Japanese town cooks up world’s largest croquette

A Japanese town broke a Guinness World Record at its annual summer festival when a team of chefs used local potatoes to cook up the world’s largest croquette.

The town of Assabu, in the Hokkaido region, has cooked up jumbo croquettes at its summer festival since 2004, and this year’s finished product earned the Guinness World Record when it weighed in at 615 pounds.

The team used 551 pounds of May Queen potatoes, a variety native to the region, as well as 110 pounds of ground beef, 200 eggs and a large amount of onions.

The previous record, set in the Netherlands, was 497.8 pounds.

The finished croquette was cut into about 1,300 portions and served to festival attendees.

First atlas moth found in the US

The Washington State Department of Agriculture said a massive moth spotted on a resident’s garage was identified as the first atlas moth ever documented in the US.

A University of Washington professor snapped photos when he spotted the gargantuan moth perched on the exterior wall of his Bellevue garage on July 7. State officials examined the photos and confirmed the insect was an atlas moth, one of the world’s largest species of moth. Atlas moths are native to the tropics and have never been documented in the United States. Researchers are now trying to determine if the moth is part of a population in Washington and asking anyone who spots a similar insect to report it.

Rare purple pearl found

A Pennsylvania man eating with his family at a Delaware restaurant made a surprising discovery inside of a clam: a purple pearl.

Scott Overland, of Phoenixville, was eating at the Salt Air restaurant in Rehoboth Beach with his wife and children when the discovery was made inside a northern quahog clam.

Ballard Clams and Oysters spokesman Tim Parsons said both oysters and clams are known to produce pearls, and he hears of diners making similar discoveries two or three times a year.

Overland is planning to have the pearl appraised.

Woman with world’s longest locks grows hair to 110 feet

The Florida woman holds the Guinness World Record for longest locks, with her tendrils of hair now reaching a length of 110 feet.

Asha Mandela, 60, was first awarded the record for longest locks (locs) in 2009, when her locks were measured at 19 feet and 6.5 inches. Mandela, who lives in Clermont, said she first started growing her locks more than 40 years ago. She usually carries her hair around in a cloth sling to prevent her locks from dragging on the ground or straining her neck.

Mandela’s hair are washed once a week, an occasion that calls for up to six bottles of shampoo and ends with a two-day process of drying. Mandela plans to continue growing her locks.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 27th, 2022