Barbie dream house being reimagined in NY, India
US toymaker Mattel says it hired designers to come up with new dream home ideas for its Barbie doll but likely won’t actually manufacture them.
The toymaker said the interior designers will sketch up homes with a California, New York and India feel, with the top design to be chosen in August, the New York Post reported.
Celerie Kemble said her New York version resembles a penthouse with views of Central Park.
“Barbie is a strong, independent woman. She belongs in New York!” Kemble said. “Manhattan is the best of the best for Barbie.”
A Mattel spokeswoman said the designs are just for fun. Barbie, with her California girl persona, has had a Malibu dream house since 1972. (UPI)
Philippine high school senior has 41 names
A high school senior in the Philippines is drawing attention for his unusual name, which includes 40 first names and a surname.
The latest senior to enroll at Urdaneta City National High School in Pangasinan is a 15-year-old student named Ratziel Timshel Ismail Zerubbabel Zabud Zimry Pike Blavatsky Philo Judaeus Polidorus Isurenus Morya Nylghara Rakoczy Kuthumi Krishnamurti Ashram Jerram Akasha Aum Ultimus Rufinorum Jancsi Janko Diamond Hu Ziv Zane Zeke Wakeman Wye Muo Teletai Chohkmah Nesethrah Mercavah Nigel Seven Morningstar A San Juan CCCII, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. The initial A stands for Agustin, his mother’s surname.
The boy’s older brother, Ramuel, 21, and sister Ramille lewisse, 25, each have 20 first names and a surname.
Their father, Rufino Ramil San Juan V, said he started the naming tradition with the oldest child as a means of teaching the Government about flexibility. “My first child was born, but I was not happy when people in charge of her documents showed little imagination,” San Juan said. “The form had a very short empty line where I was expected to fill out with my daughter’s name. I asked, ‘What if I decide to give my child a longer nameIJ’ and got the reply, ‘You can’t do that.’ So I decided that I could do just that. My wife did have reservations as any level-headed, geometrically centered mathematics teacher would.” (UPI)
Prague metro plans to launch love train for singles
Rail passengers searching for love in the Czech capital need look no further than the daily commute as the city makes plans to designate carriages on its underground trains for singles.
Prague transport company Ropid wants to set aside carriages on some or all of its trains for singles seeking a soul mate, a service that could launch by the end of this year.
The city-owned company will start polling passengers to determine whether they would be interested.
Spokesman Filip Drapal said the initiative was one of the activities the city-owned company hoped would lure people out of their cars and onto public transportation. (Reuters)
Father and son graduate college together
A man and his son graduated together from Morehouse College in Georgia recently, with the son saying he is “proud of (his dad) as a man” for going back to school.
Dorian Joyner Sr, 46, was a student at the college in 1988 when he decided to take some time off. He pursued a career in computers and became a senior data and finance analyst, ABCNews.com reported.
In 2010, he decided to go back to Morehouse to finish his degree.
“I thought he was coming to visit friends. He was coming back as a student,” Dorian Joyner Jr, 23, said.
The father and son were never in the same class, but shared some of the same teachers and often saw each other on campus.
The pair graduated together at the ceremony, at which President Barack Obama delivered the commencement speech. (UPI)
Teen’s invention could charge cellphone in 20 seconds
A California teen’s invention could potentially knock down cellphone-charging time to a superfast 20 seconds.
So far, the energy-storage device has powered only an lED light, but it has the potential to do much more.
The future certainly looks bright for 18-year-old Eesha Khare, who pocketed a $50,000 prize for the Young Scientist award from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, for her tiny and possibly revolutionary device.
Khare sees the device as potentially powering car batteries, cellphones or any electronics that could use a rechargeable battery. (Yahoo News)