Ministers considered killing all cats during pandemic
And other stories from the stranger side of life
The government considered ordering all pet cats in Britain to be killed in 2020 amid fears they could be spreading Covid, a former health minister has said. “There was a moment we were very unclear about whether domestic pets could transmit the disease,” Lord Bethell told Channel 4 News. “In fact, there was an idea at one moment that we might have to ask the public to exterminate all the cats in Britain. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had wanted to do that?”
Drink ‘thousands of wines’ to boost immunity
We should drink “thousands of varieties of wine” to boost immunity and improve mental health, an expert has told the Wine Blast podcast. Wine is good for improving gut health and boosting the population of healthy bacteria that live in the body, said Professor Tim Spector of King’s College London. “Don’t just stick with the same wine, get out there and try hundreds or thousands of different grape varieties that we generally don’t enjoy,” he said.
Scream costume sparks California panic
A person dressed as the killer from the Scream franchise sparked several calls to emergency services in California, reported UPI. The Sonoma Police Department said multiple 911 calls were made on Monday morning about a personal standing on a street corner next to Sonoma Plaza while dressed in the horror costume. Reassuring locals in a Facebook post, the department said: “This individual has been contacted and was hired by a company through Paramount to promote the new Scream movie.”
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
7 beautiful towns to visit in Switzerland during the holidays
The Week Recommends Find bliss in these charming Swiss locales that blend the traditional with the modern
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Werewolf bill
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'This needs to be a bigger deal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Zoos offer cockroach naming and hippo poo candles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
NHS tells Scots to walk like penguins
Tall Tales Walk like penguins in the snow, says NHS
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Experts discover why dogs wag their tails
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Peruvian 'aliens' aren't really aliens
Tall Tales And other stories from stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman accidentally puts nan in washing machine
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Angel' visits woman before lottery win
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Café forced to shut after complaints about noise from 'clinking teacups'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Why Dutch people put pancakes on their heads today
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published