Dylan apologises for ‘machine’ autographs
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Bob Dylan has apologised for his “error in judgement” following a row over his use of a machine to autograph special copies of his new book that had been advertised as “hand-signed”. A limited run of 900 “hand-signed” editions sold for $599, with a letter of authenticity from publisher Simon & Schuster, reported The Guardian. After customers compared photographs of the signatures online, they noticed they were identical. “Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately,” said Dylan.
Warning as 50,000-year old virus revived
Scientists have revived a virus that had been trapped in Siberian permafrost for nearly 50,000 years. Pandoravirus, which infects only single-cell organisms and should pose no threat to humans, had been trapped beneath a lake bed for 48,500 years, making it the oldest “live” virus to be recovered to date. Scientists warned that the fact that the microbe was still capable of infecting cells showed the risk of “zombie viruses” emerging from thawing soils, said The Times.
Staff still turn up to former theme park
Employees are still attending a perfectly preserved abandoned theme park two years after it closed. Tivoli World in Benalmadena, Spain, once a popular site, was forced to close as a result of the Covid crisis. However, the park’s employees still “come in and keep the place in a good condition”, due to a “weird clause in their contract which means they're not allowed to look for other jobs yet”, said LadBible.
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.
For more odd news stories, sign up to the weekly Tall Tales newsletter.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
One great cookbook: Joshua McFadden’s ‘Six Seasons of Pasta’the week recommends The pasta you know and love. But ever so much better.
-
Scientists are worried about amoebasUnder the radar Small and very mighty
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
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