A precious ring which once belonged to the renowned architect Sir John Soane is finally heading back to its home and museum.
The "lost treasure", which contains a lock of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair, was one of Sir John's prized possessions. But rather than leaving it to the Sir John Soane's Museum, he left the ring to his relatives. It eventually passed out of the family's ownership and was deemed "lost".
Years later it resurfaced and went on sale last summer at Christie's - the first time the museum had news of its whereabouts since Sir John's death in 1837. But the museum was disappointed when its bid was bettered by another buyer. Frustration later turned to delight when the new owner heard of the museum's interest and decided the item should be returned to its original home. The ring was bought back by Sir John Soane's Museum for £41,000.
It takes the biscuit
The world's tallest living man unveiled the world's largest gingerbread man at an Ikea outlet in Norway's capital Oslo yesterday.
Guinness Book of World Records spokesman Justine Bourdariat said 8ft 1in Sultan Koesen, of Turkey, presented the 651kg biscuit.
Baked locally in the traditional gingerbread man shape, it beat the previous gingerbread biscuit record of 593 kilos set in Smithville, Texas, in 2006.
Ikea spokesman Jan Thommesen said Guinness Book of World Records representative Kelly Gerret awarded the furniture store a world record diploma yesterday as part of the publication's World Records Day.
Shocking surprise
A painter and decorator described his shock at finding the severed head of an alligator while he was out walking his dogs.
Peter Lumb, 59, of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, found the skull and a section of the reptile's jaw while he was walking his two border collies on a hillside in the Crosland Moor area.
The bones were checked out by experts at Manchester Museum, where his daughter Catherine works, and found to be that of an American alligator, officially an alligator mississippiensis, which is usually found in the south-eastern United States.
Commuters in 'love'
Commuters set aside their usual indifference towards fellow rail passengers when they set a new world record for hugging.
The 112 people, many of them total strangers, made an unfamiliar sight at St Pancras station in central London as they embraced for 60 seconds.
Smiles appeared on the faces of the suit-wearing participants who appeared to enjoy the physical contact in groups and pairs.
How to ride a bicycle
Police officers have been ridiculed after drawing up a step-by-step guide to riding a bicycle.
The guide gives advice on how to balance so officers do not fall off.
The book, titled the Police Cycle Training Doctrine, also covers key skills such as how to brake, turn and avoid the kerb. The guidance was drawn up by a group of cycling enthusiasts working for police forces around England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Iron man
Doctors in the Peruvian city of Cajamarca removed 1.5lb of metal from a man's stomach after he complained of internal pains.
They found Requelme Abanto had been eating nails, coins, corroded copper wire and scrap metal. The 26-year-old building worker is now undergoing mental tests.
Bonus marks for sale
A school in Goldsboro North Carolina is selling bonus exam marks to pupils in a bid to raise money. Rosewood Middle School came up with the plan after last year's chocolate sale flopped.
For $20 pupils can add 10 extra points to two tests of their choice, the difference between an A and B or pass and fail.
Chinese vices
Chinese officials are being told to dump their mistresses, avoid hostess bars, and shun the high life in an anti-corruption drive.
The country's Communist Party leadership seems to be following the example of the Confucian elite which demanded the appearance of moral rectitude as an example.
Leaders also appear determined to rein in some aspects of the sexual permissiveness that accompanied the end of Orthodox Marxism.