SIDELINES...

QUITE A BUZZ

A low-level humming noise is heard at all hours of day and night around the South Downs National Park in West Sussex. One Pulborough resident said it was “really annoying.” Some have suggested the cause is rail works or sewage pumps. Others link it to ‘the Hum’ – a rumbling noise heard in various locations worldwide by about four per cent of people. Sun, 18 Mar 2021.

SADIST JAILED

Gary Martin Davies, 37, made his stepchildren, a primary schoolaged brother and sister, take ice baths and stare at a wall for hours. They had to beg for food and sleep on the floor without blankets. He was jailed for five years and 11 months at Carlisle crown court. Sun, 31 Mar 2021.

HARD BOILED

Two intruders entered a closed Denny’s restaurant in Evansville, Indiana, just after 2am on 22 April, went to the kitchen and made themselves eggs, then left. They then returned about an hour later and cooked some more eggs before being confronted by an employee. The restaurant estimated the total loss from the incident at “about $1”, the cost of the eggs. The intruders, though, could still be charged with theft and criminal trespass if caught. BoingBoing, 26 April 2021.

GIANT SPIDER

A giant spider thought extinct, described as “perfectly camouflaged and largely nocturnal”, has been rediscovered on an Army range on MoD land in Surrey. The 2in (5cm) great fox-spider – which shoots venom into its prey, dissolving organs – had not been seen since 1993. Sun, 31 Oct 2020.