The Air Swimmers sharks mentioned in August have been “extremely popular” gifts this Christmas, and reports of their escapes started almost as soon as presents were unwrapped. Some even before they made it to gift-giving, as for instance when grandpa Brian Thomson lost his on Christmas Day, before his grandchildren had a chance to play with it. Via The Coffs Coast Advocate

He inflated it in secret during the morning – but it floated through the kitchen and lounge, up a flight of stairs and across a bedroom before leaving through the bedroom’s external door.

“They’re cunning characters, these sharks,” Mr Thompson said.

First mid-air encounter happened on Boxing Day, when a plane 10 km south of Christchurch in New Zealand passed within 100m of a shark at about 600m on a landing approach. Another pilot flew past one two days later, stating “I thought is was a helicopter but then I noticed it’s got fins and tail!”. Authorities say the ultralight sharks are no worries to pilots, but still … they are sharks!

Authorities are baffled as to who – or what – could have removed the bronze statue of St Francis of Paola, which stands 7.2 ft (2.2 m) high and was securely embedded in concrete 95 ft (29 m) beneath the surface of the sea. One unexpected upside from the disappearance is that when investigating the site, a group of local divers chanced upon the wreck of a 49 ft-long ship, which is thought to be hundreds of years old.

Read The Telegraph.

(That genius photo off sbirciapaola.wordpress.com)