A polar bear makes the most of the new polar bear facility at Copenhagen Zoo today. (Photo: Stine Bidstrup/POLFOTO)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#WICKLOW: A post-mortem is to be carried out this evening on the body of a man found in woodlands in Wicklow this morning. The body is believed to be that of missing Arklow man Philip O’Toole who was last seen on 7 January, but his identity has not yet been officially confirmed.

#HORSE BURGERS: Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has said the latest tests on meat at the Silvercrest facility in Monaghan have shown no sign of horse DNA, and that every effort is being made to restart production at the plant. However Fianna Fáil has criticised the Minister for not bringing “clarity or certainty” to the situation.

#QUINN FAMILY: Seán Quinn’s daughter Aoife has told the Commercial Court that she has no records of how she may have spent €370,000 on a credit card in just over a year, RTÉ News reports.

#CROKE PARK: The organisation representing Garda sergeants and inspectors has withdrawn from talks with government officials over the extension of the Croke Park Agreement because of a disagreement about cuts and allowances.

#JUDGE: The Irish Traveller Movement has said it is “deeply concerned” about reports that a District Court judge used the word “knacker” when sentencing two Travellers for burglary.

#WATCH OUT: South Africa has intensified a massive operation to round up thousands of crocodiles which escaped from a crocodile farm in the north of the country during torrential downpours earlier this week. Around one thousand crocodiles have already been caught – but staff at the farm have said they have no idea how many of the 15,000 reptiles escaped.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Commander Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut on board the International Space Station who tweets stunning photographs every day of whatever part of the world he’s flying over.  Today he tweeted this rather excellent snap of New York City at night. Can you spot Central Park?

(Photo: Cmdr_Hadfield/Twitter)

• Looking for a new prank idea? Try this from Gizmodo: here’s how you could print something out at 87,000 random printers around the world. That library in Paris is definitely getting a copy of all my college essays (you’re welcome, guys).
• At one time they were more popular among men than among women – so why did men stop wearing high heels?
• Solving a Rubik’s Cube can be tough, so this guy decided to set himself an extra challenge: solving the cube behind his back while skiing. Here’s the video - and yes, it’s as bizarre as it sounds.

THINGS WE SHARED

• Matt Damon took over the Jimmy Kimmel Live show last night and renamed it Jimmy Kimmel Sucks. Here’s what else happened.
• Just to really tug at your heartstrings, here’s a sea lion. A rescued sea lion. A rescued blind sea lion, who has been given a home at an squariam in Chicago after he was discovered on a beach in California having been shot in both eyes.

(Video: sheddawuariumchicago/YouTube – h/t @ailbhetross)

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