Cologne - It's a good idea to check out the fitness machines while visiting on a guest pass before joining a gym.

The quality of fitness machines and their condition should be considered and instructions for proper use should be posted on all machines, said the Cologne office of Germany's technical inspection authority.

In addition, there should be some safeguards to ensure that people who occasionally lift weights cannot injure themselves. To ensure safe training, the distance between the machines should be one metre; two metres between treadmills.

Wiesbaden - Buttons makes a difference: Positioned precisely in upholstery or leather, they give a sofa or chair a sense of dignity.

Known as Chesterfield, the style in which the evenly-spaced buttons form a pattern, originated in Britain. To Ursula Geismann of Germany's furniture industry association it conjures up images of dark and heavy furniture.

Sydney - The prime cause of teenage girls seeking treatment at Australian hospitals is not for injuries sustained accidentally but those inflicted deliberately by the girls themselves.

New research from the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare shows that the rate of self-harm among girls aged 13 to 19 has risen by a third since 2000. Three times as many girls as boys are being admitted for slashed limbs or other self-inflicted injuries.

Berlin - Callers to Linda Eilers Berlin cafe should expect to raise their voices to compete with the sewing machines in the background.

Many of Eilers' customers opt to man a machine for 5 euros an hour (7 dollars), sewing handmade T-shirts they wear home after coffee.

"There's always more people coming," says Eilers.

But T-shirts are only part of a larger trend toward handicrafts that's picking up steam.

"Instead of being passive consumers, people in all sectors are simultaneously producing and consuming original products they make themselves," says Melani Rollwage of Trendbuero Hamburg, a business consultancy.

Berlin - A separate room for an office and wiring that can handle all of today's multimedia devices are factors that will make a big difference for people who are looking for an apartment in future, a study conducted by Germany's Berlin-based association for apartment and real estate businesses showed.

In addition, the energy use standard within the apartment must be correct, according to the study, which collected data from
1,500 households throughout Germany about people's living preferences.

Sydney - The Australian eccentric who sparked a worldwide craze for hugging in public places hopes to do the same for organ donation.

The 26-year-old Sydney resident, who goes by the name of Juan Mann, is offering up his own kidney to a stranger.

"I'm young, I'm fit, I'm healthy, I have two kidneys," he told the city's Sun-Herald newspaper. "I don't really drink. I don't need that second one, and someone will be able to get out of hospital."

Mann became a YouTube luminary when a video showed him embracing strangers. Two years ago, he was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey television show in the United States.