DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
PICTURE: Via USPS
• The US Postal Service has announced it’s releasing its first ever scratch-and-sniff stamps, adding the “sweet scent of summer” to letters. The stamp series, which feature pictures of what are known in the US as “ice pops” (and in Australia as “icy poles”), will be released on 20th June. The stamps feature “whimsical watercolor illustrations of frozen treats” by artist Margaret Berg of Santa Monica in California.
• Speaking of marvellous scents, toy company Hasbro has announced Play-Doh’s “nostalgia-inducing scent” has been officially recognised by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a registered trademark of the brand. Hasbro formally describes the smell of Play-Doh as a “unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough”. Play-Doh was launched in 1956 and the recipe has remained largely unchanged since.
• A new record was set for the most successful cheese chaser during Britain’s annual Cheese Rolling contest on Monday. Veteran cheese roller, 30-year-old Chris Anderson, captured his 21st cheese wheel, beating the previous total of 20 wins held by Stephen Glyde and becoming the most successful person in the event’s history. The contest, which was held at Gloucestershire’s Cooper’s Hill, reportedly attracted hundreds of competitors who chased three kilogram wheels of double Gloucester cheese down the steep hill.