Who wants a 1,429.47-pound marshmallow?

Dulces Mazapán de la Rosa, a Mexican candy company created the marshmallow outdoors at Plaza Fundadores in Guadalajara, as part of celebrations of the state of Jalisco’s 200th anniversary.

It took a team of about 100 people around 53 hours to prepare the giant, fluffy treat that weighed in at 1,429.47 pounds, more than a 1,058-pound Steinway D274 grand piano, Guinness World Records said. A GWR adjudicator was on hand to verify the colossal confection beat the previous record of 205.25 pounds, set by Britain’s Berkhamsted School in 2019.

Man descends 75 stairs on his hands

Hari Chandra Giri walked on his hands to descend the stairs at the Jamchen Vijaya Stupa Buddhist temple in Nepal, and broke the record for the fastest time to descend 75 stairs on hands in 25.03 seconds.

The previous record of 30.8 seconds was set by a US man, Mark Kenney, in 2014.

Giri has been walking on his hands since he was eight, and already has the world records for the fastest time to descend 50 stairs on the hands, the fastest 50 metres walking on hands with a soccer ball between the legs and the fastest 10 metres walking on hands with a soccer ball between the legs.

World’s ugliest dog lives in California

Scooter, belonging to Tucson, Ariz., resident Linda Celeste Elmquist, was named the World’s Ugliest Dog at the annual pageant at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif.

“I am overjoyed and incredibly proud that Scooter has been crowned the winner of the World’s Ugliest Dog contest,” Elmquist said in a news release. “Despite the challenges he has faced with his deformed hind legs, Scooter has defied all odds and shown us the true meaning of resilience and determination. He has become an inspiration to countless people around the world.”

The contest aims to celebrate imperfect canines and encourage the adoption of pets in need of good homes.

AI robots as companions in care homes

Nadine is an AI-powered social robot with human-like gestures and expressions, and can tend to the sick and elderly, according to a professor who helped invent it.

Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, a robot expert from the University of Geneva, said Nadine and robots like it could prove more effective than human carers, especially since, “She (Nadine) has time 24 hours a day.”

She was speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, to make the case for AI and robots helping to reach global goals, such as health.

Demonstrating its conversational skills, Nadine said it talked, sang and played bingo with residents at a Singapore nursing home three years ago.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 29th, 2023