Humpty Dumpty had a great fall (it was widely reported at the time). This important news will no longer be read to children in India, where the regional government in Madhya Pradesh wants to “reduce Western influence” in the classroom. “There are Indian rhymes to infuse patriotism,” notes Narottam Mishra, the education minister.
It gleams, it turns heads and it cost Mark Johnston, a Californian car-dealer, £920,000 to buy one of only five super-modern Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK-GTR roadsters ever made. “The car truly is a work of art,” he says. This is just as well. Mr Johnston is suing the car’s German manufacturer after an awkward test drive with a potential buyer during which it broke down completely. “It just happens,” he adds, “to be a work of art that won’t work.”
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Cosmetic dentistry may date back 4,500 years, researchers are claiming, after discovering some teeth work in a Mexican burial site. The individual — or victim — walked around with “the mouth of some other animal in his mouth”, says James Chatters, an archaeologist. His teeth had been ground down almost to the gums to accommodate the molars of a wolf or panther, certainly not a procedure anyone will lobby for on the NHS.
Oddly poignant opening of the month is a Hall of Fame for unknown musicians in Nashville, Tennessee. The idea came to a local guitar-shop owner, Joe Chambers. Who will want to see the faces of session players and others who never became, well, famous? Mr Chambers has given us a clue. “It means a lot, obviously, to the families.”
Religious news: Madonna is reportedly planning a “spiritual journey” with the wildish teenage actress Lindsay Lohan. “They’re going to visit the Holy Land,” according to a source quoted on American TV. This could mean a coup for the world’s other great religion, Kabbalah (watch out, Scientology!). The Material Girl is a convert and now Party Girl could become one. Lohan says that she is “looking into” the faith.
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Sources: BBC News, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), MSNBC.com