The weekly weird

Published November 19, 2022

Shoe-shaped house is available for short stays

An unusual shoe-shaped Pennsylvania house, built in 1948, is now available to rent for short-term accommodations. Waylon and Naomi Brown purchased Hellam Township’s Haines Shoe House in July and they announced on Facebook that the house is now available for short-term rentals on Vrbo.

The house was built in 1948 to promote Mahlon Haines’ chain of shoe stores and it has since gone through multiple owners and served as a honeymoon suite, an ice cream shop and a tourist attraction.

The house was renovated by the Browns. Its three bedrooms, which are all filled with shoe memorabilia, have been dubbed “Shoelace Space,” “Instep Suite” and “Ankle Abode.”

Giant cardboard Trojan horse breaks World Record

A giant cardboard sculpture of the Trojan horse from Homer’s The Odyssey broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest cardboard sculpture.

The Animated Objects Theatre Company, which specialises in live performances as well as community events and workshops, assembled a Trojan horse measuring 23 feet and 3 inches wide, 55 feet and 3.39 inches long and 25 feet and 7.5 inches tall at Bridlington Spa in East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

It is part of the theatre group’s current project, The Odyssey — An Epic Adventure on the Yorkshire Coast. The project is supported by the Yorkshire Coast Business Improvement District.

World’s longest passenger train

The Swiss Rhaetian Railway company claimed the record for the world’s longest passenger train with a trip on one of the most spectacular tracks through the Alps. The 1.9-kilometre-long (1.2-mile-long) train composed of 100 coaches along the Albula/Bernina route from Preda to Berguen.

The route was designated a Unesco World Heritage in 2008 and leads through 22 tunnels, some of which spiral through mountains, and across 48 bridges, including the curved Landwasser Viaduct.

The entire journey took over an hour. Rail enthusiasts lined the valley to watch the train’s 25 sections wind their way about 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) through the Alps.

The record attempt was intended to highlight some of Switzerland’s engineering achievements and to celebrate 175 years of Swiss railways.

Bear wanders into café and steals cookies

A bear paid a visit to the Nestle Toll House Cafe by Chip at Heavenly Village, California, and stole cookies before being ejected by the police. The bear climbed onto a counter and ate some cookies while employees waited for police to arrive.

An employee captured photos and videos while they waited. After officers arrived, they were able to chase the bear out of the business. The bear was not the first to get into trouble due to its sweet tooth — a bear was caught on camera in September stealing cupcakes from a two-year-old’s birthday party in West Hartford, Conn.

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 19th, 2022

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