DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Rubber ducks are poured into the Chicago River. PICTURE: Via Reuters TV
• Over 90,000 yellow rubber ducks splashed into the Chicago River in a nail-biting race to the finish line to help raise money for the Special Olympics last Thursday. Thousands of spectators lined up along the Chicago Riverwalk downtown to get a glimpse at the once-a-year spectacle. “I never saw that many rubber ducks before,” said Moe Farraj, a nine-year-old from New Jersey visiting Chicago with his family. “I’m just excited to be here.” Many people also “adopted” rubber duckies, not only in hopes of winning a big prize, like a new car or lifetime tickets to an amusement park, but also to donate to a great cause. “I hope I win because I really want a car,” said nine-year-old Moe, who nicknamed his adopted duck “SpongeBob”. According to organisers, this year’s event raised a record $US428,561 to help support nearly 30,000 Special Olympics athletes. – Reuters TV
The winner announced on social media.
• It’s the photography awards you’ve been waiting for – the winners of the Comedy Pet Photography Awards have been announced in the UK. The awards were started by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam who say they did so to “promote positive awareness of animal welfare issues and celebrate the incredible and valuable contribution that pets can and do have on our lives”. Last week’s winners include an image showing black and white kittens Max and Alex (with one about to pounce on the other) by professional wildlife photographer Michel Zoghzoghi (which took out the ‘Overall Winner’ and ‘Cat Category’ awards), Boudicca the ferret on her first outdoor walk captured by photographer Darya Zelentsova (which took out the ‘All Other Creatures Category’), and Klaus-Peter Selzer’s image of three heads – titled ‘The Three Greys’ – which won the ‘Pets Who Look Most Like Their Owner’s Category’. An image by Chris Porsz’s – titled “Barking”, it depicts a dog leaping in front of people on a park bench in New York – took out the ‘People’s Choice Award’. – DAVID ADAMS
Elon Musk in Paris, France, on 16th June, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes/File photo
• Tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have again been making headlines this week over a proposed cage fight between them. Reuters reported that Musk said on Friday the mixed martial arts bout would be held at an “epic location” with an ancient Roman theme. “Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location,” the Tesla CEO said in a post on X. Meanwhile Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano confirmed in a statement that he had spoken to Musk about hosting a “large charitable and historically evocative event” but did not specify what the event would be, or when it might be held, saying only that it would not take place in Rome. Musk first threw down the gauntlet to Zuckerberg in a 20th June post, saying he was “up for a cage match” with his business rival, who is trained in jiujitsu. A day later, Zuckerberg, who has posted pictures of matches he has won on his company’s Instagram platform, asked Musk to “send location” for the proposed throwdown. Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper suggested that if the fight happened, it might be staged in Pompeii, near Naples. Stay tuned. – DAVID ADAMS with reporting by ANGELO AMANTE and FEDERICO MACCIONI/Reuters
