Flies avoid being swatted in just the same way Keanu Reeves dodges flying bullets in the movie The Matrix – by watching time pass slowly.

To the insect, that rolled-up newspaper moving at lightning speed might as well be inching through thick treacle.

Like Reeves standing back and side-stepping slo-mo bullets, the fly has ample time to escape.

And it is not alone in its ability to perceive time differently from us. New research suggests that across a wide range of species, time perception is directly related to size. Generally the smaller an animal is, and the faster its metabolic rate, the slower time passes.

The evidence comes from research into the ability of animals to detect separate flashes of fast-flickering light. (PA)

Keyhole surgery for penguins

A vet has said he uses keyhole surgery to remove lollipop sticks and coins swallowed by inquisitive penguins.

Romain Pizzi is an expert in minimally-invasive surgery at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland which runs Edinburgh Zoo, home to more than 70 Gentoo penguins.

Mr Pizzi has performed 22 operations in four years on birds that have swallowed everything from stones and coins to gloves, lollipop sticks and children’s socks. Even leaves with woody stalks can cause complications if they find their way into a penguin’s intestine. He said: “A penguin’s intestine is very compact, with sharp angles, and even something like an oak leaf can cause problems.” (PA)

Unwanted Hitler citizenship

A town in central Germany plans to strip Adolf Hitler of his honorary citizenship, 68 years after the Nazi leader’s death.

The town assembly of Goslar in Lower Saxony state has set in motion a procedure that would formally remove the title next month.

Officials previously argued the move was unnecessary because the honour technically expired when Hitler committed suicide days before the end of the World War II. (PA)

Shop robbers given the boot

A hero shopkeeper gave armed robbers the boot by attacking them with his shoe.

British police praised the unnamed worker as they released CCTV of Saturday’s raid at a Service Station on Manchester Road in Westhoughton, Greater Manchester, showing him confronting the hooded, knife-wielding thieves.

Despite being outnumbered and stabbed in the arm, he whips his shoe off and forces them back towards the door of the service station. The robbers, both black men, eventually fled empty-handed – being chased on to the forecourt by the worker wearing only one shoe.

The victim, who also picked up a glass jar to defend himself during the attack, suffered two puncture wounds to his arm and later needed 12 stitches. (PA)

Lost wallet found after 17 years

Cave explorers have found a wallet dropped in 1996 by a man who spent two days lost underground.

Members of a New York group found Joseph Sweet’s wallet while exploring the caves under the city.

Mr Sweet was 19 when he and another man became lost in the system of caves. They were eventually rescued by firefighters. (PA)