• MONROE, LOUISIANA: A man burned down his mother's house when she nagged him to get a job or move out. Ricardo Nance Jr, 31, had been listening to music when his mother Christina Ross went next door. While she was away, Nance, who wasn't stoked about the ultimatum, used a fag lighter to set fire to the couch. The house, worth over YS$50,000, was destroyed - so even if Nance ever gets a gig he's stuffed for a bed.

• ZINGST, GERMANY: A man who booby-trapped his garden with a high-voltage cable to kill moles ended up doing himself in. The 63-year-old retired construction foreman was found dead next to a 380V cable and metal spikes rammed into the ground. After digging for clues, police concluded he'd made a mountain of molehill.

• HONG KONG, CHINA: In a near miracle, a sleeping man survived a massive fall when he rolled out of his bed, then out of his 11th-storey flat. The 34-year old dropped nine floors before his fall was broken by the canopy of a second floor restaurant. He was reported to be in a stable condition at hospital, where he was given a room in the basement.

• WESTMORELAND, CANADAA: Two prisoners escaped from Westmoreland Institution, robbed a nearby home, then returned to jail with the loot. After a local woman reported jewellery, cash and grog missing, a police dog traced the culprits back to the lock-up. The thieves were moved to a penitentiary near the remote village of Dorchester, where theythey'll be put in a wicker man and burnt if they ever run away again.

'World Wide Weird News', Ralph, (News to Us), March07, pp. 22.