World’s heaviest cargo plane pulled by ropes

A team of eight Ukrainian strongmen used ropes to pull the world’s largest and heaviest cargo plane just over 14 feet in one minute, 14 seconds.

The team of bodybuilders hauled the Antonov An-225 Mriya, a 628,300-pound cargo plane built in 1988 in the Soviet Union, on the tarmac at Hostomel Airport, northwest of Kiev.

The feat, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, was declared a record by Ukraine’s national record book. Representatives said they plan to submit the feat for recognition from Guinness World Records.

Most hot air balloons launched at once

The organisers of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, in New Mexico, said they were awarded a Guinness World Record for launching 524 balloons at the same time. They originally set the record for greatest mass hot air balloon ascent in 2010, when 329 balloons were launched at once. The festival broke its own record the following year with 345 balloons, but then a French event featuring more than 400 balloons took the record.

They organisers realised after a 2019 launch featured 524 balloons, that they may have broken the record unintentionally.

They reached out to Guinness to see if the documentation from the 2019 event would be sufficient to claim the record, and finally their application has been approved.

Two-headed snake celebrates her ‘sweet 16’ birthday

A Missouri nature centre, The Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center, has thrown a ‘sweet 16’ birthday party for one of its most unusual resident animals: a two-headed snake.

The female black rat snake has two heads with fully functional brains.

Alex Holmes, a naturalist with the MDC, said rat snakes typically live about 10 years in the wild, and conjoined twins usually live for far fewer years because their body’s lack of dominant leadership makes them an easy target for predators.

“Having two heads or being conjoined twins, happens in any kind of species,” Jamie Koehler, assistant manager of the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Centre.

Pokémon releases new signature trainers

Pokémon has made a partnership with Zavvi on two sets of trainers.

The evolved form of Charmeleon and Charmander gets two exciting renders on the Pokémon Charizard All Black Adult Signature High Top. These black trainers are designed for ultra-comfort as well as style. Charizard is depicted as ready to blast fire on the side of each shoe.

The second is the Pokémon Into The Wild White Adult Signature High Top. On one side is a render of Charizard on the attack, and the other side has the slogan “Adventure Awaits the Brave”. This trainer is designed with the classic lace-up fastening and a rubber toe cape for both ease and comfort.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 11th, 2021