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

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2,461 take cold weather swim to break world record in Czech Republic

A total 2,461 bathers braved the frigid waters of the Czech Republic's second-largest lake to break a world record for the largest polar bear dip.

Czech freediver David Vencl organized the March 1 attempt at Most Lake, where the water was measured at below 50 degrees.

Guinness World Records confirmed the bathers took the record from 1,799 cold weather swimmers who took the plunge at the XIIth Ice Swimmers Convention in Poland in 2015.

Vencl previously held the record for the longest swim under ice — breath held (no fins, no diving suit), which he set in 2021 and only lost in March of this year.

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Pickleball enthusiasts play 36-hour marathon to break world record

A team of four pickleball enthusiasts broke a Guinness World Record in Texas by playing 36 consecutive hours of matches.

The team, who call themselves The Pickle Breakers, took on the record for the longest marathon playing pickleball at Pickler Universe in Carrollton, and ended their attempt at 36 hours.

The current record is held by a foursome who played for 34 hours, 5 minutes and 55 seconds in Britain in September 2024. Evidence from the latest attempt must still be reviewed and approved by the record-keeping organization.

The Pickle Breakers — Chong Kim, Jaret Petras, Laura Maala and Geneva Olson — started playing at 6 a.m. local time on Saturday.

"They're tired. It's been a long night," Olson's husband, Mark, told KWTX-TV.

The attempt raised over $18,000 for the Taylor's Gift Foundation, a charity supporting organ donation and providing aid to families who decide to donate the organs of their loved ones.

Mark Olson said the cause is very close to his wife's heart, and she also wanted to inspire the couple's daughters.

"We've got four daughters, and she wants to prove to her daughters that she can do anything, and they can do anything they put their mind to," he said. "She's been the kind of person that if there's something she wants to do, she puts her mind to it and gets it done."

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Tiny pygmy falcon chick hatches at Texas zoo

The San Antonio Zoo in Texas shared a photo of its latest arrival — a newly-hatched pygmy falcon weighing barely more than a quarter.

The zoo announced the "pint-sized powerhouse" hatched March 18 and weighs just .23 ounces — just over the .2-ounce weight of a U.S. quarter.

"The tiniest predator with the biggest personality just hatched at San Antonio Zoo," the zoo said on social media.

The chick is the 12th pygmy falcon to hatch in the zoo's history, and the first since 2004. It is also the only pygmy falcon to hatch at a U.S. zoo in the past 12 months.

"Proud parents Squiggy and Laverne, both hatched at San Diego Zoo (Squiggy in 2023, Laverne in 2021), have now started their own little dynasty at San Antonio Zoo," the zoo said.

The chick is being hand-raised by zookeepers at the NEST, the zoo's facility for baby birds.

"With gray plumage and a chestnut patch on the female's back, pygmy falcons are as striking as they are resourceful. They often nest in the homes of social weavers and protect them — though they sometimes prey on the weavers, too," the post said.

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Mass. teen's message in a bottle from 1976 found in the Bahamas

A pair of brothers walking along the coast of a remote island in the Bahamas found a message in a bottle that had been written by a 14-year-old Massachusetts student in 1976.

Clint Buffington, an experienced beachcomber who has found more than 100 messages in bottles across North America and the Caribbean, said he and his brother, Evan, were exploring the coast of an island in the Bahamas a few weeks ago when they made a discovery.

"I hear my walkie-talkie crackle to life, and my brother says something like, 'You're not going to believe what I just found,'" Clint Buffington told WCVB-TV.

The old Pepsi bottle contained a note written by Peter R. Thompson, a 14-year-old Pentucket Regional Junior High School student from West Newbury, Mass., who was taking an oceanography class at the time. The note said the bottle would be tossed into the ocean by the Coast Guard.

The Buffington brothers were able to get in touch with Thompson, who said he does not remember writing the message, but he has fond memories of the oceanography class.

"It's amazing. It's almost 50 years later, so it's a surprise," Thompson said.

Buffington said he and his brother are hoping to eventually return the note to Thompson in person.

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Herd of 25 escaped cows visits Pennsylvania neighborhoods

A herd of about 25 cows went parading through several neighborhoods in Pennsylvania's Bucks County after escaping from a farm.

Annette Worthington, one of the owners of Curly Hill Farm in Doylestown, said a call from a neighbor led to the discovery that about 25 young heifers had escaped from their pasture.

"They got spooked last night from the storm," Worthington told CBS Philadelphia. "They ran past two electric fences, and they hit it with such force, they ripped a fence post out of the ground."

The cows were caught on camera wandering through multiple neighborhoods in the surrounding communities of Bucks County.

Worthington said the herd split into two groups, with one heading into a wooded area and the other taking a tour of residential areas.

About 10 of the bovines were captured outside B & B Beverages in Doylestown, where owner Zach Jarin caught sight of the action.

"There were a bunch of farmers here trying to wrangle them out. Definitely never something I expected to happen selling beer," Jarin told WFMZ-TV.

All of the cows were eventually recaptured with help from police and local residents. Worthington said a single cow, named Gracie, evaded pursuers for a few hours longer than the others, but was safely returned to the farm.

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'Fabulous feathered friend': Loose peacock found wandering in Philadelphia

Animal rescuers in Philadelphia responded to an unusual situation when a resident found a wandering peacock on their front step.

ACCT Philly said on social media that rescuers were called out Thursday on a report of a loose peacock in the city.

"This fabulous feathered friend was spotted strutting through the city like he had brunch reservations and no time to waste," the post said. "You know it's going to be that kind of day when your morning meeting gets interrupted by a wandering peacock on your front step."

The group said the peacock was safely captured and brought back to the rescue.

ACCT Philly did not say whether the bird's owners had been identified.

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Maryland man wins $50,000 lottery prize on his first try

A Maryland man bought his first-ever lottery ticket at his mother's urging and scored a $50,000 prize thanks to his beginner's luck.

The St. Mary's County man told Maryland Lottery officials he had never bought a lottery ticket before visiting the Shoppers grocery store in Waldorf with his mother.

"My mom plays the lottery, so when we walked past the vending machine she suggested that I finally try one," the player recalled.

The player's mother helped him pick out a Big Money scratch-off ticket, which turned out to be a $50,000 winner.

"I can only describe it as an intense rush," the man said of learning he was a big winner.

The player said his first lottery ticket might also be his last.

"What are the chances that I'll ever do this well again?" he said.

The man said he might consider changing his mind down the line.

"Maybe I'll try a Mega Millions or Powerball ticket. Maybe the luck will still be with me," he said.

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Belgians hunt for hidden beers in Easter event

A brewery in Belgium swapped painted eggs for frothy brews when it celebrated Easter with the "World's Biggest Beer Hunt."

The fifth annual Easter event at the Aywiers Gardens in Lasne, Belgium, saw over 1,000 registered hunters searching the grounds for 12,000 hidden bottles of Lutgarde beer.

Hidden among the beers was a special golden bottle, which earned its finder a prize of his weight in beer.

The event began Sunday with a chocolate egg hunt for children at noon, and the beer hunt then commenced at 12:30 p.m. A barbecue at 1:30 p.m. allowed the hunters to relax and enjoy some of their collected beer bounty.

A second round of the hunt is taking place Monday.

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Party animals: Chimpanzees caught on camera sharing alcoholic fruit

A team of British researchers studying chimpanzees in West Africa said they have documented the primates eating and sharing alcoholic fruit.

The University of Exeter team said cameras set up at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau captured the chimps sharing fermented African breadfruit that was later confirmed to contain ethanol.

The team's study suggests the chimpanzees could be using the alcohol for a similar purpose as humans who partake in intoxicating beverages.

"For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins, and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation," Anna Bowland, from the university's Center for Ecology and Conservation, said in a news release.

"We also know that sharing alcohol — including through traditions such as feasting — helps to form and strengthen social bonds," she said. "So — now we know that wild chimpanzees are eating and sharing ethanolic fruits — the question is: could they be getting similar benefits?"

The researchers said it is notable that the chimps were documented sharing the fruits, rather than eating them alone.

"Chimps don't share food all the time, so this behavior with fermented fruit might be important," researcher Kimberley Hockings said. "We need to find out more about whether they deliberately seek out ethanolic fruits and how they metabolism it, but this behavior could be the early evolutionary stages of 'feasting.'"

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Australian woman's collection of Minions earns world record

An Australian woman earned a Guinness World Record with her collection of 1,035 Minions — the little yellow mischief-makers from the Despicable Me franchise.

Western Australia resident Liesl Benecke said she fell in love with the Minions while watching the first Despicable Me film and started collecting merchandise about 15 years ago.

"I remember laughing so much at the cute, little pill-shaped henchmen. They certainly made a huge impression on me," she told Guinness World Records. "I'm just a big kid at heart. Since then I have always been on the lookout for Minions everywhere I go."

Guinness World Records confirmed she is now the holder of the record for the largest collection of Minions memorabilia.

"My daughter says I need another house just to store my Minions, but I love being surrounded by their beautiful, bright yellow smiles," she said. "They are in every room and on every spare wall."

Benecke said that while some more casual fans might find the Minions interchangeable, she has a clear favorite.

"My favorite is Stuart, the sassy, one eyed Minion with attitude, and he is the one I have tattooed on my arm. So many people and kids comment on the tattoo and we start talking about our mutual love of Minions," she said.

Benecke said her collection is still growing.

"I will never stop buying Minions to bring home to join my Minion family," she said. "My daughter thinks I have enough but I love them more than ever."

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