1. God knows

"There was this Sheila who came across a snake-in-the-grass . . ." Thus begins the retelling by Kel Richards, author of the bestselling Aussie Bible, of the story of Adam and Eve.

2. Baby hunger

A homeless person in New York made national news with his satirical improvisations on the standard "Homeless and hungry" sign. "Brangelina's had a baby," one read, "I need some money to buy a gift."

3. Pray as you go

The Croatian government has donated a former Nazi warship to the Roman Catholic Church. It will become a floating church and be used for religious cruises on the Adriatic Sea.

4. Butt why?

When Winston Churchill asked a young bobby to extinguish his cigar for him before a speech in 1950, the forward-thinking special constable pocketed the ashy butt. The half-smoked cigar has fetched £365 at auction 56 years later.

5. Outcast

Outgames, the first "Olympics" for gays, lesbians and transsexuals, is under threat. A number of participants were refused visas to the host country, Canada, because they have criminal records in their home countries . . . for being gay.

6. Shop talk

Shopworkers in Britain handed customers red cards as part of a union campaign to highlight the problem of verbal abuse, which nearly 95 per cent of retail workers claim to have suffered.