News Bytes

Statue of Liberty partly reopened After three years, the 117-year old Statue of Liberty in New York has been partly reopened on Tuesday. For now, the 16-storeys high observation platform on the statue's pedestal has been reopened. The statue itself remains closed.

"The Color Purple" is the most frequently re-read book A study of the American Library Association (ALA) has determined that "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is the most frequently re-read book. Other books on the list are the popular "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling, The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and Shakespeare's plays.

Woman makes emergency call - policeman falls asleep When Patricia Berg called 911 at 02:40am, she was in for a real surprise. A policeman answered the phone and she told him she thought there was someone in the house. After she had told him, she only heard a sonorous snoring on the other end - fro exactly 1.48 minutes. Then the man woke up again, but couldn't remember a word of what the woman had told him. When Ms Berg complained to his supervisor, he told her the man was currently on vacation and they would take care of the matter as soon as he returned.

Japanese causes bomb alarm by writing down vocabulary On Sunday, a Japanese caused a bomb alarm at the Chicago airport - he wrote down the word "suicide bomb" in order to look it up later. When the man sitting next to him saw this, he immediately told the flight attendant. The pilot had to drive the plane back to the terminal.

Researchers grow new neurons in damaged areas of the brain US scientists managed to grow neurons in a rat's brain - in an area that had been damaged by a stroke. They managed this with the help of embryonic cells - and might also be possible in a human brain. Stem cells were injected into the rat brain. They moved to the damaged area of the brain by themselves and formed neurons there. It is uncertain as of yet whether the damaged part will ever be fully functional again.

Woman hit by two tons of rock - no bone fractures When Judy Curtis went alpine style climbing, one rock resisted being climbed and instead broke off and pinned her to the ground. She was lucky, however - thanks to a low depression in the ground she survived without a single bone fracture. She could be removed from under the rock with the help of air cushions. Her husband said that while she needed medical aid, she was doing fine. He said the whole thing was a "miracle."

Officially recognized - the Sponge Bob Church Having fun and promoting imagination - that's the motto of the Church of Sponge Bob that has more than 700 members by now. Fans of Sponge Bob Squarepants, the hero of an animated children's show, have founded a church in the US that has been officially recognized now.

Donald Duck - star on the Walk of Fame? In the near future, Donald Duck, Disney's famous comic book hero, will have his own star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. It will be revealed to the public on Monday on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. So from now on, not just Mickey Mouse, but Donald as well will have his own star on the most famous sidewalk in the world.