Last year, Italian authorities ​ (a)   to fight the irritating habit people have of leaving towels

overnight to reserve the best places on the beach.

It’s clear that this is unfair to other visitors

who ​ (a)   the rules and take their things home for the night.​

That is why most Italian

holiday resorts have made it illegal to leave personal belongings unattended on the beach

overnight, that is ​ (a)   10 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.

In some

hotels, when a deckchair ​ (a)   for a certain period of time, anything left on it is removed

and the guests can’t get their things back until evening.

Did you ever wonder why planes are painted white? Well, when planes leave the factory,

they are usually green, but then almost ​ (a)   of them are painted white.

Some planes have stripes, decorations, and logos in different colours, but the dominant colour is almost always white. It seems a bit strange but there are good ​ (a)   for it.

White doesn’t fade away, and when a white plane gets old, it still looks fresh compared to a dark-coloured plane. ​ (a)   it’s easier to sell such a plane.

Painting a whole plane is expensive. It can ​ (a)   up to $200,000.

It is easier to see a white plane ​ (a)   night.

Many people enter various magazine competitions and are disappointed when they don’t win. However, this isn’t the case for 68-year-old Betty Robbs – she seems ​ (a)   successful in every competition she enters.

It all began in 1977, after Betty won a competition ​ (a)   the first time and received some exercise equipment.

So far she ​ (a)   thousands of pounds, a car, a dishwasher and several trips abroad, including weekends in Hong Kong and New York.

When she can’t sleep, Betty spends her time going ​ (a)   magazines to find competitions to enter.

She believes competitions have ​ (a)   easier over the years and nowadays you only need a name and address and just a little bit of luck.

Next time your younger brother or sister is caught jumping on the bed you can ​ (a)   your parents that they are not playing but getting ready for a well-paid career in Mattress Jumping.

Believe it or not, there are some people ​ (a)   are actually paid to do it!

Reuben Reynoso, a professional mattress tester, who does mattress jumping to earn a living,

says it requires real skill. By now, Reynoso ​ (a)   the perfect way to do it.

The key, he says, is to know the right number of jumps. Too many jumps might destroy the mattress.

Too few won’t ​ (a)   the tester to check the quality of a mattress.

It’s funny that something which seems ​ (a)   easy can actually be quite tiring!