Strange but true

How eels survive being swallowed
Normally when a fish swallows its prey, it is pretty much game over for the prey, but in the case of Japanese eels, resistance is not futile. The creatures have been observed breaking out of a fish’s stomach, by moving tail first up the fish’s digestive tract, then squeezing their way out through its gills. Eels have previously been observed dying in an effort to escape a fish’s stomach, and it was presumed that if they ever did manage to find freedom, it would be through the fish’s mouth. When the team in Japan ran experiments in a tank, in which they recorded 32 eels being captured and swallowed by dark sleeper fish, X-ray imagery revealed the exit point to be the gills. The eels could be seen swimming around in the fish’s stomachs, seemingly looking for an escape route. Nine found one, and successfully broke out of the fish’s bodies. The fish were unharmed except that some of the eels showed signs of minor abrasions. Four others got their tails out, but failed to get their heads free.
My partner is a plane
A Berliner who has been in a relationship with an aeroplane for ten years has broken up with it. Michele Köbke first spotted the Boeing 737-800 at Berlin Tegel Airport in 2014, and was immediately attracted to its wings, winglets and thrusters. She called it “Schatz” (roughly “darling”) and declared: “My cheeks hurt from smiling, I’m the happiest woman in the world – when I’m with him I have everything I need.” But it has not been easy: she had to sleep with a model, not the real thing. Now she has ended it, though she says that she and the plane remain friends.
Oh, the irony!
Britain’s policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson, had her purse stolen while she was attending a conference of senior police officers at a hotel in Warwickshire. In her speech, she had warned that Britain was in the grip of an “epidemic” of theft.
The wedding wrecker
A Spanish man has established himself as a professional wedding wrecker, for brides and grooms who have cold feet. For a fee of 500 Euros, Ernesto Reinares Varea says he will “show up at the ceremony, claim to be the love of your life, and we’ll leave hand in hand”. His work has led to him being attacked by angry guests. He charges 50 Euros for every slap he receives, but business is brisk. “I have weddings scheduled until December,” he says.
Bons mots
“Civilisation is in a race between education and catastrophe.” – Herbert George Wells, writer, UK (1866-1946)

Scroll to Top