The adage "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is not true, according to a new book on insults. In the real world, words do have significant effects, says University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) professor of humanities Jerome Neu in his new book, "Sticks and Stones: The Philosophy of Insults" (Oxford University Press, 2008).

Whereas students used to learn the writings of Dante within the four walls of their classrooms, Italian teenagers now are flocking to nightclubs to hear the 14th century poetry of the literary great. Passages from Dante's works including The Divine Comedy have been set to music by leading Italian disc jockey, Alessio Bertallot which aptly accompanies Italian actress Lucilla Giagnoni's reading.

Hot Swiss firemen danced and rapped to hip-hop beats in a music video, promoting awareness of the country's new hotline and directory assistance numbers. Firefighters from four local Swiss fire teams - some wearing hot pants - star in the "118 Projec't" video. The video became an instant hit on YouTube and has since been remixed and covered by other budding artists. The Swiss fire department's hotline, 118, has remained unchanged even after the country's directory assistance numbers were converted into a series of four-digit numbers, all starting with 18. Because of the changes, the Swiss fire department began receiving an average of 20 calls a day from people seeking directory assistance.

A Malaysian college student is facing charges for allegedly violating the country's Sedition Act for displaying the country's flag and rapping the Malaysian national anthem on a YouTube video Wednesday. The six-minute YouTube video was created by Namewee, a 24-year-old Malaysian student at Taiwan's Ming Chuan University. The video is said to have been watched by almost half a million people, not only in Malaysia but all over the world.

Fans of the supposedly infinite number "pi" are celebrating international pi day as they express their love for the string of trillions of digits. The day to celebrate the number event falls appropriately on March 14 or 3. 14, the approximated value of "pi. " Furthermore, the time for the event has been derived from the third and fourth digits after the decimal in the value of pi, i. e. , 1:59 p. m. As per the saying that celebrations can't go without any food and fun, the pi-themed foods and rap performances will be add to the geekiness of the event.