Miscellaneous news that makes me happy

1. Not only Dutch police are cowards

A 22-year-old burglar himself made a call to police because he feared the police that had been alerted would release their police dogs on him, police reported on Monday. The man was caught breaking into a house in his hometown of Leidschendam in the early hours this morning. Officers who came to see what was going on saw a man run away and hide in the bushes. After police had cordoned off the yard, the man telephoned the emergency number from his hiding place in the bushes because he was so frightened that the police dogs present were going to be released and attack him. The police personnel in the control room told police on the scene where to find the man. He was arrested without the use of the dogs.

2. 14 billion kilometers

The Dutch have started cycling even more over the past few years. In 2005 the Dutch covered more than 14 billion km on bicycle in total. That is an average of 2.5 km per person per day, almost 10 percent more than in 2002. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that men cycle more than women, and that young people between the ages of 12 and 18 cycle the most. They cycle more than 6 km per day on average. Turnover at bicycle shops increased by 15 percent last year compared to the year before. Dutch production of bicycles increased to 967,000 units, almost returning to 2003 levels of over a million.