Spice rack ‘germiest’ place in your kitchen

A new study had found that the spice rack is one of the “germiest” places in the kitchen, said The Telegraph. Having analysed spice jars, the team found that 48% showed evidence of cross-contamination. They were more intensely contaminated than bin lids, knives, and sinks. “Consumers may not necessarily think to wipe down or decontaminate spice containers after cooking because they are not typically targeted as high risk for cross-contamination in consumer messaging,” said the report, by the US Agriculture Department Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Ancient Roman dildo discovered

Archaeologists believe they discovered a life-size Roman dildo in Northumberland. “If it was not used as a sexual implement” then the 2,000-year-old object “may have been an erect penis-shaped pestle”, said The Guardian, a feature from a statue that people touched for good luck. The item was initially documented as a darning tool but Newcastle University archaeology senior lecturer Rob Collins, “part of me thinks it’s kind of self-evident that it is a penis”.

Man strikes gold in Birmingham

A former squaddie, who once guarded the Queen, has struck gold in Birmingham. Andy Brooke, 37, discovered specks of the precious metal while checking a stream in the city. He is keeping the location of the discovery “under wraps” for fear of “sparking a stampede to the West Midlands”, said the Daily Star. However, he advocates his detectorist hobby, telling the tabloid: “I would say if anyone wants to get outdoors and have a bit of fun, I’d recommend anyone goes and does it.”

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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.