5 things we learned this week
1 Demand for exorcisms in Italy is out of control. Knackered priests say they are dealing with as many as 50 cases a day; some are even roping in psychologists to filter out people who are merely mentally unstable rather than possessed. After a woman in Vincenza starting leaping across the pews of one church, assaulting monks and hurling abuse at them in Latin, Father Giuseppe Bernardi was called to quiet the demons in her with nine hours of prayer.
2 The word ‘fish’ is plural only when you’re describing multiple members of the same species. So, 20 yellowfin tuna are fish, but a group of 20 yellowfin tuna plus one skipjack tuna would be fishes. ‘Bust that out next time you want to blow a ten-year-old’s mind,’ says The New York Times.
3 The expression ‘dying of laughter’ isn’t always an exaggeration. The ancient Greek painter Zeuxis died because he was chuckling so hard at his portrait of an ugly old woman. Stoic philosopher Chrysippus met a similar fate, chortling uncontrollably after seeing a donkey eating his figs. And modern people aren’t immune: in 1989, a Danish audiologist kicked the bucket while guffawing at a screening of A Fish Called Wanda.
4 The best way to prevent heartbreak is to avoid men whose names begin with J. That’s according to TikTokers, at least, who have been making videos warning: ‘If his name starts with J, better stay the hell away.’ And it seems celebrities aren’t immune to the J-curse: Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo have written savage break-up albums inspired by heartbreakers Jake Gyllenhaal and Joshua Bassett respectively. ‘If you’re a decent man’ cursed with the J-label, says Girlfriend Magazine, ‘perhaps it’s time to go by your middle name.’
5 Doctors in France can prescribe patients with a three-week stay at a thermal spa. The 21-day course is available at 113 accredited venues, with treatment including ‘mineral water, mud and steam from naturally occurring hot springs’, says The New Yorker. Best of all, the government will stump up 65 per cent of the cost, thanks to a 1947 law proclaiming a ‘right’ to thermal treatment. And the French lap it up: some 600,000 had a spa prescription in 2019.
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