Pigasso and Van Trough

Talented piglets in Devon, England, have found a new use for their trotters!

Two little pigs from the village of Buckfastleigh made paintings with their snouts, sponges, and trotters.

The colourful masterpieces then fetched an amazing £150! Their owner called them “little Pigassos” – although the paint splattered canvases more closely resembled the style of American abstract artist, Jackson Pollock.

Pigs in disguise!

Thailand’s Sriracha Zoo, renowned for its tiger-breeding program, employs a unique technique to speed up the growth of tiger cubs.

The zoo, based in the Sriracha District in eastern Chonburi Province, uses pig milk suckled direct from a domestic sow by the cubs themselves!

The zoo’s success with this innovative approach shows that tiger cubs thrive on pigs’ milk, with much faster growth rates than if raised on tiger milk alone. Since 1997, when the zoo began raising tigers this way, 300 Bengali tigers are now reported to have ‘graduated’ from the breeding program.

Baker in trouble for ‘telling porkies’

A baker from Britain has been ordered to rename her novelty pig tarts - because they don't contain any pork. 

Val Temple of Sgt Bun Bakery in Dorset, England, has also been told by Trading Standards officers that her popular Paradise Slice has to be reclassified as it does not come from paradise.
A spokesman for Dorset County Council's Trading Standards said, "Food must be properly described so consumers can tell what it is."
Supporters of the bakery have started a petition to save the pig tarts.

Can bacon cure problems of the sole?

A British Skin Foundation dermatologist questioned the truth of old wives’ tales which claim to get rid of warts and veruccas.

Raw bacon is one of the many home remedies supposedly used as a cure for the annoying problem of warts or veruccas, which are caused by strains of the human papilloma virus.

Dr Jane Sterling said: “Sometimes your immune system just wakes up and gets rid of the virus and that might coincide with the time you rub a wart with raw bacon.”

Bacon - the new battle ground for equality

Never before since its inception in 1104 have ‘The Dunmow Flitch Trials’ been surrounded in such controversy. They are held every four years and involve the awarding of ‘a flitch’ (or side of bacon) to married couples if they can satisfy the Judge and Jury that, in a year and a day, they have not wished themselves unmarried again.

Bacon: the key to superhumans of the future (well almost)!

A scientist from the London School of Economics has predicted that in 100,000 years (so hardly just around the corner), the human race will have split into two different camps. These groups will be the tall, thin and clever brigade and the short, fat and ugly underclass. Guess what, only the tall ones will eat bacon! Amongst other things of course, but who are we to let that get in the way of a good story.

Pork scratchings are one thing, but pickled pigs cheek is another!

Experts fear the olde English regional dish Bath Chaps is set to die out. The classic consists of pigs cheek or tongue, pickled, then soaked in fresh water overnight and boiled for three to four hours before being rolled in breadcrumbs and voila! In short, it takes a bit longer to make than the average bacon buttie. Results of a survey show that barely one in every 100 people has heard of the dish. This is surely a sad fate for part of our culinary heritage. But in the age of convenience food it is also perhaps sadly somewhat understandable.

Danish look at the full English

The results of a recent Danish Bacon consumer survey shed light on some of the nation’s mealtime habits by looking at perceptions around the traditional cooked breakfast. Questioning 1,000 members of the general population, the survey provided some interesting results. One such example is that the average Brit consumes over 900 full English breakfasts in their life time. Some 88 per cent of the population also feels that the traditional cooked breakfast is an important part of British heritage. And given that over 53 per cent of us have at least one cooked breakfast a month, it seems to be a tradition that is very much alive and well.

From pigs to Pavarotti

A purpose-built pig shelter at Morundah, in the depths of the Australian outback, will act as a theatre for a forthcoming performance of Bizet's opera, Carmen. Both performances are sold out ahead of the opening night. Presumably because there are only so many seats you can put in a pigsty before things get a little cramped! Mr Fahey, the organizer, said the event had been arranged to bring some culture to the area.