That’s Odd

On Tuesday evening, former President Donald Trump announced his intentions to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, hoping to become the second president in history to be elected to two nonconsecutive terms.

“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump told a crowd gathered at Mar-a-Lago, his waterfront estate in Florida, where his campaign will be headquartered.

Surrounded by allies, advisers, and conservative influencers, Trump delivered a relatively subdued speech. The former commander-in-chief aimed to evoke nostalgia for his time in office, frequently contrasting his first-term accomplishments with the Biden administration’s policies and the current economic climate.

“This will not be my campaign – this will be our campaign all together,” Trump declared.

It was not a secret that Trump had his eye on 2024. But many were surprised that he announced his decision so close to the midterm elections, when quite a few of several Trump-endorsed candidates lost their elections and when the Republicans’ expected red wave failed to meet expectations.

Trump attempted to counter that criticism on Tuesday, noting that Republicans appear poised to retake the House majority and touting at least one Trump-endorsed candidate, Kevin Kiley of California.

Trump is hoping that his first-out-ofthe gate strategy will fend off potential primary rivals and give him an early advantage with deep-pocketed donors, aides say. He is widely expected to be challenged by both conservative and moderate Republicans, though the calculus of some presidential hopefuls could change now that he is running. Others – like his former Vice President Mike Pence – may proceed anyway.

In particular, top Republicans have been paying close attention to the next moves of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who won his reelection contest with a 19-point margin of victory and considerable support from minority and independent voters.

Longest Beard Chain

It took lots of men with lots of long beards to create the new world record for the longest beard chain.

The feat was accomplished in a bar (where else?!) in Casper, Wyoming, last Friday, as the men stood side by side and clipped their facial hair together to create a hairy chain measuring 150 feet long – almost as long as the Statue of Liberty is tall.

The ginormous hair chain nabbed the Guinness World Record that was previously 62 feet, 6 inches, set in Germany in 2007.

Dozens of participants, who stood together for 31 seconds, were required to sport a beard at least 8 inches long.

The hair-raising feat took place just one day before the National Beard and Moustache Championships on Saturday at the city’s Ford Wyoming Center.

Here’s some food for thought: “I mustache you a very serious question.” “Would you please shave it for later?”

Political Newbie

Tyrin Truong just started voting a few years ago – and now he’s going to be the mayor of Bogalusa, Louisiana.

“I’m honestly at a loss for words,” Truong said after his historic win. “This campaign was never about me; it was about building a better Bogalusa and a better city, and I’m glad everybody got out to vote, because it was a team effort, truly a team effort.”

With all participating precincts reporting last Wednesday, Truong was in

There are around 11,000 residents in town.

Perrette, who was first elected in 2014, conceded – although not so graciously.

“I wish the mayor-elect well, but young Tyrin has demonstrated repeatedly during this campaign that he lacks the skills necessary to lead and unite our city,” Perrette said. “I pray I am wrong. During the transition period, I will help any way that I can.”

We hope she is “tru-ong.”

Sandal Sale

Steve Jobs’ sandals may be worn out but that doesn’t mean that they are worthless.

The “well used” brown suede Birkenstocks dating to the mid-1970s set a record – nearly $220,000 – for the highest price ever paid for a pair of sandals last week.

“The cork and jute footbed retains the imprint of Steve Jobs’ feet, which had been shaped after years of use,” the auction house said in the listing on its website.

Jobs died in 2011 after a bout with pancreatic cancer.

The sandals were expected to bring $60,000, but the final sale price with an accompanying NFT was $218,750, Julien’s auction site said. The buyer was not named.

Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple in 1976 at Jobs’ parents’ house in Los Altos, California. In 2013, the property was named a historic landmark by the Los Altos Historical Commission.

Those are big shoes to fill.

Seeing Double

Visitors to Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY, were seeing double.

The zoo recently announced the birth of a pair of rare elephant twins.

Elephant twins make up less than 1% of elephant births worldwide, according to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. It is also rare for mother and both calves to survive the birth.

Staff at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo hadn’t anticipated the birth of twins due to the “sheer improbability” and the “complexity” that comes with testing while elephants are pregnant.

The first calf was born at 2 a.m. on October 24 with no complications and weighed a whopping 220 pounds, while the second calf was born at 11:50 a.m. and weighed 237 pounds, but he was “noticeably weaker than the first,” the zoo reported.

The elephant care team and veterinary staff reportedly nursed the second calf to health with a specialized milk replacer.

“This is truly a historic moment for the zoo and our community,” said Ryan J. McMahon, county executive at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.

Asian elephants are classified as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are an estimated 48,000-50,000 Asian elephants worldwide.

Still, elephants take up a lot of space. Asian elephants can reportedly grow up to 11.5 feet in height, measure about 21 feet in length, and weigh up to 11,000 pounds.

That’s a lot of jumbo diapers that need to be changed.