Largest display of message in a bottle

An island in the United Arab Emirates broke a Guinness World Record with a display of 1,100 messages in bottles.

Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi officials said guests at various hotels on the island were invited to write messages about their affection for the island or the concept of love, and the notes were then put into bottles and arranged on the beach in the form of the phrase “I [heart] Saadiyat Island.” The resulting installation earned the Guinness World Record for the largest display of messages in bottles.

Organisers said the stunt was inspired by the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris.

A collection of 5,631 rubber ducks

Charlotte Lee from Seattle said she bought her first rubber duck in 1996 to decorate her bathroom.

“I thought I would quit after I had seven, but then friends would come over and see them,” Lee told Guinness World Records. “Soon, I was getting them as gifts for my birthday, Christmas, whenever really!”

Lee now has 5,631 duckies, earning her the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of rubber ducks, and her collection is still growing.

“I also have a whole army of friends and acquaintances to help me find ducks all over the world,” she said.

Bear breaks into home, steals lasagne

Security cameras at a Connecticut home captured a bear steal a lasagne from the freezer and climb out of a window.

Helena Houlis, of Barkhamsted, received an alert on her phone that her refrigerator door had been left open, leading her to check the footage on her Ring cameras. The cameras recorded a bear wandering through the house to the kitchen, where it opened the freezer door, snatched a lasagne from it and then used the open door as a step to reach an open window. The bruin burglar then wandered away from the property with its frozen pasta treat.

“We have seen a lot of bears in the last few years, but nothing ever like this,” Houlis told.

Flight delayed by mosquito swarm

A flight from Guadalajara to Mexico City was delayed for more than two hours due to a mosquito infestation aboard the plane.

Volaris Flight VOI221 was scheduled to depart at 4:30pm local time, but was delayed until 6:59pm while the flight’s crew and passengers attempted to get rid of the insects.

Video recorded by passengers shows the mosquitoes being swatted by passengers and sprayed with bug spray by flight attendants.

Passengers aboard the flight said the mosquitoes dissipated once the lights were turned off in the passenger compartment.

Guadalajara International Airport is located amid heavy vegetation and frequent floodwaters, making an ideal mosquito breeding ground, officials said.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 21st, 2023