Two separate allegations threatened to undermine our entire understanding of space and time in Weird Tech this week. German physicists cast doubt on Einstein's special theory of relativity after claiming to have broken the speed of light using "quantum tunnelling". Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long before reports were published highlighting a number of " problems" in the paper, flushing dreams of time travel back down the toilet.
Meanwhile, Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom revived the theory that, mathematically speaking, it's almost a certainty that we exist not in the "real world" - as generally assumed - but in a vast computer simulation. Hmmm... rings a bell... haven't we heard this all before?
In other news, porn star Mia Rose managed to get banned from the online game World of Warcraft over the weekend. As well as appearing in pornographic films, Rose is apparently also a hardcore gamer in her spare time. She received the ban after a fan drew attention to her website in a public chat area. It has been speculated that her appearance in adult film World of Whorecraft could be partially to blame.
A Malaysian man is preparing to fight any legal action after he received a $218 trillion phone bill for his late father's phone line - with a demand to pay it within 10 days or face prosecution.
It also came to light this week that skin cream cannot, repeat, cannot protect you against mobile phone radiation. Just in case you thought it could. Cosmetics firm Clarins was unable to substantiate claims made in an advert that its Expertise 3P skin cream will protect skin against "electromagnetic waves" from mobiles.
Gadgets from the East
We saw an odd little gadget made in Korea this week that wakes you up if start nodding off on the motorway (or at work). Worn behind your ear, an alarm goes off every time your head tips forward below a certain angle. Nice idea, although not so good if you fall asleep leaning back into your headrest.
And researchers over at Osaka University developed a remote control that is operated by tooth-grinding, intended for people who are unable to use their hands properly.
And finally...
For the religious among us, there's a slice of aubergine up for grabs on eBay with the word 'God' mysteriously spelled out in seeds. Starting bid $1,000 (plus $20 for shipping). Now we admit that we're not as up-to-date with the scriptures as perhaps we should be, but judging by Jesus' reaction to the market traders (Matt 21:12) we'd say God wouldn't be too pleased by any trading of this nature occurring under His name.
