DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
• “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” So runs a new warning issued by the US Food and Drug Administration which comes after a spike in the number of people taking a drug meant for horses in the mistaken belief that it treats or prevents COVID-19. In Mississippi, where the poisons line has received numerous cals from people who have taken the drug, state health officer Dr Thomas Dobbs described the idea of taking the drug to prevent coronavirus infection as “really kind of crazy” and urged people not to do it. The FDA has said large doses of the drug – ivermectin – is “dangerous” and could cause “serious harm”. So please, remember that you’re not a horse or a cow.
Visitors play in a ‘sprinkle pool’ at the Museum of Ice Cream in Singapore, on 19th August. PICTURE: Reuters/Travis Teo.
• America’s Museum of Ice Cream launched its first international outlet in Singapore last week, providing some sweet distraction from the coronavirus after curbs put a halt to many entertainment activities across the city state. Visitors were required to book in advance to prevent crowding and many were excited about the interactive exhibits – free-flow ice cream and children’s ball pool filled with plastic multi-coloured ice cream sprinkles. “We had a lot of fun in the bouncy castle, we were wearing our masks, but bouncing off the calories,” said health coach Trudy Sweeney, while biting into a red bean potong ice cream, one of the Singapore edition’s local offerings. The Museum of Ice Cream said it planned to expand to more locations soon (if fact, another opened in Austin, Texas, last Saturday).
• A bunker built by German troops in northern France during World War II has been given an unlikely new lease of life as an underground guesthouse, welcoming history buffs and visitors after remaining buried for years. Located in Saint-Pabu, the L479 bunker is owned by Serge Colliou who spent 18 months turning the 4,300 square foot building into a guesthouse. A night costs $US375 for six people with a second floor able to be opened for up to 20 guests more in the property if needed. Meanwhile, in another unusual property story, a house in the US state of Florida has gone on the market – complete with a centuries old oak tree growing through the middle of it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Gulfport property has proved a hard sell with some but according to the agent involved, should appeal to a “treehugger”.
– With Reuters, including TRAVIS TEO.
