Weirdest question

I was thining about the weirdest question I have ever been asked at the reference desk recently...

And the winner goes along the lines of:

Dene: "Hello reference desk Dene speaking".
Caller: "Hello, yes I'm wondering how many people have died".
Dene: Silence........."Pardon? Died where? During a war... The road toll....".
Caller: "No, I was just wondering how many people have died....ever".

But stranger still, a quick Google search managed to find a site that had worked it out based on a long complicated formula. I gave the guy the figure, and he was satisfied.

That brings me to my next weirdest question. The same guy rang back a week later and asked how many people have died in the past week so he could update his figures.

Australian police

I don't want to say anything... well that could get me arrested... but obviously anything can these days.

The Australian Police force should be ashamed about what they consider a worth prosecution. In a time when murders, rapes and child abuse can't be solved because of not enough man hours, you see something like this in the news:

• Child abuse charges for 'laughing baby' video
• Simpsons' sex toon is child porn

And police wonder why they have little respect in the community. I wonder how much it has cost to prosecute these cases. These two men have had their lives ruined for doing what millions of people do every day.

What next - Assault on a plushy!

News Flash

Research shows that smoking while pregnant harms your baby.

Ok, so it's not new, and everyone knows this fact.

So why do so many Australian women smoke when they are pregnant. I see it almost on a daily basis.

And every second car has someone smoking in it, with children in the back.

How can people be so stupid when they know the damage it's doing?

If you smoke while pregnant you should be charged with child abuse.