That’s Odd

lead-up to the attacks.

The 16-page document is the first investigative record to be shared since U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a declassification review last week. The document provides a summary of a 2015 FBI interview with a man who had regular contacts with Saudi nationals in the U.S. and who aided terrorists Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar.

Last month, victims’ families issued a statement saying that Biden would only be welcome at memorial events if he declassified documents.

Jim Kreindler, a lawyer for victims’ relatives, said, “The findings and conclusions in this FBI investigation validate the arguments we have made in the litigation regarding the Saudi government’s responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

“This document, together with the public evidence gathered to date, provides a blueprint for how al-Qaeda operated inside the U.S. with the active, knowing support of the Saudi government.”

He added, “We look forward to more transparency and releases of information from the administration that finally provide the American people the truth they have long-deserved.”

The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington praised the declassification as something which would “end the baseless allegations against the Kingdom once and for all” and slammed the “categorically false” assumptions that Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks.

Former U.S. Presidents Commemorate 9/11

U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton stood side-by-side on Saturday at the National September 11 Memorial in New York to mark the twentieth anniversary of the nation’s worst terror attack.

The three presidents shared a moment of silence, wearing blue ribbons and placing their hands over their hearts as a procession marched through the memorial.

A jet flew above the memorial site before the event began. Afterwards, the names of the victims were read out.

In addition to the New York memorial site, Biden visited the Pentagon on Saturday, as well as the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the fourth hijacked plane crashed.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush was also at the memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Bush 43 said, “So much of our politics have become a naked appeal to anger, fear and resentment. On America’s day of trial and grief, I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor’s hand, and rally for the cause of one another. That is the America I know.”

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the Flight 93 National Memorial, saying, “In a time of outright terror, we turned toward each other. If we do the hard work of working together as Americans, if we remain united in purpose, we will be prepared for whatever comes next.”

Biden noted, “No matter how much time has passed, these commemorations bring everything painfully back as if you just got the news a few seconds ago.”

Former President Trump was notably not invited to any of the major memorial ceremonies.

Arizona Divests From Ben & Jerry’s

Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee on Thursday announced that the state will divest all public funds from Ben & Jerry’s for violating Arizona law by boycotting Israel.

“Arizona law states that public state entities may not invest moneys with an entity that boycotts Israel,” Yee’s office explained. “On August 3, 2021, the Arizona Treasurer’s Office informed Unilever PLC that it was actively boycotting Israel due to the actions of Ben & Jerry’s, a subsidiary of Unilever, announcing that it will withdraw sales from Israel. These actions would be in direct violation of Arizona statutes.”

She added, “I gave Unilever PLC, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, an ultimatum: reverse the action of Ben & Jerry’s or divest itself of Ben & Jerry’s to come into compliance with Arizona law or face the consequences. They chose the latter.

“It does not matter how much investment Unilever PLC has in Israel. With Ben & Jerry’s decision to no longer sell its product in the West Bank, the companies are in violation of the law in Arizona. Arizona will not do business with companies that are attempting to undermine Israel’s economy and blatantly disregarding Arizona’s law.”

The statement emphasized, “Israel is and will continue to be a major trade partner of Arizona. As Arizona’s Chief Banking and Investment Officer, I stand with Israel, and I will not allow taxpayer dollars to go towards anti-Semitic, discriminatory efforts against Israel.”

The State of Arizona’s investments in Unilever were reduced from $143 million as of June 30, 2021, to $50 million on Thursday, and will be zero by September 21, 2021, after the last investment in Unilever matures.

The State Treasurer’s office has been a longtime investor in Israel Bonds since 2013, investing more than $30 million including Treasurer Yee’s increase in the bond investments to $15 million in current holdings.

Wheel of Fortune

Planning the world’s best chol hamoed trip? You may have to wait a few weeks.

The world’s largest observation wheel is set to open in Dubai on October 21, 2021. When Ain Dubai opens its doors, the giant ferris wheel will be more than 250 meters – 82 meters higher than the world’s current tallest ferris wheel in operation, the High Roller in Las Vegas. It also will be twice the size of the London Eye, which towers over England’s capital city at 135 meters.

Dubai sets the bar high for itself. It is home to the world’s tallest tower (the Burj Khalifa), the highest restaurant in the world, the world’s highest infinity pool, the world’s largest fountain show, the world’s fastest roller coaster, and the world’s largest indoor theme park -- talk about being a high achiever.

The Ain Dubai took more than eight years to complete.

The structure used 11,200 tons of steel to build, about 33% more than the amount used to construct the Eiffel Tower. The structure’s hub and spindle weighs 1,805 tons – equivalent to four A380 airplanes – while the combined weight of the rim and the 48 passenger cabins is 7,500 ton. If the 192 spokes that hold the wheel in place, which are each made of 107 separate 9mm-thick wires, were placed together end-on-end, they would stretch from Dubai to Cairo.

Want to host the party of the century? Each of the 48 cabins are designed to fit 40 people, meaning up to 1,750 people can ride Ain Dubai at any given time.

Lest you think that a ride on Ain Dubai is something to brag about, the standards can be pushed even higher. There are three types of experiences on the giant ferris wheel: observation cabins (the standard option), social cabins (these are the “VIP” option and have a bar in the center of the pod) and private cabins, which can be booked out for special occasions and include the option of a private threecourse dinner over two rotations of the wheel.

A standard ride is 38 minutes long.

And there’s nothing “standard” about it.

Don’t Go Breaking My Art

Art enthusiasts were aghast three years ago when a Banksy painting partially shredded itself moments after being sold for more than $1.4 million at a London auction.

Originally titled, “Girl with the Balloon,” the artwork was subsequently renamed “Love is in the Bin.” Now, Sotheby’s says that it is set to go under the hammer next month and could fetch a whopping $8.3 million.

The artwork depicted a young girl with a heart-shaped red balloon. A shredder was concealed in the frame. Once it was sold, the shredder was activated, cutting the painting into tiny pieces. According to Banksy, though, the shredder had malfunctioned; it was supposed to have shredded the piece in its entirety.

“It was a big moment because nothing like that had been done before,” said art historian, author and co-founder of Artful, Matthew Israel. The idea of a self-destructing artwork was, he added, “entirely at odds with the aims of the auction house, where the condition of an artwork is paramount and the knowledge and expertise about it is core to its authority and value.”

A few months after the 2018 auction, the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany, became the first public space to display the artwork. It is currently on tour ahead of next month’s sale, starting in London this weekend then moving on to Hong Kong, Taipei and New York.

Sounds like Banksy’s pieces can rip your (art) out.

Water Carrier

David Rush knows how to hold his water. The Idaho man recently broke a Guinness World Record by using his hands to move more than 114 fluid ounces of water between two containers.

This is not the first time Rush made it into the record books. He has broken more than 200 Guinness records to promote STEM education.

David’s goal to beat was 87.9 fluid ounces, which was set by Pakistani record-breaker Usman Ayyub in 2019. He nabbed the title by moving 114.1 ounces of water in the 30-second time limit.

Rush said he measured his results in three ways: using the markings on his container, by weighing the result and subtracting the weight of the container, and by pouring the water into another container with more granular markings.

Like water off a duck’s back.

Ig Nobel Prize

The recipients of the 2021 Ig Nobel Prizes include researchers who experimented with upside-down rhinos, analyzed the bacteria in discarded gum, and studied the ways cats communicate with humans.

The prizes, awarded by science magazine Annals of Improbable Research, were announced on Thursday at the 31st annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.

Cat got your tongue? The Biology Prize went to Swedish researcher Susanne Schotz, who analyzed the variations in cat vocalizations while communicating with humans.

Gum on your shoe? The Ecology Prize was awarded to a team of Spanish and Iranian researchers who used genetic analysis to compare the different species of bacteria found on discarded chewing gum recovered from paved surfaces in various countries.

Smell a rat? The Chemistry Prize went to a team of researchers from Germany, Britain, New Zealand, Greece, Cyprus and Austria who used chemical analysis to test whether bodily odors created by a movie theater audience could be used to track incidents of violence, drug use, and profanity in films.

A bunch of fat cats? The Economics Prize was presented to Pavlo Blavatskyy, who led a study that suggests the obesity of a country’s politicians can be used to indicate the level of corruption in the country.

Bad hair day? The Peace Prize was given to a team of U.S. researchers who tested the hypothesis that humans evolved to use beards to protect themselves from punches to the face.

Need a crash course? The Physics Prize went to a team of researchers who conducted experiments to learn why pedestrians do not constantly collide with other pedestrians, while the Kinetics Prize went to a different team of researchers who looked into why pedestrians sometimes do collide with other pedestrians.

Bugging out? The Entomology Prize was awarded to John Mulrennan Jr., Roger Grothaus, Charles Hammond and Jay Lamdin, the authors of research study “A New Method of Cockroach Control on Submarines.”

Need to clear the air? The Transportation Prize was given to a team of Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Britain and U.S. researchers who conducted experiments to determine whether it is safer to airlift a rhinoceros with the animal upside-down.

Cloning Camels

Some camels are in such demand that scientists are cloning them for beauty pageants.

Because not all camels are blessed with drooping lips or a tall, elegant neck, scientists set out to find some ways to get the best of their stock. At the Reproductive Biotechnology Center in Dubai, scientists have figured out how to clone camels.

“We have so much demand for cloning camels that we are not able to keep up,” the center’s scientific director Nisar Wani told AFP.

Beauty pageants are not the only driver of the camel cloning industry. Many customers want to reproduce racing camels or animals that produce large amounts of milk. But “beauty queens” are the most popular order. Gulf clients will pay between 200,000 and 400,000 dirham ($54,500-$109,000) to duplicate a dromedary.

The camels are paraded at dusty racetracks around the region and scrutinized by judges, with occasional discoveries of Botox and cosmetic fillers adding a spice of scandal to the high-stakes contests.

Saud Al-Otaibi, who runs a camel auction in Kuwait, said customers’ judgement of the animals’ looks is key to his business.

“The price of the camel is determined according to its beauty, health, and how well known the breed is,” he noted.

When it comes to young animals, “customers are keen on seeing the mother to determine its beauty before buying the camel,” he added.

The world’s first cloned camel was born 12 years ago in Dubai. It took five years of experimenting before she made her way into the world. Now, there are at least 10 to 20 camels being cloned every year in the center.

According to Wani, they are churning out “racing champions, high milk-producing animals… and winners of beauty contests called Beauty Queens.”

Known as “ships of the desert,” and once used for transport across the sands of the Arab peninsula, camels are symbols of traditional Gulf culture. Sounds like they’re real cash cows for their owners.