MAGPIE:IRISH LEARNER drivers anxious to lose their L-plates can take heart from the tale of a learner driver who crashed during his test - but still passed.
Gareth Purslow (20) hit another car when it pulled out from a parking bay as he started his test at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The examiner sorted everything out after the collision and they carried on.
At the end of the hour-long test Purslow was sure he had failed, but he was in for a pleasant surprise. "I couldn't believe it when I got the pass slip back at the test centre," he said.
"When the crash happened, I thought, 'that's it', but my examiner let me carry on."
Purslow had no faults on the marking sheet and received his licence on his first attempt.
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A British Airways aircraft on a flight from Belgrade to London was diverted after passengers thought they could smell poisonous gas. Fearing it was a terrorist gas attack, the aircraft quickly returned to Belgrade.
Emergency workers wearing breathing apparatus helped evacuate the passengers. After an investigation, it was discovered that the fumes had escaped from a giant container of curry spices in the aircraft's cargo hold.
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Florida wildlife officer Adam Warwick jumped into the sea to save a 26-stone (165kg) bear from drowning after it ran into the ocean when it was shot with a tranquilliser dart.
Warwick jumped in after the bear, put his arm around the drowsy animal's neck, and dragged it ashore. The bear was none the worse for wear after its experience, and Warwick escaped with only a few scratches.
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A Chinese man who set up a website selling dead mosquitoes says he received 10,000 orders in his first two days. Nin Nan, of Shanghai, came up with the idea of selling mosquitoes he had killed to attract visitors to his online jewellery shop.
Nin sells his mosquito corpses for six yuan, about 55 cent, each. His advertisement reads: "Truly killed by human hands. Can be used for science studies, decoration, and collection."
He says his shop registered 250,000 hits and he received more than 10,000 orders within two days of posting the advertisement on online forums.
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Hans Mauer from Münster, Germany, who avoided using cash machines for years because of fears of identity fraud, finally used one - and was arrested. He spent so long checking the ATM for hidden cameras, fingerprint powder on the keyboard, and signs of tampering with the screen, that other users called the police and he was detained - for suspected identity fraud.
"He explained he had never used a cash machine in his life for fear of thieves, and while his behaviour did appear very suspicious we soon had the matter cleared up," a police spokesman said.
"It is unlikely he will ever use a cash machine again though."
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There are plans to make a film about a pig that survived for 36 days in the rubble of the Chinese earthquake in Sichuan province.
Nicknamed Zhu Jianqiang (Pig Strong Will), it lost two-thirds of its body weight while trapped under the ruins of its sty. It survived by drinking rainwater and eating charcoal, and has now been adopted by the Jianchuan museum, which will care for it for the rest of its natural life.
The pig was discovered after his owner, Wan Xingming, asked for military help in retrieving valuables from his collapsed pig farm. "When my wife fed him, two lines of tears dropped from his eyes," Wan later revealed.