Author Archives: Extraordinary

World’s biggest gingerbread house welcomes first visitors

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A basketful of potential inhabitants of the house.

A basketful of potential inhabitants of the house.

A new Guinness World Record has been set by a group of volunteers in Texas, who have worked together to create the largest gingerbread house in the world in order to raise money for charity.

The 21-foot high gingerbread house, located in Bryan, Texas, was constructed by the Traditions Club close to Texas A&M University, with all profits from paying visitors to the house going towards a trauma center at the local St Joseph’s Hospital.

The house has an edible exterior mounted over a wooden frame and covers an area almost the size of a tennis court. To make the house, 816kg of butter, 7,200 eggs, 3,265kg of flour and almost 1,360kg of brown sugar was used, and the structure was then decorated using 22,304 pieces of donated hard candy.

Estimates put the calorie count of the house at almost 36 million calories. “We think big around here and we are competitive,” Bill Horton, general manager of the Traditions Club, told local newspaper reports.

The builders have had one problem with the giant gingerbread house though, as Mr Horton explains: “One problem we did not anticipate was bees on warm days. They have been coming over, getting so much sugar and stumbling around like they are drunk. But no one has gotten stung,” he added.

Big Issue seller becomes first to accept card payments

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Could enterprising Big Issue sellers start changing public perception?

Could enterprising Big Issue sellers start changing public perception?

One Big Issue seller has become the first to accept payments by card, after finding many people wanted to buy an edition of the magazine but did not have any spare change.

The Big Issue gives homeless people the opportunity to earn their own money and Simon Mott, who sells the £2.50 magazine in South Kensington, has to be one of the most enterprising sellers out there. A former London Underground driver, Mr Mott suffered an injury at work which left him unable to work and eventually became homeless. He has since successfully found privately rented accommodation earlier this year.

In a bid to overcome the problems of our increasingly cashless society, Mr Mott, 49, purchased a portable card reader which could be attached to his smartphone, in order to accept payments by card.

“I got a smartphone in April, specifically with the purpose of getting a card reader attachment,” Mr Mott said. “There were many times where people were saying to me, ‘Oh, I’d like to buy the magazine but I haven’t got any change’, or ‘I’ve only got a £20 note'” he said.

Mr Mott hopes to sell at least four copies a week using the new handheld device. He said of the Big Issue: “It is a lifeline. It gives you a sense of purpose.”

Singapore-sized iceberg breaks off Antarctic glacier

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Glacier

NASA researchers have confirmed that a gigantic iceberg, roughly the size of Singapore, is now drifting into the Southern Ocean, after it broke off an Antarctic glacier earlier this year.

The iceberg – which measures 21 by 12 miles – broke off Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier in July of this year, two years after NASA scientists first noticed a crack in the glacier.

The giant piece of ice has since begun moving away from the coast, after it was initially held close to the glacier by sea ice.

Although icebergs do traditionally move at a slow pace, especially when they are as large as this one, the large mass could eventually end up causing problems if it gets in the way of international shipping lanes.

One of the researchers monitoring the iceberg, Robert Marsh, said in a press release that the iceberg would be capable of surviving in open ocean for a year

Mr Marsh also went on to say that the freshwater produced once the iceberg melts could well have an impact on ocean currents. “If these events become more common, there will be a build-up of freshwater, which could have lasting effects,” he said.

Swedish ice hotel forced to install fire alarms

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Ice cold. But still at risk of fire?

Ice cold. But still at risk of fire?

Sweden’s famous Ice Hotel, which is located in the small Arctic town of Jukkasjaervi, has been required to install fire alarms in order to comply with building regulations.

The Swedish authorities have asked the hotel – which is rebuilt each winter using only frozen water – to install the alarms this year, in order to guarantee the safety of guests.

Beatrice Karlsson, a spokeswoman for the hotel, told The Telegraph: “When the rules change, we need to adapt to the new rules obviously. We were a little surprised at first, but the reason is that there are things that can actually catch fire, like pillows, sleeping bags or reindeer skins.

“To us the most important concern is the safety of our clients, so we will comply. When we explain to people, I think it makes sense.”

This year, the hotel will open to guests from 6 December until 13 April with prices ranging from £178 to £850 a night and accommodation ranging from single rooms to luxurious suites. This year’s hotel will be the 24th incarnation of the Ice Hotel and includes ideas from designers and architects based across Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Brazil.

World’s first glow-in-the-dark ice cream invented

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Charlie Francis and his glowing creation

A glow-in-the-dark ice cream has been invented, marking a world first in the world of desserts.

The frozen pudding, which was created by Bristol inventor Charlie Francis, was developed following research into the protein that makes jellyfish luminous.

Mr Francis developed the concept after coming across research relating to the glowing sea creatures, and asked Chinese developers to help him produce the protein he needed to create the ice cream.

The dessert’s green sheen comes from a synthesised version of the protein that makes jellyfish glow in the dark, and it doesn’t come cheap – a single scoop will set the sweet toothed among us back £140.

“It is incredible stuff but still at very early days in terms of production,” Mr Francis told Metro. “The protein we are using in the ice cream reacts with your tongue at neutral pH. So as your mouth warms up the protein it will raise the pH level and the ice cream will glow,” he added.

Mr Francis debuted his glowing ice cream over Halloween, as he believed that it was the perfect dessert for the spooky event.

Britney hits used to deter Somali pirates from attacking ships

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Oops ...

Oops …

Britney Spears’ hits, including ‘Oops! I Did It Again’, are being used for a very unusual purpose – to deter Somali pirates from launching kidnap attacks on super-tankers off the east coast of Africa.

According to merchant navy officer Rachel Owens, Britney’s chart-topping tunes have proven to be extremely effective in scaring off the attacks. She told Metro: “Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most. These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect.”

Tankers located in the region are in danger of pirates carrying guns coming aboard and kidnapping crew members in a bid to extract ransom money totalling millions of pounds.

In 2011, 176 attacks on ships by gangs of pirates carrying weapons were recorded off the Horn of Africa. As a result of the on-going threat to safety of the crews aboard the ships, the Royal Navy has over 1,500 sailors operating round-the-clock patrols on 14 warships in the area.

The Britney hits are blared from the ship’s speakers directly at any approaching pirates, meaning that the ship’s crew are not disturbed by the loud music.

“It’s so effective the ship’s security rarely needs to resort to firing guns,” Ms Owens, 34, said. “As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can,” she added.

Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, told the news source: “Pirates will go to any lengths to avoid or try to overcome the music. I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention.”

Cambridge military enthusiast parks tank on his driveway

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Tank

A Mark IV tank

Ahead of next year’s centenary of the start of the Great War, a keen military enthusiast has parked a World War I tank on his own driveway.

Anthony Cooke, 57, from Cottenham in Cambridge has surprised his neighbours by parking the six-and-a-half tonne vehicle outside his home on a residential street.

The tank – which is one of only two that are still capable of running in Europe – has been restored by Mr Cooke over the course of seven months. He spent £40,000 purchasing and restoring the outside of the 13ft-wide Mark IV tank, and will now turn his attentions to redoing the interior of the military vehicle.

Mr Cooke told the Metro newspaper that his neighbours were supportive of his decision to park the tank outside his home, and that they appreciated the piece of historic memorabilia.

He told the news source: “People do get a shock when they first see the tank in the middle of a residential estate. But I’m very lucky as my neighbours love it and one little boy even says good night to it each evening.

“It takes up my entire drive and I now have to park my car down the road, but it’s worth it as it will look great when it is finished,” added Mr Cooke.

Melbourne welcomes world’s first remote-controlled tourist

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Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia, played host to the world’s first remote-controlled tourist over the weekend, when it took part in a project to boost the level of tourism in the city.

The Tourism Victoria project involved two real people acting as if controlled by a remote, by responding to requests from the public to explore various parts of Melbourne. They wore helmet-mounted cameras and microphones to track their travels, with the resulting footage streamed live online and reaching every continent except Antarctica.

The remote-controlled tourists travelled to landmarks such as Federation Square in Melbourne’s city centre, the Yarra River and Melbourne Cricket Ground. They also responded to requests from others urging them to talk to and hug strangers, have a drink in certain bars, dance in the streets and even to free lobsters from a seafood eatery.

People from more than 1,823 cities played with the virtual tourists, who were also directed to consume 21 coffees and 14 desserts at a selection of the city’s eateries over the weekend.

The tourists were controlled by the public by using the Twitter hashtag #MelbourneRCT or visiting the Facebook page www.facebook.com/playmelbourne.

 

High vis jackets developed … for chickens

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Why did the chicken cross the road?

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Proving that the British take their pets extremely seriously, one firm has designed a high-vis jacket to be worn by chickens, so as to ensure that they will be able to cross roads safely over the dark winter months.

The ‘High-vis Chicken Jackets’ have been created by chicken coop and accessory firm Omlet, aimed at the increasing number of people who keep chickens as pets, especially in urban areas. The jackets are designed to allow motorists to see them as they cross roads, and to allow their owners to find them and install them safely in their hen houses during the dark winter evenings.

Omlet’s director, Johannes Paul, told The Telegraph: “We had people inquiring about this kind of thing so decided to look into it. Most people who have chickens as pets will have them out and about and we do hear about chickens who do cross the road.

“If you imagine you are in a built-up area and your chicken gets under the fence, they don’t care if there is a road there. They just go straight across it.”

Each high-vis jacket costs £12 and they are already proving to be extremely popular with chicken owners, with the company selling 200 of the items in just ten days. The breathable, showerproof jackets come in both pink and yellow, with the pink version currently proving twice as popular than the yellow for the fashion-conscious birds.

The jackets are fastened over the chicken’s wings with an adjustable Velcro fastening at the front, and also boast a quilted lining to keep the birds comfortable and warm.

Sussex-based single apple tree boasts 250 species of apple

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An overachieving apple tree growing in Sussex is now producing 250 different varieties of apple, all from its own branches.

The 20 foot-high tree in Chidham, West Sussex, has been tended to by owner Paul Barnett for more than 20 years and is now capable of producing as many types of apple as a large orchard.

Mr Barnett, 40, has grafted 250 varieties of apple tree onto the trunk of this garden marvel, and the tree now boasts everything from the rare cooking apples known as Withington Fillbasket, to Winter Gem apples.

The tree is now laden with so many different types of apple – including eating, cooking and cider apples – that Mr Barnett has been forced to label each of the branches so he knows what he is picking.

“I started working at a nursery with acres of land and around 90 varieties of apple trees in rows,” he told Metro.

“I wanted to grow my own trees but I didn’t have the area to plant that number so I started my ‘family tree’. I add to it each year by budding in the summer and grafting in the winter.”

The Winter Gem apple is Mr Barnett’s top pick – he describes it as “crunchy, crisp and sweet.”