‘Fire-fall’ illusion returns to Yosemite

An annual illusion is drawing tourists to Yosemite National Park, California, US, to view the unusual phenomenon known as a ‘fire-fall.’

The fire-fall, which results from the sun hitting the water flowing from Horsetail Fall, makes it appear as though a stream of lava is flowing from the cliff in the evening.

National Park Service officials said the spectacle has been drawing hundreds of people to the park each night, but there are only a few days left to view this year’s fire-fall. They said the sun will be out of position in the coming days.

“We have a designated parking area at Yosemite Lodge and visitors walk from there to the viewing areas,” National Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman told CNN.

He said the weather has made this year’s fire-fall more unpredictable than usual. “With the snow and storm activity recently, it has been hit or miss,” he said.

World’s largest pair of jeans

A Peru department store chain broke a Guinness World Record by creating a pair of jeans roughly the size of a 22-story building.

The Paris department store chain, owned by Cencosud, teamed with fashion brand Kansas to create the massive pants, which were unveiled at the Mall del Sur in San Juan de Miraflores.

The creators said it took a team of 50 people six months to put together the jeans, which measured about 215 feet tall and 140 feet wide. The materials that went into the trousers collectively weigh nearly six tonnes.

Paris said the jeans will remain on display, until the process will begin to convert the giant jeans into 10,000 reusable bags to be sold at Paris stores to promote a reduction in use of plastic shopping bags.

Extinct tortoise found after 100 years

A species of giant tortoise believed to have been extinct for more than 100 years has been discovered on the Galapagos island of Fernandina, according to Ecuador’s government.

The last known Fernandina Giant Tortoise was seen alive in 1906. This adult female, believed to be more than a century old, was seen alive during an expedition by the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI), according to a government statement. Washington Tapia, GTRI director and expedition leader, said that genetic studies will be carried out to ‘reconfirm’ that the tortoise found belongs to the Fernandina Island species.

Experts believe she is not alone as the tracks and scent of other tortoises, believed to be of the same species, were also observed by them. Conservationists have taken the tortoise to a breeding centre on the nearby island of Santa Cruz.

Sausage-themed hotel in German town

A fourth-generation butcher in Germany is celebrating his favourite food by opening what he calls the world’s first sausage hotel.

Claus Boebel, 48, opened the Boebel Bratwurst Bed and Breakfest in Rittersbach, near Nuremberg, in a converted barn adjacent to his family butcher shop.

Boebel said the hotel, which features sausage imagery in nearly every aspect of the decor, has attracted guests from around the world during its first four months of operation.

“I want to bring tourists from all over the world to Rittersbach, my home village,” he told CNN Travel.

The proprietor warned his hotel might not be for everyone — some vegetarians and vegans might find the sausage themed wall art, pillows and other decorations disturbing. He said he has yet to hear any complaints from guests, however.

“People who don’t enjoy this, don’t book,” Boebel said.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 2nd, 2019