Weighing as much as a dozen African elephants and clad in armour-plated skin, Dreadnoughtus – meaning “fears nothing” – would have lived up to its name.

The supermassive dinosaur, whose almost complete skeleton was found in southern Patagonia, Argentina, breaks all records for the largest animal that ever walked the Earth. It belonged to the family of Titanosaurs which were famous for their size and the bony plates that protected their bodies like a suit of armour.

Wrong trousers brings apology

A school has been forced to apologise after it threw more than 50 children into detention for wearing the wrong trousers.

Pupils at Heaton Manor School in Newcastle upon Tyne were placed in separate rooms after falling foul of confusing uniform rules.

Angry parent Christine Reid said the minute her daughter walked through the school gates, she was taken into isolation.

She told the Newcastle Chronicle: “She was in that room for eight hours yesterday and she was deeply distressed. I’d understand if she’d behaved badly, but this is punishment for a pair of trousers the teachers don’t like.”

Bin-gate boost for bake-off show

The “bin-gate” scandal which erupted around BBC1 hit The Great British Bake Off led to the show’s biggest ever audience, new figures show.

The controversial episode – in which contestant Iain Watters dumped his “showstopper” baked Alaska dish to cause an unlikely national kerfuffle – drew 10.25 million viewers, now catch-up viewers have been added on.

It means the programme has become one of the BBC’s most-viewed programmes of the year. Only World Cup screenings, New Year fireworks, Sherlock and Call The Midwife have scored more than 10 million viewers for the “consolidated” figures, which bring together live and catch-up viewing.

Automatic pass – for just a minute

Students in Austria sitting down to take university entrance exams this week found themselves with a guaranteed pass – at least for a minute or two. The answers were already filled in.

The University of Salzburg said 144 would-be psychology students were given the wrong envelope. Instead of the normal tests, they were handed copies with answers meant for the professors grading them.

The exams were quickly collected. Paul Lengenfelder, of the university’s psychology department, said the students will be re-tested next month.

Sockless sanctions for US lawyer

A US lawyer who habitually appears in court without socks faces sanctions including possible fines if he turns up without them again in one Indiana courtroom.

Blackford Circuit Judge Dean Young ordered Todd Glickfield, of Marion, to wear appropriate business attire, including socks and a tie, in future proceedings in his Hartford City courtroom.

Glickfield appeared without socks in Judge Young’s court on August 22. The order said that, during a break in proceedings, the court advised Glickfield that he was not appropriately dressed as required by court rules. The order said Glickfield replied: “I hate socks.”

Mugshot taken in heavy make-up

An Arkansas woman whose mugshot shows her in heavy aqua and maroon eye shadow has been accused of shoplifting $144 (€105) in make-up.

Police in Fayetteville arrested 31-year-old Brandy Allen, accusing her of stuffing handfuls of eye shadow into her handbag.

Officers said that, after being confronted, Allen launched a profanity-laced tirade and tried to damage the make-up as she pulled it out of her handbag so the items would appear used.

Washington County Jail said Allen was bailed on charges of shoplifting and disorderly conduct.