No more pointy knives for Brits

The British Medical Journal has discovered something which may have escaped the attention of the less well-informed reader: that long pointy knives are sharp and can be stuck into people thereby causing them damage or even provoking a death-related incident.

The solution? Oblige long pointy knife manufacturers to make the knives less pointy by rounding off the tips.

Yes indeed, that's the conclusion of docs Emma Hern, Will Glazebrook and Mike Beckett of the West Middlesex University Hospital in London, according to a NY Times report. They note with concern that "the rate of violent crime in Britain rose nearly 18 per cent from 2003 to 2004, and that in the first two weeks of 2005, 15 killings and 16 nonfatal attacks involved stabbings".

Dr Hern says: "We came up with the idea and tossed it into the pot to get people talking about crime reduction." She adds: "Whether it's a sensible solution to this problem or not, I'm not sure."

No further comment from us is required, but suffice it to say we look forward to proposals for the rubber housebrick (a common bludgeoning weapon), the papier mache baseball bat (ditto) and the soft plastic claw hammer (ditto). ®

escaped the attention of the less well-informed reader: that long pointy knives are sharp and can be stuck into people thereby causing them damage or even provoking a death-related incident.