This article suggests that customers are more likely to buy something when the price ends in 99. It is based on a study where French researchers demonstrated how lowering the price of a pizza from 8.00 euros to 7.99 euros boosted sale by 15%. The team of researchers studied more than 1,200 customers in a pizzeria. The menu included five pizzas alongside other meat and fish dishes. In the first week of the experiment the pizzas were all priced at 8.00 euros. In the second week the Pizza Valencia was dropped to 7.99 euros with the others remaining at the original price and in the last week all the pizzas were reduced to 7.99 euros. When the prices were identical 35% of customers opted for the Pizza Valencia but this increased to nearly half of customers when the price was dropped. In the final stage of the test there was no difference in sales between the five pizzas. Researchers also found that the 99 effect appears to work when customers are choosing between similar items and often pay less attention to the end of the price.

A garden centre in Lancashire have spent thousands of pounds on these rather interesting designer urinals. They were designed by American artist Clark Sorensen and cost £3,250. So far they have received good feedback with the managing director of the garden centre saying "In fact, our only complaint in the first few weeks of opening was that the men couldn't get into the gents' because it was full of ladies looking at the urinals!".

Selfridges have launched a very expensive teddy bear that costs £43,000. The bear has eyes made of emeralds and diamonds, its nose is made of of 24 caret gold and its fur is entwined with gold leaf. It also comes with an ink pot filled liquid gold. The bear is part of the stores first ever toy collection and is a limited edition. If you want one it is made to order and is available from August this year. I think its quite ugly.

Sat Nav devices can be useful but only if they are used in conjunction with road signs and a little common sense. Without this they can also be a disaster. One driver who was meant to be delivering cars from Turkey to Gibraltar ended up in a lane in Skegness after his sat nav device directed him towards a nature reserve called Gibraltar point. Of course the blame cannot be put solely on the sat nav device, presumably the driver is at fault for programming completely the wrong destination into it in the first place. And just for fun, here is a map showing the distance between the two destinations.

Devon fishermen have caught a lobster which could be 100 years old. The lobster was so heavy that it broke the winch on their fishing boat. It weighs 12.9lbs and is 81cm long. The lobster has been saved from ending up on a dinner plate and will now live at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, Devon.

If you have a bit of spare cash to spend then you might be able to afford a box of £5,000 chocolates from Harrods. The chocolates are made by the Lebanese chocolatier Patchi. The box itself is made from the finest materials, wrapped with leather and handmade silk. It contains 49 individually wrapped chocolates which sit on suede separated by gold and platinum lining. The chocolates are made from organically grown cocoa and decorated with gold and a Swarowski crystal flower or a hand made silk rose. A little too expensive for me, I'm afraid.

I came across this unusual article that shows pictures of a leopard attacking a crocodile. Apparently this sort of behaviour has never been captured on camera before. The leopard filmed in the Kruger National Park, stalked the crocodile before dragging it out of the water. Although the crocodile fought back the leopard managed to get the crocodile by the throat before suffocating it. Surprising, my money would have been on the crocodile.

I have heard of firefighters rescuing cats from trees but this story was a little more unusual. Firefighters in Northampton were called out to rescue a bird from a tree. The crow had managed to get itself tangled in the branches and was stuck. The firefighters soon pulled him free and the crow is now recovering at the Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital.

According to this article you might have a long wait for PS3 movie downloads if you live in the UK. Although the service has just been launched in North America the European market is unlikely to get it until sometime next year. Apparently the issue is that Sony needs to sort out its country specific content before they launch it in Europe. The exact dates for specific European countries will be announced later this year.

According to this article drinking two cups of tea a day can halve your risk of dementia. It is thought that chemicals in the tea called flavonoids help protect the brain although researchers do not yet know why tea protects against damage. Other studies have shown that tea can also help prevent the development of cancerous tumours and prevent against heart disease and stroke as well as strengthening teeth. All very good news, I drink lots of tea.

The transport secretary Ruth Kelly has set out plans for pay as you go lanes on motorways. Under the scheme motorists would pay around £5 a time to use the lanes which would allow them to bypass motorway jams. On some motorways widening schemes would be put in place to create an extra lane but others would make use of the existing hard shoulder. Whilst the idea is interesting I'm not entirely sure using the hard shoulder is a good idea. Personally I thought that it was kept clear to allow breakdown and rescue services to quickly reach an accident, and to give motorists somewhere to stop if in trouble. A few years back I had a problem with my car when driving in the fast lane of the motorway. My car suddenly lost all power and I had to pull across all three lanes of traffic onto the hard shoulder where the car ground to a halt. Needless to say I was shaken but very relieved that the motorway was not busy and that there was somewhere for me to stop. I wonder what would have happened if that option was not available.

Northumberland FA is introducing barriers at its junior football games after problems with over zealous parents. The barriers are designed to put a distance between the spectators and the action with the aim being to stop attacks on referees and reduce pressure on the young players. As someone whose father was the manager of a youth team for nearly ten years I don't find these measures surprisingly. Unfortunately the parents, and that's mothers as well as fathers often take the game much too seriously. I can remember several incidents where parents of opposing sides nearly came to blows and many more when they took their frustrations out of the referee. Our referees were always volunteers and after a while we ran out of people who would offer to do the job, often having to rely on one the parents themselves so that the game could go ahead. Much more common were situations were young boys ended up in tears because of abusive comments from parents who really should know better. Perhaps banning abusive parents from the games altogether might have more effect. What do you think? Have you come across bad behaviour at junior football games?

Ben Walton from Hampshire must really like ironing because he has started an attempt break a world record by ironing for 60 hours. The current record stands at 55 hours and 5 minutes. Ben is allowed a 5 minute break every hour during the attempt. It is estimated that he will iron about 1,000 garments. He will be giving any money he raises to the Winchester Royal County Hospital to help pay for an incubator.

A German football club is offering fans the chance to be buried in an area near its arena. Hamburger SV has opened a 500 plot cemetery near its Nordbank arena and is offering fans the chance to be buried in the cemetery in the club's colours. The graves are on a football pitch lawn accessed by a goal shaped entrance. The scheme is open to all fans and costs £80,000. They offer burial contracts of around £2,000 payable over 25 years and you can also buy a HSV coffin for £1,850 or and an urn for £200. The idea came about after the club received numerous requests from fans who wanted to have their ashes strewn on the pitch. A number of English clubs have also had similar requests, so watch this space you could soon buried at your favourite football club.

With costs of conventional fertiliser rising, farmers are turning to a new way to fertilise their crops. Many have now started using human waste in the form of treated human sewage. Water companies are no longer allowed to dump this into the sea but appear to have a ready market in supplying farmers. In fact Severn Trent Water have said they are struggling to keep up with demand. Human fertiliser costs farmers around a fifth of the price of the more expensive alternative but does have the disadvantage of being more smelly. However, farmer Jonathan Barrett says the smell can be reduced once it is incorporated into the soil and turned regularly. He also said it is best to take into account the wind direction when using it. Human sewage is currently allowed to be used on grassland and crops but not on salads, fruit and root crops.

If you have trouble finding a sofa that matches your living room you might want to look at a bespoke option. Sofa specialist John Alan Designs can produce a sofa to match the size, colour and style of your room. They have a catalogue of different fabrics to choose from but can also use fabrics you already have. They can also use wood to match your current furnishings. Its an interesting idea but at a cost of £2,000 per sofa, a little out of my price range. Maybe one day if I win the lottery.

It still amazes me how many people continue to use their mobile phone whilst driving and I wonder whether they are aware that if they get caught they could end up with points on their driving license. Under new rules drivers could also face two years in jail if they kill someone whilst using their mobile phone at the wheel. Those who read or send text messages whilst driving are also likely to get between four and seven years in jail. I wonder whether this will have an effect on people who routinely do this, I'm guessing for most the message won't get through until they actually kill someone.

A koala survived after being hit by a car and dragged several miles before getting stuck in the cars front grill. He was late found with his head stuck in the grill and was taken to a wildlife hospital in Queensland. He was not found to have any serious injuries and has been named Lucky.