Meditating monks have better gut bacteria

Tibetan monks who meditate improve their physical health thanks to “good” gut bacteria, according to researchers from China. The team studied Buddhist monks and compared their microbiomes, the ecosystem of bacteria found in the gut, with those of other local residents who ate the same food but did not meditate. The monks had far higher levels of bacteria “associated with a reduced risk of anxiety, depression and cardiovascular disease”, noted The Times.

Chess queens ‘reflect women’s greed’

Queens used to move much less during games of chess because they reflected women’s weak status in society, said The Telegraph. The permitted moves for each piece were related to their behaviour in life, according to a book written by John of Wales, a 12th-century Franciscan theologian. The sloping moves of the queen were such because “women are so greedy that they will take nothing except by rapine [violent seizure] and injustice”, he wrote.

Man buys lucky lottery ticket in Luck

The winning ticket for a $15m lottery prize was sold in the aptly named town of Luck, Wisconsin, reported Fox News. A man named Mark Cunningham claimed the jackpot prize and said “dreams really do come true”. He had bought the winning Megabucks lottery ticket at Wayne’s Food Plus, in Luck, a town of around 1,100 residents. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 6,991,908, said the Wisconsin Lottery.

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