DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
• San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge performs duets with US guitarist Nate Mercereau on his latest album, Duets/Golden Gate Bridge. Mercereau says the collaboration came about after he read a newspaper article about how the humming sound the bridge makes was disturbing residents. But on hearing the sound – caused when wind passes through slats in the bridge’s railings which were installed in 2020 – he was struck by its beauty, telling NPR recently that the bridge can “play” multiple notes. “It’s remarkably musical”. The musician spent two days recording duets with the bridge earlier this year, releasing the album in July.
• A telegram from the Queen not enough? A Swiss canton is rewarding those of its residents who reach the venerable age of 100 by offering them 100 bottles of wine. The idea was reportedly first initiated as far back as 2000 and residents were initially offered a free armchair in place of the wine should they so chose. But Fribourg state bailiff Claude Freiburghaus said that offer was discontinued due to a lack of interest among recipients. Preparations are currently underway to present resident Marie-Antoinette with a bouquet of flowers and an offer for a 100 bottles of wine when she turns 100 on 5th November.
• The appearance of the “golden arches” on the side of a highway can lead to certain expectations about what you’ll find underneath. But Max Krieger has dedicate himself to the outliers, embarking on a mission to find the most unusual McDonald’s locations in the world. Krieger, a game designer, has reportedly spent the past year-and-a-half seeking out these unusual McDonald’s and posting their images on social media in a project he’s called ‘Nonstandard McDonald’s‘. While many – like a UFO-shaped McDonald’s in Alconbury, England – have been demolished or remodelled, some of these unusual locations still exist including a McDonald’s in Houston, Texas, which features an astronaut on the roof, a McDonald’s located in a gothic cellar in Krakow, Poland and a McDonald’s located in a grand former bank in Norway. Those interested will be happy to know Krieger plans to visit some of the unusual McDonald’s in the US state of Florida with a documentary film crew to tell their stories.
