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Skipping ahead

My Skip is going to be “as big as eBay”, according to <NO1>BBC Radio 2’s<NO>Steve Wright of BBC Radio 2. The website, which launches today, is a virtual skip where you can dispose of or rummage through useful items that might otherwise end up in landfill. It has a huge number of celebrity endorsements, including Nicolas Sarkozy, Ken Livingstone, Kerry Katona and the Dalai Lama.

Pop idol origins

The musical production of Gone with the Wind opened in <NO1>London’s<NO>the West End last week to tepid reviews. But it wasn’t all bad. The Times critic Benedict Nightingale said that as Rhett Butler, Darius Danesh, of Pop Idol, brought a “sauntering suavity” to the role. It was exactly this suavity (and cheesy charisma) that originally propelled Danesh to fame. See him as a younger, slimmer Tom Jones below.

Mood elevator

How would you spend 41 hours trapped in a lift? It’s not something we’re ever likely to discover, unlike poor Nicholas White, who was stuck in an elevator in the McGraw-Hill building, New York, for almost two days. Mr White fidgeted, paced and wrestled with the doors before literally climbing the walls to pass the time. The speeded-up CCTV footage, plus comedy music, is now on the web. See one man wishing he’d taken the stairs here.

The geekiest race ever

Are you excited by the thought of typing really, really fast? Er, no, nor were we. Until, that is, we played TypeRacer, the nerdiest — and most addictive — game on the web at the moment. Pit yourself against previous and pretend players as you race cars by frantically typing film quotes. Can you beat Peter Berkman and Eric, who can apparently type a frightening 120 words a minute?

Thou mangled fat-kidneyed codpiece!

Looking to add spice to your insults vocabulary? Following our look yesterday at the greatest political insults, and with a nod to the Bard’s birthday, we discover a new way to offend. The Shakespearean Insults Generator makes barbs at random from the words of the Bard. How about “Thou spongy rough- hewn hedge pig” or “Thou mangled fat-kidneyed codpiece”? That will leave them open-mouthed.

New heights

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 64, is currently at Everest base camp acclimatising and preparing for his attempt on the summit for Marie Curie Cancer Care). He first attempted to climb the peak in 2005, but was forced to turn back after suffering heart problems. You can follow his progress on video at the Everest Challenge website, which also features regular news updates and images from base camp.

Rabbit rescue

An explosion in rabbit numbers across the Channel has resulted in hungry bunnies devastating crops. One irate farmer successfully sued a hunter for not shooting enough rabbits. Over here, though, unwanted rabbits can have a different fate. Rabbit Rehome is a site dedicated to finding new homes for the estimated 33,000 rabbits that rescue centres receive each year.

Mine's a pint

Are the recent alcohol tax hikes hitting you in the wallet? After the Chancellor whacked up alcohol duty, knowing where to find a bargain beer is crucial. That’s where a true beer-lover’s website steps in. Compare the price of a pint across the UK, or register the price of the last pint that you drank. As the website covers 143 countries, you’ll be using it to plan your next getaway.

Don't bank on it

The future of the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, which houses the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world, is uncertain. It may soon have to close owing to a withdrawal of government funding. But the people of Cheshire aren’t taking it lying down. There are plenty of ways to protest, but a combination of mad scientists, a bastardised pop song and YouTube is surely the way forward.

Politics? Whatever...

There are people out there who believe in making the world a better place. And then there is the Apathy Party. Sick of the US election campaign? So are they. The Apathy Party agrees that things could get better. “Or they could get worse”. Their catchphrase is “whatever” and one member, Bob Haddad, has “absolutely no interest in politics, global issues or pretty much anything else”. Is this the future of politics?