Dangerous liaisons

Make love not war

If Pentagon has its way, chemical weapons will soon take a libidinous turn. US military chiefs have been thinking of developing substances which will act as aphrodisiacs when chucked into enemy lines, says a report in New Scientist. The chemicals will not only generate powerful sexual desire but actually result in acts of homosexuality in troops better suited to warlike behaviour ? the premise being that enemy plans of action will fall apart in the face of this unexpected attraction. Part of the Sunshine Project on chemical and biological weapons, these proposals, dating back to 1994, were forwarded by a military research lab to Pentagon seeking funding. Fittingly, they were called ?harassing, annoying and ?bad guy?-identifying chemicals?. Thankfully, none have received funding as yet.

Here?s one more actor shifting from the big, bad world of cinema to the big, bad world of writing. Ren?e Zellweger wants to spend time penning ?whatever I?m feeling when I pick up the pen?. What?ll be her pseudonym? Bridget Jones?

Wheels within wheels

Imagine going out to shop for a cycle and coming back home with K. Sudhakar?s invention. If you did, you would be owner of a behemoth, 42-foot-high and weighing three tons. Naturally, the Hyderabad resident is seeking entry into the Guinness Book as the inventor of the world?s biggest bicycle. The bike apparently took two-and-a-half years to design. But the vehicle is not Sudhakar?s first claim to fame. The intrepid designer is the promoter of Sudha Cars which has several vehicular firsts to its name. Sudhakar?s designed a six-inch-high cycle, 49 types of cars, the smallest double-decker in India and ? wait for this ? a motorbike shaped like a condom.

Egg on their traces

This is what happens when you leave your private plane lying around. Two teenagers from Harrisburg, US, have been arrested after they made off with their father?s plane and carpet-bombed their high school with eggs. Intriguingly, they were arrested on charges of risking a catastrophe and reckless endangerment. Panicked officials evacuated the top floor of a hotel when the incident took place. What would you call that ? costly thrills?

You?ve got mail

Post it

The builders of the Great Wall still have it in them to push extremes ? the Chinese are planning to open a post office in Antarctica. Three trial mail operations have been held so far and a fourth one will leave Beijing for the ice-bound continent on February 4. The mail will actually travel 17,000 odd kilometres and reach the Changcheng Station via Chile. A mail weighing upto 20 grams will cost seven yuan to be delivered. But what purpose will the post office serve? Tracking penguins?

AWARD OF THE WEEK

Goes to the students of Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, who have decided to keep as a pet a camel that had strayed into the campus.