ODDS AND ENDS

Parents’ classes

LONDON: Parents are going back to school for “detention-like” lessons in maths because they are struggling to help their children with their homework.

Buttsbury Junior School is offering night classes to help them brush up on topics such as fractions and algebra. They will practise working through sums designed for 10-year-olds.

The school, in Essex, says many parents do not have the confidence to help their children at home. – Daily Mail

Moon’s real age

LOS ANGELES: The moon is much older than we thought, scientists have found. Our closest neighbour is 4.51 billion years old, scientists have established. The estimate comes from rocks brought back by Apollo 14.

It means that we were as much as 150 million years out in our guess of how old it was. The moon was formed within just 60 million years of the birth of the solar system, according to new research. – The Independent

Heavy work

BANGKOK: They are not known for being overdressed, as they compete in bikinis and revealing gowns. But that doesn’t mean Miss Universe finalists travel light – particularly Miss Thailand.

For Chalita Suansane checked in at Bangkok airport with 17 suitcases, weighing 300kg, for her flight to Manila, in the Philippines, for the final.

The 22- year- old’s luggage was bulging with dresses, swimsuits, shoes, tiaras and make- up. – Daily Mail

Tortoise wheels

NORFOLK: Sent to a two- month breeding programme, Bert the sex-mad tortoise should have had the time of his life. But the 22-year-old African spurred tortoise developed arthritis from his over-exertion, causing painful swelling in his back left leg.

So to keep Bert moving during the cold weather, which triggers his condition, his keepers at Norfolk’s Dinosaur Adventure Park in the UK have fitted him with his own set of wheels. – Daily Mail