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

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Mysterious pink skies amid England snowfall linked to soccer stadiums

Residents of England's West Midlands saw the sky illuminated in a mysterious pink hue amid a snow storm — and the cause turned out to be soccer-related.

Locals in areas including Birmingham, Hednesford, Small Heath and Bordesley Green reported the sky glowing pink during Thursday evening's snowfall, and the cause turned out to be LED lights set up to help grass grow at soccer stadiums.

"Seems the 'northern lights' over Hednesford were a bit closer to home than we all thought," Hednesford Town Football Club said on social media. "That pink glow in the sky was in fact our LED pitch lights helping the grass grow and recover, keeping us ready to chase three points, not the aurora. Who knew a bit of pitch care could create so much interest!"

Grahame Madge, a spokesman for England's Met Office, explained the lights are the perfect color to end up amplified by the snow storm.

"The blue wavelengths of light are more easily scattered by snow or water droplets allowing the longer wavelengths — such as red and orange — to get through," he said in a statement provided to ITV News. "This can have the effect of turning colors more pink or orange."

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Lottery numbers used for 20 years deliver Mich. man a record jackpot

A Michigan man who used the same let of numbers to play the lottery for 20 years scored a record-breaking $32.91 million Lotto 47 jackpot.

The 73-year-old Macomb County man told Michigan Lottery officials he has been using the numbers 02-03-12-15-16-33 ever since he started playing Lotto 47.

"I have been playing Lotto 47 for 20 years and I've always played the same sets of numbers," the player said.

Those were the numbers on the ticket the man purchased for the Dec. 13 drawing, which earned him Lotto 47's largest-ever jackpot.

"When I checked my ticket, I saw right away I matched three numbers and thought: 'At least I got $5 back.' When I saw I matched the rest of the numbers, I rubbed my eyes and checked my ticket again because I couldn't believe what I was seeing," he said.

The man said he wasn't the only one in disbelief.

"I called my kids and told them, but they didn't believe me and had to come see the ticket for themselves. We were so excited! You never expect to win a prize like this, so it still hasn't fully sunk in," the winner said.

The longtime player said he is making plans for his winnings.

"Honestly, the first thing on my list is just treating myself to a new pair of shoes," he said. "I also plan to share some of my winnings with my family and get a new car."

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Fast trash: World's fastest wheelie bin hits 66 mph

A British inventor said his tricked-out trash can that broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest wheelie bin can now reach a speed of 66 mph.

Michael Wallhead, who captured the record with a 55 mph run in 2023, said he has continued to work on his motorized trash can, dubbed The General Waste, since taking the title.

"The record stands at 55 mph but I have done 66 mph now," he told Guinness World Records.

Wallhead said he was inspired to build The General Waste by Andy Jennings, who originated the record at 45 mph in 2020.

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Soccer player keeps ball in the air for 28 hours, 21 minutes

A Swedish soccer enthusiast broke a Guinness World Record when he juggled a ball — using only his knees, chest, head and feet — for 28 hours, 21 minutes and 2 seconds.

Daniel Yaakob took on the record for the longest marathon controlling a football (male) at the Rydshallen sports complex in Linköping, Sweden.

Yaakob, who was allowed a 15-minute break every three hours, beat the record set by Briton Dan Magness at 26 hours in June 2010.

Soccer juggling is also sometimes known as kick-ups or keepie-uppies.

"I want to inspire others to push their limits, promote consistency and focus, and show how social media can be used to spotlight positive challenges and achievements," Yaakob told Guinness World Records. "This record is the perfect combination of my passion for football, content creation and personal growth."

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Rabbit repeatedly attempts to enter vehicles in Colorado town

Authorities in Colorado said an unusually friendly rabbit seen trying to hop into cars in a ski resort town is not an escaped pet, but a wild animal.

Summit County Animal Control officers said in an incident report that officers were contacted by a local employee in the Copper Mountain area who reported a rabbit had repeatedly attempted to hop into visitors' cars.

The employee was concerned the rabbit could be an escaped or abandoned pet.

Animal control officers were unable to locate the rabbit on the day of the call, but they later received a clear photo of the attempted serial hitchhiker from witnesses.

Officials determined the animal in the photo was a wild rabbit, not a domesticated pet.

The rabbit has not been captured, but the employees who contacted animal control were given the option to have the animal trapped and relocated up to 2 miles away.

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UPS Store's massive animatronic seahorse earns world record

Guinness World Records announced the UPS store's nautical-themed float in this year's Rose Parade earned the record for the largest animatronic fish.

The New Year's Day parade float's centerpiece, a massive mechanical seahorse, was confirmed by the record-keeping organization to measure 28 feet by 10 feet, 1 inch by 12 feet, 3 inches.

The giant seahorse's wire frame and machinery were covered in orange lentils, corn husks, mushrooms, kumquats, orange slices and roses.

The float also won the "Director Award" for design from the Tournament of Roses.

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Book returned to California library was nearly 46 years overdue

A worker at a California library opened a package and was surprised to find a book that had been due back nearly 46 years earlier.

Cassie Koldewyn, branch manager at the San Diego County Library's La Mesa location, said she opened the package in earlier January and revealed the long-overdue book — which was appropriately a copy of The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.

"I got to open it and enjoy the old book smell, which was quite powerful in this particular item," Koldewyn told KUSI-TV. "They sent it back to the right branch, even though we're at a new address, so they clearly did some research to get it back to us."

The package was sent anonymously, with an unsigned note reading "Sorry this is so late," with a hand-drawn smiley face.

The library's records revealed the book was due back May 20, 1980.

"It's never too late to return your library materials," the County of San Diego said in an Instagram post. "The library no longer charges late fines that accrue daily for keeping County Library materials beyond their due date."

Koldewyn said the book wont be returned to the stacks.

"This will likely hang out on my shelf as a fun memento for a while," she said.

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Goat joins mystery monkeys on the loose in Missouri

Authorities in Missouri said the multiple monkeys on the loose in St. Louis have been joined by a wayward goat — and attempts to find the animals are being hampered by AI.

The St. Louis Department of Health confirmed a black and white goat has been seen wandering loose in the same city where at least four vervet monkeys were spotted during the weekend.

Officials said they are still trying to determine the origins of the animals, and they are asking for assistance from anyone with information about where the monkeys or the goat came from.

Willie Springer, a spokesperson for the Health Department, said the search for the animals has been further complicated by photos on social media that turned out to be generated by artificial intelligence.

"It's been a lot in regard to AI and what's genuine and what's not," Springer told Fox 2 News. "People are just having fun. Like I don't think anyone means harm."

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Baby sea lion rescued from California parking lot

A baby sea lion wandered out of the water in California and crossed traffic to a parking lot, where he was wrangled by security guards and a police officer.

The Mountain View Police Department said on social media that dispatchers received a report Jan. 5 of a baby sea lion in the area of Garcia Avenue.

"Officers promptly responded and met with on-scene security guards who had safely secured the sea lion pup," the post said. "During the MVPD sea lion rescue, Officer McPherson carefully guided the sea lion out of traffic and away from danger. She then escorted the pup back to her patrol vehicle."

The sea lion was turned over to the Marine Mammal Center, which dubbed the pup Babymac.

The pup was taken to the center's animal hospital in Sausalito where he was found to be "severely malnourished" and "very weak," the MMC said on social media.

Officials wrote that Babymac, who is too young to survive in the wild without his mother, is improving in the hospital's care.

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ustrian researchers document first case of a cow using a tool

Researchers in Austria detailed the unusual case of the first cow to be documented using tools — specifically, sticks and brushes she uses to scratch herself.

The team from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna said Veronika, a pet Swiss brown cow belonging to Carinthia resident Witgar Wiegele, has been holding sticks in her mouth to scratch her body for years.

Wiegele said Veronika first started picking up pieces of wood about a decade ago, and moved on to using a long brush — even showing a preference for using the brush end to scratch where her skin is thickest, and the handle end to scratch her more sensitive areas.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Current Biology.

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