
Housemate horrors, TikTok chocolate and a Disney heir talks Trump
Happy Saturday! Sometimes, dear readers, the best stories get hidden or lost beneath blaring headlines. This week, all five stories jumped out. And more. This could've been 20 great reads. Enjoy.
Living in share houses can bring the best and worst out of people. Across eight homes and 18 housemates, Alice Wilkinson has endured it all – from the guy who washed his clothes without detergent to the boyfriend who moved in by stealth.
There are moments on this list that I can only assume readers accustomed to the perils and joys of cohabitating a space will deeply relate to ... some more than others. Here are two:
'Finding my housemate's stash of ecstasy in my favourite mug': Wilkinson 'made sure it didn't happen again' by moving all the mugs she owned to her bedroom.
'Asking my housemate's boyfriend to pay rent': 'Dan was quick-witted and funny,' she writes. But after a month passed, Wilkinson realised he was staying at the share house every night. She 'found him less and less funny'.
Devilish suggestion? Send this to an old housemate (if you're still friends) or your current ones – if you dare.
How long will it take to read: four minutes.
Billionaires including Elon Musk, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Charles Koch – one of the richest people in the world – all seem pretty comfortable with the fact Donald Trump is the US president.
But Abigail Disney isn't like the rest. The Disney heir – one of several - has long argued for rich people like her to pay more tax. Now she is working out how best to meet the challenge of Trump, Musk and the politics of chaos.
Family ties: The 65-year-old is the grand-niece of Walt Disney and says Trump is not all that different … '[He] is an inheritor,' she says. 'He never acknowledges it, but he wouldn't have been able to do any of the things he did without an inheritance.'
How long will it take to read: five minutes.
Further reading: Wondering which Trump-supporting billionaires have lost the most in the tariff turmoil? Here they are.
If you haven't heard of Dubai chocolate, you're probably not on TikTok. 'Sweet, creamy, crunchy, with a chocolate shell decorated with splashes of colour and a whimsical name (Can't Get Knafeh of It), the finished product must have seemed like a winner,' writes Emine Saner.
What's in it? The chocolate bar contains 'a sweet, gooey filling of pistachio cream and tahini with the crunch of knafeh', Saner describes.
Who made it? Sarah Hamouda, a British-Egyptian engineer living in Dubai, who, after pregnancy cravings, birthed the invention in 2021.
'That one craving sparked a passion I never expected … I never imagined Dubai chocolate would become such a global craze.' – Sarah Hamouda
How long will it take to read: four minutes.
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Further reading: you can even DIY Dubai chocolate at home with Ravneet Gill's recipe.
In Ulaanbaatar, coal fires heat almost every home. The extreme weather is driving families off the Mongolian steppes and into the capital city, where coal-fired heating has led to a health crisis.
Crisis levels: The wealthy are advised to leave town to avoid their kids getting repeatedly sick. Meanwhile, incidents of carbon monoxide poisonings from people who stay and try to keep warm is rising, with more than 800 related deaths recorded in the last seven years.
'Everyone is breathing this air – the poor and the wealthy,' Dr Jigjidsuren Chinburen, an MP, oncologist and former director of Mongolia's cancer centre, said. 'We can solve it easily, we just need a good heart.'
How long will it take to read: five minutes.
Further viewing: How smog has become part of Mongolians' way of life.
In 2021, Mark Hoppus thought he was going to die. 'And, in a way, it absolutely was so freeing,' he tells Alexis Petridis, recalling the horrors and success of his cancer treatment, and how being sick helped 'heal his friendship' with fellow Blink-182 band member Tom DeLonge.
What's my age again? In what gen Zs would describe a very boomer moment, Hoppus accidentally shared a chemo selfie to more than a million Instagram followers. The musician calls it 'the best mistake I've ever made' because of the overwhelming support he received.
Keep reading … for Hoppus' gleefully puerile take on how punk brought him fame, an art collection and his Beverly Hills mansion with a phallic-shaped swimming pool.
How long will it take to read: five minutes.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
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Shoppers share savvy hack for 10p Father's Day cards from Moonpig – here's how to get yours
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
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Peppa Pig parents go wild as £39.99 toy is scanning for 10p at local stores – here's exactly where to nab it…
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT retails in most shops for £39.99. So you can imagine how thrilled one mum was when she came across the Peppa Pig party bus for just 10p. 3 Parents are racing to B&M to nab this Peppa Pig toy for just 10p Credit: extremecouponingandbargainsuk/facebook 3 It retails for £39.99 elsewhere Credit: extremecouponingandbargainsuk/facebook 3 Annabel's child held on tightly to her new present after leaving the store Credit: extremecouponingandbargainsuk/facebook Annabel was out shopping in her local B&M in Wallsend when she came across the toy. But when she scanned it on the B&M app - the usual way savvy shoppers come across unmarked bargain buys - it didn't come up. It also didn't have a price tag on it, so she decided to go up to the till to ask how much it was. And it was at that point that she discovered it would cost her just 10 pence. "Peppa Pig party bus at B&M scanning for 10p," she wrote alongside pictures of her new purchase on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group on Facebook. "There was no tag and doesn't scan on the app - says barcode not found. "£39.99 on Amazon and Smyths!" The party bus is a two in one playset that comes with three figures - Peppa, Danny Dog and Candy Cat - and 13 party-themed accessories. "Imagine Peppa and friends going for a rooftop ride in the cheery red double-decker bus, then pop the bus into party playset mode to discover 3 floors of feature-filled fun," a description of the product reads online. "What will the figures do next? How about a dance party using the twirling platforms? Mums issue stark warning about 'dark Peppa Pig' videos going viral on YouTube set out to target and terrify your kids "A spin on the roundabout toy? A ride down the slide? Should the balloons go on the bus, or on top of the jukebox?" And after Annabel shared snaps of her child with their new toy, others took to the comments section to plan their next trip to B&M with friends. "OMG!" one wrote. "Why not in the Dundee ones?" another sighed, tagging a mate. "Someone buy me one and stick on Vinted for me to buy for a couple of quid lol," a third commented. "Can't find none near me!" Peppa Pig legacy PEPPA Pig first aired in 2004 and has since been broadcast in 180 territories and translated into 40 languages. Now it's spawned books, toys and even two theme parks, with the global Peppa empire now worth over £1billion. Creators Neville Astley and Mark Baker admitted they were initially worried the idea would never get off the ground, and that people at first, were bored of the idea. Astley explained: "People in the pub would ask us, 'What are you drawing?' We'd say, 'A pig, called Peppa, it's going to be big'. 'They'd lose interest and wander off." "Wow, as if," someone else added. "When they don't scan on the app, that's how you know it's deffo 10p," another wrote. "As soon as I'm back we're off out," someone else said, again tagging a friend. "Amazing find," another smiled.