SIDELINES...

GEORDIE SPUDFOOT

Police launched a “large-scale” search after a dog walker in Gateshead, north east England, sent officers a photograph of what appeared to be a toe poking out of the soil. After carrying out the search in the dark with specialist dogs, police discovered a potato with a mushroom growing next to it, but praised the woman for her “vigilance” and said the call had been made in “good faith”. BBC News, 8 Jan 2021

CAT MARAUDER

An armed man in his 50s, dressed in “tactical style camouflage clothing” including a mask and helmet, stormed a Melbourne animal shelter and threatened a worker at gunpoint. He tied her hands with cable ties and demanded to know “where the cats were” before leaving without taking anything. Australian Associated Press, 12 Jan 2021.

WOODEN SHIPS

Japanese scientists are researching the viability of space satellites made of wood. With space junk becoming an increasing problem, the collaboration between Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University hopes to launch the world’s first wooden satellites by 2023, with Sumitomo working on the development of wooden materials highly resistant to temperature changes and sunlight. Such satellites would combust after use without releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere or raining debris onto the ground when they plunge back to Earth. BBC News, 29 Dec 2020.