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29 March 2024

Crazy World: Green river? Yes, in Canada...

An image grab from the YouTube video on the 'green' river. (SUPPLIED)

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Green river? Yes, in Canada…

In a bizarre stunt pranksters in Canada dyed a river luminous green by adding fluorescein used in water studies.

The Goldstream River turned green, initially taking people by surprise, reports Metro.

Although the culprits are yet to be caught, a video posted on YouTube has already got more than a million hits.

While the colour lasted several hours, no fish were reportedly harmed since the dye is commondly used as a tracer agent in water studies.

Life term for toll evasion

(GETTY)

A Chinese court sentenced a man to life for evading to pay about $560,000 of highway toll fee over an eight-month period.

The man, identified only by his surname of Shi from Yuzhou city in central Henan province, was charged with using fake military license plates on his truck to pass through toll booths 2,361 times, thus evading toll fees of 3.68 million yuan or about $560,000, China Daily reported, quoting the provincial Dahe Daily.

The total works out to about $35 a trip. The man used the truck to transport sand and stones, the report said.

The report said Shi got the fake licenses in May 2008. It did not say how authorities caught on to the ruse.

The report quoted Pingdingshan Intermediate People's Court, which convicted Shi, as saying the man did not plan an appeal.

TV thrills, but kills

(GETTY)

More than 2 hours a day in front of the TV or computer can increase the risk of heart disease and premature death, a researcher in Britain says.

Emmanuel Stamatakis of the University College London says people who spend 2 hours each day on screen-based entertainment like watching TV, using the computer or playing video games may place themselves at greater risk for a cardiac event.

The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found a 48 per cent increased risk of all-cause mortality in those spending 4 or more hours a day in front of a screen and an approximately 125 per cent increase in risk of cardiovascular events in those spending 2 or more hours a day, compared to those who spent fewer than 2 hours a day at the screen.

The findings held even after taking into account smoking, hypertension, body mass index, social class and exercise.

The study involved 4,512 adults who were respondents of the 2003 Scottish Health Survey, which included a total of 325 deaths and 215 cardiac events during an average of 4.3 years of follow-up.

"It is all a matter of habit. Many of us have learned to go back home, turn the TV set on and sit down for several hours – it's convenient and easy to do," Stamatakis says in a statement. "But doing so is bad for the heart and our health in general."

Man makes own glass coffin

(GETTY)

A Croatian man who created a glass coffin for himself said he also wrote an obituary in which he cites "drinking too much" as the cause of his death.

Giulio Codiglia, 59, of Basanija, said he created the coffin and obituary partially to amuse his friends and also to be prepared for his eventual demise, the Croatian Times reported Tuesday.

"In the obituary I've written that I've died because of drinking too much," Codiglia told Croatian tabloid 24 Sata.