Friday, August 29, 2008

Narrowest Street in the World (Guinness Book of Records)

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the narrowest street in the world is located in Reutlingen, Germany. In reality, it's just a passageway, an exit from a rear courtyard. In the eighteenth century, this district was completely destroyed in a huge fire. To ensure that, in future, fires couldn't spread so easily from house to house, a narrow space was left between them. Measuring just 31cm in width, it quickly went into the record books as the narrowest street in the world, even though it isn't much of a street.

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Biggest Kite in the World

KiteGomberg Kite Productions is proud to present the Biggest Kite in the World.
The "MegaFlag" is a fully functional, self-flying kite measuring 130 feet wide and 80 feet deep. That's an astounding 10,400 square feet!! The kite is an inflatable "soft" design with no sticks or spars. It was designed and constructed by Guinness Record Holder Peter Lynn of New Zealand.
Imagine a kite three times the size of your house. Imagine a kite that requires a 'string' with a breaking strength of 20 tons or a dump truck to serve as anchor. Imagine a kite that more than a thousand people can walk inside of while it is held on the ground.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Two-year-old house cat Yoda was born with four ears

If Batman had a cat, it would probably look something like this.

The household pet, named Yoda, was born with an extra set of ears.

Valerie and Ted Rock took him in two years ago after visiting a bar near their home in Chicago, where he was being passed round by curious drinkers.

He was one of a large litter and the owners were looking for a home for him.

catThe couple immediately fell for the freaky feline and asked the owner if they could adopt him. He agreed and the couple named the cat Yoda, after the pointy-eared Jedi knight in Star Wars.

Valerie, 65, said: 'We were at a pub on the south side of Chicago with a group of friends when we noticed a small cage sitting on the bar and people passing around a kitten.

'He had been part of a large litter and the owners were looking to find a home for him.

'Ted and I had just lost a cat that was our pet for over 20 years, and we were sure we were done with cats.

'When he was passed around he reached for Ted, crawled up into the crook of his neck and fell asleep - Ted was a goner.

'It was a done deal when the kitten made himself at home on Ted's shoulder.

'We decided to name him Yoda. I understand the Star Wars character was based on George Lucas' cat.'

After adopting the eight-week-old kitten into their Illinois home, Valerie decided to have Yoda checked out with the local vet
catBut the vet was mystified by his unique appearance.

'The vet had never seen anything like it before,' explains Valerie. 'He immediately went to the internet and found the four-eared cat in Germany.

'We have spoken with other vets in our acquaintance, and they likewise had never encountered anything like this.

'We began to realise that we had something very special.

'As a result, he has been an indoor cat and has a chip installed in case he gets lost. Yoda is so different that we were concerned that he might be catnapped.'

Yoda's extra 'flaps' are separate to the base of his skull, with one placed slightly behind the other.

Yet despite his unusual looks, Valerie is sure Yoda's behaviour - and hearing - are quite normal.

'Yoda's hearing is normal as far as we know,' says Valerie. 'People do a double take when they see him or his picture. It is great fun showing him off.

cat'We have actually had people ask if we had his ears cut to look this way.

'But he is a perfectly normal affectionate, curious cat and is a joy to have around.

'He is not afraid of anything and is very sociable unlike some of the other cats I have owned.

'But he does have an interesting obsession with bread - I can't leave bread on the counter for a moment.

'And when he purrs, it is not audible. The only way I know that he is purring is to put my finger on his throat to feel the vibration.

'He also is not very vocal. He meows, but only softly, and not very often which is a good thing.'
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