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Weird world records PAGE 2-3
Paper plate fish PAGE 6
The story of sandwich PAGE 4
Easy chewy brownies PAGE 8
Your Proofness: Dilaira Dubash Master Storyteller: Hurmat Majid Creative Analysts: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Talha Ahmed Khan, Mohsin Alam, Eesha Azam, Maryam Rashid, Hira Fareed, Nabeel Khan and Umar Waqas
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
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2 All of us have had weird competitions with friends, like how many peanuts we can shell in a minute or how many slices of pizza one can eat, but there are people out there who have great passion for such odd competitions. So much so that the Guinness Book of World Records has been annually publishing these records for the past 60 years. Here are some of the oddest entries:
Gary Bashaw, Jr., set the record for most milkshake dispensed through the nose when 1.82 oz. of milk and chocolate powder came out of his nostrils on the set of a Guinness World Records TV program in Los Angeles, California.
Bryan Berg set the record for the largest house of cards at 75 storeys in Spirit Lake, Iowa.
Wrestlers Billy and Benny McCrary are dubbed the world’s heaviest twins at 743 pounds and 723 pounds, respectively.
Daniel Bent set the record for the fastest ever time in the bogsnorkeling triathlon in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 24 seconds at the World Bog Snorkeling Championship.
Blackie becomes the wealthiest cat when its owner dies and leaves it $12.5 million.
Ann Atkins set the record for the largest collection of garden gnomes with 2,010.
Suresh Joachim of Sri Lanka takes the longest escalator ride, which was 140 miles long, at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Burwood, New South Wales, Australia.
Like many of the records it charts, the Guinness book was the product of a can-do spirit and the need to validate one’s pride. In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a hunting trip with friends in Ireland. Though he considered himself an excellent shot, Beaver was unable to bag any golden plovers. Wounded, Beaver suggested the bird might be the fastest in Europe. Upon returning from the trip, neither he nor his friends were able to locate a reference book that provided the answer. The squabble triggered a marketing epiphany. Figuring that people would be grateful for a record book that settled debates and bets, Beaver created one. In 1954 he tapped a pair of brothers for the task: Norris and Ross McWhirter, who ran a London fact-finding agency. The idea was to distribute the book free of charge to bars in a ploy to generate publicity. The first edition, first titled the Guinness Book of World Records, debuted in 1955. It was a hit. Some 50,000 copies were reprinted and sold; demand proved so high that the book went through three more editions over the next 12 months. Over the ensuing decades, the book became a phenomenon, selling more than 120 million copies in 37 languages. The McWhirters were stringent fact-checkers, often traveling long distances to adjudicate whether potential-record holders met the book’s standards. Ross McWhirter was assassinated in 1975 by the IRA; Norris McWhirter quit editing the book in the mid-1980s. Record holders receive certificates from Guinness, though not all records are selected for inclusion in the book, which receives some 65,000 record claims every year. Rights to the book, which has evolved from an almanac into a glossy, hard-cover item replete with a holographic cover, 3D images and a gatefold, were acquired in February 2008 by the Jim Pattison Group, a conglomerate that also owns Ripley’s Believe it or Not! SOURCE: CONTENT.TIME.COM
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
3 The world’s largest biceps belong to Egypt’s Mostafa Ismail and were measured for left arm flexed at 64.77 cm and non-flexed 62.23 cm and for right arm flexed at 63.5 cm and nonflexed 60.96 cm.
Kevin Shelley set the record for most toilet seats broken by one’s head in one minute by shattering 46 in Cologne, Germany.
Pete Glazebrook shows off the world’s heaviest onion, weighing 17 pounds, 15.5 ounces at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show in Harrogate, northern England.
Chad Fell blew the largest bubblegum bubble at 20 in. at the Double Springs High School in Winston County, Alabama.
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Ranmaru, an Australian Labradoodle, boasts the longest eyelashes on a dog at 6.69 in.
Val Kolpakov of Alpharetta, Georgia, has been recognised for the largest collection of toothpaste tubes at 2,037.
Melvin Boothe had the longest finger nails on a pair of male hands ever at 32 ft 3.8 inches when they were measured in Troy, Michigan.
DESIGN BY MARYAM RASHID What would you like to see in Hi Five? Send an email to hifive@tribune.com.pk and let us know!
12,975 dancers set a record for the world’s largest Zumba class in Mandaluyong, a city just outside the Philippine capital, Manila.
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
4 Fun facts about lions Q: What do you call a crate full of ducks? A: A box of quackers
Lions are the second largest big cat species in the world. The average male lion weighs around 180 kg while the average female lion weighs around 130 kg.
Q: What is gray and blue and very big? A: An elephant holding it’s breath
The heaviest lion on record weighed an amazing 375 kg. Lions can reach speeds of up to 81 kph but only in short bursts because of a lack of stamina.
Q: What do you call a horse that lives next door? A: A neigh-bour
The roar of a lion can be heard from 8 kilometers away. Most lions found in the wild live in southern and eastern parts of Africa.
Q: Why did the leaf go to the doctor? A: It was feeling green
Lions are very social compared to other cat species, often living in prides that feature females, offspring and a few adult males. Male lions are easy to recognise thanks to their distinctive manes. Males with darker manes are more likely to attract female lions.
Teacher: Why are you doing your multiplication on the floor? Student: You told me not to use tables
Did you know? The story of sandwich In 1st Century BC the first record of sandwich was written by the famous rabbi, Hillel the Elder. He started the Passover custom of sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two matzohs to eat with bitter herbs. Because he was the first known person to do this, and because of his influence and stature in Judaism, this practice was added to the Seder and the Hillel Sandwich was named after him. During the Middle Ages, thick blocks of coarse stale bread called trenchers were used in place of plates. Meats and other foods were piled on top of the bread to be eaten with fingers and sometimes with the aid of knives. The trenchers, thick and stale, absorbed the juice, the grease, and the sauces. At the end of the meal, one either ate the trencher or, if hunger had been satisfied, tossed the gravy-soaked bread to their dogs or gave it as alms to the less fortunate or poor. Trenchers were clearly the forerunner of our open-face sandwiches. It is also said that the cooks at London’s Beef Steak Club, a gentlemen’s gaming club convined at the Shakespeare Tavern, invented the first sandwich. The sublime society of beef steaks was very exclusive, limited to 24 members. The Prince of Wales became its 25th member. Another more famous story about the treat’s origin revolves around John Montague who was a hardened gambler and usually gambled for hours at a time at this restaurant, sometimes refusing to get up even for meals. It is said that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montague also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order “the same as Sandwich!” The original sandwich according to this story was, in fact, a piece of salt beef between two slices of toasted bread. John Montague’s biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, points out in the book, The Insatiable Earl — A Life of John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich, that the sole source for giving Montague credit for the invention of the sandwich, was gossip mentioned in a travel book by Grosley, and that at the period in question, in 1765, he was known to be very busy, and it is just as likely that it was for the purpose of eating at his desk. The sandwich was introduced to America by Englishwoman Elizabeth Leslie. In her cookbook, Directions for Cookery, she has a recipe for ham sandwiches that she suggested as a main dish. The sandwich became very popular in the American diet when bakeries started selling pre-sliced bread, thus making sandwiches very easy to create. Sandwiches became an easy, portable meal for workers and school children alike. SOURCE: WHATSCOOKINGAMERICA.NET
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
World wide weird
5
Get your weekly dose of unusual and funny news from across the globe!
Bees on the loose Eighteen people needed hospital treatment after being stung by a swarm of bees on a motorway in Turkey. The bees escaped after a truck carrying dozens of hives crashed and overturned in the western province of Mugla on Saturday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency said. Emergency services attended the scene and sprayed suppression foam on the hives and in the air to kill the insects. The motorway was closed for up to two hours as the injured, including two Finnish tourists, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. NEWS.SKY.COM
World’s oldest cat, dies aged 30 A blind British cat claiming the title of the world’s oldest has died a month after his 30th birthday. Born on August 1, 1985, black and white pet Whiskey lived an equivalent of 138 human years. Owner Lorraine Arnott, 34, was only five when the cat was born and they had been inseparable ever since. But when Whiskey began to lose weight and struggled to walk last week, Arnott knew it was time for him to be put down — at 30 years, one month and 10 days old. Ms Arnott, a school transport assistant, said, “He had been ill for a few days and he could not stand up. Unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye and I could not see him suffer. I wish it was me that died, I have lost everything and I’ve got nothing left. There will be no replacement for him. Arnott, from Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, buried Whiskey — who was on medication for his ailing kidneys — in her garden on Friday, September 11. Revealing the secret to his long life, she said she had always fed Whiskey a lowprotein diet during his adult life. “But he was fussy,” said Ms Arnott. “He’d always have a roast dinner with chicken or lamb. In his last days, he ate 10 sachets of Morrisons cat food and he loved it. I gave him lots of love and he always slept under my duvet. He was always warm.” TELEGRAPH.CO.UK
Nessie unraveled
Steve Feltham, 52, is going to upset fans of the paranormal, folklore and mythology, as his conclusion more than two decades on is that Loch Ness Monster is probably just a huge cat fish. The Wels, or European catfish, was introduced to the lock in Victorian times to give fishermen a trophy specimen. The non-native giant can grow to 13 feet and has an almost sea monster appearance. Mr Feltham gave up his job, home and girlfriend, to focus on tracking Nessie, but has never had a sighting of anything prehistoric or unknown. Celebrities who have come looking for the monster during that time included Robbie Williams, Billie Connolly, and Charlie Sheen who reportedly brought a leg of lamb as bait for the creature in 2013. Mr Feltham says he’s convinced the legendary Scottish monster is just a myth. After seeking the creature and investigating the case for so long, he deduces it’s more likely any reports of a water beast are about a very large cat fish. Despite the realisation he was chasing a more mundane explanation, he said, “I certainly don’t regret the last 24 years.” And he still lives in a caravan on the shore of the lock selling Nessie knick-kacks to tourists. It was long believed there was a mysterious serpent-like monster in the lock or a prehistoric plesiosaur had survived the Ice-Age in the inland water and gone on to reproduce. EXPRESS.CO.UK
Michaelangelo’s David recreated The original is widely regarded as one of the most magnificent pieces of free-standing sculpture on earth. Now a man has attempted to recreate the head of the splendid 6-ton original marble version of Michaelangelo’s David — using nothing more than tiny wooden sticks. Tang Jialu, 68, put his artistry to work using 87,000 toothpicks to hand craft his work and went on to display it at an art exhibition in Hechuan district of China’s south-western Chongqing municipality. Jialu reportedly spent two and a half months creating the 3D portrait with the help of a friend, and the art piece is said to have garnered much of the attention at the exhibition, which also displayed some of his other works. He became interested in unusual materials about two-years-ago. Jialu is known for using materials such as beans, seeds, nails, cotton buds and buttons to recreate unique versions of already iconic images. Possibly his most famous piece to date is “The Iron Great Wall”, which is a painting of the Great Wall of China made with a collection of thousands of nails. MIRROR.CO.UK
Lessons in friendship By M Ibrahim Laeeq Two friends were walking through the desert once. At some point during the journey they had an argument, and one friend snapped at the other. The one who got snapped at was hurt, but instead of confronting his friend he wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend hurt me.” They kept walking in silence until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been snapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near-death experience, he engraved on a stone, “Today my best friend saved my life”. The friend who had snapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone. Why?” The other friend replied, “When someone hurts us we should write it on sand so the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone so that it’s impression lasts forever.” Share your short stories with us. Email them to hifive@tribune.com.pk
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
Reading corner
Materials:
• Paper plates • Paint
6 Directions: • Paint a paper plate a single colour and let it dry.
• Paint brushes • Coloured markers
• Cut a small triangle from the plate. • Tape the triangle to the back of the plate as the tail • Draw an eye and decorate.
When evil turns good Megamind Though he is the most-brilliant supervillain the world has known, Megamind is the least-successful. Thwarted time and again by heroic Metro Man, Megamind is more surprised than anyone when he actually manages to defeat his longtime enemy. But without Metro Man, Megamind has no purpose in life, so he creates a new opponent, who quickly decides that it’s more fun to be a bad guy than a hero. It is now up to Megamind to stop him. Despicable Me In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru, planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen — a potential Dad. Maleficent As a beautiful young woman of pure heart, Maleficent has an idyllic life in a forest kingdom. When an invading army threatens the land, Maleficent rises up to become its fiercest protector. However, a terrible betrayal hardens her heart and twists her into a creature bent on revenge. She engages in an epic battle with the invading king’s successor, then curses his newborn daughter, Aurora — realising only later that the child holds the key to peace in the kingdom.
Do you have a favourite book or movie you would like us to review? Write to us at hifive@tribune.com.pk and tell us all about it.
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
7
Artwork
Fabiha
Suman
Ambreen
Wania Hashim Winner
Syed Sharib Ahmed Winner
Fidyan Saleem
Muneeb
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
Material
Ingredients: Vegetable oil
1⁄2 cup
Sugar
1 cup
Vanilla
1 teaspoon
Eggs
2 large
Baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon
Cocoa powder
1⁄3 cup
Salt
1⁄4 teaspoon
Flour
1⁄2 cup
• Water 1/4 cup • White craft glue 1/4 cup • Liquid starch 1/4 cup • Food coloring (optional) • Mixing bowl • Mixing spoon
Directions: • Pour all of the the glue into the mixing bowl. • Pour all of the water to the mixing bowl with the glue. • Stir the glue and water together. • Add 6 drops of food colour. • Now add the liquid starch and stir it in. • It should be nice and blobby by now. As you play with your slimy concoction, it will become more stretchy and easier to hold. • Explore your slimy creation and store it in a zip bag when you are not using it.
Method: • Ask an elder to help you preheat oven to 350°. • Mix oil and sugar until well blended. • Add eggs and vanilla; stir just until blended. • Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. • Stir dry ingredients into the oil/sugar mixture. • Pour into greased ovenproof pan. • Bake for 20 minutes or until sides just start to pull away from the pan. • Cool completely before cutting.
Remember kids, always get permission from your parents before you start. It’s always a good idea to have a helper nearby.
What is happening: The glue is a liquid polymer. This means that the tiny molecules in the glue are in strands like a chain. When you add the liquid starch, the strands of the polymer glue hold together, giving it its slimy feel. The starch acts as a cross-linker that links all the polymer strands together. SOURCE: SCIENCEBOB.COM