Some of them you can't make up...

Heard on The News Quiz (last week's show):

From The Times, July 1, 2008:

"A man who tried to gas himself but then changed his mind and lit a cigarette, causing an explosion, has been convicted of arson. [He] was given a 12-month community service order at Newport Crown Court and ordered to take an enhanced thinking skills course."

Daniel Finkelstein commented:

"What is an enhanced thinking skills course? Who runs it? Why do they run it? And who should pay for it?

"Most importantly, who else should go on one?"

(P.S., If you've never heard The New Quiz, it's worth listening to. Very entertaining. Less than half an hour every week. Incredibly funny lesbian comedian Sandy Toksvig as hostess. And available as a free podcast, so you have no excuse.)