WEIRD WORLD

HOORAY HOOSIERS:

The US federal government is now officially referring to Indiana residents as Hoosiers. US senators Joe Donnelly and Todd Young said the Government Publishing Office has changed the designation of Indiana natives to Hoosiers in the new federal government style guide. The Hoosier designation replaces the term Indianan. The change comes after members of Indiana’s congressional delegation sent a letter last year to the office’s style board chairman saying that Indiana residents “have always called ourselves Hoosiers”. The letter urged the style board chairman to consider including Hoosier in the next style manual because it has “endured since our state’s beginnings”.

FAMILY’S SHARED BIRTHDAY:

Married Luke and Hillary Gardner never have a problem remembering each other’s birthday as they were born on the same day – and so was their infant son, 27 years later. Experts said the odds of that are about one in 133,000. Luke Gardner, an assistant pastor at a Baptist church in north-east Mississippi, said he and his wife were not even aiming for a December birthday for son Cade Lee Gardner. It just happened. Mr Gardner joked that if he and Hillary decide to have more children, they may have to try for December.

FAKE SNAKE:

When the RSPCA was called to catch a stray snake found in a Surrey loft, staff were not expecting to find a child’s cuddly toy. But that’s exactly what happened when animal welfare officer Carl Hone arrived at the property in December. The caller, who was nervous of the reptiles, called the charity after seeing the toy, mistaking it for the real deal and rushing downstairs.