Nickelodeon breaks pinata world record to celebrate ‘Dora’

Nickelodeon celebrated the second season of its Dora series by gathering 1,800 pinatas in various shapes, colours and sizes at the 78th Annual East Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day Parade.

Diana Zermeño, the actress who voices the titular Dora in the series, served as co-grand marshal of the parade.

The second season of Dora, a CG-animated reboot of Nickelodeon’s Dora The Explorer premiered on Paramount+, and the first season made its cable debut on Nickelodeon and the Nick Jr channel.

The world’s heaviest plum

A pair of South African farmers harvesting their crops made a startling discovery: a record-breaking plum weighing in at 16.3 ounces. The plum is 3.8 ounces heavier than the previous record-holder, which was grown in Japan in 2021.

Dean and Deon Barnard, owners of the Oppie Plaas Boerdery farm, said they never set out to break records with their plums.

“We do soil samples yearly and then put into the soil what is needed. I also have a top plum specialist to help us with production and quality,” told Dean Barnard.

Mysterious pinecone art found in woods

A Massachusetts woman taking a walk in Waltham’s Cedarwood Parkwoods with her dog came across a mysterious pinecone formation she believed might be an art installation.

“It’s a circle pattern with a repetitive design. Making them is a meditative thing,” she said.

“I don’t know if the artist is coming up and checking on it, but I am. I want to take a picture a day until it’s not there anymore.”

She posted a photo of pinecones to a local Facebook group, sparking commenters to offer theories including alien activity and satanic rituals. Zeitouny thinks it’s more likely the pinecone circle is someone’s art project, possibly from a student at nearby Brandeis University.

YouTubers build world’s largest iPhone

Tech reviewer Mrwhosetheboss, aka Arun Maini, enlisted the help of gadget-building specialist DIYPerks, aka Matthew Perks, to build the world’s largest smartphone replica. The pair broke a Guinness World Record by constructing a scaled-up iPhone 15 Pro Max measuring 6.74 feet tall.

Maini wanted to create a giant iPhone to celebrate the milestone of his YouTube follower count surpassing that of the official Apple account.

The finished phone had to be fully functional, including a touchscreen, camera, flashlight and charging port.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 5th, 2024