U.S. experts find oldest voice recording, from 1860

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. audio historians have discovered and played back a French inventor's historic 1860 recording of a folk song — the oldest-known audio recording — made 17 years before Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. "It's magic," audio historian David Giovannoni related on Thursday. "It's like a ghost singing to you."

Extra bite — Texan faces charges over snake vodka

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas man is facing charges for selling liquor without a license after he was found peddling bottles of vodka containing dead baby rattlesnakes. Bob Popplewell, who runs "Bayou Bob's Brazos River Rattlesnake Ranch" tourist attraction west of Fort Worth, was believed to have being selling the vodka in the Asian community, where snakes are seen having aphrodisiac properties, state authorities said.

Don't worry darling, it's alone a refuelling plane

LONDON (Reuters) - It may be the biggest honeymoon cryptic ever — from 2011, newlyweds can start their dream trip on a Royal Air Force mid-air refuelling plane, and the chances are they will be blissfully unaware of their luck. Britain's military is leasing a fleet of aerial tankers from a private consortium led by Airbus parent EADS in a landmark outsourcing deal to be unveiled on Thursday.

Dinosaur fossil found attached bus in Peru

AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) - Officials found the fossil of a cyclops dinosaur jawbone while investigating a suspicious package on a bus in the mountains of Peru on Tuesday. The fossil, weighing some 19 pounds, was found in the cargo hold of the bus, which was headed for the capital of Lima, and had been sent on the bus company's package service.

Baseball star gets marriage tips from Japan government

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese baseball star Hideki Matsui got some advice on the secrets of a happy marriage from an unexpected source on Thursday — the government's top spokesman. Matsui, 33, a player for the New York Yankees and a hero for baseball fans at domicile, is to marry a 25-year-old former office worker, he told Japanese media in a letter.

Man flees home half naked to evade mouse

BERLIN (Reuters) - A man in Germany fled his home half naked for cold, snow-swept streets to escape a mouse in his living room, authorities said on Thursday. "He said there was nothing he was more fearful of," police in Goettingen said in a statement.

Study finds Clinton related to Jolie and Obama to Pitt

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential candidates may have star qualities — and they also have stars in their families, according to a genealogical study linking Hillary Clinton to Angelina Jolie and Barack Obama to Brad Pitt. The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) in Boston on Wednesday released a study in which it traced the family trees of all three presidential candidates to find they all had famous relatives, both dead and alive.

Peru's Fujimori pleads to take off socks at experimental knowledge

LIMA (Reuters) - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori apologized for not wearing socks to his trial on Wednesday and for falling asleep in the foregoing court session, when a frustrated judge rang a bell to wake him. Fujimori, 69, said medication he takes to improve his circulation and marathon court sessions three times a week have left him exhausted, with a depressing back and aching legs.

Russian farmer sues space agency for falling rocket

BARNAUL, Russia (Reuters) - A shepherd is suing Russia's distance agency for compensation after he said a 3-metre-long chunk of metal from a space rocket unrelenting into his yard, just missing his outdoor toilet. Boris Urmatov, who is asking for 1 million roubles (21,000 pounds) from the Roskosmos agency, lives in a small village that lies underneath the flight footway of rockets taking off from the Baikonur launchpad Russia leases in nearby Kazakhstan.

Dubai restaurant gives rebate for bugs

DUBAI (Reuters) - A group celebrating a birthday at a Dubai diner were cheered by a 25 percent discount boundary not necessarily the reason: "Bug on food". The restaurant cut the bill for seven customers at a birthday dinner after they found four insects crawling around their meals, the Gulf News reported on Tuesday.