Lifestyle briefs

Sep 29, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Get your poetry from a vending machine

Muenster, Germany (dpa) - For a few cents guests at a trendy cafe in Muenster, Germany can hear a few poems recited on their way to the toilet.

An inconspicuous box hanging in a narrow hallway between the kitchen and the toilets in the cafe is actually a vending machine. Drop in 50 cents, put on one of the headsets and hear two poems, one classic written by Schiller, Goethe or Tucholsky and one modern poem by a regular patron of the cafe or a student.

'This is poetry to listen to in between time, like while you're waiting for someone,' said Pascal Bovee, the 31-year-old inventor. 'You versus Goethe is the principle. I wanted people to have the confidence to publish their poems.'

The contrasts between classic poetry and modern poetry, great art and folk art is deliberate. So far the poetry vending machine is unique, but if the idea catches on, Bovee envisions installing them elsewhere, such as in Hamburg or Berlin.

Registration opens for ugly dance contest

Hamburg (dpa) - Teams from four countries have registered to compete in the third annual Ugly Dance World Cup, which will be held in Hamburg on October 15.

Teams representing Germany, Ghana, Italy and France have signed up thus far for the competition, which is in fact a contest in bad taste founded in 2009 by Christian Mueller and three friends. Mueller said this year's world cup will be even worse than the first two.

'The third world cup will cast a shadow over everything that's happened at previous competitions and go beyond the limits of tastelessness to a new low point,' said Mueller.

The 10 most untalented dance groups will be invited to compete in the final. The winner is the dance troupe that receives the most boos. Last year dancers from six countries competed and the winner was a dance troupe made up of four German students.