Premature tribute to Muhammad Ali
Miami Marlins president David Samson says the family of Muhammad Ali isn’t unhappy about the team’s premature tribute to the late heavyweight champion. “I reached out to someone very close to the family,” Samson said. “Everything is fine. This came from the heart.”
The Marlins displayed a photo of Ali on their video board last Friday night, indicating he had died. It was more than two hours later before Ali’s family announced his death in Phoenix. Samson said the premature tribute, which took place moments after Miami’s game against the New York Mets ended, came after he confirmed Ali’s death with someone close to the boxer. Samson was unaware the death had yet to be made public.
(AP)
The first grave-digging contest held in Hungary
Dozens of gravediggers gathered in Hungary for the nation’s first ever national grave-digging competition to promote the occupation. Participants competed in 18 two-person teams to dig graves 2 feet and 7 inches wide, 6 feet and 6 inches long and 5 feet and 3 inches deep, using tool such as shovels, rakes, axes and pickaxes.
Each set of contestants were judged not only on how quickly they were able to dig their graves, but also on the style of the mounds surrounding the completed graves. Contestants were also allowed to choose how they went about digging the graves, with some opting to dig at the same time, while others had one member dig as the other piled dirt along the gravesite.
The event was organized to draw young people to the profession of grave-digging as organiser Iren Kari said it was difficult to replace retiring employees.
“These men see death every day. Sometimes people joke about them while they work, but gravediggers are human too,” he said.
Deputy chairman of the Hungarian undertakers’ association Zoltan Juracsik rejected criticism that described the profession as morbid. “A horror exhibit with the hangman, that’s morbid. This is a profession, and the colleagues who toil in contest today are proud and deserve our respect. That’s what this contest is for, as well as qualifying for the finals.”
The fastest team completed the task in just over half an hour.The winning teams earned the chance to participate in a regional contest in Slovakia in November. A team from Debrecen, where the event was held, utilised its familiarity with the area to dominate the competition.
local gravedigger laszlo Toth said he enjoys the job despite its morbid elements. “The hardest part of the job is to deal with the mourners,” he said. “But it’s a good job, with good colleagues and a good environment.”
(UPI)
Poop balloon in Spanish town as message to dog owners
A town in Spain installed a giant inflatable poop in order to discourage dog owners from abandoning their pets’ excrement in the streets.
The town of Torrelodones shared photos of the inflatable poop and encouraged residents to share photos of the massive message to dog owners with the hashtag #nomascacas.
Town council spokesman Angel Guiraos told The local that Torrelodones has about 6,000 dogs who can produce about 1,100 pounds of excrement every day.
“That is more or less what this inflatable represents, the amount of poo left on the streets across the town each day,” Guiraos said. “We are asking dog owners, in a fun non-aggressive way, to realise the importance of clearing up after their pets.”
The town also installed smaller poop sculptures in other areas along with signs that encouraged residents to help the town by cleaning up after their dogs. “This is one of the greatest obstacles to community spirit in our town. If you own a dog, please help us,” the messages stated.
(UPI)
Alternative use for drone in BBQ grilling
An impatient man trying to start his barbecue grill in Poland turned to his aerial drone for some off-label assistance getting the charcoal fire going. The video, posted to YouTube by user John Rides, shows a man attempting to get the charcoal in his barbecue grill to ignite. The man seeks to save some time by holding his Syma X5C quadcopter in his hand and using the drone’s rotors to fan the flames.
The user branded his method an “alternative use” for the quadcopter. A commenter quipped the man would have had more success with a leaf blower, but the user responded: “Yes, it does, but can you imagine I am not taking my leaf blower with me on my vacationIJ Crazy meIJ”
(UPI)
A chinese robot that plays badminton
A team of university students in China have designed a robot to take over yet another job unfit for humans: Playing badminton. The robot, created by students from Chengdu, stars in a video designed to show off the capabilities of the competitive automaton, which was dubbed Robomintoner by its creators.
Robomintoner made waves at a recent robotics convention in Chengdu and its skills were proven when it took on PM li Keqiang and played him to a tie game. The creators said the robot is expected to go into production for consumer sales soon.
(UPI)