Dispensary Corner

YOUR mum always said you should carry an umbrella so you don’t catch a chill - well a Japanese inventor has gone a step further with the creation of a new “hands-free” parasol.

Oyama-based Asahi Power Service Co. is currently working on a prototype of the dronebased “flying umbrella” which uses artificial intelligence to automatically hover above users as they walk.

The project is the brainchild of ceo Kenji Suzuki, who said it was “bothersome to open an umbrella when your hands are full”.

Flight testing is currently underway, with the project hoped to be released in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

However there are some distinct limitations with the umbrella at this early stage, with the 5kg gadget currently only able to fly for five minutes.

HERE’S an unusual defence for a drunk-driving arrest.

A US man pulled over in Florida for erratic motoring last week failed a sobriety test and was found to have a high bloodalcohol level, but insists he wasn’t drinking while driving.

Despite finding an open bottle of bourbon in the passenger seat, 69-year-old Earle Stevens Jr told police officers he was only taking slugs of the booze while the car was stopped at red lights and stop signs - not while the vehicle was actually moving.

Fortunately for the rest of society, the inventive explanation didn’t keep him out of prison on a DUI charge, according to a USA Today report.