Scotland

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Odd Duck Boyle Is Talk of Her Tiny Town

Small world rocked by YouTube popularity

(Newser) - Everyone knows Susan Boyle in her Scottish village—she’s the odd loner who does killer karaoke at the local pub. Now, she’s the topic on everyone’s lips in the community of 5,000 where she’s lived in the same house all her life. And though the...

At Most Brit Funerals, Pop Music Plays You Out

(Newser) - Pop songs are handily beating out traditional hymns in England as the preferred soundtrack for the final goodbye, the Telegraph reports. A survey by a funeral-services company shows that 58% of funerals feature popular music as the top request, versus 35% for hymns; classical grabs just 7%. The top request?...

Greenies Push Safe Froggy Sex With Hook-Up Pad

Frog Hotel to protect mating amphibians from predators

(Newser) - Frogs have a new reason to leap for joy: a hotel specially designed to allow them to mate in peace and safety, NPR reports. Scottish environmentalists opened the Frog Hotel two weeks ago to protect the amphibians from predators. Frogs “are slowly coming out of hibernation, and the first...

Lost Contact Lens Delays Brown Speech

British PM, already blind in one eye, may be losing sight in other

(Newser) - Gordon Brown was forced to delay a speech to a Labour Party conference last week after he accidentally washed a contact lens down the sink, reports the Times of London. The British PM had no extra pair, and a staff worker had to detach the pipe beneath the sink to...

Sunlight Offers Ray of Hope in Preventing MS

Vitamin D deficiency triggers disease

(Newser) - Deadly multiple sclerosis, which slowly destroys the central nervous system, may be  prevented with healthy exposure to the sun or Vitamin D supplements, according to a new study. Fresh research at Oxford University shows a vitamin D deficiency triggers a gene variant that increases the risk of developing MS by...

Tonight Marks Reinvention for Franz Ferdinand
Tonight Marks Reinvention
for Franz Ferdinand
NEW RELEASE
Jan 27, 2009 11:08 AM CST

Tonight Marks Reinvention for Franz Ferdinand

Disco-charged album offers 'brand new start' for Scottish band

(Newser) - Franz Ferdinand’s third album, Tonight, is a “wholesale reinvention of their sound,” writes Andy Langer in Esquire. Establishing riffs rooted in bass rather than their trademark guitar sound, the quartet’s effort—out now—treads where few have dared, says Langer.  “The Achilles heel of...

To Find the Killer Whale, Scientists Think Like One

Off of Scotland, team stakes out its prey

(Newser) - Killer whales spend most of their time tracking their prey, and so do the scientists who study them. Marine biologists at Scotland's St. Andrews University spent 3 months among the Shetland Islands in search of their cetacean quarry, and caught sight of whales only about 12 times. They explain to...

World's Oddest New Year Rituals

Grapes, bonfires, effigies are some nations' traditions for a lucky 2009

(Newser) - While much of the world indulges in the traditional New Year's Eve fare of glittery balls and fireworks, other countries have more unusual ways of shepherding in the next year, reports Travel and Leisure. For example: 
  • Spain: Gobbling a grape for each clock stroke is considered a fruity down
...

Rap's Roots Found in, Uh, Scotland?
Rap's Roots Found in, Uh, Scotland?
Dec 28, 2008 8:02 PM CST

Rap's Roots Found in, Uh, Scotland?

Scots' obscene verbal tradition gave birth to musical 'dueling': prof

(Newser) - While most don't associate rap with a bunch of white guys in skirts, a University of New Mexico professor traces the music’s roots back to the barrooms of medieval Scotland, the London Telegraph reports. “The Scots have a lengthy tradition of flyting—intense verbal jousting, often laced with...

British Cops Put Squeeze on 'Distressing' Bagpiper

Man playing for cash on public street sees instrument confiscated for a week

(Newser) - A street musician was handcuffed, arrested and had his bagpipes confiscated for a week by police in southern England because his playing was causing “distress,” the Scottish Daily Record reports. Shaun Cartwright, an accomplished piper, says he’d enjoyed an exceptionally profitable session until the law arrived, and...

Families Remember Lockerbie, 20 Years Later

Convicted bomber still maintains innocence

(Newser) - Mourners on both sides of the pond are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Lockerbie airliner bombing, CNN reports. Families and friends gathered today at Arlington National Cemetery and at New York’s Syracuse University, which lost 35 students in the Pan Am explosion over the Scottish town. Mourners in...

20 Years Later, Lockerbie Families' Work Endures
20 Years Later, Lockerbie Families' Work Endures
analysis
Dec 20, 2008 6:38 PM CST

20 Years Later, Lockerbie Families' Work Endures

(Newser) - With the 20th anniversary of the Pan Am flight 103 bombing upon us tomorrow, it's a good time not just to remember the victims but to salute their families for the wide-ranging changes they worked to bring about, writes Alan Levin in USA Today. “Laws on everything from lawsuits...

Soldiers Who Survive War Are Less Intelligent

Records reveal that the smartest of Scottish regiments died on WWII battlefields

(Newser) - Soldiers who survived World War II were on average less intelligent than their fallen comrades, a study of British records has revealed. Researchers merged military records with an IQ test given to Scottish schoolchildren in 1932 and found that Scots who died in battle had an average IQ of 100....

Scottish Docs Give Up Their White Coats

Dress code forbids iconic garment in effort to cut down infection

(Newser) - In a move intended to combat the spread of infections, Scotland will forbid doctors to wear the long white coats that have been a symbol of the medical profession for more than a century, the Guardian reports. The country will institute a dress code next year that bans not only...

Surging Whiskey Sales Inspire Eco-Distillery

Demand for whiskey hits an all-time high

(Newser) - Worldwide demand for whiskey has prompted Scotland to start building a new eco-friendly distillery, the Guardian reports. The huge, industrial-scale plant will emit only 15% of the usual CO2 and recycle all of its water; its leftover liquids will be used to generate heat. "The important point is that...

Brits Turn to Sex for Cheap Thrills

Hard times encourage people to find inexpensive activities, poll finds

(Newser) - For those who can't afford to shop during the holidays, the British offer a suggestion: have sex instead. Love-making topped a list of increasingly popular cost-free activities, followed by window shopping and gossiping—which beat out sex among women—in a survey of 2,000 Brits. The findings coincide with...

Bank of China in Talks to Buy UK's No. 1 Bank

HBOS would be largest overseas acquisition by Chinese institution

(Newser) - The state-owned Bank of China emerged last night as the main player in a new takeover bid for Halifax Bank of Scotland. HBOS, the largest bank in Britain, is currently being taken over by Lloyds, but a former HBOS executive is now putting together a counteroffer. If the deal goes...

Trump Gets His Scottish Golf Resort

Environmental groups fume over government's decision

(Newser) - Donald Trump got the green light for his $1.6 billion Aberdeenshire golf resort yesterday, much to the chagrin of environmental groups, the Times of London reports. Though it was rejected by the Aberdeenshire council last year, First Minister Alex Salmond approved the project after a public inquiry. Salmond said...

'Rattling' Dog's Diet Included Golf Balls

Black Lab's gut gives up a baker's dozen

(Newser) - Oscar the Scottish black Lab is on the mend after undergoing surgery to remove the snacks that were disturbing his digestion: 13 golf balls. "He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many," Oscar's owner told the BBC. "It was...

Horse Whisperer Writer Poisoned by Mushrooms

Author and family recovering after eating varieties they'd picked

(Newser) - The author of the best-selling novel The Horse Whisperer is recovering in a hospital after eating poisonous mushrooms he and his family picked during a holiday in Scotland, his agent said yesterday. Nicholas Evans, his wife, her sister and the sister's husband received dialysis treatment because the mushrooms included the...

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