Weird News

New research suggests that men and women searching for a long-term partner prefer someone who resembles their mum and dad.

Experts have claimed that if an individual had a happy upbringing, then men look for women with similar eye and hair colours to their mothers, while women opt for a guy with similar hair and eyes to their father.

If a person had an unhappy childhood, then they will avoid partners who look like their parents and will shun those with any resemblance.

The research comes from a study of 2,000 heterosexuals at Charles University in Prague and said that this is what comes into play when a person is deciphering their 'type'.

A Los Angeles sperm bank offers a celebrity lookalike service.

Women are given the option of choosing a donor based on the famous people he may resemble, with California Cryobank being one of the only clinics offering such a service.

While the 'CCB Donor LookaLikes' can be athletes, musicians, actors "or anyone else famous enough to be found on the web", one particular star is proving to be a popular choice.

The company's vice-president of communications, Scott Brown, told The Sun newspaper that Ben Affleck is up there, but added: "Sometimes we'll have celebrities listed that aren't necessarily traditionally handsome - and that's because the donor doesn't look like a Hollywood leading man and we want to make sure you know what you're getting."

People who experience goose bumps during live entertainment are healthier than those who don't, according to a new study.

According to research by Barclaycard through an experiment led by Harvard University researcher Matthew Sachs and the University of Oxford's professor of experimental psychology Robin Murphy people who feel the sensations are in better physical and emotional health.

At this year's Reading and Leeds Festival, 100 punters were surveyed with 55 per cent of them experiencing shivers during live music.

Of those who did, it was found that they reported a more positive mood (66 per cent vs 46 per cent) and enhanced overall well-being (88 per cent vs 80 per cent) than those who didn't.

Riding on a roller coaster can remove a kidney stone, according to a new study.

Researchers at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine have found that patients who were shaken during a thrill-seeking ride managed to dislodge their stones.

The discovery has been awarded an Ig Nobel Prize known as the anti-Nobels which is a spoof award given to things that make people laugh but actually think.

Professor David Wartinger's findings suggested that rides were more effective because of the amount of up, down and side-to-side movements.