BIRDS AND THE BEESDo spiders that get flushed down a toilet survive the experience? Grant Whitehouse, Teddington, UK
No, they drown. Spiders which you find in the bath have fallen in, not, as widely assumed, emerged from the plug-hole, as they cannot get past the U-bend (they drown). Chris White, Hull, UK
I can't imagine anyone has ever looked, but in all probability no. Spiders need oxygen as much as we do and once under the water and in the pipes it would be unlikely to be able to surface until it reaches the sewers. Read More...
The ObserverPeruTwo months on, there’s no solution in sight as authorities use force to try to subdue protests calling for political change
Burning pyres of rubbish and bullet-pocked walls. Troops holed up in the airport with AK-47s and riot shields, waiting for a truce that has no date to come. A mayor holding court behind the broken windows of a vandalised city hall.
“I feel that my city is destroying itself. Read More...
MoviesFor one whole month a brutal criminal gang held and tortured businessman Marc Schiller. Eventually he signed over millions of dollars to them. His story is now the subject of a movie, but the ordeal was much worse in real lifeAt no point during the production of Pain & Gain, the new black comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson, did Marc Schiller get a call from its makers. This surprised the Buenos Aires-born businessman as he was the victim in the true-life story of kidnapping, torture, extortion and, ultimately, redemption upon which the film is based. Read More...