Man in Darth Vader garb slays galaxy garbage
A Virginia man troubled by litter along the highway has decided it’s time for the empire to strike back. WSlS-TV reports Henry Wakley of Blackburg last Thursday dressed as the Star Wars character, Darth Vader, while cleaning a stretch of highway that he “adopted” through the Adopt-a-Highway programme.
Wakley says he’s disturbed by the amount of garbage along the roadway, and likes to get out and dress up because it makes people smile as they drive by. As he picked up garbage along a 1.5 mile stretch, many drivers honked, waved or even stopped by to take a picture. Wakley says it’s a fun way to generate awareness about the environment.
(AP)
Olive oil helps free man stuck in jetty
A man who got stuck head-first between two rocks on a Rhode Island jetty while trying to retrieve his cellphone has been rescued — with the help of olive oil. WJAR-TV reports it happened last Saturday afternoon near a fishing area in Point Judith.
Authorities say the man dropped his phone and got stuck up to his chest when he bent down to retrieve it.
Narragansett firefighters and environmental police spent most of the afternoon trying to free him before the tide came in. After about two and a half hours, they were able to remove him with the help of olive oil.
The man went to a hospital to be treated for hypothermia and a small injury to his foot.
(AP)
Guggenheim’s 18-karat gold toilet available for public use
A golden toilet at the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York was made available for public use last Friday. The Guggenheim shared a photo of the fully functional, 18-karat gold toilet “America” created by Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan and announced the sculpture was installed in one of the museum’s public restrooms.
“For ‘America’ Cattelan replaced the toilet in this restroom with a fully functional replica cast in 18-karat gold, making available to the public an extravagant luxury product seemingly intended for the 1 per cent,” the museum’s website states.
The museum also highlighted the intimate and “participatory” nature
of the sculpture and its ability to serve as an intimate reminder of the “inescapable physical realities of our shared humanity”.
“Its participatory nature, in which viewers are invited to make use of the fixture individually and privately, allows for an experience of unprecedented intimacy with a work of art,” the website states.
Michael Zall, associate director of facilities operations for the museum, told The New York Times the toilet was installed unceremoniously by a trusted plumber. “If he was ever a regular plumber, he’s not anymore,” Zall said.
(UPI)
Google and Chipotle testing burrito delivery drones
Google and Chipotle have teamed up with researchers at Virginia Tech to begin testing the possibility of delivering burritos by drone. According to WDBJ7, the initial test deliveries are limited to a few hundred participants on an undisclosed location on Virginia Tech property.
“I hope it starts here and spreads everywhere. I think it could be a really good idea,” a student said.
The few select participants are able to order their food from a kiosk, at which point it is prepared in an on-site Chipotle food truck before being flown to its destination by a drone.
The experiments were a joint effort between Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech and Google’s Project Wing.
According to The Roanoke Times, Google said the drones would be flown autonomously although pilots would be on standby in case of any incident.
Data from the flights will also be collected and supplied to the Federal Aviation Administration, who plan to use the technology to deliver medicine, batteries and other items to rural or disaster-stricken areas.
(UPI)
Dress like a pirate and get a dozen free donuts
Krispy Kreme is celebrating ‘Talk like a Pirate Day’ on Monday with free donuts, the company said. Krispy Kreme locations across the country will offer donuts to those willing to talk, or even dress like a pirate.
Customers who do their best pirate voice get a free glazed donut. Dress like a pirate and you get a free dozen glazed donuts.
To qualify for the free dozen, customers must wear three pirate items like a bandana or eye patch. If you’re not willing to go that far, but still want to get the free dozen, there is another option — customers can digitally dress like a pirate through Krispy Kreme Snapchat pirate filter. Just be sure to show the photo to a team member.
(UPI)