WEIRD STUFF: Man wins lottery a third time

Man wins lottery a third time

A 53-year-old resident of Pennsylvania has scored a hat trick in the Maryland Lottery after driving across the border to get a ticket after snagging two other jackpots; a US$100,000 and a US$1 million.

After getting his latest prize, a US$50,000 win, he told the awarding body that he has named himself 'Mr Three Times' and outlined his plans to take his wife on a holiday.

The ticket was purchased at the Sheetz store on Main Street in the city of Manchester.

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CLIVE, Iowa (AP):

At first, the recent winner of a US$40 million jackpot says he couldn't believe he won the lottery - after all, he bought the ticket on April Fools' Day.

"I thought it was a joke," said Earl Lape, a 61-year-old retired mechanic from Dubuque, Iowa. Only after confirming his Lotto America ticket with a convenience store clerk was he convinced he won the big prize, according to the Iowa Lottery.

"I laughed. I thought it was April Fools," Earl Lape said after claiming his prize at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

Lape opted to take his winnings in cash, which for the drawing was $21.28 million. The $40 million prize was for those who take their winnings in an annuity, paid over 29 years.

Lape said he intends to use the money to help his family and will also make donations to benefit children with medical issues.

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Penguin poo could save the planet

Scientists have warned that a decline in the Penguin population has limited the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide and prevent global warming.

Chinstrap penguins play a "crucial role" in maintaining iron levels in the sea by defecating in and near water but a 50 per cent fall in their population since the 1980s is putting Earth at risk.

Experts at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia in Spain said: "These seabirds are a relevant contributor to the iron remobilisation pool in the Southern Ocean.

"Chinstrap penguin guano - and potentially that from other penguin species - plays a crucial role in iron cycling.

"Declining penguin numbers may threaten this further."

Professor Mark Moore, of Southampton University, explained that penguins "act as a kind of reservoir" by pumping their faeces into the water.

The flightless birds then "move it around" to iron-deprived areas which helps stimulate the growth of new plankton that can absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide.