DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
A still taken from a video showing the display.
• Hundreds of drones were seen in skies over the South Korean capital of Seoul recently in a display aimed at reinforcing messages about keeping safe during the coronavirus pandemic and giving thanks to frontline healthcare workers. The 10 minute display, which wasn’t advertised prior to its taking place to ensure a crowd didn’t rush to the banks of the Han River to watch, featured some 300 flying machines which formed shapes including a couple wearing masks (and maintaining social distancing) and a pair of hands being washed as well as the South Korean flag and the Korean Peninsula. You can see a video of the stunning display, complete with dramatic music score, here.
• The idea of using a train for hotel accommodation isn’t anything new, but the location of such a train in South Africa is certainly novel. The train, which is being transformed into the Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge, just happens to be parked on the Selahi Bridge which straddles the Sabie River in Kruger National Park. The hotel will feature 24 carriage rooms – along with seven Bridge House rooms – with the train rooms offering panoramic views long the river below. Interestingly, the location of the train is parked in the exact spot where it stopped overnight when the first visitors came to the park in the 1920s. It is reportedly hoped the hotel will open in December.
• Soccer-mad Argentines in the farmbelt city of Pergamino have devised a clever way to keep playing while avoiding risk of spreading COVID-19: a human foosball pitch with zones for each player to avoid physical contact. The game, known as “metegol humano” divides the pitch into rectangular zones with white lines limiting where a player can move – helping to enforce social distancing, though limiting slide tackles or pitch-length dribbles with the ball. Two teams of five players – a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder and two forwards – can take part, said Gustavo Cuiffo, a creator of the project. Seen from above, the demarcated court resembles a large foosball table – though with real people and no swivel handles. “It is the first time I have kicked in several months,” said Gustavo Santapaola, who took part in a match at the Play Fútbol ground. “I honestly tell you, I am excited.”
– with KARISMA SINGH, Reuters
