Barbecue ban: Cities with air pollution problems often find creative ways to deal with the situation. They may designate driving lanes for cars with multiple occupants or limit the number of drive-thru restaurants. In Beijing, a new tactic was taken – 500 illegal open-air barbecues were confiscated and destroyed because officials consider that barbecue smoke adds to Beijing’s air pollution problem. Another measure the city has taken is to enact a law about driving. Cars with odd-numbered licence plates alternate days with those bearing even-numbered licence plates. Such rules will hopefully help to reduce the blanket of smog that often hangs over the city.

Recycling fact: The plastic in many soda, water and sports drink bottles is known as polyethylene teraphthalate (PET), and if recycled, it can be made into a wide variety of goods, including carpeting, playground equipment, automobile parts and shoes. According to Darlene Gray of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, one of the things that happens at a recycling facility is the separation of the caps from the bottles. But never fear! This is not done by hand. Instead, both bottles and caps are ground into small flakes which are placed in a large tank of water. The PET flakes sink in the water and the cap flakes float, separating the two plastics for recycling.

Eagle footage: People these days like to take pictures of themselves by holding their digital camera at arm’s length, aiming it at themselves and snapping a shot. It seems that an eagle in Australia has copied human behaviour by taking what is known as a “selfie,” and in this case it is in video form. The eagle stole a camera that was being used by wildlife rangers to film crocodiles. The camera was recovered over 100 kilometres (60 miles) away, and the footage showed the eagle’s flapping wings as it flew. Then, the big bird took a break and poked its face into the camera – just like a human might do!

Pond mystery: An idyllic tree-lined pond in northern Bosnia that was a scenic spot for local people has disappeared. One day it was there, and the next day it was gone, replaced by a giant crater 50 metres (164 feet) wide and 30 metres (98 feet) deep. Although its cause has not been verified, it is likely that changes in the soil, or possibly a dry water table, could be reasons for the water disappearing – literally overnight. Now, trees cling to the edge of this sinkhole near the village of Sanica, where local folks ponder the situation and children try to find a new pond in which to fish.