DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
Screenshot of an Irish Coast Guard video showing the ‘ghost ship’ washed up on the Irish coast near the village of Ballycotton.
• A “ghost ship” that has been drifting for more than a year without a crew has washed up on the Irish coast thanks to high seas caused by Storm Dennis. The 77 metre long cargo ship, MV Alta, ran into problems in the mid-Atlantic en route from Greece to Haiti in September, 2018, and was abandoned by the 10 crew some 20 days later after the ship had drifted some 2,200 kilometres south of Bermuda. The US Coast Guard and ship’s owner were apparently working to arrange a tow for the ship but there were reports it had been hijacked in the process of being salvaged. The ship has now been washed ashore in County Cork.
• No, it wasn’t Pegasus but it was an unusual passenger, to be sure. People entering the first class cabin of a plane in the US recently were no doubt surprised to find ‘Freckle Butt Fred’, a miniature horse, ensconced there. Fred, a therapy and service horse, was specially trained by handler Ronica Froese ahead of the American Airlines flight from Michigan to Ontario in Canada. Froese, who thanked the airline crew in a Facebook post, reportedly said Fred was an “angel” on both outgoing and return flights. The US Department of Transport issued guidelines for taking service horses on planes last year but is apparently now considering a ban.
• Half of British adults admit taking their mobile phone into the toilet, according to a new survey. The poll commissioned by Direct Line Home Insurance reportedly also found that 16 per cent of people admitted taking their tablet into the toilet while four per cent said they had taken a games console. Some 40 per cent of those surveyed had accidentally dropped items down the toilet or into the sink with phones and jewellery the most common items.
