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

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Cat, sheep win 'Couple of the Year' award at Ukraine zoo

The Odessa Zoo in Ukraine announced an unusual duo won its annual "Couple of the Year" contest: a cat and a sheep.

The zoo said on social media that Masazhik the cat and Bagel the lamb were chosen as this year's Couple of the Year, beating several same-species pairs including lemurs, tigers and porcupines.

The finalists were revealed in a YouTube video earlier in the week, and the winning pair were unveiled Thursday on Facebook.

Masazhik, whose name translates to "massage therapist," can often be seen perched on Bagel's back.

The duo will be officially presented with their Couple of the Year title at a public ceremony on Valentine's Day.

The Couple of the Year award is an annual tradition at the zoo. Last year's winners were a pair of mated sheep.

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14-year-old 'human calculator' breaks 6 world records in one day

A 14-year-old "human calculator" from India put his mental math to the test and broke six Guinness World Records in a single day.

Aaryan Shukla, 14, of Maharashtra, set his first Guinness World Record about a year ago, when he took on the record for the fastest time to mentally add 50 five-digit numbers on the set of Italian TV series Lo Sho Dei Record.

Shukla, who accomplished the feat in a time of only 25.19 seconds, was invited to Dubai by Guinness World Records and now has six more titles to his name.

In a single day, Shukla broke the records for the fastest time to mentally add 100 four-digit numbers (30.9 seconds), fastest time to mentally add 200 four-digit numbers (1 minute, 9.68 seconds), fastest time to mentally add 50 five-digit numbers (18.71 seconds), fastest time to mentally divide a 20-digit number by a ten-digit number (5 minutes, 42 seconds), fastest time to mentally multiply two five-digit numbers (51.69 seconds) and fastest time to mentally multiply two eight-digit numbers (2 minutes, 35.41 seconds).

Shukla, nicknamed the "Human Calculator" by Guinness World Records, said he practices math for five to six hours a day to keep his mind sharp for competitions.

Shukla's father said his family doesn't know where the boy's skills come from.

"We are a normal family. Aaryan is a one in a billion kind of person, but I don't think that we are a family of mental calculators," he said.

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Zoo holding auction for paintings made by penguins, giraffes

A New York Zoo offered a sneak preview of some of the artwork that will be available at its upcoming gala auction: creations by animals including penguins, giraffes, sloths, capybaras and others.

The Animal Adventure Park and Preserve in Harpursville announced the Dream Big Gala: Night Out on the Town, scheduled for March 15, will feature a silent auction for works of art created by several of the species that call the zoo home.

Zookeepers said they use various methods to encourage the animals to paint as a fun enrichment activity.

"With our penguins as well, the easiest way for me to get them to paint is with food," Zookeeper Mikayla Conway told WBNG-TV. "They are very food motivated, and if some days they don't feel like using food, they will chase around a cat laser."

The zoo offered some sneak previews on social media, sharing photos of animals including penguins, capybaras, sloths and giraffes painting.

"Our artists are hard at work putting the finishing touches on their masterpieces for the Animal Art Auction," the post said.

Animal art aficionados who won't be in attendance at the gala will have the opportunity to place bids online, the zoo said.

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Cow escapes trailer, wanders residential neighborhood

Police in Eugene, Ore., responded to a residential neighborhood where a cow that fell from a passing trailer was found wandering loose.

The Eugene Police Department said a community service officer responded to the neighborhood in the area of 36th Avenue and Willamette Street following a report of a loose cow.

"Reports stated the cow was spotted falling out of a trailer, and the driver did not realize it," the department said on social media.

A pair of residents named Sarah and Amira were able to coax the cow into a yard, but the bovine fled when the community service officer arrived with an officer for backup.

The officers pursued the cow until they were able to corner it in another home's back yard.

Lane County Animal Welfare arrived on the scene and helped transport the cow to a safe facility in Greenhill.

The cow's owner eventually realized the animal was missing and contacted police, who were able to facilitate a reunion.

Police nicknamed the cow Houdini, saying the animal "is definitely a master escape artist."

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Oklahoma man boasts world's largest collection of bricks

An Oklahoma man's family surprised him with a Guinness World Record for his collection of 8,882 different bricks.

Clem Reinkemeyer, 87, was out of town when his daughter, Celia, and son-in-law, Dan Bisett, gathered a group of friends to count and document each item in his Tulsa brick barn.

Reinkemeyer returned home and was surprised with an official certificate for the world's largest collection of bricks.

"I got back in town and it was a big surprise, and I'm very happy to have this certificate," he told Guinness World Records.

Reinkemeyer's collection, which he has been amassing for 40 years, includes a Roman brick from A.D. 100, but most date from the last few hundred years.

"The break tide for making the bricks was about maybe 1870 to 1910," he said. "A special kind of brick like this has a certain clay that withstands heat, and everybody needed a fireplace."

He said some of his most valuable bricks are those with misspellings, such as one that reads "Tulsa" with a backward "s."

"I think Oklahoma has a history for the most misspelled bricks," he said. "I don't know why."

The collector said one of his favorites is a sidewalk brick made at a Washington facility located where the Pentagon now stands.

"There may be some of these under the Pentagon," he said. "But I think that this is one of a kind."

He said bricks interest him because of the history they hold.

"What appealed to me about bricks is, they have names and you can trace them back historically to places, and that always intrigued me. Its unusual, but I like it," he said.

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Wayward seal found wandering streets of Connecticut city

A young gray seal was found wandering the streets of New Haven, Conn., and police said no one knows how the animal ended up in the city.

The New Haven Police Department posted a photo to social media showing the seal crawling along a city street with a patrol vehicle pulled up next to it.

"Meet the newest addition to the department," police joked.

The department said investigators do not know how the seal ended up in the city.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment was contacted and the seal ended up in the care of the Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program.

The aquarium said the seal appears to be only a few weeks old and an assessment found it to be lethargic, dehydrated and underweight.

The seal is now being given a special diet to help it recover so it can be released back into the ocean.

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Pennsylvania man's slide chart collection earns world record

A Pennsylvania man earned a Guinness World Records title for his collection of some unusual curiosities: slide charts.

Harrisburg resident Dale Rupert said he started collecting slide charts — handheld paper or plastic items that help with common calculations — when he found a box of them for sale at a used bookstore in 2002.

"I pulled one up. I thought, 'Oh, that's sort of cool. I think I'll get that.' And as I thought further, I realized, 'Oh, I can get this whole box for under 10 bucks.' And that's when the collection began," he told WGAL-TV.

Rupert said his collection of slide charts — and their similar cousins, wheel charts — now numbers 3,117.

He earned the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of slide charts by submitting 1,111 eligible charts to be counted.

Rupert's collection includes charts designed to convert measurements, track NFL football schedules and even a 1970 Miss Clairol chart for determining the proper formulas for hair coloring.

"Somebody did all the math, did all the pre-calculations, printed it on this, and now I have those answers right here in my hand," he said.

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Chinese 'snow village' apologizes for using fake snow

A "snow village" attraction in China temporarily shut down and apologized to visitors for using fake snow made from cotton and soapy water.

The Chengdu Snow Village in Sichuan province issued an apology on social media after facing online criticism from visitors who arrived to find the "snow" was an unconvincing mixture of cotton and soapy water.

The attraction's operators said the recent unusually warm weather forced them to use fake snow.

"It did not achieve the result we had anticipated, but left a bad impression among tourists," the statement said. "We are sincerely sorry for not being able to exhibit a real snow scene and making visitors change their travel plans."

The tourist attraction has been temporary shut down while officials look into other options.

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Micro-artist creates Lego sculpture the size of a blood cell

An artist from England broke a Guinness World Record when he created a sculpture of a Lego brick roughly the same size as a human white blood cell.

Bournemouth resident David A. Lindon's Lego brick sculpture measures just .02517 millimeters (.00099 inches) by .02184 millimeters (.00086 inches), about four times smaller than the previous record-holder for the smallest handmade sculpture.

The sculpture — along with two slightly larger Lego bricks he made at the same time — had to be officially measured by a light microscope by a team at Evident Scientific.

"The challenge to create tiny objects that can't be seen without a microscope is demanding both physically and mentally," Lindon told Guinness World Records. "I have trained myself to slow my breathing and work between the beats of my heart. Even the pulse of my heart beating through my fingers creates too much movement."

He said he does all of his work at night so the vibrations from daytime traffic don't interfere with his work.

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Goat rescued from fifth floor window ledge

Firefighters in Madrid came to the rescue of a goat that somehow ended up stranded on a ledge on the fifth floor of an apartment building.

Firefighters responded to the building and discovered the goat was on the ledge outside of a closed window leading to a vacant apartment.

The goat's origins, and how it came to be stranded on the ledge, were a mystery.

Firefighters used treats including carrots and lettuce to lure the goat to a nearby balcony, where they were able to get control of the animal.

The goat was turned over to the Madrid Emergency Veterinary Service for care while authorities try to locate the animal's owner.

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