Fascinating Facts

• Bionic feet for amputee cat
• 03rd July 2010
  A cat that had its back feet severed by a combine harvester has been given two prosthetic limbs in a pioneering operation by a UK vet. The new feet are custom-made implants that "peg" the ankle to the foot. They are bioengineered to mimic th...

• Snake bursts after gobbling gator
• 03rd July 2010
  An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps. The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded. The remains of the two...

• 'Psychic' octopus predicts Germany victory over England
• 27th June 2010
  A "psychic" octopus is said by its aquarium owners to have predicted the country's football team will knock England out of the World Cup. When consulted, Paul the octopus chose a mussel from a jar with the German flag on it ahead of one in a...

• Meet Marty Cooper - the inventor of the mobile phone
• 25th April 2010
  Martin Cooper may not be a household name, but his invention is familiar to more than half the planet's population who own a mobile phone. The concept of a handheld phone was his brainchild, and with the help of his Motorola team, the first handset wa...

• Brits' volcano ash travel stories
• 19th April 2010
  Accessibility linksEU transport ministers are holding emergency talks by video conference on easing the air travel crisis caused by a volcanic ash cloud in European airspace. Thousands remain stranded as restrictions on flights in European airspace extend...

• 10 stories that could be April Fools... but aren't
• 01st April 2010
  It's a day when the news itself comes with a health warning - beware of stories which turn out not to be true. But not every weird report is an April Fool. Here is a round-up of some of the day's seemingly hoax news stories which are actually true. 1....

• Blinded Merseyside soldier 'sees' with tongue device
• 17th March 2010
  A Merseyside soldier blinded by a grenade in Iraq has said his life has been turned around by technology that allows him to "see" with his tongue. L/Cpl Craig Lundberg, 24, from Walton, Merseyside, can read words, identify shapes and walk un...

• Marmite masterpiece is the toast of the web
• 17th March 2010
  An art student from Ebbw Vale has gained a cult following on the internet with his portrait of X Factor judge Simon Cowell in toast and Marmite. Nathan Wyburn posted a video of himself creating the portrait on the video sharing website YouTube after being...

• 'Most unfortunate names' revealed
• 28th February 2010
  What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain? Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still. It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK. Joining them on the l...

• World's most famous 'unseen' diamond
• 01st February 2010
  The room was dimly lit. Armed guards stood at both entrances and enormous ironclad doors were slid shut to seal the gallery. Nobody spoke above a whisper as we waited for the first glimpse in half a century of one of the world's most extraordinary gems....

• Experts stunned by swan 'divorce' at Slimbridge wetland
• 24th January 2010
  Experts have told of their surprise after witnessing a rare "divorce" between a pair of swans at a Gloucestershire wildfowl sanctuary. The Bewick's swans have returned to winter at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge - but b...