School searches for teddy lost in stratosphere

A school in England is seeking help to locate Bradford Bear, a teddy sent into the stratosphere on a weather balloon by seventh and eighth graders with the Southampton University Spaceflight Society. A camera recorded his journey and showed him being jostled free above Henley-on-Thames on 10 November.

He was expected to parachute safely near Basingstoke, but likely landed between Earley and Fawley — the former a town and the latter a village. The school asked for any information, footage or details about his whereabouts. Science teacher Ellie Robinson said Bradford reached about 16.7 miles high and reassured students that he is brave and resourceful.

Record-breaking 2,819-pound pumpkin

Twins Ian and Stuart Paton, of Lymington, England, set a Guinness World Record with a 2,819-pound pumpkin named Muggle, also the largest by circumference at 21 feet, 3.8 inches.

The brothers, who have been growing giant pumpkins for more than 50 years, harvested and transported it safely to the Wargrave Nursery Giant Vegetable Weigh-Off near Reading. Officials celebrated the milestone as a major achievement for British pumpkin growers.

World’s largest spider web found

Researchers have discovered the world’s largest spider web, built by more than 111,000 spiders, in the Cave of Sulphur near the Greek-Albanian border.

Stretching 106 square metres, the web is created by two species, Tegenaria domestica and Prinerigone vagans, living together in a rare cooperative ecosystem. The spiders feed on midges that consume sulphur-based microbial biofilms, and the cave’s darkness may explain their unusual harmony.

The massive web, located in a maze-like cave, is a scientific marvel — and quite a thrill for arachnophiles .

AI singer hits Billboard, lands $3m deal

Xania Monet, an AI-powered digital singer created by poet Telisha “Nikki” Jones, has become the first AI artist to debut on a Billboard radio chart, reaching No. 30 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart.

Monet’s song How Was I Supposed to Know went viral on TikTok, leading to a $3 million record deal with Hallwood Media.

Jones uses AI to transform her lyrics and life-inspired poems into R&B music, describing Xania as an extension of herself. Since debuting, Xania has released 44 songs on Spotify and amassed over 1.2 million followers, sparking debate about AI’s growing role in the music industry and its impact on human artists.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 13th, 2025