Oddly news around the world

Moon rock for a wood

THE HAGUE – A treasured piece of moon rock showcased in a key Amsterdam museum is nothing but petrified wood, museum authorities said of a gift made to a former Dutch prime minister by a US envoy.

The exhibit at the Rijksmuseum, originally gifted to Willem Drees in 1969 by then US ambassador William Middendorf as a souvenir of a pathbreaking trip by three US astronauts on July 20, 1969.

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Tail for a trophy

BERLIN – Visitors to a tourist attraction in Berlin have been making off with an unusual memento -- the 30 cm long tail of a Lego giraffe.

The Lego tail belongs to a six meter tall model that has stood outside the entrance to the Legoland Discovery Center on Potsdamer Platz since 2007.

Reporting by Caroline Copley

13 and sailing solo

UTRECHT, Netherlands - A 13-year-old Dutch girl's plans to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world were temporarily blocked on Friday when a court placed her under state supervision for two months.

Laura Dekker, who was born on her parents' boat in New Zealand and spent her first four years at sea, had intended to begin a two-year voyage on September 1 on her 8.3 meter (27 ft) yacht Guppy.

By Aaron Gray-Block

Cow alert

LONDON - The deaths of no fewer than four people after being trampled by cows in the past two months has prompted Britain's main farming union to issue a warning about the dangers of provoking the normally docile animals.

Cows can become aggressive and charge, especially when calves are present and walkers are accompanied by dogs, said the National Farmers Union (NFU).

The union and the Ramblers' Association both advise that walkers release dogs from their leads when passing through a field of cows.

By Alexander Monro

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