STATUS UPDATES

A week in which umbrellas, Kermit’s voice and Gangnam Style all disappeared

PULLED OFF

Hi Ho! Kermit the Frog here … with an all-new voice. Muppets Studio announced performer Matt Vogel will take over voicing the iconic frog from Steve Whitmire, who had inherited the beloved role in 1990 following the death of Muppets creator and original Kermit, Jim Henson. No reason was given, but the move has left many a fan with a frog in their throat.

UDDER HAPPINESS

Happy cows mean more milk, according to researchers who are advising farmers to provide cattle with soft bedding and lots of air. “I think it’s really important that we give (cows) the spa treatment,” said Nigel Cook of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Adding sprinklers and feeding cows at the same time also help to reduce stress and increase milk production.

VANISHING

Tapping into the bikesharing economy, an entrepreneur launched an umbrella app in China in which users pay to “borrow” umbrellas stationed near bus stops. The initiative was heralded a success — but when it rains it pours, and nearly 300,000 umbrellas have now gone missing, likely taken home instead of being left on the streets, the creator says.

UNIVERSAL

Ladies and gentlemen, announcements on the London tube will no longer address you as such. Transport for London said it will ditch the salutation for the gender-neutral, more inclusive, “Hello, everyone.” For nearly a year, LGBTQ groups have campaigned for the language change, arguing that the previous greeting was polite but outdated.

PULLED OVER

C is for cocaine: Florida police discovered a stash of the stuff inside a Cookie Monster doll during a vehicle inspection in the Florida Keys. After flagging down a car with an obscured licence plate, a deputy officer smelled marijuana and proceeded with a search, finding the Muppet, which felt many grams heavier than a few-too-many cookies. A 39-year-old was arrested.

UTTER SURPRISE

People using an ATM in Texas got more than expected when the machine began to dispense handwritten notes pleading for help. A user flagged down police who discovered a contractor had locked himself in the ATM’s service room. “I’m stuck in here, and I don’t have my phone. Please call my boss,” the man wrote on the notes he fed through the slot.

VANQUISHED For

five years, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” has ruled YouTube as the most-watched video, but this week, Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth, took over with 2.896 billion views. Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” sits in third, but he could come from behind with a different song in which he’s featured — “Despacito” is the song of the summer with 2.5 billion views already.

OTHERWORLDLY An

auction house thinks a bag of dust could attract a stratospheric bid. The bag of moon dust and rocks collected by Neil Armstrong in 1969 is valued between $2 million to $4 million, according to Sotheby’s, which is auctioning off the symbol of America’s glory days in space later this month.