University criticised over masturbation PhD
And other stories from the stranger side of life

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The University of Manchester has been criticised for allowing a student to publish a “PhD in masturbation”, The Telegraph reported. Karl Andersson said he embarked on a three-month timetable of masturbating to Japanese comic books and making notes on each session. “It was necessary to be diligent enough to abstain from the ‘milk and muesli’ of porn during this experiment,” he explained. Conservative MP Neil O’Brien asked: “Why should hard-working taxpayers in my constituency have to pay for an academic to write about his experiences masturbating to Japanese porn?”
Peta calls for Pork Pie Roundabout rebrand
Animal rights campaigners have called for Leicester’s Pork Pie Roundabout to be renamed as Vegan Pie Roundabout. Peter Soulsby, the mayor of Leicester, was urged to make the move to “promote vegan pies” and help prevent obesity, in a letter from the charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta). However, he told The Times, although the letter was a “funny and quite clever way of drawing attention to themselves and their cause”, any talk of changing its name “is just pie in the sky”.
Coca-Cola launches ‘dream-flavoured’ option
Coca-Cola said its latest flavour tastes like dreams, a company spokesperson has told CNN. “We wanted to create a dream-inspired drink that was recognisably Coca-Cola but with additional cues that bring to life the playfulness and brightness of dreams,” they said, adding that they “took inspiration from the technicolor world of dreams, adding a dash of vibrant flavours to our great Coca-Cola taste”. The company has previously launched limited flavours that were flavoured with “space” and “pixels”.
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
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
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.
-
What to know when filing a hurricane insurance claim
The Explainer A step-by-step to figure out what insurance will cover and what else you can do beyond filing a claim
By Becca Stanek Published
-
How fees impact your investment portfolio — and how to save on them
The Explainer Even seemingly small fees can take a big bite out of returns
By Becca Stanek Published
-
Enemy without
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Woman reunited with egg she signed in 1951
It Wasn't All Bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 16, 2023
Daily Briefing Ripple effects seen throughout auto industry as UAW strikes, Lee expected to bring flooding and storm winds to New England, and more
By Justin Klawans Published
-
American rescued after 12 days in Turkish cave
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published
-
What Mexico’s first female president might mean for the ‘femicide nation’
feature The Latin American country is grappling with misogynist crime amid a backdrop of progress for women in politics
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
Couple sues after ‘farting dog’ ruins flight
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Ukrainian military has ‘shown how the Russian army can be beaten’
Talking Point Recent Ukrainian frontline advances may offer hope for its counter-offensive
By The Week Staff Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Protests in Syria: could they bring down the Assad regime?
Talking Point Threat to power grows amid poverty, inflation and ‘botched’ response to earthquake
By The Week Staff Published