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

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Man snaps 65 cucumbers in 30 seconds to break world record

Serial Guinness World Record-breaker David Rush appeared on Spanish TV series El Hormiguero and captured the title for the most cucumbers snapped in 30 seconds.

Rush, who holds more than 300 Guinness World Records titles, traveled to Spain to appear on popular series El Hormiguero — which translates to "The Anthill" — to break a Guinness World Record "in the name of science."

Rush managed to snap 65 cucumbers in half in 30 seconds, obliterating the previous record of 50.

The record-breaker said his appearance on the show, like his entire record-breaking career, was aimed at promoting STEM education.

"It's about showing students, and everyone watching, that STEM can be exciting, hands-on and even a little crazy," he said. "Whether it's building robots, designing sensors, or yes, snapping cucumbers at world-record speed, it all ties back to creativity and problem-solving."

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Zoo in Spain celebrates birth of male southern white rhino calf

A zoo in Spain announced the first southern white rhinoceros to be born at the facility is male and doing well under his mother's care.

Bioparc Valencia announced the rhinoceros, born Nov. 4, is nursing and bonding with his mother, Kwanza.

"The mother is recovering perfectly, and the lively calf scampers about with the typical clumsy movements of a baby, offering heartwarming glimpses," the zoo said in a news release Tuesday.

Zookeepers are following a "non-invasive monitoring protocol" to allow the mother and baby to recover and bond with minimal human intervention.

The mother and baby are spending most of their time indoors, but keepers have allowed them some time in the large outdoor enclosure to promote the calf's "growth and well-being."

The baby's father, Martin, and two other female rhinos, Nombula and Ami, have met the baby, and their interactions were described as "very positive."

"They approach with the curiosity and interest typical of this new situation, which suggests a natural integration," the zoo said.

The birth marks an important milestone for the European Conservation Program. Southern white rhinos are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.

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Maine gym teacher sinks 1,516 three-pointers in one hour

A high school gym teacher from Maine may have earned his third Guinness World Records title by sinking 1,516 three-pointer shots on the basketball court.

Ryan Martin, a physical education teacher at Saco Middle School, took to the school's court Monday night and attempted 1,683 three-pointer shots in one hour, successfully sinking 1,516 of them.

Martin's goal to capture the record was 1,372 shots, a number he exceeded by 145.

He said the support of fellow teacher Nick Wilson and a crowd of students helped him power through the attempt.

"At 28 minutes I had real bad cramp in my side and then Nick had the crowd going crazy, it was like a message from god, perfect timing — where they just were loud at the perfect time and I fought through it," Martin told WGME-TV.

Martin, a former college star who was once named Mr. Maine Basketball, previously broke a Guinness World Record by sinking 1,134 three-pointers in one hour from the NBA-style three-point line, which is 3 feet further from the net than the high school version.

He also holds the record for the most free throws made in one hour: 2,494.

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David Rush breaks pencil-bounce record after '99 to Beat' elimination

A serial Guinness World Record-breaker eliminated from FOX game show 99 to Beat sought "redemption" by earning a title similar to the challenge he failed.

David "Record Breaker" Rush said his time in the running for the $1 million prize on 99 to Beat came to a premature end when he took the rules of a pencil-bouncing challenge a little too seriously.

The contestants were told the pencils in the challenge had to rotate at least 180 degrees.

"Over the years I've done 400+ record attempts and been disqualified dozens of times for microscopic technicalities. So when I heard 'rotate a minimum of 180 degrees,' my brain instantly shifted into Guinness-mode," Rush wrote.

He said his desire to follow the instruction to the letter led to his being eliminated from the challenge.

Rush sought redemption by breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to bounce 10 pencils into 10 glasses.

He managed the feat in 6.88 seconds, earning the title.

"Losing hurts," Rush wrote. "But failure doesn't define you: How you respond to it does. I don't know what's next, but I'll keep working, keep training and be ready for whatever opportunity comes my way."

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Entertainment, 1990s culture dominate 2025's top pet names

The top trending names for dogs and cats in the United States for 2025 were mainly inspired by entertainment, and linked to the animals' looks and personalities — and they've remained consistent for more than a decade.

For its 2025 analysis of the top names given to new pets in the country, the animal boarding company Rover used the results of this year's survey to focus on names that are trending up, rather than focus on longtime options that remain popular.

"This year, we decided to really dig into the trends and separate them from classic, popular names," Rover said of this year's survey.

"The #1 names — Luna and Charlie — have grown less than 5% year over year," the company said. "In other words, popular names are classics and favorites, but they aren't necessarily reflecting future naming trends."

To determine the top trending names for the last year, the folks at Rover analyzed all pets younger than 2 years of age that were added to the company's database between August 2024 and September 2025.

From there, the names were split into a variety of categories ranging from overall top names and trending names by state to those referencing entertainment, sports and food, among others.

Additionally, a survey of pet parents, which Rover conducted via Pollfish, included 1,000 people who gave the company some insight to how they selected a name for their dog or cat.

For new puppies, about 33% of people already had an idea of what they would name their new animal, and nearly half — 45% — based it on their pet's personality or appearance.

For those who named their dogs based on personality, the most common sources for names were entertainment, breed, human names and nature — and the same was true for people with new kittens.

For male puppies, the three highest trending names during the 12-month period were Caesar, Mufasa and Oswald, while the top three for female puppies were Elphie, Tsuki and Rumi — all six increased more than 100% in use over the last year, and Elphie was up by 244%.

For kittens, the top three male names were Tater, Milton and Stewie, and for females they were Priscilla, Snowball and Pickle.

When considering popular names in individual states, people in the western United States leaned into "rugged outdoors" names — Aspen was tops for puppies in Alaska, Boots in Oregon, Remington in Idaho and Bandit in Montana.

For kittens, Washington named a lot of cats Ducky, Utah residents went with Sunny and in Colorado, Ranger was the top choice.

Other trends included sweets in the Southwest — Chiquita topped the puppies list in Arizona and Cocoa was popular for cats in Texas — while the Midwest leaned pop culture, choosing names like Simba, Loki, Butters and Nimbus.

For pop culture across the United States, the top puppy names included Forrest Gump, Gracie Lou Freebush and Willie Wonka, with kittens receiving Bill Murray, Mary-Kate, Fat Louie and Jack Sparrow.

For 2026, Rover said it expects to see many of the same names on the list next year, specifically noting that the new Wicked movie and K-Pop Demon Hunters are likely to influence pet names, as will others from Severance — Helly — and Taylor Swift references such as Ophelia, Elizabeth Taylor and Opalite.

"We're also keeping an eye [on] consumer trends," Rover noted. "Labubu and Zimono are brand new to the list this year, so we are curious to see more blind box-related names in 2026."

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416-year-old grapevine in Tibet is officially the oldest in the world

A grapevine found in the mountains of Tibet was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest wild living vine after being found to be 416 years old.

The vine, located in Zuoba Village, Zogang County, was first discovered during a survey of ancient and notable trees in Changdu city, and was later analyzed by scientists from the Wood Science Research Laboratory at Southwest Forestry University in China.

The researchers used ring analysis and physical measurements to determine the vine's age.

It was officially certified by Guinness World Records in September at the age of 416 years.

The vine, located at an altitude of nearly 7,900 feet, measures about 26 feet tall and has a diameter of more than 2 feet.

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$980M Mega Millions winning ticket sold in Georgia

One or more people in Newnan, Ga., bought the only ticket to win the $980 million Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, which is the eighth-largest in the game's history.

The winning ticket was the only one with the winning numbers of 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 and the Mega Ball 7, Mega Millions announced on Saturday.

"$980 million is the largest jackpot that's been won since the Mega Millions game changed back in April," Mega Millions Consortium Lead Director Joshua Johnston said.

The win also ended the longest drawing streak between jackpot wins in Mega Millions history at 40 drawings since the last jackpot was won in Virginia on June 27.

The winning ticket's cash value is $452.2 million and was Quik Pik sold at Publix #1816 at 4000 N. Highway 29 in Newnan, which is about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta.

The store will also get a $50,000 bonus for selling the ticket.

The winner has the option of accepting annual payments from the $980 million jackpot over 30 years or taking a lump-sum payment of $452.2 million before paying taxes on the windfall.

The ticket was the first winner sold in Georgia since November 2016, and the largest jackpot won by an individual in the state's history.

Friday's jackpot win surpassed the previous Georgia record set on Oct. 23, 2024, when two people split a $478.2 million Powerball jackpot after buying the winning ticket in Buford.

The two opted to share the cash prize of $230.6 million in that Powerball win.

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Man rides a unicycle with 7 bowling balls to break world record

A night out at a pizzeria led to an Idaho man breaking the Guinness World Record for the most bowling balls carried on a unicycle.

David "Record Breaker" Rush, who has broken more than 300 Guinness World Records, said he was eating with his family at Uncle Bob's Pizza in Meridian when a highlight reel of unusual world records on the TV screens caught his attention.

"Then I saw it. Someone balancing a stack of bowling balls on a unicycle. And I thought, 'Hey, I have a unicycle. I have bowling balls. Why not me?'" Rush wrote online.

Rush investigated the record and found he had to ride his unicycle for at least 10 seconds while carrying at least six bowling balls.

He teamed with Wahooz Family Fun Zone, located at the Galaxy Event Center in Meridian, to borrow some extra bowling balls and provide a venue for his attempt.

Rush managed to take the record by carrying seven bowling balls while riding his unicycle for the required amount of time.

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Swedish man shoves 81 matches up his nose, earns world record

A Swedish man said his kids inspired him to stuff 81 matches up his nostrils and earn a Guinness World Records title in the process.

Martin Ströby, 42, told Guinness World Records his children were enamored by the latest edition of the organization's book, and told him it would be "so cool" if he broke a record of his own.

"At first I thought 'I'm not good enough at anything to be the best in the world,' but after my children showed me all the different world records I began thinking I might be able to find one I had a shot at breaking, thus began the search for a suitable one," Ströby said.

He landed on the record for the most matches held in the nose, which stood at 68.

"After doing the trial run, I discovered I could both stretch my nostrils a lot and also ignore the pain from putting all those matches in there, so I would say I'm a natural," Ströby said. "I did however try to find a good technique because matches kept falling out of my nostrils. Three inserted matches meant one or two falling out. I did some more trial runs and did eventually find a technique I could utilize to minimize the number of matches falling out."

He ended up taking the record with 81 matches.

"As a father I want my children to look up to me in the same way I look up to my father who has taught me more than I can write down," he said.

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Mysterious bubbling off California coast tied to construction project

A mysterious bubbling off the California coast sparked speculation of submarine activity or flatulent whales before being revealed as mundane construction.

Residents of the Hermosa Beach area spotted the bubbling in the water this week, sparking speculation of phenomenon including blue fin tuna activity, submarines in the area, alien visitors or even farting whales.

The answer turned out to be work on fiber-optic lines that cross the Pacific Ocean from California to Asia.

Rick Devinney, who is overseeing the contract work, said Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is planning to add a line in the coming months, and part of the preparation process is blowing air through the line to ensure ducts are working properly.

The City of Hermosa Beach previously issued a construction notice Nov. 6 related to the same project. The notice warned of street closures along Longfellow Avenue, next to the shore, but did not mention the work off the coast.

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