It’s been a good week for ... protest
Controversy is never far away when Katie Hopkins opens her gob.
The right-wing newspaper columnist and former Apprentice contestant receives much attention for her views, which have included a comment comparing refugees to cockroaches.
So students at Brunel University demonstrated just what they think of her during a debate, standing up and silently turning their backs to Hopkins as soon as she began speaking. They then filed out of the lecture hall, leaving it half-empty.
Hopkins's inclusion on the debate panel had been met with student outcry. But the union didn't want to undermine the principle of free speech by calling for her to be banned from the event.
Katie Hopkins fired? If only.
It’s been a bad week for ... guilt-free spending
Are you all shopped out after the retail gluttony that is Black Friday?
Perhaps students in Dundee have an antidote. They have designed a handbag which tells you off for spending money when you try to use your credit card.
A gruff voice is programmed to say: "Don't even think about it" and "Put it down, put it back" as soon as the card is removed from the bag.
Rebecca Smith, Leanne Fischler and Kirsty Sneddon, who're in their final year at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, created the bag for a degree project.
Designed as a "unisex satchel", it has all the necessary electronics hidden inside a false bottom.
The students explained that at first the bag tries to deter you from spending money, saying things like "Don't you think that's a bit much?" and "Oh, not again". After a while, it assumes you have made the purchase and starts to "publicly embarrass you".
However, if you put the credit card back right away it rewards you by saying: "I knew you could hear me".
Smith, 21, said the students had been asked to make a project with an "element of whispering".
"We're all passionate about using design to create change and starting conversations," she said.
But a chat with a satchel that berates you when you go for the groceries? Maybe instead it could strike up a conversation with those annoyingly talkative self-serve checkouts.
No wonder the world’s gone to hell in a handbag.
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