The retro art of hula-hooping is making a comeback – thanks to the wife of White House hopeful Barack Obama.

Since the presidential candidate revealed his wife Michelle "is the best hula-hooper I know", there has since been a surge of interest in the 50-year-old hobby.

"Once she gets the rhythm going, she can drop to her knees," Obama told People magazine after his wife was pictured in July hula-hooping with their daughter.

In the US, manufacturers are now reporting a 20% rise in sales of hula hoops.

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A daily caffeine fix may help you through the afternoon slump – but it may also cause you to see ghosts.

Research suggests people who drink more than seven cups of instant coffee a day have an increased tendency to hallucinate.

High caffeine users may even think they sense non-existent people, according to researchers from the University of Durham.

They studied 200 students who were asked about their typical intake of caffeine products.

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A woman from Pennsylvania who marketed "gothic kittens" with ear, neck and tail-piercings on the internet has defended her actions.

Holly Crawford was charged with animal cruelty after her home was raided following a tip off from animal rights group Peta.

"When I did it, it wasn’t with any cruel intentions," she said. "They were definitely loved, well-fed, no fleas, clipped nails, and very happy."

Police also charged a man who helped her take calls about the kittens, which were being sold online for hundreds of dollars.

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A same-sex couple has made medical history by giving birth to two sets of twins within 24 hours of each other.

Karen Wesolowski and Martha Padgett spent three years and £35,000 undergoing IVF treatment, but could not believe it when they heard four heartbeats at a check-up.

Astonishingly each of the women gave birth to twins on the same day – but the four children born are actually quadruplets, created from Martha’s eggs and donor sperm.

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Work doesn’t have to be a chore. For the second in our series on dream children’s careers, Lucy Rodgers meets a man who never outgrew a childhood passion for building with Lego.

Guy Bagley has single-handedly designed and built some of the most famous buildings in the world – including a large part of London – down to the very last brick.

But the 37-year-old master builder didn’t have to lift a trowel or use a single digger – because his architectural creations are built entirely out of Lego.

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Three cups of tea a day could help keep breast cancer at bay among younger women, researchers have found.

A US study discovered an increased intake of tea reduced the risk among ladies under the age of 50 by up to 37%.

The threat of another type of tumour, affecting the lobes deep inside the breast tissue, was cut by two thirds, the researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Centre in Florida found.

Britain’s favourite drink may not help older generations fight the disease though.

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