Things of Creation

1. Ertugrul Osman - the would-be sultan known in Turkey as the "last Ottoman" - has died in Istanbul at the age of 97. But the civilisation created by his family still endures.
2. As Palestinians urge the UN to act to punish Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter, Israel's foreign minister has ordered Turkey's ambassador to be summoned over a Turkish TV series that portrays Israeli soldiers killing children.
3. Continuing the war on tobacco, there is a political call for cigarette vending machines to be banned and for shops in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to keep stocks out of sight.
   Vintage advert for American and Turkish tobacco Camel

4. Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang was the first mainstream rap song to hit the US charts.
5. A blog dedicated to tips and tutorials for higher education suggests that faking it is a crucial way to get anything accomplished.
6. Catholics feel they can't pray directly to God so they use their saints as intermediaries on their behalf to ask for favours.
   Tarkan Deluxe correspondent, artist Ned Pamphilon on the fourth plinth

7. The 100 days and nights of artist Antony Gormley's Fourth Plinth art project "One And Other" in London saw a different person standing on the plinth every hour for 24 hours a day. The 2,400 individuals who took part could do whatever they wanted as long as it was legal.
8. The paper The Times has dropped its diary column to make way for more news coverage, suggesting that celebrity gossip is now seen as part of the main news.
9. Amy Winehouse has made her 13-year-old god daughter the first signing to her new record label Lioness Records.
10. Researchers have discovered a magnetic equivalent to electricity, which they've dubbed "magnetricity".
11. In 2009 more than 59,000 people have had their personal details stolen by criminals in the UK.
12. The man who created the world wide web says the two oblique strokes in front of every website address - // - are a bit of a mistake.
13. Male life expectancy in the UK goes up by about three months every year.
14. In Scotland, Glaswegians are known affectionately as Weegies.
15. People are emotionally attached to the weather and its forecast.

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