WEIRD WORLD

SING FORTH:

People with lung conditions are being urged to sing Christmas carols to help improve their breathing.

A consensus statement agreed by doctors, physiotherapists, nurses, psychologists and music therapists follows a review of evidence that suggests singing helps people develop deeper and more controlled breathing.

HANDS DOWN:

Pupils have been banned from putting up their hands in class to answer questions after a headteacher claimed it was always the same students responding.

The Samworth Church Academy in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, will now only allow the raising of hands “to establish silence for listening”, according to principal Barry Found.

NOSING AHEAD:

A chemical sniffer modelled on the nose of a Labrador has been shown to improve detection up to 18 times.

The secret was to mimic the “active” way dogs sniff as they exhale and inhale to sample the air, said scientists. US researchers investigated the doggy technique for smelling and learned how canine nostrils capture and pull in aroma samples five times a second. Using a 3-D printer they replicated the external features of a female Labrador retriever’s nose.

Fitting the artificial dog nose to the front of a commercially available explosives detector improved performance up to 18 times.

POP PUNISHMENT:

A police department in Canada’s province of Prince Edward Island is threatening to impose “the Nickelback treatment” on anyone who drinks and drives.

The Kensington Police Service shared a social media post promising to force any drunk drivers it arrests to listen to the Canadian band while in the back seat of a cruiser.