SIDELINES...

LAWYER, LAWYER, PANTS ON FIRE

A Florida defence lawyer’s trousers caught fire in court during an arson trial on 8 March. Stephen Gutierrez, 28, was arguing that his client’s car spontaneously combusted and wasn’t intentionally set on fire, when smoke began billowing from his pocket. He fled the Miami courtroom and later blamed a faulty battery in his e-cigarette. Investigators seized frayed e-cigarette batteries as evidence. BBC News, 9 Mar 2017.

MOSQUITO-FREE

No one knows why, but Iceland is one of the few habitable places on the planet that has no mosquitoes, even though there are plenty of ponds and lakes where mozzies love to breed. They thrive in Norway, Scotland, and even Greenland. Maybe it’s because the oceanic climate provides three freezes and three thaws a year, which is too unstable for breeding; or is it the chemical composition of the soil? Int. NY Times, 4 Nov 2016.

WHALE MYSTERY

A dead 40ft (12m) fin whale washed up on Holkham beach on the north Norfolk coast on 20 October 2016. Fin whales are occasionally seen on the southern and western coasts of the UK, but they have never been seen in the North Sea. Both cause and location of death were a mystery. Guardian, 22 Oct 2016.

NOT HIS DAY

Chris Meehan, 22, was knocked from his horse and kicked in the face during a hurdle race at Merano in Italy on 3 July 2016. The Northern Irish jockey broke his nose and was left with a gash requiring 27 stitches. The racecourse ambulance then arrived and reversed over his leg, breaking it. Ironically, Meehan’s father is an ambulance driver trainer, while his brother and aunt also work for the service. D.Telegraph, 6 July 2016.