Man breaks record with Crocs collection

Doogie Sandtiger, nicknamed the “Croc King,” earned a Guinness World Record after his collection of Crocs was counted at 3,569 pairs in November 2024, and the number has since grown past 3,800.

Sandtiger’s fascination began in his teens, when growing up in foster care left him unable to tie shoelaces.

His first goal was 366 pairs, written in a journal, but by 2023 he had passed 2,000 and kept on collecting.

Now he hopes to one day display his ever-expanding collection in a “Crocseum.”

Teen paralysed after hours with head bent forward

Xiao Dong, a 19-year-old student from Quanzhou, China, temporarily lost movement in his body after constantly keeping his head bent while working and using his phone.

He first felt numbness in his neck and limbs, then woke on July 30 unable to move his legs. A blood clot in his cervical spine compressing the spinal cord, caused by ruptured blood vessels from prolonged forward head posture.

Emergency surgery removed the clot and Xiao is now regaining movement, with doctors expecting a full recovery. Experts warn that long hours of looking down at phones or work can damage blood vessels and even lead to paralysis.

Robot swaps its own batteries to work nonstop

China’s UB Tech Robotics has unveiled the Walker S2, the first humanoid robot able to change its own batteries. The robot uses a dual-battery system that lets it swap one battery at a time at a charging station, ensuring it never fully powers down.

A video shows the robot detecting low power, removing its battery, placing it on a shelf and inserting a charged one within minutes.

Inspired by swappable batteries in Chinese electric cars, the system allows the robot to work around the clock. Walker S2 is expected to be deployed in factories and production lines, where it could run continuously without human assistance.

Technical details have not yet been released, but expectations for its industrial use are high.

Doctors remove 18-cm worm from man’s brain

Surgeons in China removed a live 18-cm worm from the brain of a man identified as Li, who had been suffering from seizures, blackouts and vision problems.

An MRI revealed the parasite, and doctors performed a craniotomy to extract it intact as it was still wriggling. Li later admitted he had swallowed a raw snake gallbladder years earlier on a dare, unknowingly ingesting sparganum larvae that eventually reached his brain.

After 10 days in hospital, Li was discharged and is expected to recover fully. Doctors warn against eating raw or undercooked snake or frog organs, as they can carry dangerous parasites.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 11th, 2025