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World-renowned chef shares strangest celeb requests

<p>World-renowned and chef-to-the-stars Jeff Schroeter has had the privilege of catering for some of the world’s biggest names and deepest pockets, and it hasn’t come without its share of surprises. </p> <p>While chatting on <em>I’ve Got News For You</em>, a <em>news.com.au</em> podcast, Schroeter has named some of the strangest requests to come through his kitchen, as well as the familiar faces behind them. </p> <p>First up came Anna Wintour, who has served as Vogue’s editor-in-Chief since 1988 and harbours a not-so-secret craving for tuna in a tin. </p> <p>“She used to dine at least once or twice a week and had a special table … but she’ll go through different phases [of eating],” Schroeter explained. </p> <p>“And during one phase, we had a beautiful tuna niçoise - everyone ate it,” he continued, before noting that “she didn’t like fresh tuna, so she used to bring her own canned tuna and hand it to the waiter, who handed it to the busboy, and [he’d] bring it down to the kitchen.</p> <p>“So I’d make this beautiful niçoise salad, and then open a tin of tuna, and just put it on top. And she loved it.”</p> <p>In another bizarre move by the fashion elite, German designer Karl Lagerfeld once arrived at one of Schroeter’s restaurants with a group of “about 10 to 12” and a request that sent the kitchen scrambling. </p> <p>According to Schroeter, Lagerfeld and his party had been in the mood for “an American hotdog with fries”. But there was just one problem - they didn’t “have any of that!” </p> <p>All was not lost, of course, with the staff managing to come up with a solution. Before the clock struck midnight, a local street vendor saved them with a quick hot dog sale. And in a tale as old as time, McDonalds came to the rescue with the chips. </p> <p>“We sent the other busboy to McDonald’s to buy the fries and come back,” Schroeter said, “we put it on plates, sent it out, and [Lagerfeld] said it was the best meal [he’d had] for a long time.”</p> <p>In what is arguably Schroeter’s most notable diner, Queen Elizabeth often stopped by for her favourite dish. While not particularly unusual on its own, the order served as a clear sign to the kitchen that they had a very royal request on their hands. </p> <p>Apparently, the “50 to 80” chefs who worked at London’s Savoy hotel alongside Schroeter could tell when they had a royal visitor, as “they’ve got heavily armed security guards coming through the kitchens with Alsatians.”</p> <p>“[The royals] always dine in one of the seven private banquet rooms, but we’d know it was the Queen because she always loved the peach Melba,” he went on to explain. “So we knew when there were seven to 10 peach Melbas going to a private room, the Queen must be in the house.”</p> <p>Schroeter also shared his experiences with pop royalty, opening up about the time he was hired - along with four other talented chefs - to cater for Madonna’s 37th birthday celebration. </p> <p>“She booked out the place [the Delano Hotel in Miami] for her birthday, security all around, and she flew in four chefs from around the country,” Schroeter said, “and she picked each one for a particular dish that she loves to eat.</p> <p>“And I was flown down for the one that I call ‘Madonna salmon’. It’s a particular type of salmon and we cut it as a butterfly, and we put it with crushed cucumber, dates, walnuts, shaved fennel, lemon juice, olive oil and sweet basil – then the whole dish just lightens the salmon.</p> <p>“It’s healthy, it’s good for you … It was brilliant, three days down there and all I had to do was one dish. It was the best function I’ve had.”</p> <p>Although he didn’t have the opportunity to properly chat to the music superstar, he came away with a good impression, telling <em>I’ve Got News For You </em>host Andrew Bucklow that she was a “lovely, lovely woman … especially when she knows you’re cooking her favourite dish.”</p> <p><em>Images: Getty, @sallyb_sbco / Instagram </em></p>

Food & Wine

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5 strangest laws around the world

<p dir="ltr">As we navigate through life, we learn how different other countries are in this complicated world of ours, especially when it comes to laws. Here are 10 of the most absurd laws from around the world.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>1. It’s illegal to hold salmon under suspicious circumstances</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">This law applies to England and Wales. This law essentially means if a person receives or disposes of any salmon in circumstances where they believe that the salmon has been illegally fished. The maximum penalty is two years imprisonment. It might sound weird, but the title is certainly stranger than the meaning behind it.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>2. It’s illegal to let your chickens cross the road in Quitman, Georgia</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">This isolated US law calls for owners to keep their chooks under control. The law describes chicken as a “culinary delicacy sacred to its municipality.” The law also states, “It shall be unlawful for any person owning or controlling chickens, ducks, geese or any other domestic fowl to allow the same to run at large upon the streets or alleys of the city or to be upon the premises of any other person, without the consent of such other person”. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>3. It was illegal to change a light bulb unless you were a licensed electrician in Victoria, Australia</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Luckily the Aussies have made this law redundant, but back in the day for Victorians, if your light went out, too bad! It would have been illegal for you to change your own light bulb. While there were no harsh penalties for doing so, up until 1998, if caught, you’d be whacked with a $10AUD fine.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>4. It’s a legal requirement to smile at all times except at funerals or hospitals in Milan, Italy</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Say cheese! In Milan, the law compels you to smile by a city regulation from Austro-Hungarian times that was never repealed. Exemptions include funeral-goers, hospital workers, or those beside an ill family member. You could be up for a fine if you're looking too glum. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>5. You must let anyone use your toilet if they ask in Scotland</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">If you’re busting in Scotland, you won’t have an issue finding a bathroom because, by law, you must let a person intending to use the bathroom into your home. This law derives from an old Scottish common law regarding hospitality which is still enforced to this day; however, it’s not really safe. Would you let a stranger into your home to use the bathroom?</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Legal

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Flight attendants reveal the strangest things people do on planes

<p>The flight crew at Qantas are known for being a friendly bunch, but oh boy, do they have stories to share about the travellers they have encountered.</p> <p>These stories are shared by flight attendants under an alias name to conceal their identities and to keep their jobs.</p> <p>First off, the attendants revealed one specific category of flight passengers, “we call them the ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ travellers,” shared a flight attendant using the alias ‘Martin’.</p> <p>“These are the passengers who if it’s not bolted down, will try to take it,” he elaborates.</p> <p>The second flight attendant by the alias of ‘Melissa’ explained, “With some passengers, if they see something is available, they want it – no matter what it is. Some are out for everything they can get.”</p> <p>On a rest between two long trips, Martin and Melissa compared stories of passengers which fell into the “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” category and came up with some hilarious and shocking stories.</p> <p>The first story Melissa shared is one of humour. A lady on a flight quietly asked Melissa for a sanitary pad, and she discreetly passed the item to the passenger. Meanwhile, the man sitting next to the woman observed the exchange and asked for a sanitary pad too.</p> <p>“I said quietly to him, ‘Sir, it’s a sanitary [pad], you don’t need one of those,’” apparently the man was not impressed by this response and demanded “whatever it is, I also want one right now”.</p> <p>So, Melissa went and fetched another sanitary pad before handing it to the man, who without hesitation, unwrapped it, put his seat in recline and placed the pad over his eyes as an eye mask.</p> <p>Martin added, “That happens all the time, we do our best not to laugh as we walk through the cabin seeing men with sanitary [pads] across their eyes. They actually think that’s what they are for!”</p> <p>The next story, shared by Martin, was an experience before landing in Sydney, Martin had a man come into the galley and ask for a glass of water.</p> <p>“We had a tray of refreshments out, so I said to him, ‘Sir, please help yourself to whatever you can find in here,’ then I turned my back to stack up a trolley.”</p> <p>The passenger however, took this invite very seriously and began removing the galley curtains from to hooks.</p> <p>“I rushed over and asked him to stop, as this was part of the actual plane,” Martin explains. “The man then said to me, ‘But you said I could have whatever is in here, and I can use these on our window at home.’”</p> <p>The absurdity of passengers on flights continues. Melissa has observed some weird things in her time as a flight attendant and usually these observations occur towards the end of the flight, as passengers and flight crew are preparing for landing.</p> <p>Passengers usually shove bits and pieces into their carry-on bags in a frenzy although one woman caught Melissa’s eye.</p> <p>The woman was struggling to shove the plane cushion of her seat into her bag.</p> <p>“I said, ‘Madam, you can’t have that – it’s part of the plane and you’ll need to sit on it for landing,” Melissa said whilst attempting to get the cushion out of the bag.</p> <p>The woman responded, “You have so many of these on the plane, surely you won’t miss just one. I want it for my sofa.”</p> <p>That’s not all passengers have tried to sneak into their bags. According to Martin toilet rolls are a prized possession on flights and are usually the first things to disappear.</p> <p>“There are flights when before we’ve even taken off, passengers raid the toilets for every roll of toilet paper they can find, and stuff the lot into their bags,” Martin reveals.</p> <p>“So, we sometimes have to return to the toilets throughout the flight to replace the paper, roll by roll. I remember one occasion where everything ran out, as it had all disappeared into carry-on luggage.”</p> <p>Additionally, international travellers are fascinated by mini soft drink cans.</p> <p>“We have many international passengers who are obsessed with little cans of soft drinks,” Melissa says. “They like to stockpile them in their bags, asking for can after can, but always insist we leave them unopened. We see them later stuffing the cans into their bags.”</p> <p>Martin shares his belief into this extreme interest: “There are passengers who plan to party later in their hotel rooms and want to save a few dollars on buying mixers.”</p> <p>As they continue, Martin and Melissa shared that it is easy to spot a regular Jetstar flyer “as they will fight over the blanket at the end of a flight,” Melissa revealed.</p> <p>The difference being, when a blanket is purchased on Jetstar, the customer can keep it and take it home with them after the flight. Although Qantas doesn’t have the same protocol.</p> <p>“When we ask these passengers to leave the blanket behind, they get annoyed and respond, ‘But I can do this on Jetstar – why is Qantas so mean?’” Melissa says.</p> <p>“Why anyone would want to use an airline blanket again is beyond me!”</p> <p>The final story to be shared involved the luxury of business class. When flying business class with Qantas an amenity kit packed with designer creams is a prized perk that passengers love.</p> <p>Although one woman loved it a bit too much as she gathered every single kit before other people had attended their seats.</p> <p>“She had her arms full as we explained there were now none for the other passengers – something that didn’t seem to faze her,” Martin recalled.</p> <p>“We attempted to get back as many kits as we could, but almost had a tug of war erupt as she was not giving up without a fight.”</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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10 of the world’s strangest food museums

<p> </p> <p><strong>Le Musée Art du Chocolat de Lisle sur Tarn, Lisle-sur-Tarn, France</strong></p> <p>A weird and wonderful tribute to the sweet stuff, the Le Musée Art du Chocolat de Lisle sur Tarn is dedicated to the world of chocolate art. Chocolate elephants? Check. Chocolate candle holders? Check. There’s even a chocolate fountain – and by that, we mean one made entirely from chocolate. The sculptures, some of which weigh around 100 kilograms, are displayed in three halls. Must-sees include the life-sized chocolate woman and the huge white chocolate of the main character of the comic series The Adventures of Tintin. We’re getting a sugar rush just thinking about it.</p> <p><strong>Dutch Cheese Museum, Alkmaar, Netherlands</strong></p> <p>Thought tulips were the Netherlands’ biggest export? Think again, it’s cheese, more specifically, Edam and Gouda. Learn more at this brilliant Dutch Cheese Museum, which explores the history of the cheeses and how they’re made. It’s tucked inside one of Alkmaar’s oldest buildings, the 16th century Cheese Weigh House in Waagplein Square. Our favourite bit? The bright yellow, cheese-inspired decor and the super-sized model cow, designed to provide visitors with an insight into the milking process.</p> <p><strong>Cup Noodle Museum, Yokohama, Japan</strong></p> <p>Amazingly, the Cup Noodle Museum is one of several museums in Japan dedicated to instant noodles, otherwise known as ramen. The sheer size of this museum is a reminder of the nation’s love of the foodstuff – there are several enormous halls, including one containing a replica of the shed in which the first type of ramen was invented (it was chicken-based if you were wondering). There’s plenty for younger visitors, who can whiz down slides in a noodle-themed playground and swim through a ball pool resembling a cup of ramen soup. Don’t forget to check the noodle-themed marble run, either, it features 4,000 marbles and represents the various stages of ramen production.</p> <p><strong>Friet Museum, Bruges, Belgium</strong></p> <p>The Friet Museum is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the world’s only museum dedicated to what is widely known as French fries, but which are known as Belgian friet in this part of the world. Visit this Bruges attraction and you’ll learn all about the humble potato (first grown in Peru 10,000 years ago) and can admire various friet-related masterpieces, including drawings of the city’s famous Frituur chip stalls. The strangest exhibit? The enormous – but weirdly beautiful – display of friet fryers.</p> <p><strong>Carpigiani Gelato Museum, Carpigiani, Italy</strong></p> <p>The Italians are serious about how they make their ice cream, proof of which is the Carpigiani Gelato Museum in Bologna. You’ll find it inside what was once a factory owned by Carpigiani, the manufacturer of the world’s first ice cream-making machine. Exhibits include the ornate tin-plated boxes used by Italy’s first gelato sellers, along with a huge selection of gelato-related gadgets. There’s also a large workshop where you can sign up for lessons in gelatology, possibly the world’s coolest subject.</p> <p><strong>The Herring Era Museum, Siglufjörður, Iceland</strong></p> <p>Herrings might not sound like a very exciting item of food, but visitors to The Herring Era Museum will certainly leave with a new appreciation of the small, oily fish. The museum, inside a former salting station, looks at how, in the 20th century, the herring industry transformed this tiny village into a thriving town, with 23 herring salting stations and five herring processing plants. Sadly, over-exploitation of stocks meant the industry ground to a halt, but the tiny museum is a reminder of a period of time referred to by locals as the Atlantic <em>Klondike</em>.</p> <p><strong>Pizza Hut Museum, Kansas, USA</strong></p> <p>The Pizza Hut Museum opened in Wichita, Kansas in 2017, on the very same site of the first Pizza Hut restaurant. It’s packed full of pizza-related memorabilia, including the first Pizza Hut pizza pan used in 1958, when the restaurant opened. Other rare items include Pizza Hut Barbie dolls, menus, staff lists from the 1950s, and signage from the first restaurant. You’ll also be able to admire the original recipe for the brand’s famous sauce, scrawled on a napkin by the employee who perfected it.</p> <p><strong>Poli Grappa Museum, Bassano del Grappa, Italy</strong></p> <p>It’s probably a good idea to leave the car at home before a visit to the Poli Grappa Museum because samples of Italy’s famous liquor certainly aren’t in short supply. The museum is small but well laid out, with three rooms filled with exhibits relating to the famous Italian grape-based brandy. One notable highlight is the beautiful collection of antique stills, although many visitors make a beeline for the third room in order to sample some of the varieties produced by the nearby Poli Distillery.</p> <p><strong>The Idaho Potato Museum, Idaho, USA</strong></p> <p>America’s favourite tuber is the star of the show at The Idaho Potato Museum, which is home to both the world’s largest potato and the world’s largest potato chip, along with a wealth of potato-related facts. There are entire sections dedicated to tools used to harvest potatoes in the early 1900s, along with the world’s largest collection of mashers. And don’t forget to visit the café, where you can indulge in a chocolate-dipped potato.</p> <p><strong>The Spam Museum, Minnesota, USA</strong></p> <p>Learn about the world’s most divisive processed meat with a visit to The Spam Museum, a huge attraction examining the food’s rise to global domination. Not convinced? Check out the exhibit relating to its role in WWII, when Spam became a staple for servicemen and women. Then there’s the display of 15 varieties of Spam sold around the world. There are plenty of opportunities for taste tests, just look for one of the museum’s guides known as Spambassadors.</p> <p><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-665b11ed-7fff-7b7e-ab71-5c7bc9f7bd68">Written by Tamara Hinson. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/10-of-the-worlds-strangest-food-museums" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here’s our best subscription offer.</a></span></em></p> <p><em>Image: Courtesy </em><em>Friet Museum</em></p>

International Travel

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We studied the ‘bibles’ of jazz standards – and found sexism lurking in the strangest place

<p>We are two female jazz singers, jazz researchers and lovers of jazz. And we have discovered jazz gave us another shared experience – sexism.</p> <p>We’d both experienced garden variety sexism. Wendy was asked by a male school principal if her recent marriage meant she would resign from teaching to start a family. Melissa received passionate advice from a male audience member to swap her comfortable outfit with a “glamorous dress” when she sang jazz. </p> <p>But as university music students, neither of us imagined something as innocent as a key signature in a textbook might be a symptom of gender discrimination.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/key-music">key</a> tells musicians which set of notes a song uses. In singing, a key affects whether the notes will be sung in the low, middle or high part of the voice. </p> <p>But when we looked at what keys the “bibles” of jazz standards used, we found a hidden form of sexism.</p> <h2>The Real books</h2> <p>This unusual story begins in 1975 at the Berklee College of Music in the United States. Two music students, tired of reading shoddy, error-filled song sheets, created The Real Book to accurately notate jazz songs. Sold illegally to avoid copyright fees, it was a phenomenal success. </p> <p>After years in surreptitious worldwide circulation, publisher Hal Leonard transformed The Real Book into a <a href="https://officialrealbook.com/history/">legal edition</a>. In 1988, Sher Music joined the act and produced The New Real Book. Despite similar titles, Sher’s book was unrelated but mimicked the idea of clearly notating jazz songs. </p> <p>Together the two books cornered the market. </p> <p>The real books remain the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/arts/pop-music-flying-below-the-radar-of-copyrights.html">bibles of jazz musicians</a> everywhere because they contain hundreds of songs called <a href="https://www.jazzstandards.com/overview.definition.htm">standards</a>. </p> <p>Standards are common jazz songs jazz musicians are expected to know. Knowing them is your ticket to participating in jazz ensembles, and so universities use these books to train students.</p> <p>However, few educators realise one decision in 1975 about notating standards cemented a practice excluding women.</p> <p>Jazz is valued as a “conversational” style of music where musicians express personal ideas and real stories. “Authentic” jazz singing is associated with the lower voice we use when speaking.</p> <p>The human voice is a <a href="https://soundbridge.io/human-voice-instruments/">biological musical instrument</a> coming in a variety of sizes, with the male larynx (or voice box) generally larger than the female. This means men generally sing (and talk) in lower pitches, and keys that sit in the middle of the male voice are usually too low for women to sing. </p> <p>When our Berklee students and Sher Music notated songs, they chose keys used by jazz musicians. And during that era, male instrumentalists and male singers dominated the jazz community.</p> <p>So, when the real books were being developed, the editors didn’t choose keys that suited female voices.</p> <h2>What’s in a key?</h2> <p><a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Jazz-and-Gender/Reddan-Herzig-Kahr/p/book/9780367534141">Our research</a> examined the recordings of 16 renowned female jazz vocalists, including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ella-Fitzgerald">Ella Fitzgerald</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/search?query=sarah+vaughan">Sarah Vaughan</a>. </p> <p>We sampled 20 songs from The Real Book and 20 songs from The New Real Book and compared the keys in the books with the keys of the female recordings. </p> <p>Less than 5% of 248 recordings fully matched the printed key. </p> <p>If women sing songs straight from The Real Book or The New Real Book, they are likely to be singing too low for their voices. And if they shift the male key up one <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/octave-music">octave</a>, it will be too high.</p> <p>Consequently, female jazz vocal students are disadvantaged. If they comply with the keys of the iconic texts, they won’t sound as “authentically jazz” as male students. The male voice will produce the conversational tone we have come to expect from jazz; the female voice will be too low or too high for this conversational style.</p> <p>The female professional singers we studied <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposition_(music)">transposed</a> the standards to keys that suited a jazz style. But this skill takes time for students to learn. Transposing requires understanding music theory and having confidence to advocate for your needs as a singer.</p> <p>Experienced jazz singers inevitably acquire these skills, but what about novice female singers? </p> <p>For many young female singers, their introduction to jazz is coloured by keys ill-suited to their voices. Place them in a band where the instrumentalists are predominantly male with little understanding of voice production, and it is an uncomfortable situation for aspiring singers.</p> <p>Fortunately, technology has advanced to a point where many standards are available on phones and can be transposed instantly. But this won’t happen until music teachers and jazz musicians understand and respect female singers by using the appropriate keys.</p> <p>So, can a key signature be sexist? Yes, it can when it’s presented as the only choice of key for female students learning jazz standards. </p> <p>It’s time to update our jazz bibles with sources including keys used by Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, and acknowledge sexism has been hiding in the strangest place.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-the-bibles-of-jazz-standards-and-found-sexism-lurking-in-the-strangest-place-189553" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

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Travellers reveal the strangest things they've ever seen on a cruise

<p>Travellers have revealed the most bizarre things they’ve ever seen on a cruise on a popular internet forum.</p> <p>From stumbling upon inappropriately dressed passengers to family who wore their life jackets for the entire trip, commentators on Cruise Critic’s forum didn’t fail to deliver when answering: “What's the strangest thing you've ever seen on a cruise?”</p> <p>1. “Maybe not so strange but we were a little surprised one morning when a family came to breakfast in their PJs. Didn't bother us, after all, it's their vacation and we thought it was kinda cute.”</p> <p>2. “I ended up on a cruise with a group of Goths on a convention. They came fully equipped with their own Evil faery (the DJ). Some (heck most) of the costumes were very different. There was one guy with his teeth filed down, wore dragon wings, and contacts in the shape of snake eyes. One good thing, we never had a problem getting a chair in the sun by the pool. They had a couple of events that were open to everyone. It was my sister's first and last cruise. I guess it was too much for her!”</p> <p>3. “Getting off the ship in Tobago, observed a man leaving proudly wearing his tighty whiteys and nothing else.”</p> <p>4. “I was on my balcony watching some dolphins. I noticed my neighbour, who was also our dinner tablemate, was also leaning on the rail watching the dolphins. I started to say hello then realised that he wasn't wearing anything. I was much more embarrassed than he was. At dinner, his wife said that she told him not to go out on the balcony undressed.”</p> <p>5. “I stuffed my pair of jeans with towels, shoved them under the bed and put my shoes at the bottom, to make it look like a person was under there. Our cabin steward, his assistant, and their manager were the best we’ve ever had. It did scare them, at first, what I left them but we all got a great laugh out of it.”</p> <p>6. “A crew member was cleaning the drink station in one of the buffet dining rooms late in the evening (around 10pm). He did this by standing on top of the counter and using his shoe and a rag to wipe the counter. I definitely reported that to corporate.”</p> <p>7. “I saw a dad dipping his diaper clad kiddo in and out of the hot tub like a tea bag.”</p> <p>8. “'We saw a group of four who wore their life jackets everywhere. This went on for at least several days, possibly the entire cruise. We wondered if they slept in them as well.”</p> <p>9. “Our two-year-old granddaughters were walking around the stores in their PJs just before bed. A woman, who was slightly drunk, says, ‘I thought I was seeing double when one twin ran through another!’ We still laugh over that one.”</p> <p>What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on a cruise? Share your experience with us in the comments below. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/06/how-i-discovered-the-10-rules-of-cruising/"><em>How I discovered the 10 rules of cruising</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/06/just-how-much-does-each-day-on-a-cruise-cost/"><em>Just how much does each day on a cruise cost</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/06/things-not-to-pack-on-a-cruise/"><em>5 things NOT to pack on a cruise</em></a></strong></span></p>

Travel Trouble

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13 strangest unsolved mysteries of the art world

<p><strong>Did Leonardo da Vinci really paint Salvator Mundi?</strong></p> <p><span>The painting, Salvator Mundi, sold at Christie’s in 2017 for an eye-popping $450 million, in large part because it was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. But some art experts, including Oxford art historian Matthew Landrus, believe that only 20 percent of the painting was completed by Leonardo himself. </span></p> <p><span>Citing artistic details and painting techniques evident in the brushwork, Landrus suspects the rest of the painting was done by Leonardo’s assistant, Bernardino Luini. Bernardino’s work has never fetched more than $654,545. </span></p> <p><span>Adding fuel to the fire, it’s thought that da Vinci completed a mere 15 paintings in his lifetime.</span></p> <p><strong>Are these watercolours really by Adolf Hitler?</strong></p> <p><span>Even though Adolf Hitler was rejected from art school, he did quite a bit of painting in his youth. And there are people in the world who’d pay good money (anywhere from $150 to $51,000) to acquire the artistic efforts of der Führer, art being subjective after all. </span></p> <p><span>But recently, German prosecutors confiscated 63 paintings signed “A. Hitler” on suspicion of forgery. The jury is out (figuratively) on their authenticity, and verification is apparently extremely challenging.</span></p> <p><strong>The scandalous death of Joseph Boehm</strong></p> <p><span>Sir Joseph Boehm was a prolific Victorian-age sculptor credited with, among other things, creating the British Victoria-head coin. In 1890, at the age of 56, Boehm died suddenly of a stroke in his studio, but he wasn’t alone when he died. </span></p> <p><span>He was with Queen Victoria’s sixth daughter, Princess Louise, a sculptor herself. Many believe his death occurred in the midst of a sexual encounter with Louise. Historians, including Lucinda Hawksley, author of <em>Queen Victoria’s Mysterious Daughter: A Biography of Princess Louise</em>, believe Louise and Joseph had been engaged in a long-time affair.</span></p> <p><strong>The shooting death of Vincent Van Gogh</strong></p> <p><span>Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh died at age 37 as a result of a gunshot wound at close range, and although it’s long been assumed the emotionally unstable artist committed suicide, there’s always been debate as to whether he was actually shot by a 16-year-old schoolboy. </span></p> <p><span>The movie <em>At Eternity’s Gate</em>, starring Willem Dafoe as the tortured artist, argues that it was not suicide, but it also wasn’t murder, but rather an unfortunate accident, a view put forth by others, including forensic expert, Dr Vincent Di Maio.</span></p> <p><strong>What's the David sculpture holding in his right hand?</strong></p> <p><span>Michelangelo Buonarroti sculpted the magnificent David with a sling in his left hand, leading to the presumption Michelangelo envisioned the biblical figure as a lefty. </span></p> <p><span>But some experts believe David’s right hand tells the more important story: it is disproportionately oversized, which some speculate is a nod to David’s having been “strong of hand.” </span></p> <p><span>And some point to the bulging veins in the hand and surmise David is gripping something tightly, which may or may not be another weapon.</span></p> <p><strong>Why did Caravaggio kill?</strong></p> <p><span>The artist, Caravaggio, was known as a troublemaker. For starters, in 1596, he killed another man during a brawl in Rome. </span></p> <p><span>No one knows what led to the brawl, although possibilities include money, sports, and romantic jealousy, but what’s even more mysterious is whether Caravaggio spent the rest of his life expressing his guilt through his paintings, some of which art historians believe contain thinly veiled confessions. </span></p> <p><span>These include his painting of the murder of St. John the Baptist and his depiction of a despondent Goliath as Caravaggio himself.</span></p> <p><strong>Was Caravaggio the victim of lead poisoning?</strong></p> <p><span>But maybe his violent tendencies weren’t Caravaggio’s fault exactly; maybe, just maybe, he was a victim of lead poisoning, which is known to cause changes to the nervous system. </span></p> <p><span>This position is supported by scientists who analysed his bones and determined with 85 percent certainty that Caravaggio had enough lead in his system to make him behave erratically and to ultimately cause his death. </span></p> <p><span>If this is true, the lead most likely came from the paints Caravaggio was using, especially since he was notoriously messy with them.</span></p> <p><strong>Did Rembrandt reveal a murder plot in one of his paintings?</strong></p> <p><span>Rembrandt’s painting, <em>The Night Watch</em>, depicts a civilian militia rousing to action in the middle of the night. But some, including the director and artist, Peter Greenaway, believe the painting is “really an exposé of a murder – of one officer by another.” </span></p> <p><span>It’s a theory he supports with 20 points – all visual and based on the painting – in his films, <em>Night Watching</em> and <em>Rembrandt J’Accuse</em>.</span></p> <p><strong>Who is the man hidden under Picasso's <em>The Blue Room</em>?</strong></p> <p>In 2014, scientists announced they found, hidden beneath the surface of Pablo Picasso’s The Blue Room, a portrait of a man wearing a bow tie, his chin resting on his hand.</p> <p>It’s not all that unusual for an artist to reuse a canvas, but what’s mysterious is the identity of the man. Some speculate he might be the art dealer who hosted Picasso’s first show in 1901 (Ambroise Vollard). What’s known for sure is that it is not a self-portrait.</p> <p><strong>Is there another woman hidden beneath the Mona Lisa?</strong></p> <p><span>In 2017, French scientist Pascal Cotte revealed he’d discovered the hidden image of a woman beneath the surface of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. </span></p> <p><span>It had taken him more than a decade of examination and analysis and has led to speculation about who the woman might be. Cotte has said it’s another woman from Florence, Pacifica Brandano. But not only is the jury out on that, not all experts even agree there’s actually a different woman depicted. </span></p> <p><span>Some believe what Cotte discovered is nothing more than a painter’s “first draft” of the finished product.</span></p> <p><strong>Who pulled off the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist?</strong></p> <p><span>In 1990, 13 works of art worth approximately $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in a robbery perpetrated by two men posing as law enforcement officers. </span></p> <p><span>“Despite some promising leads in the past, the… theft…remains unsolved,” the Museum states on its website. In fact, the Museum is offering a $10 million reward for information leading directly to the recovery of the art, plus a separate reward of $100,000 for the return of one specific piece.</span></p> <p><strong>Where is the missing art from the Rotterdam heist?</strong></p> <p><span>In 2012, thieves broke into the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam and made off with seven paintings, including works by Picasso, Monet and Gauguin. </span></p> <p><span>Four Romanian men were arrested and convicted of the theft in 2013, but no one knows what happened to the stolen artworks. The mother of one of the thieves confessed to burning the paintings but then retracted her confession. </span></p> <p><span>In 2018, someone planted a very realistic looking Picasso-esque painting beneath a rock in a forest in Romania, but it was discovered to be fake. The paintings remain missing.</span></p> <p><strong>Who is Banksy?</strong></p> <p><span>The artist, Banksy, has been around since the early 1990s, creating striking and highly recognisable street art in public places. </span></p> <p><span>Y</span><span>et their identity remains a mystery. Who is Banksy? “Over the years several different people have attempted to ‘unmask’ Banksy,” writes Artnet, in its 2016 analysis of ten popular theories, to which street artist Carlo McCormick, contributed his own opinions (could he be Banksy?).</span></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/uncategorized/13-strangest-unsolved-mysteries-of-the-art-world?pages=1" target="_blank">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Art

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The truth about Hollywood’s strangest marriage

<p>Although Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have succeeded in having one of Hollywood’s longest marriages at 18 years together, their relationship hasn’t come without pain and heartache.</p> <p>During their almost two decade marriage, the stars have made it through a cancer diagnosis, mental health battles and sexual assault allegations from one of Douglas’ former employees.</p> <p>The couple, who share the same birthday and have a 25-year age gap, decided to move to Bermuda after they tied the knot on November 18, 2000.</p> <p>The couple’s family also moved to the island and Douglas said he found “real solace” away from the public eye.</p> <p>However, when the couple moved back to the USA in 2009, the family were hounded by paparazzi.</p> <p>In an interview last year, their daughter Carys Zeta Douglas said: “I thought my dad was a pancake maker.</p> <p>“I didn’t know he was an actor. Honestly.”</p> <p>When she was just a young girl, Carys was exposed to flashing cameras in her face because of her famous parents.</p> <p>“I used to get really upset. They (photographers) would jump on the subway and sit right in front of me. I was, like, six. I was confused,” Carys said.</p> <p>In 2010, the family were rocked by Douglas’ cancer diagnosis, with Catherine dropping everything to support him.</p> <p>Douglas confirmed the diagnosis during an interview on the David Letterman show, speaking honestly about his health.</p> <p>“He’s a very matter-of-fact person,” Zeta-Jones said of the way her husband discussed his cancer diagnosis.</p> <p>“Once he was diagnosed he was like, ‘Okay, what do I do?’ He basically wanted that thing out of his body so he just blitzed the b**tard. It was very intensive … but he still retained his sense of humour.”</p> <p>Douglas endured chemotherapy and lost 13.5kg in the process.</p> <p>During his illness, his actress wife suffered with the extreme stress of her circumstances.</p> <p>“When you get sideswiped like that (by your husband’s illness), it’s an obvious trigger for your balance to be a little bit off – not sleeping, worry, stress,” she said in 2013.</p> <p>“It’s a classic trigger.”</p> <p>When Douglas was declared cancer free later that year, Zeta-Jones was admitted to a psychiatric facility.</p> <p>The actress was believed to be suffering from depression caused by the stress of the cancer.</p> <p>She was diagnosed with Bipolar II, a less severe form of Bipolar disorder.</p> <p>Those who suffer from Bipolar II don’t generally experience the more intense symptoms of Bipolar, including hallucinations and violent episodes.</p> <p>The different emotional states can be managed when treatment is sought through therapy and medication.</p> <p>“I hope fellow sufferers will know it’s completely controllable,” she said in an interview the following year. </p> <p>“I hope I can help remove any stigma attached to it,” Zeta-Jones reiterated.</p> <p>In 2013, she was admitted to hospital once again to receive treatment for her disorder and four months later, the couple separated without getting a divorce.</p> <p>During their break, Douglas said: “I’m crazy about her … I think every couple has their difficult times. The only problem is, as you well know, we’re all in the public eye and it tends to get a little more exposed than most.”</p> <p>After less than a year apart, it was reported that the couple were back together and had moved into a New York city apartment together.</p> <p>“It’s a long road, and I think people today are so quick to throw in the towel on marriage. You have to give it your best shot and not give up when the first problem arises, because that won’t be the last problem.” Zeta-Jones told <em style="font-weight: inherit;">Good Housekeeping</em> in 2016.</p> <p>Douglas agreed, saying: “It took work on both our parts. I don’t think there’s much chance of fixing a relationship if one of you is already out the door.”</p> <p>Zeta-Jones has also responded to the sexual allegations made by a former employee of Douglas.</p> <p>His accuser, Susan Braudy, said she was subject to inappropriate conduct, constant sexually charged conversations and he once masturbated to the point of ejaculation.</p> <p>Speaking to <em style="font-weight: inherit;">The Sunday Times</em>, Zeta-Jones said: “This woman came out of nowhere and accused my husband.</p> <p>“I had a very big conversation with him, with the kids in the room, and said, ‘Do you understand if more comes out …’”</p> <p>“My children and I were profoundly devastated by those allegations. And I was torn about where my absolute morals lie.”</p> <p>But Zeta-Jones ultimately stuck by her man, who assured her “that there is no story here and that time will tell".</p> <p>“And, of course, it did.”</p>

Movies

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Is this the strangest baby name ever?

<p>While it seems some celebrities are competing for the most bizarre baby names, one mum has revealed how she was left baffled after her friend announced the name she had chosen for her baby daughter.</p> <p>Writing on <em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/becoming-mum-pregnancy-996/baby-names-643/1791462-strangest-baby-name-ever.html?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Daily+chat+email+7th+July&amp;utm_content=Daily+chat+email+7th+July+Version+A+CID_dc286bc6e0b4d8f1fe862ce50f5a09e8&amp;utm_source=Emails+via+Campaign+Monitor&amp;utm_term=Read+more" target="_blank"><strong>Netmums</strong></a>,</span></em> Annalise said her friend had chosen the “strangest baby name EVER”, a name she had never encountered before.</p> <p>The baby had been named “Abcde”, which Annalise was instructed to pronounce as “Ab-si-dee”.</p> <p>She added: "I've never heard of this name before – has anyone else?"</p> <p>The fellow parents on the online forum were as equally confused by the name, with one user writing: “It should be illegal to saddle children with names like that. Awful."</p> <p>Another added: "That is the silliest name I've ever heard – but kudos for the imaginative pronunciation. Some parents are too cruel."</p> <p>While some were not sure whether the name was a joke, others said it was “cruel” for the child.</p> <p>One user joked: "It's great because if they have another they can call it fghij then the next klmno and so forth."</p> <p>After hearing the name, one mum did research and surprisingly found that other children have been given the name Abcde.</p> <p>In 2014, Vocativ reported that in the United Stales alone 328 girls had the name.</p> <p>It is believed the name originated in Hawaii, where the first Abcde was born at Kona Hospital in October 1986.</p> <p>What is the most bizarre name you have heard of? Share it in the comments below. </p>

Family & Pets

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The strangest gifts the royals have been given

<p>If you thought you received some odd gifts for Christmas, they’re nothing compared to what the royals have been given in the past 12 months.</p> <p>Gift giving is quite common practice when any member of the royal family makes a public appearance – but it’s not just flowers and chocolates.</p> <p>In fact, there are entire reports written up about who received what, from whom, and on what occasion.</p> <p>Young Prince George received clothes such as a waistcoat and shorts, toys including a hobbyhorse and Tintin figures – even a dream catcher.</p> <p>Princess Charlotte was gifted a hobbyhorse too, as well as a toy pram, lollipops and a hair bow. Books and soft toys were the most common gifts for the smallest royals.</p> <p>Duchess Kate was given figurines and an oven glove, along with a tea service and a traditional German cake known as bamkuch.</p> <p>Prince William received gifts from the full spectrum, all the way from felt gnomes (two of them) to a replica cavalry sabre. As a couple, Kate and William received a framed Polish coat of arms as well as some commemorative coins.</p> <p>Far from filling their own homes with all of these gifts, many are given to charities that could make use of them, while others are stored. Certain gifts are taken into the royal’s home, so perhaps Kate and William sat down to tea with some German cake while the kids rolled by on their hobbyhorses. We can only wonder what happened to the felt gnomes!</p> <p>What’s the strangest present you’ve ever received? We would love to hear your story in the comments.</p>

News

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Darwin’s Beer Can Regatta is the world’s strangest boat race

<p>Crack the top off one of the most unique festivals in the Northern Territory.</p> <p><strong>What is it?</strong></p> <p>In the early 1970s, Paul Rice-Chapman and Lutz Frankenfeld wanted to clean up the rubbish – which was mainly beer cans – around Darwin’s Mindil Beach. It quickly evolved into the annual Beer Can Regatta, with the first event held in 1974. More than 22,000 people attended the inaugural race – around half of the total population of Darwin at the time. The race has grown every year but the principle remains the same. Homemade boats constructed out of beer cans, plastic bottles and cartons are launched into the ocean in front of a cheering crowd.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qiaHFlZryJ0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><strong>What are the boats like?</strong></p> <p>Use your imagination! The boats range from one metre up to 12 metres in length and take the shape of everything from North Queensland crocodiles to Wimbledon tennis courts, Viking longships and pirate vessels. They can carry just one person or a small group, all of whom are usually equipped with a few full beer cans to sustain them through the race.</p> <p><strong>What activities are there?</strong></p> <p>The boats are judged first thing in the morning, before the main race gets underway. Then there are kayak races, tug of war, iron men and women events, sandcastle building contests and thong throwing competitions. The main event is the Beer Can Boat Race, which happens at 3pm, with crews of four trying to sail their vessels around the course. At 4.30pm the Battle of Mindil gets underway – this is a boat race where anything goes. Crews can arm themselves with water hoses, flour bombs and anything else they can think of as they race other boats to find an object that has been hidden under the water. If one boat finds the object first, other teams can attempt to steal it from them and the winner is the first group to make it back to shore.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">A fierce battle on the shores of Darwin's Mindil Beach, 15 teams took to the sea for 41st "Beer Can Regatta"! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Today9?src=hash">#Today9</a> <a href="http://t.co/3PfYVvmHib">pic.twitter.com/3PfYVvmHib</a></p> — The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/620317788968779776">July 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <p><strong>It’s all for a good cause!</strong></p> <p>From the very beginning, the Beer Can Regatta has supported local charities. It has a close relationship with the Darwin Lions Club and over the years has donated money to the Cancer Council Northern Territory, Downs Syndrome NT, the Mindil Beach Surf Lifesaving Club and Helping People Achieve. Over $150,000 has been raised over the past six years.</p> <p>Have you ever experienced the Beer Can Regatta?</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: Twitter / Phaiwa</em></p>

International Travel

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Cabin crew reveal strangest things they’ve ever been asked on a flight

<p>We’ve all made a request or two during a long flight, but most of the time we’re only asking for a drink or perhaps some earplugs – not for the engine to be turned off because it’s too loud. Sounds strange? <a href="https://confessionsofatrolleydolly.com/2017/04/24/the-most-weird-and-wonderful-passenger-requests-and-questions/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">According to a flight attendant</span></strong></a> (and blogger) known as “Dan Air”, that’s not even the strangest demand cabin crew experience at 38,000 feet.</p> <p>After asking his fellow hosties to share their stories, Dan was flooded with some crazy responses. Here are some of the most bizarre.</p> <ol start="1"> <li>One passenger asked for a hot chocolate but was refused by the flight attendant, who explained they were unable to pour hot drinks at the moment due to turbulence. The passenger’s response? “Oh ok… I’ll have a cup of tea then.”</li> <li>While flying over Europe, a bewildered traveller asked, “Is there a window open? It’s freezing on this plane.”</li> <li>A very vocal passenger, who had already requested “low-calorie water” and “artificial sugar with my latte” had another demand – “Can you turn those engines off? They are far too loud.”</li> <li>Upon landing after a 17-hour flight, a traveller asked the cabin crew if they took the flight straight back again. “Sorry, are you serious?” the flight attendant asked, bemused. “Well, I know that there is a flight back home two hours after we land,” the confused passenger added. The hostie replied, “Yes sir, taken by a crew who arrived two days ago and have had a damn good sleep.”</li> <li>After running out of tea during the flight, an angry passenger demanded to know if they would be getting any more before they landed. “Sorry, no, not at 38,000 feet!”</li> <li>“How often do you see UFOs?” one paranoid traveller asked.</li> <li>One cabin crew member had a woman confess she hated flying because “at that altitude, she could feel the spirits of people who had just died pass through her on their way up to heaven.”</li> <li>“Are we arriving in arrivals or departures?”</li> <li>“Excuse me steward, I’ve left my wallet and phone in the airport bar,” a traveller suddenly realised. “Can we turn around?”</li> <li>“I had someone ask me if I could point out the international date line when we flew across it,” a flight attendant recalled. “I told them to keep a look out for the red line, just like on the maps.”</li> </ol>

Travel Tips

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This might be the strangest festival in the world

<p>This would have to be a solid contender for strangest festival in the world. Twenty people run down a steep muddy hill, chasing after a rolling wheel of cheese. Welcome to the wacky world of the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Festival.</p> <p>The origins of cheese rolling are murky and some people suggest it could date back all the way to the Romans, who used to have a fort in the region. The festival itself dates back to the 1800s and used to include all sorts of entertaining contests, like bobbing for apples, wrestling, tug of war and (our favourite) shin kicking. During the rationing of the Second World War, a wooden wheel of cheese was even used.</p> <p>The modern festival draws a sizeable crowd of around 5,000 people each year, who line up along the course and shout encouragement. The premise is deceptively simple – a three-kilo wheel of double Gloucester cheese is rolled down Cooper’s Hill and the racers must chase it. The one who reaches the bottom first, wins. The difficulty comes from the hill itself. Cooper’s Hill is almost vertical and covered in slippery grass and mud. ‘Running’ down it really means falling or tumbling down it and injuries are common. In fact, in 1997 33 people were hurt and the police cancelled the next years event. It’s not always just the runners who are hurt either – spectators have been known to be part of a collision.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aL5FaVi1Iig" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>Despite all the dangers, the race draws plenty of competitors, many of whom attend year after year. There are five races, four for men and one for women, with participants limited to about 20 to minimise the chaos. The winner gets to keep the cheese, while the second and third places runner receive a small cash prize.</p> <p>Cooper’s Hill is in Gloucestershire, around 10 kilometres from the town of Gloucester. It’s known as the cathedral city of the Cotswolds and has a rich history dating back some 2,000 years to Roman times. It has a well preserved Victorian dock as well as lots of charming buildings, cafes and shops. It’s surrounded by the lush green Cotswod Hills, a designated area of outstanding beauty that are home to the best rambling in the country.</p> <p>Have you ever been to the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Festival?</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: Twitter / Tayntons Solicitors</em></p>

International Travel

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8 of the strangest holidays in the world

<p>Location, location, location. That's what the real estate experts are always talking about, and for travellers it rings just as true, because when it comes to the world's major events, to its biggest celebrations, it's all about location.</p> <p>This year, you want to find yourself in the best possible destinations to join in the fun. You want to be in the places where these special days all began. You want to experience them with the people who truly feel the passion for them deep in their hearts. We're talking New York City for Independence Day, Beijing for Chinese New Year, Bangkok for Songkran.</p> <p>The global calendar is full of interesting, exciting events, but many of them so often pass us by in with little more than a thought.</p> <p>The great thing about these celebrations is that they're not exclusive – everyone is invited, and everyone can have fun. You just have to know the location.</p> <p><strong>1. National Hugging Day (January 21) </strong></p> <p>This American celebration – where else? – encourages people to hug their families and friends, and to remember to do it more often. The day was first observed in Clio, Michigan in the US in 1986. One of the best cities to feel the love is San Francisco.</p> <p><strong>2. National No Housework Day (April 7)</strong></p> <p>Cue choruses of "that's every day for my partner" etcetera as this fairly silly celebration is observed worldwide – inside pubs, hopefully – by those who do the bulk of the work for 364 days a year.</p> <p><strong>3. World Star Wars Day (May 4) </strong></p> <p>Budding Jedis can publicly celebrate their geeky love for Han, Chewie, Luke Skywalker and co every May the fourth. As in, "May the fourth be with you". Film locations in Ireland and Tunisia are popular places to mark the date.</p> <p><strong>4. World Migratory Bird Day (May 13)</strong></p> <p>This is a celebration with a good cause, designed to raise awareness of the need to protect migratory birds and their habitats. It's also a good reason for twitchers to properly geek out by searching for some of Australia's avian visitors, such as the eastern curlew.</p> <p><strong>5. World Whisky Day (May 20)</strong></p> <p>Drinkers and non-drinkers alike are encouraged to raise a wee dram and enjoy the water of life every May. As if we needed any prompting. Whisky lovers, head straight to Scotland.</p> <p><strong>6. International Bacon Day (September 2) </strong></p> <p>What better time to make a pig of yourself than on this important – sorry – day, when bacon lovers the world over can unite and enjoy a delicious sandwich. We'd recommend an English bacon buttie.</p> <p><strong>7. International Talk Like A Pirate Day (September 19)</strong></p> <p>Unfortunately we arrrrrr serious about this one. Every September 19, people across the globe are supposed to talk like pirates. Why? No idea, me hearties. Head directly to the Caribbean for this one.</p> <p><strong>8. International Blasphemy Day (September 30)</strong></p> <p>Goddamn this is a fun festival. Though some may find it offensive, the general idea of IBD is to remind the world that even religion should be freely criticised and examined. Maybe do this in the Netherlands, one of the world's least religious countries.</p> <p>Which day do you think is the strangest?</p> <p><em>Written by Ben Groundwater. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Spain’s flour fight is the strangest festival in the world

<p>In one of the strangest food fights we've seen, revellers in Ibi, Spain, pelt each other with flour, eggs and firecrackers.</p> <p>The battle of “Enfarinats”, a flour fight during the Els Enfarinats festival takes place annually in December.</p> <p>It is a part of celebrations related to the Day of Innocents – a biblical account of infanticide by Herod the Great.</p> <p>The battle takes place between two groups, a group of married men called “Els Enfarinats” – who take control of the village for one day, pronouncing a whole host of ridiculous laws and fining the citizens that infringe them – and another group called “La Oposicio” who try to restore order.</p> <p>At the end of the day the money collected from the fines is donated to charitable causes in the village.</p> <p>The festival has been celebrated since 1981 after the town of Ibi revived the tradition but the origins remain unknown.</p> <p>To see some of the incredible images from the festival, scroll through the gallery above.</p> <p>What’s the strangest festival you’ve ever been part of? Share your experience with us in the comments below.</p> <p><em>First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em> <em>Image credit: David Ramos, Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/">Stuff.co.nz</a></span></strong></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/12/10-best-things-to-do-in-barcelona/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 best things to do in Barcelona</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/12/9-adventurous-alternatives-to-famous-trips/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>9 adventurous alternatives to famous trips</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/12/the-most-overrated-and-underrated-destinations/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The most overrated and underrated destinations</strong></em></span></a></p>

International Travel

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80-year-old’s walking stick confiscated at airport for the strangest reason

<p>An 80-year-old woman catching a flight in the US has had her walking stick confiscated before boarding, after airport security found that it was concealing a large sword.</p> <p>The woman, who was boarding a flight at Myrtle Beach International Airport in South Carolina, was apparently oblivious to the presence of the knife and stunned when her walking stick was confiscated by the airport staff.</p> <p>TSA regional spokesman Mark Howell, “She had no clue it was in there. It happens a lot, actually. People pick them up at a thrift store and the sword isn’t found until we X-ray it.”</p> <p>The cane was reportedly purchased from a thrift store by the woman’s son. Once the elegant bronze handle was twisted and tugged, out came a sword.</p> <p>Have you ever had an item confiscated at the airport?</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/merche-benson-61-year-old-dragon-boat-competitor-for-australia/">Competing for Australia’s dragon boating team at 61</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/01/101-year-old-woman-reveals-secret-to-long-life/">101-year-old woman reveals secret to long life</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/01/great-grandma-finishes-degree-after-50-year-break/">Great-grandma finishes degree after 50-year break</a></em></strong></span></p>

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