If you're interested in manhole covers the museum will provide you with hours of entertainment

THIS is the most boring museum in the history of the world - unless you’re inexplicably interested in manhole covers.

The International Manhole Cover Museum has opened in Farrara, Italy to widespread public disinterest. 
 
Creator Stefano Bottoni claims the manhole is an underrated art form that should be celebrated.  
 
Bottoni, who studied at the Academy of Arts in Bologna, said: “Manholes are not often regarded as artistic creations yet they are rich in tradition, culture and history.”
 
The museum has an enormous collection of manhole covers from all over the world including Amsterdam, Havana, Helsinki, Prague, Rome, Bucharest, Sarajevo and Vienna.
  
Bottoni is hoping to get his first manhole cover from the UK this year, and has appealed for anybody with access to British manhole covers to get in touch.

One of the garish new signs in Pecica, Romania, that warns drivers of drunk pedestrians crawling the streets (Europics.at)

TOWN hall chiefs in Eastern Europe have given up on trying to stop drink drivers – and are now warning them about drunk pedestrians instead.

Road safety bosses in Romania – where accidents involving alcohol are at record levels – have put up traffic signs warning motorists of drunks wandering the streets.

Mayor Petru Antal ordered the signs – saying ‘Attention – Drunks’.

They come complete with an image of a reveller on his knees with a bottle and have been put up in Pecica, where officials have virtually given up on boozy locals ever following the law.

“We are a border town and have lots of cars thundering through here all the time,” Mayor Antal told the Romanian Times. 

“But we also have a very vibrant nightlife and the two don’t mix.

“We have to target the drivers because by the time they get to this state the pedestrians are beyond caring.”

The pair were late for a fancy dress party when they were caught speeding (europics.at)

POLICE stopped a couple of jokers when they zoomed through a speed trap in full clown costumes.

Driver Martina Oberle, 31, had the smile wiped off her face after she was fined £110 for speeding in Moerschwil, Switzerland.

Officers initially thought Martina and pal Bettina Blauch, 26, who were wearing blonde wigs and with full clown make up, had dressed up for a prank.

But they were actually late for a fancy dress party when they were caught doing 60mph in a 45mph zone.

CARD TRICKS: The boy can beat adults using just his feet (Europics.at)

POKER players are used to keeping their cards close to their chest.

Politicians fighting in Taiwan's parliament this week

POLITICIANS FIGHTING is in the news again after a massive brawl broke out in Taiwan’s parliament this week.

As bureaucrats bickered over proposed changes to the Local Government Act, it suddenly all kicked off in the chamber in Taipei.

More than 70 politicians, including old women, wrestled each other and one member of the governing party claimed he’d been bitten.

Fights are routine between the ruling Nationalist Party, or the Kuomintang (KMT), and the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – both parties believe it shows voters they really care about the issues affecting Taiwan.

So, in honour of the ludicrous Taiwanese approach to democracy, here is the Daily Wail’s guide to the top 10 political brawls of all time…

1. South Korea, July 2009

Only the South Koreans could pull this off: A brilliant punch-up without a single punch actually being thrown. Screaming women, old men using their chests as battering rams, weedy politicians who have clearly never used violence in their lives. It has everything, a real classic.

2. Carson, United States, February 2007

When a former council member, Vera Dewitt, slapped Commissioner Jan Schaefer on the head with some papers, nobody thought much of it. Until several seconds later, when Schaefer suddenly clutched her face and began writhing in agony like an Italian footballer. Top marks for sheer audacity.

3. New Delhi, India

The Indians do a cracking job of turning a dull civil rights debate into a Bollywood action movie. Anything not nailed down was turned into a weapon: Chairs, microphones, boxes. Several delegates left covered in blood and many were hospitalised, an achievement unusual in even the best parliamentary fights.

4. Bolivia: Where everyone piles in

Almost every member of the Bolivian parliament was involved in this impressive stand-off. Fighting broke out when plans to put four judges on trial for corruption were badly received by their allies in the legislature. So everybody agreed it would be better just to settle it with fists.

5. South Korea: Judo throw

Outbreaks of violence are commonplace in South Korea, arguably the home of legislative haymakers. But it’s rare to see such honed technique in the heat of the chamber.

6. Georgia, December 2008

Water fights are extremely rare among politicians, so this is really one to savour. When an MP wouldn’t stop interrupting the opposition leader in a TV debate, what choice did he have but to hurl water in his face. And then slap him. Hard.

7. Mexico

Well, it was only going to be a matter of time. The Mexicans never let us down, and this is a real corker. By far the most playground-like brawl in the top 10, you can hear the crowd clearly screaming ‘fight, fight, fight’ as supporters of a new road storm the room in Monterrey to, ahem, argue their case.

8. Somali peace conference, December 2006

Why would anyone bother with a peace accord when you can have a good bundle instead? These were, basically, the views of the delegates in Khartoum, Sudan.

9. Prague, Czech Republic, May 2006

Astonishingly, the setting for this fight was a conference for disgruntled dentists. Former Vice Prime Minister Miroslav Macek, a dentist by profession who was invited to moderate a discussion of Czech oral hygiene with Health Minister David Rath. Instead, he decided to smack Rath on the back of his head in front of the perplexed audience. The two then argued about the merits of a good slap from behind, before going at it again.

10. Kiev, Ukraine, November 2008

Eastern European men love nothing more than a good bear hug. And this scrap in the Ukranian Parliament – sparked by a vote to sack the speaker – proves it. Despite some early promise, the action is restricted to some over-aggressive cuddling.

and finally….

Just to prove politicians are incapable of doing anything better than the rest of us, here’s how it really should be done. Live. In front of more than 10 million people. On a reality TV show. And it doesn’t get much more real than this.

The porters can clearly be seen dropping the corpse on CCTV...before giving up and dragging it Pic: Europics.at

The pair were so drunk they dropped the body repeatedly as they tried to host it back onto the gurney.

Eventually, the porters gave up and simply dragged the corpse to the autopsy room.

Police say they are interviewing two men arrested over the scandal.

“We are investigating this matter. It is possible that this was abuse of a corpse,” police spokesman Slawomir Masojc told the Austrian Times.

The car park spaces are pink, which is a pretty colour women can see Europics.at

PADDED car parks are being introduced at shopping centres across China in a desperate bid to cope with the menace of women drivers.

Dozens of centres  in the north of the country now feature sections with wider spaces and colour coded walls to make them easier for women to spot.

The purple and pink colour scheme is also supposed to ‘ease the anxiety’ women feel when trying to reverse into a parking space.

And even the pillars are padded with foam to soften the impact of shunts.

Wang Zheng, boss of one of the shopping centres in Hebei, said: ”There is a scientific basis for all this.

“Women have a poorer sense of distance when they are locked inside a small space.

“That is why female drivers often bump the front and back of their cars.

“There is also a 15 per cent greater chance that a woman will drive her car door into another car when she opens it.”

He told the Austrian Times: “Each parking space is three metres wide, much larger than normal parking spaces and there is more CCTV to help women feel safer.”

The Road to Hell: If you are driving home for Christmas, best avoid this one... Pic: Europics.at

DRIVING Home for Christmas is a popular song with truckers at this time of year. 

But Road to Hell, another Chris Rea hit, would have been a bit more apt for unlucky motorists on this stretch of highway.

This incredible picture shows what happened when rain fell on a full truck of dangerous chemicals - causing the road itself to burst into flames.

One driver who saw the chaos unfold in Hangzhiou, eastern China, said: “There were flames everywhere. It was like a mini-apocalpyse.”

The couple married in 1924, the same year that Lenin died Pic: Europics.at

A COUPLE who were forced into an unwanted marriage in 1924 have spoken of their happiness…85 years later.

Liu Fuben, 95, was just 10-years-old when he wed Shi Jihui, now 100.

At the time, neither wanted – or even understood - the arranged marriage.

But nearly a century later they’re blissfully happy and claim they barely ever even argue.

Liu said: “We are still very much in love and always will be.

“As to the secret of a long marriage, I just remember the golden rule – she’s always right.”

His wife Shi added: “It’s true I am – but that doesn’t stop him doing what he wants anyway.

“In our village at that time, men used to marry at a very young age. The wife tended to be several years older than the man.”

When the Beijingers married, Adolf Hitler had just started writing Mein Kampf and US President Jimmy Carter wasn’t even born.

The couple’s son Liu Shuxi, 64, said: “They still really love each other.”

They had six children, but only two survived.

“My mother still takes very good care of my father,” Liu added.

The 'accelerate while braking' maneouvre has not been widely used by motorists before Pic: Europics.at

 A WOMAN driver has caused more than £9,000 worth of damage and destroyed dozens of shopping trolleys after pressing the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.

Angela Wohlmeyer was trying to slow down her BMW outside a supermarket in Muenster, Germany.

But as our picture shows, the 27-year-old found it all far too confusing and sped up instead – leading to this mountain of wreckage.

“I don’t know what happened,” she told the Austrian Times.

“I just seemed to mix up the pedals.”

She now faces a battle with her insurance company to get them to pay for the damage.