GERMANY: A Berlin man claims that handling 10-euro banknotes has made him impotent. Mr Wolfang Fritz (55) spent hours last January counting money his girlfriend inherited after the couple withdrew it all in 10-euro notes. Mr Fritz says he hasn't had an erection since handling the money. He is demanding the German government supply him with the erectile disfunction-drug, Viagra.

“The euro notes made me sick. It just won't go up anymore,” he told Berlin tabloid BZ. Mr Fritz has engaged a lawyer to fight his case, blaming the impotence on the chemical Tributyl-Zinn found in the 10-euro notes.

Each note contains 740 mcg of the chemical that, in sufficient quantity, can affect the human hormone system. “The amount in euro notes cannot lead to acute hormonal disturbances,” said hormone specialist Prof Dietrich Klingmüller. © The Irish Times