DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
PICTURE: Jason Krieger/www.freeimages.com
• Fancy chowing down on a grasshopper burger or a buffalo worm chocolate dessert? People across the world will be munching on insects of all descriptions this Sunday to mark World Edible Insect Day. And this year, organisers are calling on people everywhere to “get over the ‘ick’ factor” and “taste the change”. And while it may seem an oddity, there is a serious side to eating insects – those promoting the idea say that by replacing just one meal a week with protein-rich edible insects, people can save more than 100,000 litres of water a year. Worth eating a bug for?
• A giant trebuchet, known as Yankee Siege, was used to toss (and smash) a record-breaking 590 kilogram pumpkin (as well as a car and a piano) at this year’s Extreme Chunkin event in the US. The event, which centres on the destruction of pumpkins, is held each year at a speedway in New Hampshire and sees a range of weapons – everything from cannon to the giant catapult – used to smash the unfortunate vegetables apart. Pumpkins were also reportedly the centre of attention on Canada’s Lake Pesaquid recently as people jumped into giant hollowed-out and decorated examples of the vegetable to take part in an annual pumpkin regatta. Now in its 18th year, 44 people took part in this year’s race (some of the pumpkins were big enough for two people) watched by thousands of spectators.
• Annoyed by the hair your dog leaves all over your soft furnishings or car? Help is at hand with the creation of “dog leotards”. More properly known as “shed defenders”, the tight fitting onesies also have the advantage of keeping your dogs warm in winter (although it doesn’t make them hot apparently) and protecting them from nasty insects. Tyson Walters, of US-based company Shed Defender, says he came up with the idea for the coats, which come in a variety of bright colours and start at $US44.99, after his St Bernard, Harley, shed hair everywhere and he couldn’t find an existing solution.
