DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
A map showing where the sheep have taken footage. PICTURE: SheepView 360
• The tiny Faroe Islands, located about halfway between Iceland and Norway, didn’t have Google Street View so local resident Durita Dahl Andreassen decided to enlist help from some locals – sheep – to create the islands’ own version. Strapping solar powered 360-degree cameras on the back of her woolly friends, Mr Andreassen produced footage showing off the archipelago’s natural beauty which was then launched online as Sheep View 360. Oh, and the good news is that in the wake of her efforts, Google have now included the islands in its Street View feature. As David Castro González de Vega, Google Maps program manager, says: “It goes to show – if there’s a wool, there’s a way.”
• The UK’s tradition of appointing ‘Chief Mousers’ to key government bodies in Whitehall has gone global with the British Embassy to Jordan announcing this week that ‘Lawrence of Abdoun’ has been given the honour at the Middle East institution. The black-and-white tomcat, a rescue from an animal shelter, has been named after British military hero TE Lawrence, also known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. The cat apparently reports directly to the London-based Foreign Office Chief Mouser, Palmerston. Lawrence tweets under the handle @LawrenceDipCat and has already garnered a couple of thousand followers.
https://twitter.com/DiploMog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@diplomog</a>, but also for visitors! Have you subscribed to my team’s travel advice for Jordan? <a href=”https://t.co/Aaxo18Y7Uv”>https://t.co/Aaxo18Y7Uv</a> <a href=”https://t.co/RYXSKHYT81″>pic.twitter.com/RYXSKHYT81</a></p>— Lawrence of Abdoun (@LawrenceDipCat) <a href=”https://twitter.com/LawrenceDipCat/status/931542050654380038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 17, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
• Robby the Robot, which featured in the 1956 cult film Forbidden Planet, has sold at auction in New York for more than $US5.3 million, setting a new record for a movie prop. Auction house Bonhams report that the $US5,375,000 price elipsed the $US4 million paid for a 30 centimetre tall Falcon statue used in The Maltese Falcon as well as the $US4.6 million paid for the white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch and the $US4.6 million handed over for the original 1966 Batmobile. Robby’s previous owner, filmmaker and collector William Malone, said he was “astounded” by the result, “but also sad to part with him”. “However, it’s time Robby finds a place where he can be displayed, and with someone who can look after him. Of course, he will leave an empty spot in my house – and in my heart.”
