”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 redundant cartoons about Greg Bovino's walking papersCartoons Artists take on Bovino versus bovine, a new job description, and more
-
31 political cartoons for January 2026Cartoons Editorial cartoonists take on Donald Trump, ICE, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Greenland and more
-
Political cartoons for January 31Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include congressional spin, Obamacare subsidies, and more
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
‘Lumpy skin’ protests intensify across France as farmers fight cullIN THE SPOTLIGHT A bovine outbreak coupled with ongoing governmental frustrations is causing major problems for French civil society
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout