DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
A combination image shows Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump with a bandaged ear after he was injured in an assassination attempt, and supporters and attendees wearing bandages over their ears in tribute to Trump during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on 16th and 17th July, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz, Andrew Kelly, Marco Bello, Brian Snyder, and Mike Segar/File Photo
• At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, a fashion trend with a difference has emerged – fake ear bandages, donned by attendees as a symbolic gesture of support for Donald Trump. Trump appeared at the convention wearing a large bandage where a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his right ear at a rally on Saturday. “We’re helping President Trump set a new fashion statement,” said Arizona delegate Susan Ellsworth. “We’re standing in solidarity with him for his wound. And we just want him to know how much we love him.” Delegate Michael Schafer, sporting a bandage taped to his right ear, said the trend was not quite the same as the ubiquitous red “Make America Great Again” hat. “I think it’s something that’s of the moment,” he said. – KEVIN FOGARTY, SHARON REICH and JANE ROSS, Milwaukee, US/Reuters
Artist and curator Hetain Patel’s artwork titled “Somerset Road” featuring a Ford Escort tufted by the artist in the pattern of his grandmother’s living room carpet, is displayed together with handmade patchwork quilts as part of the “Come As You Really Are” exhibition in London, Britain, on 17th July, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Will Russell
• More than 14,000 objects collected, created or customised by British hobbyists are shown together for the first time in a major exhibition exploring the UK’s hobbies. Titled “Come As You Really Are”, the exhibition was conceived by artist Hetain Patel, whose own works include labour intensive homemade Spider-Man costumes and modified car sculptures. The objects on display have been loaned by hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds from across the country, who responded to a nationwide call to members of the public to share their free time activities. “I think the thing that surprised me [was] how many different hobbies there are. You wouldn’t think of hundreds, and that’s what we were getting,” Patel said at a preview event on Wednesday. “I think what it says about the UK and its people is that we need to express ourselves,” he said. Collector items at the exhibition include around 4,000 My Litte Pony toys as well as curated plastic bag, cigarette pack, Warhammer figurine and typewriter collections. Among the handcrafted objects on show are cosplayer costumes, clay heads, miniature pottery, nail art and handmade patchwork quilts. “It’s not about pretending we’re all the same. We’re all different and we’re proud of that,” Patel said. The exhibition, held in Croydon’s Grants Building, opened on 18th July and runs through until 20th October. – HANNA RANTALA, London, UK/Reuters
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The Great Wall of China. PICTURE: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen/Unsplash
• A Egyptian man has set a new Guinness World Record by visiting all of the new seven ‘Wonders of the World’ in just six days, 11 hours and 52 minutes. Guinness reports that Magdy Eissa, 45, broke the previous record set last year by Englishman Jamie McDonald by four-and-a-half hours. Magdy started at the Great Wall of China and then visited India’s Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, Rome’s Colosseum, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and ended his quest at the ancient Mayan city Chichén Itzá in Mexico. Only scheduled public transport could be used in the record attempt which Magdy says took a year-and-a-half to plan.
