WEIRD, WEIRD

$1 million sought for gold nugget

A massive gold nugget has been put up for sale for $1 million. The Alaska Centennial Gold Nugget weighs in at 21lb, is over 90 per cent gold and is the size of a child's head. It was discovered by gold miner Barry Clay in 1998.

Clay decided to show the nugget to experts and it was ultimately recorded as the second-largest gold nugget ever found in the Western Hemisphere.

The gold nugget is now set to go under the hammer in Dallas after Clay sold the item to a private collector.

A Heritage spokesperson said: "The Alaska Centennial Gold Nugget is the largest gold nugget ever found in the State of Alaska.

"It was discovered in 1998 along Swift Creek near the town of Ruby, Alaska, by Barry Clay, who unearthed this seminal discovery and instantly made history.

"The Alaska Centennial Nugget was sold to a private collector, where it has remained in his collection until now. This offering represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

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Extra steps for coffee drinkers

People do about 1,000 extra steps per day if they drink coffee in the morning. New scientific research, which involved 100 adult volunteers wearing continuously recording ECG devices that monitored caffeine intake, movement, sleep and health over the course of two weeks, has found both beneficial and harmful short-term effects of coffee intake.

The team at the University of California found that people would walk around 1,000 steps more per day if they consumed the beverage but would also have their sleep reduced by 36 minutes for the first cup - followed by another 18 minutes for each additional cup.

The researchers said that the results "highlight the complex relationship between coffee and health".

Study author Gregory Marcus said: "Coffee is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world, yet its health effects remain uncertain.

"While the majority of long-term observational studies have suggested multiple potential benefits of drinking coffee, this is the first randomised trial to investigate the real-time, physiologic consequences of coffee consumption."

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Family names for Monopoly

Monopoly is offering fans the chance to create a personalised version of the iconic game.

Board game enthusiasts will be able to immortalise their family name on to their new board as well as waving goodbye to any rows about the dog or hat token - with players able to hand-pick a selection of tokens for each set to get the perfect piece for every family member.

In a UK first, the Monopoly personalisation station will be available in Selfridges stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham and online from November 16 to December 12.

The pop-up will be located on the fourth floor of Selfridges within the iconic toy department. Once in-store, shoppers will be provided with a QR code to go to a web app to complete the Monopoly personalisation experience.

Anne Leonhardi, Marketing Director North Europe at Hasbro, said: "For over 80 years Monopoly has been the focal point of many festive game nights. This year we are thrilled to work with Selfridges to give people the chance to put their personal touch on the classic family favourite."