YouTuber covers singer in cling wrap for Guinness
A popular Japanese YouTuber set a Guinness World Record by wrapping a volunteer in cling wrap in only one minute, 58 seconds. Dekakin, a comedian and YouTuber known for food and arm wrestling related stunts, enlisted the help of Ichiho Shirahata, a member of the group “Gekijo-ban” Gokigen Teikoku singing group whose ballet experience came in handy during the attempt. The pair practiced for hours to perfect their technique before the official attempt, which was timed to coincide with Thursday’s Guinness World Records Day.
Guinness stipulated Shirahata had to be covered from her feet to her shoulders in cling wrap without any gaps. An adjudicator for the record-keeping organisation kept time and inspected Shirahata to make sure the attempt was an official record. Dekakin was awarded a certificate once the time was verified at 1 minute, 58 seconds.
(UPI)
France seizes jet after Ryanair doesn’t pay bill
Storms, strikes, computer failures — you can now add “your plane has been seized by the Government” to the list of things that can delay your flight. In France, 149 passengers were preparing to take off for London late Thursday when French authorities ordered their Ryanair Boeing 737 impounded. The budget carrier owed money and it was “regrettable that the state was forced” to evacuate the plane, the civil aviation authority said. The passengers had gone through passport control and security and were about to walk on the tarmac to board the plane when airport authorities told them to turn around, passenger Boris Hejblum said. “The airport staff told us there was an issue with the plane,” he said. No Ryanair staff members were available, and the only communication from the airline was two text messages saying simply that the departure was delayed, and a 5-euro ($5.75) voucher for food — “less than what a sandwich cost at the airport café,” the 30-year-old Frenchman said. The passengers were put on another flight that finally brought them to London’s Stansted airport — five hours late. The multi-million dollar jet, meanwhile, was released only Friday after Ryanair paid a bill of 525,000 euros.
(AP)
Chinese Teenager solves three Rubik’s cubes at once
A Chinese teenager who already holds two Guinness World Records broke two more by solving Rubik’s cubes in unusual ways. Xiamen resident Que Jianyu was observed by a Guinness adjudicator when he solved three Rubik’s cubes at once — one in each hand and one with his feet — in 1 minute, 36.39 seconds. Que then suspended himself from a bar and broke the record for fastest time to solve a Rubik’s cube upside-down, finishing with a time of 15.84 seconds, 1.6 seconds faster than the previous record holder.
(UPI)
‘Frog ladders’ help critters escape death-trap drains
A small group of British conservationists are installing mesh-covered ladders in roadside drains to save trapped amphibians from certain death. The Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team — the memorably acronymed WART — hopes that by placing 20 of the rust-resistant aluminum ladders down drains near known breeding pools in England’s West Midlands, they can boost the dwindling amphibian population. “The amphibians are coming to breed and then hitting the road, getting across the roads, hitting the curb, along the curb and into the drains. And then that’s it - end of story for them, game over,” said Tim Jenkins, a ladder fitter at WART.
“By installing the amphibian ladders, it enables them to get back out of the drains and back to their breeding pools and doing what they should do and making more amphibians.”
The issue of trapped toads is not limited to Britain. A 2012 study in the Netherlands estimated that more than half a million small vertebrates like frogs, toads and newts end up trapped in gully pots and drains each year.
(Reuters)
Dutchman, 69, seeks age change to 49
Self-styled positivity guru Emile Ratelband thinks age is just a number. And his is a number the Dutchman wants changed. The 69-year-old TV personality has asked a court in the Netherlands to approve his request for a new birthday that officially would make him 49.
Ratelband says his legal appeal is consistent with other forms of personal transformation that are gaining acceptance and Government recognition in the Netherlands and around the world. “With this free(dom) of choice, choice of name, freeness of gender, I want to have my own age. I want to control myself,” he said Thursday.
Ratelband says he wants to avoid age discrimination in society — especially on dating websites. “So when I ask for a mortgage, for example, they say it’s impossible,” he told The Associated Press. “If I go on Tinder, then I get women from 68, 69 when women are there.” How about just being economical with the truth about his age? “I don’t want to lie,” he said. “I want to be myself, so don’t force me to lie.”
(AP)
