In Brief – October 2020
Strong winds left a dusting of cocoa powder over an area surrounding the Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate factory in Olten, Switzerland. Pictures shared on social media showed a thin coat of cocoa dust on the surface of cars and window panes. “Chocolate snowflakes falling from the sky, dreams do come true,” said one tweet. A ventilation defect in the factory, which caused the phenomenon, was quickly fixed.
The Indian postal department’s new service of delivering money home through postmen is a huge hit across the country. The facility, introduced in late-March just before the Covid-19-forced lockdown was imposed, allows withdrawals from ₹100 to ₹10,000 from an Aadhaar-linked bank account. The postmen carry with them ₹60,000 cash for the service and a biometric device to match fingerprint.
Guests who attended industrialist Srinivas Murthy’s housewarming ceremony in Koppal, Karnataka, were stunned to see his wife Madhavi sitting on a sofa with a welcome smile at the entrance. She had died in a car accident three years ago. Murthy had made a life-size silicon statue of her because it was Madhavi’s dream home and the family couldn’t think of moving in without her. She will now remain part of our family, says Murthy.
A Punjab-based restaurateur designed a 40-kg Ganesha idol made entirely of chocolate with the help of 10 chefs. This is the fifth consecutive year he is making this eco-friendly Ganesha to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. Nidhi Sharma of Indore had also designed themed Ganesha idols in chocolate, including one Ganesha slaying coronavirus with his trident. She says she would immerse the idols in milk on visarjan and distribute chocolate milk to the needy.
A police officer in Northamptonshire, UK, got stuck in a pair of handcuffs when he tried to demonstrate how to use it to new recruits. He walked to the neighbouring firestation where firefighters used pedal cutters to free him. Though not thrilled with the mishap, he said he was happy that it made people smile. “If I put a smile on a single face during these difficult times, my job is done,” he tweeted.
