SIDELINES...

PLUMMETING SNAKE

A large red-bellied black snake seemingly fell from the sky on Flinder Street in Adelaide, South Australia, on 20 December. It landed on a footpath next to a multi-storey car park from which it had plunged, and was killed on impact. It was thought to have hitched a car ride from the River Torrens as a stowaway. It was observed sunbathing on the ninth floor when a pigeon startled it, and it lost its balance and fell. Adelaide Advertiser, 22 Dec 2016.

FALSE ALARM

Residents of Tepatitlán, Mexico, saw a statue of Jesus move its head and hailed it as a miracle. However, their priest said the ropes holding it gave way. Sun, 28 April 2017.

ILLUMINATED ADDRESS

Mark Penney, 54, set fire to a couple’s £800,000 barn conversion near Lewes, East Sussex, by pouring petrol through the letterbox and setting it alight. He then left a note wishing them a ‘happy housewarming’. Philip Nash and Kelly Byrne were days away from moving in. Penney was jailed for six years. Sunday Telegraph, 27 Nov 2016.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A teenager who suffered from headaches was horrified to discover that a 4in (10cm) worm was living inside his brain. It entered Wen Xiaoli’s body as a larva when he cut his hand, and travelled up through his body to live in his head while growing into an adult. It had been there for two years by the time neurosurgeon Yang Zhiquan operated, opening up his skull so that he could pull out the still wriggling worm. Thaivisa.com, 1 April 2017.