Super Mario speed record broken with 4:55 finish time
An expert video game speed-runner shared video of his record-breaking Super Mario Bros. session, which he completed in 4 minutes, 55 seconds. The streamer, who goes by the name Kosmic, posted a video to his YouTube channel showing him finishing the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System game in 4 minutes, 55 seconds and 913 milliseconds. The run beat Kosmic’s own record of 4 minutes, 56 minutes and 245 milliseconds. The player’s latest record nearly ties the theoretical fastest time to beat the game, 4 minutes, 54 seconds and 30 milliseconds. Mario speed-runner AndrewG became the first player to finish the game in under 5 minutes with a 2010 speedrun.
(UPI)
2.62-carat diamond found at Arkansas state park
A Colorado woman visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas found a 2.62-carat diamond in just 10 minutes of searching. The 71-year-old woman, who did not want her identity revealed, said she and her family were only looking for diamonds for about 10 minutes at the park when she found the ice white diamond on the surface. The grandmother said she was shocked when she took her find to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, where it was identified. More than 33,100 diamonds have been found since Crater of Diamonds became a state park in 1972.
(UPI)
Resort erects rooster made of chili peppers
A Chinese resort unveiled a 20-foot-tall rooster statue made out of chili peppers and corn cobs. A video filmed at the resort in Linyi City, Shandong Province, shows the giant rooster statue with its body composed of red and green chili peppers and its legs made from corn cobs. The statue was made in honour of the city’s chili crop, which was recently harvested.
(UPI)
Proposal on Colorado peak leads to altitude issues
A Texas man found a scenic location in the Colorado mountains to propose to his girlfriend, but the couple ran into trouble on the way down. The Boulder County sheriff’s office says 27-year-old Joshua Mason of Denton, Texas, took 28-year-old Katie Davis on a hike Saturday to Jasper Peak at an elevation of nearly 4,000 m. They got lost as darkness fell. The couple were showing signs of altitude sickness and dehydration when a hiker found them. He led them to his camp and gave them food, water and a place to warm up. Another camper called for help. Rescuers reached the camp early Sunday and walked the couple to their car. They didn’t require medical treatment. Sgt Clay Leak says deputies learned the engagement was still on.
(AP)
Thai ad agency staff brings pets to work
Nimo bounds out of a car in a rush to get to work at a Bangkok advertising agency, but Nimo is no ordinary employee. He’s a dog. The brown-haired husky accompanies his owner, Thimpaporn Phopipat, to work everyday at digital advertising agency YDM in the Thai capital. “Since I already love dogs, it really made me want to work here,” said Thimaporn, 29, a digital public relations manager who also takes along her chihuahua, Muu Pan.
The bring-your-dog-to-work trend is gaining momentum in Thailand, particularly at companies like advertisement firms that are known to require irregular work hours.
The policy can help to alleviate stress, as well as attract, and retain, employees, say some. Other advertisement agencies in the Thai capital have dog-friendly policies but YDM, with nearly 200 employees and 20 pet dogs, is by far the largest to adopt the scheme.
Several studies point to the benefits of dogs in the workplace, but a May 2017 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health warned against hazards such as allergies and animal-borne diseases. The same report said pets could help to buffer stress at work, however.
(Reuters)
Boris and Brexit gym punchbags in London
Londoners fed up with Brexit can vent their rage with a special gym routine that includes high-intensity exercises like pummeling punchbags bearing photographs of some of the main players like Boris Johnson and Jean-Claude Juncker. The 30-minute circuit also features the “Theresa May Sack Race,” “Jacob Rees-Logg lifts” and “Politico Headslammer” in which participants slam balls on to pictures of British Prime Minister Theresa May and opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn. There is also a “Cameron Quitters’ Corner” named after May’s predecessor David Cameron to take time out.
The Brexfit classes are being offered by fitness company Gymbox, whose boss Marc Diaper said the theme was chosen by a members’ poll of their main frustrations with living in the British capital. Fifty two percent of respondents said Brexit, followed by rent prices and train delays.
(Reuters)
Body on road turns out to be a mannequin
Police in Ohio said a reported dead body spotted at the side of a road was found by the coroner to be a realistic mannequin. Colerain Township police said officers responded Thursday to a report of a body on the side of a road outside a nature preserve in Hamilton County. The body had been spotted wrapped in a garbage bag by county engineers, police said. Police located the body, but it wasn’t until the coroner arrived that they discovered it the body was a dummy. Colerain Police Chief Mark Denney said the mannequin appeared to be a realistic sex doll.
(UPI)
