StrangeSights

In case you didn’t know, Easter Monday this year co-incided with April Fool’s Day and it seemed everyone had a gag or two up their sleeve. Here is just a small sample of some of the pranks we came across:

• YouTube announced that its entire catalogue of films would be deleted - turns out the whole site was just a competition launched to find the best video clip and the search has come to an end;

• Google launched its new scent search app, Google Nose, which comes with the ability for you to search by smell, as well as its new extension of Google Maps - a feature to find treasure;

• In Australia, Google Streetview launched a new service - Schmick - which enables you to transform your home into the house you’d like it to be with a few simple clicks of the mouse;

• Sony launched Animalia Tech - technology aimed at your pets - think headphones for your cat, a laptop for your dog; and,

• Skype, meanwhile, launched a new service allowing you to speak to you loved ones in…space;

• Virgin boss Richard Branson announced his airline had plans to launch a glass-floored plane - the world’s first - a story which was apparently picked up and run on Chinese television.

Let us know of any you found particularly good!

• There’s an image of a headless bride, another of a group of people so blurry you can’t make out who they are, and, of course, images where much of the picture is taken up by fingers placed over the camera lens. UK company Red Cloud, which runs courses in good photography, is looking for Britain’s worst photographer and the gallery of images which have so far been submitted is enough to make anybody cringe. To see for yourself, head to www.redclouddays.co.uk

• More than 1,000 people armed with shovels and ladders took part in the annual Japan All-National Hole Digging Competition near Tokyo earlier this month. Entrants in the competition, now in its 12th year, compete for the Golden Shovel (and a cash prize) with the winners those who can dig the deepest hole in 30 minutes. Prizes are also awarded in other categories, such as the most creative hole and for the most creative costumes worn by the diggers.

• It’s a rug that can make you sick. Scientists in the US are reportedly investigating what they call “sickening rug phenomenon” in which the pattern of a rug can make people exhibit symptoms not unlike those of motion sickness. Dr Frederick Bonato, a psychology professor in New Jersey and lead author of the study, was quoted as saying he was surprised at people experienced symptoms after looking at a rug for only five minutes. “The carpet image was not moving; the people were not moving, but they reported feelings of self-motion and motion sickness,” he said, warning that people should be careful what they buy when looking for a new rug.

• Never taking the loyalty of friends and family for granted, taking time off from work to enjoy the world around you and not bullying people because of their ability or religion or beliefs were among ideas for 10 Commandments for the 21st century thought up by school children in the UK. The children were asked to come up with 10 Commandments as part of the English city of York’s inaugural Festival of Ideas. Three winning entries were chosen, one of which suggested that the 10 Commandments should be produced on banknotes to remind people that while money is important, “there are other things that should take priority in life”.

• It’s a chance to own some movie memorabilia with a difference. A US company has built a replica of Carl Fredrickson’s house from the animated Pixar movie Up and it’s now reportedly on the market for around $US400,000. The four bedroom property, which is located in Utah, was built by Bangerter Homes and fitted out to reflect the 1950s - the era in which the movie property was built. It is painted in the same colors as that featured in the film and even features the same picture of Paradise Falls over the fireplace. While Mr Fredrickson flew his house to South America, this house doesn’t come fitted with balloons.

• Flying cars might seem a long way off but the concept took a great step forward this month when US authorities approved a two seater model that reportedly takes just 20 hours to learn how to fly. Or is that drive? The Terrafugia Transition features wings that fold up automatically after landing and is powered by high octane unleaded petrol.

• As pranks go, it was pretty elaborate. Staff at Legoland California reportedly decided to prank their boss by swapping his real-life Volvo SUV - parked in the company car park - for a lifesize replica made completely out of Lego. The model was made from more than 201,000 Lego bricks.

• A US man has come up with a way of both spending time with his baby and getting some exercise. Joshua Levitt was reportedly lifting his baby (now an eight-year-old) up and down in an attempt to soothe her when he realised, in his words, he was “multi-tasking” by getting some exercise at the same time. He’s now developed an entire exercise routine - described in his book Baby Barbells - which includes a ‘baby bench press’ and ‘lullaby lunges’.

• Ah, the years slip by so fast. Yes, it was time for the annual Wife-Carrying World Championships in Finland last week and once again, Finns Kristiina Haapanen and Taisto Miettinen reportedly took the prize, defeating 46 other couples to win their third successive championship. The event, which takes place over a 253.5 metre course featuring two dry and one water obstacle, traces its roots back to 19th century bandit who stole food and girls from villages.

• It’s proving a tough nut to crack. A riddle embedded in a work of art outside the main entrance to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, remains unsolved 20 years after it was first unveiled to the public. The riddle is one of four contained in Kryptos, an artwork resembling a 3.6 metre high scroll designed by sculptor Jim Sanborn which was put in place in 1990. While the first three puzzles - the answers to which included a poetic phrase and a passage taken from Howard Carter’s account of the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun - were cracked within a couple of years of the sculpture being unveiled, the last has proved somewhat harder leading Sanborn to this week release a six letter clue, that the letters ‘nypvtt’ correspond to the word ‘Berlin’. Now all you have to do is work out what the other 91 letters in the riddle mean. If you reckon you know the answer, simple fill in the first 10 letters on Sanborn’s website. Good luck with that.

• Like a Coke? How about a fruit juice? A Japanese company has reportedly created a vending machine that recommends what it thinks customers will like. The new machines use facial recognition software to detect the age and gender of customers and then makes recommendations based on its conclusions. The first machine has been installed at a Tokyo railway station with more to follow.

• So what does the moon smell like? According to former astronaut Charlie Duke - the 10th person to set foot upon the moon, it’s “like spent gunpowder”. He’s been working with a group of artists to create some scratch and sniff MOON prints which are being sold to those looking for something a little different to hang on the wall. The smell, apparently, will last for around a year.

• Looking for an alternative to the chips, chocolate bars and softdrinks usually found in vending machines? A Chinese company has reportedly installed several vending machines at underground stations in the city of Nanjing which dispense live crabs. Not sure how you’re supposed to eat that on the run…

• And the award for the most famous moustache of all time goes to (drum roll please)…artist Salvador Dali. A poll conducted on behalf of the Movember charity - which encourages people to grow moustaches to raise money - reportedly found that 24 per cent of people favoured Dali’s as the most famous followed by wrestler Hulk Hogan (18 per cent) and Albert Einstein (13 per cent).

• Want to be among the first humans to go to Mars? Catch is, it’s a one-way trip. NASA’s Ames Research Centre is reportedly investigating the idea and looking to raise some interest from among the world’s billionaires to help fund the mission which is estimated to cost around $US10 billion.

• Looking for a way to spruce up your town by stymied by the many vacant buildings? Why not adopt the approach of the English town of Redcar which has reportedly placed a series of stickers on the windows of unused shopfronts in a bid to improve the town’s appearance. The stickers depict everything from a furniture store, cafe and restaurant, to a bookshop and even the living room of a house.

Don’t forget to scroll down and have a look at our Strange Contests Special…

Further to last week’s look at some of the oddest competitions we’ve come across, we add:

• A team of four Australian women, known as the Pinkettes, have set a new world record for the fastest relay race run while wearing stiletto heels after completing an 80 metre course near Sydney’s Opera House. About 100 women and a single man competed in the event which was held to raise money for breast cancer;

• Although the official event was cancelled this year, the annual cheese-rolling contest at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, UK, is usually a highlight of the culinary competitions worldwide. The competition simply involves a round of cheese - Double Gloucestershire - down the hill while competitors chase after it, hoping to catch the cheese (apparently no-one ever does). The first contestant over the finish line after the cheese is the winner. The tradition is said to be at least 200 years old;

And from last week…

• First up, the second annual Surf City Surf Dog Tournament which last weekend saw a host of dogs on boards take to the water at California’s Huntington Beach. As well as dogs ‘hanging paw’ on the waves - with competitions based on such criteria as the longest ride and size of wave surfed - there were a range of dog-related events, even including a fashion show, the ‘Cowabunga Costume Contest’. It was all for a good cause - some of the entry fees went to various dog-related charities.

• Sure, we’ve all heard of the annual hot dog eating competition in New York but what of a contest for eating nettles. Held every year at the Bottle Inn in Dorset, England, the Stinging Nettle Eating Competition - which draws competitors from across the globe including Australia - involves eating as many nettles as you can with only beer to quell the pain from the stinging (no other mouth numbing substances allowed).

• When not determining who can eat the most of something, odd competitions often involve throwing them. The World Blackpudding Throwing Championship is a case in point. Held earlier this month (13th September) at Ramsbottom in England, the competition involves throwing a black pudding (each contestant gets three) with aim of knocking a pile of Yorkshire puddings off a six metre high plinth.

• And no list would be complete without mentioning the Finnish ‘wife carrying championships’ in which husbands must complete an obstacle course which carrying their wives using one of a number of specialist holds. The sport was first undertaken at Sonkajarvi in Finland in the 19th century (the town is still the location of the annual world championships each July and the winner apparently still receives his wife’s weight in beer) but contests are now also held at several locations in the US.

Some of the others we’re aware of:
• the World Air Guitar Championships;
• the World Beard and Moustache Championships.

We’ll be adding to this list as we become aware of other competitions. We’re keen to hear of more weird and wonderful contests so let us know…

• Those badly spelt signs annoying you? Take heart. Two Americans have just released a book about a journey they made travelling across the US correcting spelling and punctuation. Jeff Deck, a write and editor, created the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL), and in early 2008 set off on a 73 day journey in which he and several companions targeted signs outside shops, public buildings and parks, rounding up stray apostrophes and fixing wayward spelling (and learning a lesson about always asking for permission to fix a sign along the way). Together with one of his companions - Benjamin D. Herson - he has subsequently written the book about the experience The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World. Bad spellers be warned!

• A month long water pistol tournament has just come to an end in the UK. Known as StreetWars, the “water pistol assassination” tournament kicked off in New York in 2004, and has since visited numerous cities including, during August, London (which also played host to the tournament in 2006). As many as 300 players were expected to take part. Concerns have reportedly previously been expressed over the appropriateness of such a game.

• It’s the ultimate in train sets. A house has gone on the market in Lincolnshire that comes complete with a more than 300 metre long model railway, complete with scale trains, castle, fairground and a full-size fish pond. The owner reportedly spent years creating the backyard playground.