Dogs in costumes at Rio Carnival street party

As Rio de Janeiro kicked off its Carnival recently, about 100 dogs barked and wagged their tails to the tune of samba music as they paraded in a canine costume competition.

The “Blocao” — a mixture of “bloco” which refers to carnival street parties and “cao,” or dog in Portuguese — brought about 300 people to Rio’s Barra da Tijuca. Dog costumes ranged from fairies and superheroes to clowns and cartoon characters. Blocao is one of the few events that challenged a city ban on street parties last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has taken place for about 20 years.

Marco Antonio Vieira, the organiser of Blocao, said he has no intention of humanising pets with the pet parade and the contest that picks the top five best dressed dogs.

Mysterious iron orb washes up on Japanese beach

Japanese authorities are investigating the origins of a mysterious iron ball that washed up on a Hamamatsu City beach. The orb, which measures nearly five feet in diameter, prompted police to close off Enshu beach out of fears it could be a mine or other explosive device, but an X-ray of the ball determined it was hollow.

Two raised handles on the surface of the ball led to speculation it could be a mooring buoy that came loose and floated away from its intended location.

Police said the Japanese military and coast guard are reviewing photos of the object in an attempt to identify it.

Factory-sealed, first-generation iPhone auctioned

A first-generation iPhone from 2007, still unopened and plastic wrapped in the box, was auctioned for $63,356.40. The phone originally retailed for $599.

Karen Green, the device’s original owner, said she received it as a gift in 2007 and decided to leave it in the box because she had just gotten a new phone and didn’t need to replace it.

Green, who operates a tattoo shop in New Jersey, said she became interested in the value of the vintage phone when she heard about another unopened iPhone selling for $40,000. The proceeds will be invested into Green’s tattoo shop.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 18th, 2023