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

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New York woman finds 2.3-carat gem at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds

A New York woman visited Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park to find a stone for her engagement ring and wound up discovering a 2.3-carat white diamond.

Manhattan resident Micherre Fox, 31, said she decided about two years ago that she would find her own engagement ring diamond.

"There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage," Fox said in an Arkansas State Parks news release. "You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work."

Fox said her partner supported her decision and agreed to wait until she found the right stone.

"I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen," she said. "I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!"

Fox planned a three-week trip to the park that began July 8. She spent hours searching for the perfect diamond every day, but it wasn't until July 29, the last day of her visit, that she spotted something along the West Drain of the park's 37.5-acre diamond search area.

The searcher said she initially thought the object was merely the sun glistening off the dew on a spider web, but when she nudged it with her boot she realized it was something solid.

"Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most 'diamond-y diamond' I had seen," she recalled.

Fox took her find to the Diamond Discovery Center, where staff confirmed she had found a 2.3-carat white diamond, also known as a colorless diamond.

"I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing," she said.

Fox, who is now planning to have the stone set in her engagement ring, named her gem the Fox-Ballou Diamond, combining her partner's last name with her own.

"Ms. Fox's story highlights the fact that, even when putting forth your best effort, being in the right place at the right time plays a part in finding diamonds," Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent Waymon Cox said. "After weeks of hard work, Ms. Fox found her diamond sitting right on top of the ground."

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Auto worker's lost wallet found under hood 11 years later

A mechanic working on a 2015 Ford Edge brought into his Minnesota shop made a startling discovery under the hood: a wallet that had been lost by a Michigan Ford plant worker 11 years earlier.

Richard Guilford, who is now retired, said he remembers the day he lost his wallet while working on vehicles that had been shipped to the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne after coming off the assembly line in Chicago with electrical issues.

"I never wore sweatpants to work, but I did that day," he told KARE-TV. "And I had my wallet in my shirt pocket."

Guilford and his team searched for the missing wallet, but there were 2,000 vehicles on the floor and they eventually had to give up. He said the wallet contained his driver's license, his Ford Motor Co. ID, $15 in cash and $250 worth of Cabela's sporting goods gift cards he had intended to use to buy Christmas presents for his kids.

The wallet's final fate remained a mystery for 11 years, until Chad Volk, owner of LC Car Care in Crystal Lake, Minn., was working on a 2015 Ford Edge brought in to have its cooling fans replaced.

Volk said he was attempting to put the air box back into place under the hood, but it wouldn't fit right. He removed it again and found Guilford's leather wallet sitting on top of the transmission.

"I was surprised. You find stuff all the time, usually tools," Volk told the Detroit Free Press. "I looked through it and I see a Ford Motor Co. badge. I thought, 'I'm going to try finding this guy to see if I can get it back to him.'"

Volk was quickly able to find and contact Guilford on Facebook, and the wallet was in the mail the next day.

Volk said the Edge had about 150,000 miles on it when it came to his shop.

"It's well-traveled currency," Guilford joked of the $15 cash, which was still safe inside the wallet, along with the rest of its contents.

Guilford said Cabela's has agreed to issue him new gift cards, so he can keep his preserved wallet intact as a keepsake.

"Some things in it were hot and crisp, think of how hot that car got," Guilford said. "It doesn't look like it ever got wet, just hot. That little corner kept [the wallet] completely dry and completely preserved. I want the wallet to stay as it is. It is a memento."

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World Humanoid Robot Games kick off in Beijing

The World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off in Beijing, with AI-powered robots built by teams from around the globe competing in sports including kickboxing, track, soccer and dance.

The event held its opening ceremony on Thursday, which featured some of the first mishaps of the games, including a robot falling over while attempting to light the torch for the games.

The games feature more than 500 robots from 16 countries, including Japan, the United States and Germany, competing in 26 events.

One robot was disqualified from Friday's 1,500-meter race when its head fell off in mid-stride.

"Keeping [the head] balanced while in movement is the biggest challenge for us," Wang Ziyi, 19, a member of the Beijing Union University team, told The Guardian.

A soccer game on Friday also featured a mishap when a robot tripped and several other mechanical players to fall, requiring human intervention to clear the hazard.

The World Humanoid Robot Games run through Sunday.

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Overdue book returned to Texas library after nearly 82 years

A book was returned to the San Antonio Public Library in Texas nearly 82 years past its due date, along with a note explaining it had likely been checked out by the writer's grandmother.

The City of San Antonio said the book was checked out in July 1943 and was due back 28 days later, but it didn't find its way back to the library until a package arrived at the facility in June of this year.

The package, mailed from Oregon, contained the library's copy of Your Child, His Family, and Friends, by Frances Bruce Strain.

The accompanying note explained the book had been found among the writer's father's possessions, and had apparently been checked out by the person's grandmother when their father was about 11 years old, just before the family relocated so she could work at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

"She must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession," the letter's author wrote.

The letter also expressed the writer's hope that there wouldn't be any late fees for the book, as "grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore."

The person who returned the overdue book won't face any fines, as the library eliminated late fees in 2021.

The book is currently on display in the lobby of San Antonio's Central Library. It will be donated to the Friends of San Antonio Public Library for sale in the Book Cellar used book store at the end of August, the city said.

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College ring dropped into the Long Island Sound found 56 years later

A Fordham University Class of 1969 ring dropped into the Long Island Sound in New York was returned to its owner after a 56-year absence.

Port Jefferson resident Dave Orlowski, who regularly takes his metal detector to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, said he was recently engaging in his treasure hunting hobby when he unearthed a ring buried under more than a foot of sand.

"It said Alfred DiStefano, class of 1969, Fordham University," Orlowski told WCBS-TV.

He said the question of what to do with the ring was answered by his wife.

"She says, 'Well, if you lost your ring, wouldn't you want it returned?' And so, right. The question, answered," Orlowski told WABC-TV.

Orlowski contacted Karen Manning, who runs the Fordham Class of '69 Facebook page, and she was able to put him in contact with DiStefano, who now lives in Texas.

"He could have just sold it, and made some money on it, but, it restored my faith in humanity," Manning said.

DiStefano said he clearly remembers losing the ring while watching a sunset on a Cedar Beach pier in 1969.

"I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember watching it slip off my finger into the water, and it was deep," he said. "I said, 'It's gone.'"

Orlowski said the nearest pier to the spot where he found the ring is about half a mile away, but there may have been a closer one decades ago.

"When you think of continents moving over hundreds of millions of years, you know, a little ring could move over 50 years, half a mile," DiStefano said.

DiStefano has his postman record the moment he received the ring in the mail and returned it to his finger.

"I think a lot of people would not go out of their way, the extra mile. He did, and I really appreciate it," DiStefano said.

Orlowski said he was just happy to have been able to do something nice for someone else.

"I don't do it for money. I do it for the thrill," Orlowski said. "You never know what you're going to pull out."

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Colombian parents name baby 'Chat Yipiti' after AI program

A Colombian family named their newborn daughter "Chat Yipiti" after the AI program ChatGPT. Despite the unusual name, the child was registered without objection at the National Registry office in the town of Cereté.

According to local media, the parents of Chat Yipiti Bastidas Guerra said they chose the name as a "tribute" to the era of artificial intelligence.

This has sparked all kinds of reactions among social media users, as many disagree with the parents' decision, not knowing what consequences it might have in the future.

The case is not unique. Colombia has a history of officially registering unconventional names, from those inspired by sports, movie and music stars such as "Maicol Yordan" and "Brayan Spears" that have stirred controversy.

The National Registry has intervened in the past to prohibit names such as "Miperro" (My Dog) or "Satanás" (Satan), which it said clearly violated a person's dignity.

In Colombia, while the law does not specify a list of prohibited names, it gives officials at the National Civil Registry the authority to deny registration if they believe a name could harm a child's dignity or reputation.

"Legal precedent has established that a registrar may refuse to record names that result from phonetic or grammatical combinations suggesting obscene words, that clearly show an intent to mock the child, or that are so extravagant they could expose the child to discriminatory or degrading treatment," Bogotá attorney José Francisco Guerra said.

Across Latin America, it is common to find variations on the names of Hollywood stars or cult film characters. Names such as "Yeison" (Jason) and even "Stallone," in honor of Sylvester Stallone, have been registered.

Spanish phonetics often alter the spelling of foreign names, creating unique combinations. In Brazil, names from soap opera characters are common, often as inventive as the dramas that inspire them.

In the past, children have been registered with names such as "Mozart" and "Facebook" and even those of singers, products, musical groups or historical figures.

However, experts in child psychology and sociology have voiced concern. An unusual name, or one that invites jokes, can expose a child to ridicule and affect self-esteem and emotional well-being.

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Sweet-toothed bear breaks into California ice cream shop

A California sheriff's office shared photos of a bear that broke into an ice cream parlor and helped itself to some strawberry ice cream behind the counter.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office said on social media that deputies were summoned early Sunday morning to the Ice Cream Shop at Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe.

"The deputies could barely believe their eyes as they saw a large bear behind the counter of the shop," the post said.

The sheriff's office said the bear, which only showed interest in the strawberry ice cream, left the shop "with some encouragement" from deputies.

"Thankfully, Fuzzy the bear caused barely any property damage and there was barely any cleanup," the post said.

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Canadian politician puts on 360 neck ties to break world record

A Canadian politician preparing to retire celebrated her time in office by donning 360 neck ties at the same time, breaking a Guinness World Record in the process.

Marwah Rizqy, a member of the National Assembly of Quebec who announced this year that she will not seek re-election in 2026, celebrated her tenure in office by attempting a Guinness World Record on the Canadian TV series Infoman.

Rizqy had to beat the record of 330 set by Brazilian David Aparecido Dos Santos Araujo in 2023.

"I accepted the challenge of breaking the record for the most neck ties worn at once to show that women are equal to men, and that women can also wear many ties," Rizqy told Guinness World Records.

It took 48 minutes for Rizqy to reach the previous record, with her face just barely showing through. She captured the title by putting on 30 more ties.

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Dunkelheit - Message From Beyond Stellar Spheres

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Floating Nowhere - Brand New Day

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