Pole superposition: South African in a barrel in the sky set to break record
Vernon Kruger has been sitting in a barrel suspended 25 meters above ground for more than two months. Overlooking the South African town of Dullstroom, the 52-year-old is about to break a Guinness record — set by himself in 1997. "Sleeping in this barrel is not ...
The world's shortest man who was capable of walking, as verified by Guinness World Records, died Friday at a hospital in Nepal, his family said. Khagendra Thapa Magar, who measured 67.08 centimeters (2 feet, 2.41 inches), died of pneumonia at a hospital in Pokhara, 200 ...
Alaska had record-warm year in 2019; lower 48 states had second-wettest year
Last year was Alaska's warmest year on record and the second-wettest in the contiguous United States, according to a government report on the U.S. climate released on Wednesday. Alaska's average temperature was 32.2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.1 degree Celsius), 6.2 degrees F above the long-term average, ...
World's oldest person celebrates her 117th with party at Fukuoka nursing home
Kane Tanaka has extended her record as the world's oldest person by celebrating her 117th birthday at a nursing home in the city of Fukuoka. Tanaka marked her birthday, on Jan. 2, with a party Sunday together with staff and friends at the nursing home, ...
Japan's low altitude satellite Tsubame registered in Guinness World Records
The honor is for achieving the “lowest altitude by an Earth observation satellite in orbit.
Rowers become first to cross infamous Drake Passage unassisted
As freezing water thrashed their rowboat in some of the most treacherous waters in the world, six men fought for 13 days to make history, becoming the first people to traverse the infamous Drake Passage with nothing other than sheer manpower. They dodged icebergs, held ...
Uruguayan authorities have opened an investigation into a record cocaine seizure described as "the biggest blow to drug trafficking in the country's history," the navy said on Friday. The navy seized four soy flour containers packed with bags of cocaine at Montevideo's port. An inventory of ...
Australia declares state of emergency as record heat fans bush-fires
Australian authorities declared a seven-day state of emergency in New South Wales state Thursday as a record heat wave fanned unprecedented bush fires raging across the region. Some 100 fires have been burning for weeks in the state, with half of those uncontained, including a ...
World's smallest gingerbread house sits atop teensy snowman created by Canadian researcher
There was Tiny Tim, and then the Little Drummer Boy — but they had nothing on the microscropic gingerbread house that is believed to be the smallest in the world and was unveiled Wednesday by a Canadian researcher. About half the size of one made ...
'This is not our winter': Moscow temperatures hit 133-year high
Residents of Moscow are wondering where winter has gone as the highest December temperatures in 133 years deprive the Russian capital of its customary covering of snow. "This is not our winter," said pensioner Ludmila Biryukova. "It came from somewhere else." At a time when snow ...
Australia this week experienced its hottest day on record and the heat wave is expected to worsen, exacerbating an already unprecedented bush-fire season, authorities said Wednesday. The average nationwide temperatures of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday beat the previous record of 40.3 ...
Nine-year-old Belgian boy set to become world's youngest university graduate
As he cradles his young puppy in his arms, Laurent Simons looks much like any other 9-year-old boy. Then he starts describing his work at a university in the Netherlands, developing a computer circuit that will replicate a part of the brain. "What we are ...
