WEIRD WORLD

NOVEL IDEA: A hard drive containing Sir Terry Pratchett’s unpublished works has been destroyed by a steamroller, just as the late author wanted. Following his death in 2015 after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his friend, author Neil Gaiman, told The Times that the fantasy writer wanted “whatever he was working on at the time of his death to be taken out along with his computers, to be put in the middle of a road and for a steamroller to steamroll over them all”. Rob Wilkins, who manages the Pratchett estate, tweeted that the unfinished books had been destroyed, along with a photo of the steamroller and hard drive. BRIGHT OTTERS:

Just like computersavvy teenagers, young smooth-coated otters are quicker to master new technology than the older generation, scientists have found. They also help each other solve problems - albeit without the assistance of social media. In a series of tests otters were given containers of food that could only be reached by overcoming technological obstacles such as clipon, pull-off or unscrew lids. The problemsolving strategies they employed displayed a high level of social learning that was much more apparent in young animals.

KARMA CLAIM: The University of Tampa has fired a visiting assistant professor who suggested in a tweet that Hurricane Harvey’s destruction is “instant karma” for Texas because it voted Republican. Sociology professor Kenneth L Storey posted the tweet and two responses on Sunday before removing the entire thread and his profile photo. University spokesman Eric Cardenas said in a statement that Prof Storey was fired after the school weathered an outpouring of online outrage over the comments.