DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
PICTURE: Clark Young/Unsplash
• Reminsicent of Willy Wonka’s promotional effort to sell chocolate bars, the Australian state of Victoria is offering anglers the chance to win thousands of dollars when they catch a golden tagged fish in lakes and rivers in the state’s bushfire ravaged east. In a scheme designed to attract tourists to the region – huge swathes of which has been burnt through in this summer’s deadly fires, the State Government has reportedly announced they are tagging 1000 fish in the region with golden tickets. The first 10 anglers to snag one and report it to the Victorian Fisheries Authority will win $A10,000 each while each tagged fish found subsequently will net $A2,000 with the total prize pool capped at $A500,000. The competition, which will reportedly start by Easter in East Gippsland and the state’s north-east, is expected to last a year.
• We’re seeing less and less letters hit the mailbox these days as more and more people turn to electronic delivery methods instead. But that wasn’t the case for one US couple: a glitch in a computer system meant Dan and Dee Cain received some 55,000 identical letters from a student loan company. Not only that but the statement contained in the letter which concerned a loan the Ohio couple had taken out for their daughter was apparently incorrect, according to the company. Having apologised, the company is now sending out a new corrected statement (hopefully just the one!). The Cains, meanwhile, are considering what to do with the 79 plastic bins of mail they’ve received.
• If wandering England’s beaches, taking the ocassional snapshot and writing about your experiences sounds like a dream job, a British beach hut sale and rental company’s new position may be appealing. BeachHuts.com has announced it’s looking for a ‘Hut Hunter’ to travel the coastline between Norfolk and Cornwall, take photos and write about the beaches and beach huts they find along the way. Company CEO Charlie Ramsay told Stylist it was a “fun opportunity for anybody who fancies a tour around our beautiful coastline, armed with a campervan, camera and pen and paper”. Entries close on 29th February.
