Smurf City:

A group in Germany called Dä Traditionsverei gathered on the border of Switzerland dressed as smurfs to break the world record of the largest group to be dressed as smurfs. The bizarre goal had strict guidelines for who could or could not be counted as a smurf, according to NPR; all exposed skin of the participants had to be blue for them to be counted. This event was held in Lauchringen, Germany on February 16. Around 2,762 people dressed as smurfs gathered in the event, beating the previously held record of 2,510 people which was accomplished in the UK in 2009.

Fencing with Lightsabers

The French Fencing Federation has officially acknowledged lightsaber dueling as a competitive sport in its own right. According to AP News, the Federation is now supplying fencing clubs with lightsabers and training lightsaber dueling instructors. Serge Aubailly, the federation’s secretary general, told AP News that the reason for recognizing this previously fictitious sport was to provide a connection for younger audiences to combat the “real public health issue” of the youth sitting inside and playing video games.

Foot vs Bus

On February 20, transit advocates of the group Transportation Alternatives raced a public transit bus in New York City, losing the race by only five seconds. The advocates raced the M14, the third-slowest bus in New York City, all the way to Union Square from 14th Street and Avenue A, according to NPR. Surprisingly, there was less traffic than usual, so the slight time margin in the M14’s win may not be as wide if the race is to be had again.

The Office Saves Lives

Cross Scott, a 21-year-old man from Arizona, saved an unconscious woman using a CPR technique he learned from The Office. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Scott found an unconscious woman in her car and realized that she was not breathing. He was untrained in CPR, yet remembered an episode of the Office where a CPR instructor visits the office and tell the employee to perform chest compressions to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. This ultimately saved the unconscious woman’s life and she was able to breathe within a minute.

A Sticky Situation

A tank filled with liquid chocolate at a chocolate factory in Werl, Germany overflowed, causing the liquid chocolate to flow all over the street. According to NBC, firefighters had to close off the street and collect about 108 square feet of chocolate to make the road functional again. According to the Washington Post, about one ton of chocolate leaked from the tank, but the fire department was able to shovel away the chocolate in roughly two hours.