Ray writes: "On a random trip to a homeware store we spotted these curiously hirsute cushions. With President Donald Trump's departure from the White House, has he decided to sell off some of his surplus hair? Were we supplying him?"
Knowledge gained this year
Every year around this time, TomWhitwell shares a list of 52 things he's learned over the course of the year. Here are a few from 2020.
When swimming became popular in England in the 19th century, new municipal pools displayed frogs in tubs, so that would-be swimmers could learn from their movements.
Car safety laws in the US make it more expensive to have three children — women in states with mandated car seats are 0.7 per cent less likely to have a third child. The safety measures may have saved 57 car crash fatalities each year, but caused 145,000 fewer births since 1980.
When users download the Kenyan mobile loans app OKash, the terms and conditions quietly give it permission to access their contacts. If they fall behind in repayments, the app starts to message all those contacts — family, colleagues, ex-partners — to shame the user into repaying the debt.
In Warsaw's Gruba Kaśka water plant there are eight clams with sensors attached to their shells. If the clams close because they don't like the taste of the water, the city's supply is automatically shut off.
Ten per cent of Nepal's GDP comes from people climbing Mount Everest.
A micromort is a one-in-a-million chance of death. Just being alive is about 24 micromorts per day, skydiving is 8 micromorts per jump.
Seen in the Syrian cheese deli section
Don't get stuck in this section. Photo / supplied
On the job advice
A reader writes: "No matter how much your workplace pushes "team building" and "family culture" - remember, they're not your friends and it's still a workplace. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. I work for a small business who put huge emphasis on everyone being friends and building a strong team, but it just means it hurts more when someone inevitably stabs you in the back. I'm not saying go around and be unpleasant to people for no reason, but it's better to build relationships outside of work or in places where there aren't any politics or power imbalances." (via Reddit)
