Dad takes down town’s internet by mistake
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A father in France accidentally took down an entire town’s internet when he used a signal jammer to prevent his children from going online at night. The tiny town of Messanges in south-western France found that every night at midnight their cellular and internet services stopped working for three hours. Investigators concluded that a signal jammer was being used to block radio frequencies and tracked down the culprit. Technology website Bleeping Computer said that using a jamming device is illegal in France, with a penalty of up to €30,000 and six months in jail.
Woman didn’t realise she was divorced
A woman was unaware for 12 years that she was registered as divorced after her signature was forged on official documents, reported The Times. A court has now set aside the divorce after the judge ruled that the woman had no knowledge of it and that her signature had been forged by or on behalf of her husband. The Times said family lawyers have warned that fraudulent divorces could rise because the majority of applications are now submitted online.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Man’s diarrhoea collection discovered by wife
A woman said she was “lost for words” when she discovered her husband had been collecting diarrhoea, said The Daily Star. Writing on Reddit, she said she noticed a row of jars on a shelf in their pantry. “So I got out the step ladder and up there [were] 14 jars filled to the brim with diarrhoea and sealed with lids,” she wrote. She said the jars appeared to have been arranged in order of consistency, “from brown water to a thick black sludge”. Inexplicably, she decided to open a jar and smell the contents, describing the result as “so bad”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Dutch people put pancakes on their heads today
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Fly found in man's colon
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Judi Dench accidentally video called co-star from bath
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Kevin Bacon the runaway pig finally caught after 18 days
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Female frogs 'fake death' to avoid advances
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published