Magnetic children: ski schools in Courchevel, France are testing new Magnesticks which are magnetic safety bars designed to stop kids falling off chairlifts. The new devices hold children in place, only releasing them on arrival at the top of the lift. It is hoped the invention will prevent dozens of accidents involving children falling out of chairlifts each winter.
- The Daily Telegraph, 8 March

A prisoner is seriously assaulted every 45 minutes in Britain.
- The Independent, 3 March

An Austrian ‘wellness’ hotel has started charging overweight guests more for their stay. Skinny visitors to Bioferienhotel Mandler’s Landhaus in the Alpes, can look forward to bargain deals, while tubby guests must pay higher rates. The hotel describes itself as an ‘oasis for health-conscious and nature loving people,’ and hopes to encourage fitness and healthy eating in its visitors.
- The Times, 3 March

Scientists at Aberdeen University have found a new use for whiskey – clearing pollution and decontaminating water.
- The Times, 5 March

Britons eat about 10 million eggs a year – 27m a day

A man survived for 25 years on an all-biscuit diet. ‘When I was 18 months I stopped eating’, says Andrew Foster, 27. ‘I used to get through two packets a day.’ Andrew is a chef.