Wednesday, April 18, 2007

UK's shortest yellow line?

Residents in north London believe they have found the shortest yellow lines in the country.



The 18-inch single yellow line in Highbury Crescent in Highbury is just long enough to fit one wheel, reports the BBC.

"I was amazed to see the yellow line," said Elly Lishman, 36, who lives nearby. "It must be the smallest yellow line in the UK."

Islington Council said no ticket has ever been issued on the line, which was put there "to help drivers".

Ms Lishman said: "It wouldn't surprise me if someone got a parking ticket if they strayed on to the line."

Councillor Lucy Watt, of Islington Council, said the stretch of kerb was shared by residents' bays and pay and display bays.

"The yellow line simply separates the two," she said. "We've actually put it there to help drivers avoid parking in the wrong one and getting a ticket.

"In Islington we take a common sense approach to parking enforcement.

"This means making sure signs and lines clearly identify the different parking bays we provide for residents and visitors."


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Fake snakes take the pee

Austrian officials fed up with motorists stopping to urinate by the roadside have put up fake snake warnings to scare them into using toilets.



Franz Perder, manager of a motorway restaurant in Guntramsdorf where some of the signs have been placed, said: "The idea is that people stop to relieve themselves, see the warning about snakes and get back in the car instead of going to the bushes to take a leak.

"Of course there are no snakes but they don't know that. The warnings have worked really well."

Officials say the worst culprits are East Europeans. The signs read 'Beware, mortal danger. Snakes' in Polish and Czech alongside a picture of a cobra. It also has the sign in English and German.

Perder said: "People were fed up with the smell of urine in the car parks, even though the toilets are free.

"We tried other signs but they were useless. These signs though have really worked. You see men coming up to bushes, getting ready to have a pee and then quickly zipping up their trousers again when they see the signs."


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Five-legged bull stars

Five-legged bull has become a star attraction at a Chinese zoo.
The bull looks normal except for an extra leg growing on its back, reports Guangzhou Daily.



"The bull is just like its peers in respect to its habits," says its keeper at Zhongshan zoo in Guangzhou city.

The bull was imported from a farm at the beginning of this year and became an instant success at the zoo.

"He is very gentle, and kids queue to have their pictures taken with him," added the keeper.


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