Interesting & funny news from around the world, Интересные и забавные новости со всего мира

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Missouri thrift store seeking to solve mystery of WWII love letters

A Missouri thrift store is unraveling the mystery of a cache of World War II love letters found in a donation bin.

Tina Eifert, manager of the Salvation Army Family Store in Hannibal, was sorting through donations when she found the pile of letters sent by Chester McMeen to his wife, Alma Bernice Modglin, while he was stationed in the Philippines during World War II.

She said there was no way to trace whose donation the letters, which were dated from between Sept. 11, 1944, and Nov. 27, 1945, had come from.

"There's a lot of history, so I wanted to find who they belonged to," Eifert told WGEM-TV.

Eifert teamed up with Megan Duncan, a local investigative journalist, to solve the mystery.

Duncan discovered McMeen and Modglin had reunited after the war to raise three children and run a woodworking business in Carbondale, Ill.

"[In the letters, Chester] talked about how 'When I get back together, we're going to open a business, we're going to do these things,'" Duncan said. "And then when you look at their lives, and you look at their obituary and you look at the pictures, all of that came true."

Duncan said she has been working hard to try to track down relatives of the couple, and discovered an address that might belong to their son. She said she sent a letter to the address and is now hoping for a reply.

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Florida museum attempting paper rocket world record

A Florida museum is seeking to gather science enthusiasts of all ages to set the Guinness World Record for the most people flying paper rockets simultaneously.

The Orlando Science Center announced the attempt will take place Saturday in the facility's Dr. Phillips CineDome, and officials are hoping to gather at least 250 participants to set the record.

"For the purposes of the record, a paper rocket is defined as a toy made entirely of paper that fits onto a straw, and when the straw is blown through, the rocket flies into the air," the science center said in a news release.

Members of the public hoping to participate in the record attempt are being encouraged to arrive by 10 a.m. Saturday, as seating is limited to 300 people and registration will be "on a first come/first served basis."

An official Guinness World Records adjudicator will be on hand to witness the attempt.

"At the Orlando Science Center, we focus on creating iconic experiences that ignite curiosity and a love for science," JoAnn Newman, president & CEO of Orlando Science Center, said in the release. "We are excited to welcome the community to join us as we attempt to achieve this Guinness World Records title while also highlighting the STEM skills needed to achieve it."

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Nigerian man's 10,814.5-square-foot drawing is the world's largest

A Nigerian doctor with a passion for art broke a Guinness World Record with a 10,814.5-square-foot drawing celebrating the cultures of his country.

Fola David-Tolaram, 31, created his drawing, titled The Unity of Diversity, using waterproof markers on a massive canvas at a 5,000-seat stadium over the course of several days.

The new world's largest drawing by an individual depicts a giant map of Nigeria bearing images of the various peoples and cultural iconography of the country's regions.

"The Nigerian country is a multi-cultural nation. I wanted to create something that speaks to that and give people an avenue to celebrate their cultures," David-Tolaram told Guinness World Records. "Before embarking on this record drawing, I took a trip around my country to experience these different cultures personally and it was this experience that I brought to the stadium to create this drawing. Holding a Guinness World Records title is absolutely unbelievable. I grew up reading about world records and I never thought that I would be a record title holder."

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Canadian rock band plays world's deepest concert in a mine

A band from Timmins, called Miners and Sons, now holds the Guinness World Record for the deepest underground concert.

The band performed at the 9,000-foot level of the Kidd Mine in Timmins, which is roughly 2,700 metres underground. That's the equivalent of around five CN Towers stacked one on top of another.

Band member Sean Harris said he was exhausted shortly after achieving the record.

"It's warm down there,"" he said.

Harris said it took two years of planning to make the record attempt a reality. That included working closely with the company, Glencore, which operates the mine, and arranging for a Guinness adjudicator to witness the underground set.

"The rule was you have to play at least 15 minutes, it can't be more than 30 seconds between songs, songs have to be at least two minutes long and have to be recognizable," he said.

They performed in front of a crowd of around 30 people, including some mine employees and managers, local politicians and staff from Northern College, which helped sponsor the effort.

Harris said they played songs from Collective Soul, The Tragically Hip, Rage Against the Machine and Johnny Cash.

Harris said he was still in shock that he and his bandmates will now have their names etched into the Guinness Book of World Records.

A Sudbury band called The Shaft Bottom Boys set the previous record for the deepest underground concert. In 2020. they performed 1,893.8 metres, or about 6,200 feet below ground in Vale's Creighton Mine.

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Koala found relaxing in South Australia couple's bedroom

A couple arrived at their home in Australia after midnight and found their bedroom occupied by an unexpected intruder — a koala.

Fran Dias Rufino posted a video to Facebook showing the scene that she and her husband, Brunno, were confronted with in their Rosslyn Park, South Australia, home.

"Only in Australia," she wrote in the caption for the video, which shows a koala exploring the bedroom while Rufino shouts in Portuguese.

Rufino, who is from Brazil, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. she "forgot how to speak in English" as a result of seeing the marsupial in her home.

"I thought, 'Oh my god, there is a koala in my bedroom', and [Brunno] was like, 'Lady, what are you doing? Why are you screaming?'" she recalled.

Rufino called for expert help while her husband attempted to contain the koala.

"Brunno tried to hold him with some clothes and he grabbed the clothes and I called for the koala rescue and I forgot how to speak in English and I started to speak Spanish — and I don't speak Spanish," Rufino said.

The koala was eventually coaxed out of the house and proceeded to climb a tree in the couple's yard.

"I think he's part of the family now," Rufino said.

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Hungry bear wanders into Tennessee candy store

A sweet-toothed bear was caught on camera wandering into a Tennessee candy store in search of free samples.

Photos and videos of the scene went viral on social media after the bear was seen wandering into the Sweet candy store in Gatlinburg to peruse the sugary offerings.

A video posted to TikTok shows the bruin enjoying some snacks without paying while onlookers take photos and employees attempt to coax it out of the shop.

Employees said the bear seemed to show a preference for Charleston Chews and Hershey's Kisses.

The Gatlinburg Police Department was summoned to the scene to help get the wild animal out of the store.

No injuries were reported.

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Plane grounded for four days when 132 hamsters escape on board

In a bizarre incident at Ponta Delgada Airport in the Azores, a TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321neo (registered CS-TJR) was grounded for four days due to a mass hamster escape. Over 130 rodents, intended for a pet shop, broke free from their transport boxes in the aircraft’s cargo hold, leading to a frantic recovery effort to prevent potential damage to the plane’s wiring.

According to Correio da Manhã, the rodents’ breakout was attributed to the damaged transport boxes used during the flight from Lisbon. Alarmingly, the shipment had been rejected on an earlier flight due to poor packaging conditions but was still accepted for this journey. Upon landing, baggage handlers discovered the situation, sparking a lengthy operation to recapture the hamsters, which concluded with all 132 accounted for.

The incident delayed the aircraft’s return to Lisbon, as only on 17 November, the aircraft returned to Lisbon. The airline is now likely to review its policies to prevent future occurrences.

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British police ask public to stop chasing loose emu

Police in Lincolshire, England, are asking members of the public to stop using all-terrain vehicles to chase an escaped emu in the area.

Boston Police said on social media that the emu has been spotted multiple times in the Spilsby area during the past couple of weeks, and rescuers from the National Exotics Animal Rescue Service are attempting to capture the Australian bird.

"Experts have been trying to gain her trust by feeding her in the same spot for a while, however, efforts are being scuppered and staff and volunteers are concerned because members of the public have been chasing her in 4x4s," the post said.

Police wrote they are concerned the fleeing emu could end up in "the path of oncoming vehicles, causing harm to herself or others."

"Members of the public are being asked to allow NEARS to carry out their work and to not attempt to approach the emu," the post said.

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Chicago man wins $50, pack of Marlboros in Jeremy Allen White look-alike contest

A 37-year-old mental health therapist was dubbed the winner of Chicago's Jeremy Allen White look-alike contest, scoring $50 and a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes for his resemblance to The Bear star.

Albany Park roommates Kelsey Cassaro and Taylor Vaske originally advertised the event with flyers that were supposed to be a joke, but the contest became a reality after it started to gain traction on social media.

Most participants in the Humboldt Park contest on Saturday dressed in the signature kitchen garb of Chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, White's character on The Bear.

Ben Shabad, 37, a mental health therapist from Glenview, claimed the top prize: $50 and a pack of Marlboro Reds.

Shabad said people first started remarking on his resemblance to White during the actor's tenure on Showtime series Shameless, but he told Fox 32 he started to "get it all the time" — three to four times a week — after The Bear premiered and both men had the same hairstyle.

Shabad said his hair was not actually inspired by White.

"I kinda like the way it looks, and I just haven't cut it, so that's the story there," he said.

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Kitten stuck in dumpster rescued using 'heavy machinery'

Firefighters and veterinarians in Colorado teamed up to rescue a kitten found with its head poking out through a small hole in a metal dumpster.

The Poudre Fire Authority and personnel from Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital responded when the kitten was found with its head stuck in the hole.

A veterinarian sedated the kitten and firefighters used "heavy machinery" normally used for vehicle extractions to expand the hole in the dumpster so the kitten could be rescued.

The kitten was turned over to the NOCO Humane shelter in Loveland.

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