Tattoos of dead destined for display

Tattooed skin may one day adorn the walls of art collectors if Dutch entrepreneur Peter van der Helm has his way. The tattoo shop owner has set up the Walls and Skin tattoo parlor in Amsterdam to preserve the tattoos of the dead. "Everyone spends their lives in search of immortality and this is a simple way to get a piece of it," Van der Helm said. "It's not a new idea. We just found a way to actually do it." More than 30 clients have donated their skin to the company in a will and each paid a few hundred euros.

NASA launches offensive

United States space agency NASA has joined the chorus of people voicing condemnation of singer Beyonce for using an audio sample recorded moments after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, killing all seven crew members, in her latest single. NASA issued a statement late Tuesday slamming the "trivialization" of the tragedy after the pop star began to receive criticism from Challenger families and others for using the short sample that includes the words "major malfunction" as an allusion to a failed relationship. "The Challenger accident is an important part of our history, a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized," said the statement from Lauren B. Worley, NASA's press secretary. The controversial sample appears at the beginning of her song XO from her new self-titled album.

Frog found in NY salad

From the "waiter, there's a fly in my soup" files comes the report from the Big Apple in the United States last week that a diner at a New York restaurant was served a salad containing a dead frog. The New York Daily News reported the customer, a woman who works for the Wall Street Journal, ordered a salade nicoise at Pret A Manger and was shocked to discover a dead frog among the greens. Kathryn Lurie, a Wall Street Journal editor, posted a picture of her colleague's aborted meal to social media site Instagram, the New York Post reported. Pret A Manger released a statement saying the incident is under investigation.

Gambler rewards honest cabbie

An honest cabbie was given a $10,000 reward last week after returning the $300,000 he found on the back seat of his Las Vegas taxi. The owner of the abandoned wad, a poker player, made good on his promise, handing over the $10,000 reward to the cabbie who returned the stash. Yellow Checker Star Cab Company also honored the driver's good deed by naming him employee of the year, awarding him $1,000 and giving him a gift certificate to a Las Vegas steakhouse. A hotel doorman noticed a brown paper bag on the back seat of the taxi outside of the Bellagio casino and handed it to the taxi driver, who thought it was sweets. The driver said he had another passenger by the time he began wondering what kind of chocolates were in the brown paper bag. He peeked inside at a traffic light and spotted the cash. It took several hours to verify the identity of the owner and return the cash.

Former The Sopranos actor Lillo Brancato Jr was released from prison last Tuesday after almost 10 years behind bars for a burglary gone wrong that ended with his accomplice killing a police officer. Brancato, 37, was released about six months early for meeting educational and disciplinary requirements, according to a statement by the Hudson Correctional Facility in New York. As part of his early release, Brancato will have parole conditions, including a curfew. Brancato was convicted of attempted burglary and sentenced to 10 years in prison after a botched burglary in 2005 in which an off-duty police officer was shot in the chest and later died in the hospital. Brancato's accomplice, Steven Armento, who was convicted of the shooting, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Deer cheese the next big thing

A New Zealand farmer and a cheese maker have joined forces to craft what they hope will be the world's first commercially produced cheese using deer milk. Scientists say deer milk is rich in nutrients and protein, and could also have wide-ranging therapeutic and cosmetic uses. At his Clachanburn Station in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island, venison producer John Falkner has designed a special shed with padded stalls and adapted milking cups to fit the deer's slender anatomy. Falkner aims to get 2 liters a day from each of the 40 deer taking part in this initial milking season. Deer cheese is something the pair hopes to market not just for its unique flavor but also for its health properties. Otago University research shows that deer milk is rich in minerals and omega-3, and may benefit the brain and immune system.

Biting fish attack bathers in Argentina

A swarm of biting fish injured more than 70 people who were bathing at a popular beach in Argentina on Christmas, a medical official said last week. A 7-year-old girl had her finger partially amputated and dozens of other people suffered bite wounds on their extremities from the fish, a relative of the piranha called palometas, said Federico Cornier, the director of emergency services in the city of Rosario. "It's normal for there to be an isolated bite or injury, but the magnitude in this case was great ... this is an exceptional event," Cornier told TV. The attack happened off the popular beaches of the Parana River near Rosario, 300 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, where many Argentines were seeking relief from a heat wave over the holiday.

- Agencies

(China Daily 01/05/2014 page4)