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Today's Paper | July 03, 2024

Published 29 Jun, 2024 07:33am

The weekly weird

China’s mysterious geological marvel

Tucked away in China’s Guizhou Province lay the enigmatic Anlong Pyramids, a collection of around a dozen conical hills strikingly similar to their Egyptian counterparts. Drawing throngs of tourists in recent years, these pyramid-like formations have sparked global fascination. Despite their seemingly man-made appearance, experts assert their natural origin, attributing their distinct layers and block-like structure to intricate geological processes.

The origin can be traced 200 million years, when the region was submerged in a shallow sea. Over time, minerals dissolved and recrystallised, forming the dolomite composing the pyramids. Geological shifts and erosion sculpted the distinct layers and block-like formations, debunking theories of ancient civilisations or extraterrestrial intervention.

Man breaks world record by typing with his nose

An Indian man broke his own Guinness World Record by typing the English alphabets in 25.66 seconds using only a keyboard and his nose.

Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, first set the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to type the alphabet with the nose in 2023, when he logged a time of 27.8 seconds, and he broke the record again later in the year with a time of 26.73 seconds. Chaudhary has now broken the record a second time, managing the feat in 25.66 seconds.

The rules of the record required Chaudhary to type all 26 letters of the Roman alphabet on a standard QWERTY keyboard with a space between each letter.

World’s smallest prison has only two tiny cells

The Guinness World Record for the ‘world’s smallest prison’ belongs to a small prison in Sark Island, located between France and England. Dating back to 1856, it has two tiny cells separated by a narrow corridor, more than enough for a small island with a population of under 600 people.

The two cells only have small, wood-slatted beds with thin mattresses for inmates to sleep on, while inmates can only be held here for a maximum of two days, after which they have to be transferred to the larger prison facilities on the neighbouring Guernsey Island.

With few crimes reported, the prison cells do get occupied by the occasional rowdy tourist or inebriated local.

John Wick lookalike goes viral

Clips of a man bearing a shocking resemblance to Keanu Reeves’ iconic film character John Wick selling street food in Thailand has gone viral online.

While some videos have him selling street food and cleaning food bowls, others show him wearing a suit and white tie, just like the action hero.

Thailand’s mysterious John Wick became an overnight sensation, with major news outlets in the country working hard to identify him. In the end, the man’s wife revealed his identity and quenched everyone’s search for answers.

The real-life John Wick is a German man currently visiting his wife’s home country and making waves with his uncanny resemblance to the iconic assassin.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 29th, 2024

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