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Today's Paper | May 01, 2024

Published 31 Jul, 2021 07:09am

The weekly weird

Tiny cow is only 20 inches tall

A 23-month-old Bhutanese cow, Rani, suffers from dwarfism and, despite nationwide transport restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic; thousands have travelled to see the tiny animal at Shikor Agro farm in Charigram, 19 miles from Dhaka.

The owner, M.A. Hasan Howlader, believes the cow is likely to be the world’s shortest bovine. The current world record belongs to a Vechur cow, Manikyam, from Kerala, India, which measures 61.1 centimetres (24.1 in) from the hoof to the withers.

Rani is a Bhutanese cow breed from the same subspecies as Manikyam. Bos taurus indicus, also known as zebu, is native to the subcontinent and known for its humped shoulders and drooping ears. Rani is probably a product of genetic inbreeding and unlikely to become any bigger. Islam said he had told the farm to restrict the tourist influx.


Girl identifies 93 airlines in one minute

A six-year-old girl in India unofficially broke a Guinness World Record by identifying 93 airlines by the designs on the tails of the planes in one minute.

Aarna Gupta, of Panchkula, Haryana, has earned a spot in the International Book of Records and unofficially breaking a Guinness World Record.

Neha Gupta, the girl’s mother, said when she noticed her daughter’s unusually powerful memory at a young age, she encouraged her to achieve something bigger.

Evidence from the girl’s record attempt had to be approved by Guinness officials.

The record-keeping organisation currently lists the record at 39, which was set by 12-year-old Siddhant Gumber in November 2020.


Second megalodon tooth found in three weeks

A Florida man taking a walk on a beach found a four-inch tooth from a prehistoric megalodon shark just three weeks after he found a smaller tooth from the same species on the same beach.

Jacob Danner was walking on Fernandina Beach after Tropical Storm Elsa swept through the area, when he came across the tooth.

Jim Gelsleichter, an associate biology professor at the University of North Florida, said the first tooth Danner discovered could be millions of years old. Tooth discoveries can tell researchers a lot about the extinct species. The megalodon fossils that have been observed usually run around 30 feet in length or even bigger.


Prototype flying car travels between Slovakian cities

Klein Vision, a Slovakian company, tested its flying car between the cities of Nita and Bratislava, and spent 35 minutes flying. This marked the first successful intercity flight for the company.

The AirCar reached a maximum cruising speed of 118 mph and the trip was about half as long as a typical drive between the two cities.

The AirCar contains a 160 horsepower BMW engine, and is designed to convert into a sports car in a button-operated process that takes about three minutes to complete.

The company is now working on the AirCar Prototype 2, which will feature a 300 horsepower engine and is expected to cruise at up to 186 mph with a range of 621 miles.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 31st, 2021

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