QUIRKY WORLD ... Our daily look at some of the world's stranger stories
The biggest fish ever to swim in the sea grew to the astonishing length of 16.5m, research has shown.
It sounds like a fisherman’s tale, but the giant Jurassic fish Leedsichthys, that lived 165m years ago, was a true monster, scientists claim. Calculations based on fragments of fossil skeleton suggest it grew to 8m to 9m in 20 years and reached 16.5 metres in 38 years.
Scientists believe that Leedsichthys lived on huge quantities of plankton.
A Maine man who lived in the woods with nearly no human contact for 27 years, supporting himself by stealing food and supplies, pleaded not guilty to seven counts of burglary and six of theft.
Christopher Knight, 47, was clean-shaven with closely cropped hair and looked well fed when arrested in April. He has grown a beard in prison and now looks gaunt.
Since his capture, he has been the subject of a documentary, countless media stories, received marriage proposalsm and a “no-strings-attached” offer by a stranger to pay his bail.
Wearing baggy green prison clothes as he sat in court just 30km east of his woodland hideout, Knight appeared unfazed by the media bustle. He answered “not guilty” to each of the counts, but otherwise did not address the court.
Justice Michaela Murphy set Knight’s trial for Oct 8.
Police contend Knight committed as many as 1,000 burglaries. The list of stolen items runs from flashlights, electrical tape, and propane to video games and marshmallows.
Climate change could bring about the greening of Greenland by 2100, scientists predict.
Today, only four indigenous tree species grow on the island, confined to small areas in the south. Three-quarters of Greenland, the world’s most sparsely populated country, is covered by a barren ice sheet.
However, in less than 90 years, swathes of verdant forest could cover much of its land surface, say experts at Aarhus University in Denmark.
Argentinian couples have continued their dominance of the world’s top tango dancing competition.
Twenty couples from around the world competed in the stage finals marking the end of the two-week festival, but it was the hometown couples who impressed most, dancing before a large crowd in Buenos Aires’ Luna Park stadium.
Honesty pays off as footballers pay up
USA: Four US college football players have been rewarded for their honesty. The members of the William Paterson University football team each received $50 gift cards after surveillance cameras captured them paying for batteries and sunglasses in a shop even though no employees were present.
The store was closed, but the lock malfunctioned and the lights were on, making it appear as though it were open.
Cameras showed the men calling out for an assistant. Two put cash on the counter, with one waving notes in the direction of a camera.
JD Megchelsen holds the record for giant pumpkins in Alaska, and the Nikiski gardener knew he had a candidate this year to beat the record of 584kg set in 2011.
However, when a boom truck lifted the behemoth, the big pumpkin revealed a big disappointment: A thumb-sized hole that makes it ineligible for the Alaska State Fair competition in Palmer.
“It’s not going to count,” Megchelsen told the Peninsula Clarion. “It’s a bummer, but it’s the rules.”
Entries must be free of rot, chemical residue, and serious soft spots. They can’t have holes or cracks that reach the pumpkin cavity.
A scale on the crane indicated the pumpkin weighed 680kg, but Megchelsen estimates the state competition scale would have registered closer to 644kg.
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