Jockstrip: The world as we know it

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

Couples in France have sex an average of 167 times a year, leading the list of countries included in a survey by condom maker Durex. The British came in at 149 times a year, and Americans make love, on average, 138 times annually.

The frequency is lower in some Asian countries such as Singapore, where the average is 110 times, Thailand at 112 and India at 116.

Of the 50,000 respondents to the online survey, women reported having more sex than men -- 144 times a year compared to 138 on average.

The most popular sexual fantasy was having sex with a celebrity -- 65 percent admitted they've thought about it. About 36 percent fantasized about having sex with their best friend's partner.

NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

For sale at the Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor in England: a kittens' tea party, cricket-playing guinea pigs and a two-headed calf -- all stuffed, of course.

The Times of London says the Jamaica Inn is putting its 10,000 Victorian-era taxidermy exhibits up for sale, hoping to stuff its pockets with millions of bucks.

The Museum of Curiosities was opened in 1861 by Walter Potter, who developed an interest in taxidermy as a teenager when he stuffed his pet canary.

Kevin Moore, who runs the inn, told the Times he decided to sell because while taxidermy was popular in Victorian times, it was "not really in favor now."

TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

Toronto's mayor and City Council say bah humbug to a staff plan to call the Christmas tree in Nathan Phillips Square a "holiday tree" instead.

The Globe and Mail reports that council member Gloria Lindsay-Luby says she will introduce a motion at next week's meeting to call the tree a Christmas tree. "Calling a Christmas tree a 'holiday' tree is taking political correctness too far," Lindsay-Luby says in a statement.

" ... You can't be politically correct all the time. Let me set the record straight: Toronto has a Christmas tree in Nathan Phillips Square," Mayor Mel Lastman told the paper.

AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

After 167 years of lighting the way for ships first by whale oil, later by electricity, then by solar panel, the Turkey Point Lighthouse went dark in April 1, 2000, the Baltimore Sun writes.

On Saturday night, the light that had burned high above the bluff at the end of Elk Neck State Park, to guide boats around the peninsula jutting into the head of the Chesapeake Bay, will shine again, the Sun says.

The Coast Guard, which had decided the lighthouse wasn't needed and was too expensive, has come to an agreement with local lighthouse enthusiasts.

The non-profit Turkey Point Light Station Inc. has a $1 lease on the lighthouse for 10 years in exchange for taking care of the structure -- and permission from the Coast Guard to restore its glow. It has a lot of fundraising ahead.