Selfie-taking tourists break Hercules statue in Italy
London: Two tourists in northern Italy have landed in the soup after they broke off a piece of a priceless statue of Hercules, which dates back to 1700, while trying to climb it and take a selfie.
The tourists had been climbing the ‘Statue of the two Hercules’, in Cremona, on Friday night when they involuntarily broke off a piece of the marble crown on top of the monument. The two perpetrators have been identified by the police, ‘The Local’ reported.
Situated under the portico of the 13th century Loggia dei Militi, the monument depicts two statues of Hercules holding a large shield. It is considered to be a symbol of Cremona itself, which is said to be founded by the mythological hero, according to ‘Corriere della Sera’. Completed in 1700, the statue was originally placed on top of the city gates before being moved to its current location in 1962. Technicians have since visited the site to assess the damage caused to the statue. (PTI)
Chinese student held for trying
to raise nine pythons at home
Beijing: A Chinese university student has been detained for rearing nine pythons at his home after buying snake eggs from the internet.
The student from Fujian province was held for illegally purchasing and transporting precious, endangered wild animals. But the local procurator have to decide whether to order a formal arrest of the detained student, Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.
The student, whose name was not disclosed, told police that the pythons hatched from eggs that he purchased online for 100 yuan (USD 16) each just a week ago, and that they were delivered to him through the mail. He then placed the eggs in an incubator until they hatched. He posted pictures of the baby snakes on the internet, prompting several internet users to report it to the authorities. The snake, also known as royal python or ball python, is a nonvenomous python species which originated in Africa. Adults of the species can grow up to 90 and 120 centimetres. These snakes are bred in captivity and are popular as pets in many places of the world.
Fuzhou’s forestry regulator, which oversees wildlife protection in the city, said China treated the animal as a subject of second-degree state-level animal protection. “We do not recommend individuals to foster Python regius, because as overseas species and (because it is easy for them) to escape, they could potentially impact the local ecology,” an official said. In 2012, a Jiangxi resident kept a three-metre-long gold python as a pet and drew public attention for “walking” it in a public park.
The snake was later taken away by local authorities and he was sanctioned for domesticating a wild animal, under national priority protection, without a licence.
The resident later brought the case to court and demanded the return of the animal, as he argued that he could provide better care of the animal than the local zoo. The court ruled against him. (PTI)
New font lets you write
like Einstein
New York: You might not have a brain like Albert Einstein, but at least now you can write like him! A German artist has created a font based upon Albert Einstein’s handwriting to let people write like the famous physicist.
The Albert Einstein handwriting font is a collaboration between Harald Geisler, a German artist specialised in typography, and Liz Waterhouse, a former dancer.
“The Albert Einstein font will be compatible with most digital devices, allowing you to write like a genius on your computer and phone,” the duo said on Kickstarter website. The project has already raised USD 8,723 of its USD 15,000 goal.
The project is being launched to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s general theory of relativity this year.
Einstein is best known for achievements such as general relativity (his theory of gravitation) and special relativity (his theory on the relationship between space and time). But the famous physicist also had impressive handwriting. (PTI)
“Einstein’s equations were beautiful, so it makes sense that their presentation should be as well,” said Phil Marshall, an astrophysicist at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in California, according to Kickstarter. Geisler has spent six months poring over letters from the Einstein Archives before developing a prototype, which he created by tracing the handwriting with a digital pen. The Einstein Estate has since granted approval for Geisler to develop the font, ‘LiveScience’ reported. In actual handwriting, letters aren’t always written the same way. To make the Einstein font seem more natural, Geisler created several variations of each letter, which can be combined with other letters in different ways. Geisler has previously produced a font based on Sigmund Freud’s handwriting. (PTI)
Man arrested after he likes own ‘most wanted’ Facebook poster
Los Angeles: In a bizarre case, a 23-year-old man in the US was arrested after he liked his own “most wanted” poster on a Facebook page.
Levi Charles Reardon from Montana was arrested after he liked his photo on the Cascade County Crimestoppers Facebook page.
Reardon was arrested without incident on felony charges of forgery in which he is suspected of stealing a wallet and personal cheques, Great Falls Tribune newspaper reported.
The Crimestoppers Facebook page took a screenshot showing Reardon liked his own photo on the Great Falls/Cascade County social media page.
Reardon’s name appears under his own “most wanted” mugshot showing that “Levi Charles Reardon likes this” — a move the Crimestoppers page noticed and circled for the page’s other visitors to see. Reardon made an initial court appearance last week on a USD 2,500 warrant. His arraignment is scheduled for May 7.
According to court records, Reardon is a suspect in a case involving the theft of a wallet and personal cheques last January. (PTI)
The report says four of the missing cheques were cashed, allegedly by Reardon. Documents says one of the cheques was cashed at a grocery store after a law enforcement officer contacted Reardon about the missing wallet and that cheques made out to him were reported as fraudulent. PTI ASK AKJ ASK 05051641