With tasks such as drinking the blood of a cobra and eating scorpions, you could be forgiven for thinking the latest I’m A Celebrity! series was under way.

But instead of a host of D-list wannabes, these are Marines taking part in an annual war game exercise known as Cobra Gold.

However, their stomach-churning antics are likely to enrage animal rights campaigners.

As well as drinking cobra blood, participants found themselves smeared with the stuff, as well as being tutored in the delicate art of picking up the venomous creatures.

And those with weak stomachs will have struggled with the menu, which also included delicacies such as frogs and lizards.

The event – the largest of its kind in the Pacific – is taking place in Thailand and will run until February 11.

It sees 14,000 soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen from six countries taking part in the operations, described by US Ambassador Eric G John as ‘an important symbol of US military commitment to maintaining peace and security in Asia.’

As well as serving as a practical training event, the aim of the exercise is to promote regional peace and security.

The exercises, which are taking place in the eastern Thai province of Rayong, are modelled on UN multi-national peace support operations scenarios. (Daily Mail)

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A strip club in America has found a novel way to raise money for a good cause and improve its image – by holding a ‘Lap dances for Haiti’ event, raising almost $1,000 (£640) for earthquake victims.

Nude strip club Marilyn’s on Monroe (which is on Monroe Street in Toledo, Ohio, you see) donated all the money from Sunday’s $10 cover charge to the International Services of Hope charity.

The name of the event was, in fact, somewhat misleading – while strip clubs are legal in Ohio, lap-dances are not.

The club’s manager, Kenny Soprano (yes, that’s what he’s called), said it had been hard to find a charity that would accept money from a strip joint. He said Marilyn’s had been considering a charity fund-raiser since before the Haiti earthquake to help improve the club’s reputation.

Linda Greene, the CEO of International Services of Hope, told the Toledo Blade that she was happy to accept donations from an adult establishment. ‘I don’t have a problem with it,’ she said. (Metro)

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An Australian street performer has set a new Guinness World Record by swallowing 18 swords at the same time.

Chayne Hultgren, aka The Space Cowboy, swallowed the blades, each of which was 72 centimetres long, in Sydney this morning.

The 31-year-old from Byron Bay said he was thrilled to have made history.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve been preparing for this since I was 16.”

Hultgren beat his own previous record of 17 swords – also a Guinness World Record – which he set in 2008.

Hultgren began practising the art of sword swallowing at the age of 16 when he swallowed his first hose.

A few years later he upped the ante and began using stainless steel blades.

He swears his latest feat is not dangerous, but the cheeky entertainer conceded that “it wasn’t recommended by my doctor”.

“It’s educated risk,” he said.

“I don’t just straight away grab 18 blades and shove them down my throat – you’ve got to practise a lot and build up to it.

“So I stretch my throat with hoses and use a few different techniques to basically enable me to do what, until now, has been impossible.”

He is the only person in the world to down more than 13 blades simultaneously, he said. (ABC Online)

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There is no doubting the beauty of these origami artworks but you’d need pretty good eyesight to fully appreciated them.

The smallest of the tiny models made by artist Mui-Ling Teh stand at just 3mm high- and look like a mere speck to the naked eye.

However with the help of close-up photography they can be fully appreciated.

Using just paper, scissors and tweezers, the 23 year-old painstakingly creates the miniature works.

The Canadian architecture student first began to experiment with origami when she was just nine years old when she used sweet wrappers to create tiny models.

Since then she has continued to create smaller and smaller models, creating flowers, planes and birds in miniature.

Incredibly, the pieces can take her just 20 minutes to create, although she takes painstaking care to ensure that the folding is done precisely.

Mui-Ling said: ‘I believe at my first attempt took me about an hour, but later I have managed to fold one in about 20 minutes.

‘The timing also depends on my state and how much practice I have had with a particular model as the folding process for every one is unique.

‘This skill definitely requires a lot of patience; some models require much more patience than others; especially when folding a different design for the first time.

‘Generally I am a patient person and I have to be in a calm state in order to do one of these models; or sometimes I fold something to calm me down.

‘Folding miniature origami also lets me escape from the distractions around me as my mind is focused in one small place.’

The talented artist dreams of turning her passion for paper into her profession, and is looking at ways in which she could display her work in exhibitions.

Currently, the models are too small to be appreciated with the naked eye, and can only be truly understood through photographs of the work.

The student, who has worked in England, sells her calendars and other gift items with photos of her beautiful work on to help fund her studies. (Daily Mail)

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Cats have long been thought to be cleverer than dogs – and now it seems the same is true of their owners.

People with cats are more likely to have university degrees than those with dogs, according to a scientific survey of pet ownership.

The study also revealed that the combined cat and dog population of Britain is more than 20.8 million – 50 per cent higher than previously thought.

Researchers at the University of Bristol say that the superior intelligence of cat owners is unlikely to be caused by their exposure to the famously cunning and selfish pets.

Rather, more educated people tend to work longer hours and choose a pet to fit their lifestyles. Unlike dogs, cats require no walking and can manage with little human company.

Dr Jane Murray, Cats Protection Lecturer in Feline Epidemiology, who led the study, said: “We don’t think it is associated with income because that was one of the variables we looked at, and there was little difference.

“Cats require less time per day than a dog, so they are more popular with educated people who work late and have long commutes.”

Homes with degree-holders were 1.36 times more likely to have a cat than other households. The same homes were less likely to have a dog than households where no-one went to university.

The study, published in the Veterinary Record journal, also found that cat owners were more likely to be older and female. Both cat and dog owners were more likely than the general population to live in households with gardens in rural areas. (Telegraph)

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Saudi Arabia has rejected Pakistan’s nominated diplomat as his name translates into ‘Biggest Dick’ in Arabic.

Akbar Zib, a high profile Pakistani diplomat was nominated for the Saudi post but after some hand-wringing the country had to reject him due to the unfortunate loss in translation.

The Pakistanis should have been prepared for the rebuff, given that he was also rejected for United Arab Emirates and Bahrain posts because of his name.

The diplomatic wrangle appears to bring to life the scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian where a Roman consort called Biggus Dickus is routinely mocked.

Zib (it’s not known if he is called Dick by his friends) most recently served as High Commissioner Designate of Pakistan to Canada, and prior to that he was the ambassador of Pakistan to South Africa.

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Visiting a wildlife park is often an opportunity to witness nature up close.

But imagine one group of tourist’s surprise when several hungry tigers tucked into a live cow right in front of them.

These pictures show the shocking moment tourist guides fed a live cow to five hungry tigers.

The shocked visitors watched from the safety of their buses as the fearsome beasts launched into a feeding frenzy.

The cow had been dumped from the back of a truck and made a brave attempt to escape before being overcome by the powerful tigers.

Amateur photographer Chris Geddes, 31, captured the images on a trip to the Siberian Tiger Park, in Harbin, China, which was spread across several square kilometres of land.

He said: ‘I had heard that the Siberian Tiger Park was a famous tourist attraction in the area and I jumped at the chance to go.’

Father-of-one Chris, from Ontario, Canada, said park staff threw meat to the tigers and then released three live chickens and a pheasant.

Orthopaedic surgeon Chris said when he and his friend came to leave the park they spotted a ‘menu’ with prices for various animals to be thrown to the tigers alive.

Chickens were available for just £3.50, while a cow was on offer for £130. (Daily Mail)

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Annoyed by people making your carpets all muddy? Really want to emphasise the importance of people wiping their feet? An Indian doormat may have the solution you’re looking for – after creating the world’s longest doormat, measuring more than 330 feet.

The mat, made by Travancore Cocotuft Ltd, is just over 1.2 metres (4ft) wide, 101.6 metres (333.3ft) long and weighs 999 kg.

Company spokesman Alfred Michel said: ‘Guinness World Records have asked us for the basic information and we are in the process of preparing that and once they are convinced, they will visit us to see the doormat.’

The mat, made of 470,000 tufts of coir hair taken from the outside of coconuts, took six months to make. (Metro)

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Tricks with rabbits usually involve them being pulled out of hats – but Oolong used his head and became an internet phenomenon.

The pet became one of the earliest stars of the web for his unusual talent of balancing a wide variety of items on his head.

Sadly, he died aged eight but has now been immortalised in a 120-page book featuring his finest feats – and his final resting place. A pair of carrot ears in the snow marks the spot.

The rabbit shot to fame in 1999 when owner Hironori Akutagawa started snapping what he called Oolong’s ‘head performances’.

He posted them on his blog which, despite being in Japanese, sparked global interest and has attracted 2.5million visitors. Oolong sadly died in 2003, shortly after balancing a waffle on his head (although we don’t believe the two events are connected).

He was buried in a grave marked with two carrots.

Oolong now lives on in his very own book, called In Almost Every Picture #8 by KesselsKramer Publishing.

Mr Akutagawa has now moved on a new pet project, training a new rabbit called Yuebing. (roundup)

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It sounds like an urban legend – a girl with missing genitals who got pregnant after having oral sex and then being stabbed in the stomach … but it might actually be true.

The story, which has been circulating on the internet in recent days despite being over two decades old, claims the knifing allowed sperm to move from her stomach to her internal reproductive organs and create a baby.

The attack on the teenager from Lesotho, southern Africa, is said to have happened after her furious ex-boyfriend found her having oral sex with her new man at a bar.

The girl, who had no vagina, went on to have a Caesarean section, giving birth to a baby boy who resembled the alleged father.

The story of the conception has resurfaced on the internet 22 years after it was originally reported.

Discover magazine in the US carried it on its website and bloggers picked up on the story, restarting a heated debate about its veracity.

The case was first reported in the respected British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1988.

Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield, said last night: ‘It seems like a plausible story but I imagine it is incredibly rare.

‘Timing is everything and it would have had to happen very quickly after the man ejaculated.’

‘The fact that the son resembled the father excludes an even more miraculous conception,’ he added. (Metro)

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