SIDELINES...

ESCAPED VACUUM

A robot vacuum cleaner went missing in Measham, Leicestershire, when its owner left his front door open while unloading shopping from his car. Finding that his hoover had vanished, he suspected it had escaped when the door was open. “I’ve tried pressing the home button to make it return to the charging thing, but it must be out of range,” said the owner in a post on social media asking neighbours to look out for the escaped robot “The battery lasts about 90 minutes so it may have gone quite far.” leicestermercury.co.uk, 7 Jul 2021.

LITTLE DEVILS

The annual roundup of popular names in the UK, issued by the Office of National Statistics has revealed that 15 boys were named Lucifer last year, while only eight were called Barry, seven Stuart and none were called Nigel. Oliver remained the most popular name for boys, and Olivia for girls. twitter@Hwallop.

DRUG PIPES

A new drug craze in the Democratic Republic of Congo has caused an outbreak of car exhaust thefts. Called “bombe” (“powerful” in the local Lingala language) it is made by crushing up the honeycomb core of catalytic converters from the exhausts, which contain metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, with vitamins, sleeping pills or sedatives. When snorted, the drug induces a catatonic state that leaves users standing motionless for hours, swaying gently. It is not clear how it works or what its long-term effects are, but Congo authorities warn “it’s not a substance made for us to consume.” , 28 Sept 2021.