Dogs can recognise around 89 words and phrases

And other stories from the stranger side of life

A border collie

A new study has found that dogs can recognise on average 89 words or phrases. The project involved asking 165 owners to choose from a list of words, identifying those that their dog consistently understood. The worst performing knew 15, while the best could distinguish 215. Researchers found that among the terms often understood were “treat”, “breakfast”, “dinner”, “garbage”, “poo” and things to chase, such as a “ball” or “squirrel”.

Fish blow raspberries when they’re happy

Happy fish sound as if they are blowing raspberries, a study has found. Scientists found that whoops, croaks, growls, raspberries and foghorn-like noises from fish can help to demonstrate that efforts to restore a reef are going well, said The Times. Professor Steve Simpson, from the University of Bristol, said: “Some of the sounds we recorded are bizarre.”

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Pilot ‘spots UFOs above Pacific Ocean’

A pilot claimed that he saw a fleet of UFOs over the Pacific Ocean and that the suspected alien aircraft took the form of “weird” rotating lights moving across the sky. In a video, shot at 39,000 feet, the pilot can be heard saying: “I do not know what that is. That is some weird s**t. That is something flying.”

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