Strange But True: September

A $26,000,000 Eyesore 

In Jingzhou, China, a $26 million statue of the Chinese god of war, Guan Yu, is being removed due to complaints from residents. According to the inhabitants of Jingzhou, the giant golden statue is an “eyesore” and “too large.” Since it’s over 1,200 tonnes and 190 feet tall, the dismantling of the statue will take more than five years and $20 million to remove; despite it only making $2 million in tourist revenue since its establishment. Officials from the Jingzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism said that the statue ended up being larger than expected due to excitement during the building process and hopes that the statue would bring tourists to Jingzhou. Despite these high hopes, Guan Yu is being removed and reinstated in a nearby tourist precinct. 

Tiny Living to the Extreme 

A ten-foot-wide house in Boston has just sold for $1.25 million USD. The house measures just ten feet wide, but has four stories and is approximately 1,165 square feet total. To add to the intrigue, this particular house is famous in Bostonian folklore, commonly known as the “Spite House.” According to locals, the legend goes that two brothers inherited a plot of land before the Civil War. One went away to fight in the conflict and returned to find out that his brother had built a bigger house than his share of the land. The returning brother then built a skinny house in the land left over to spite his brother and block off entry to the bigger house. This historical landmark is on the Freedom Trail in the North End Neighborhood and is an interesting sight to see on a walk or run.

Cat-astrophe Concluded with Clever Catch

During football games, crowds often work together to form a wave or cheer in unison–not catch a falling cat. At a Miami Hurricanes game on September 11, 2021, fans used an American flag as a makeshift net to safely catch a cat that dangled from the upper balcony of Hard Rock Stadium in the first quarter. Despite the scare, the kitten was safely delivered out of the stadium by security workers, and no one was hurt in the pandemonium. According to one report by CBS sports writer Wajih AlBaroudi, the fan who caught the cat “held the animal up to the crowd in Lion King-Esque fashion..” Maybe the cat was a good luck charm after all, as the Hurricanes ended victorious with a slight edge over Appalachian State, winning 25-23. 

Pancake Pandemonium 

Centerville, Iowa is mainly known for its coal mining industry: and now, for its proliferation of pancakes. The town has celebrated seventy-two annual Pancake Days, but this year is particularly special. They landed the Guinness World Record for the most pancakes served. The previous winner, Hy-Vee Corporation, served 13,000 pancakes in July 2021. Over 100 Centerville volunteers served 14, 280 pancakes over the course of four hours, ensuring that they were all at least five inches in diameter and no more than 0.39 inches thick. Now, the small town of approximately 5,000 is the winner of a new record that remains undefeated. 

KRISTOF VRANCKEN

Floating Feathered Fowl

A large rubber duck suddenly appeared in the harbor of Belfast, Maine, and its origins were a mystery. No one admitted to putting the large yellow duck, emblazoned with the word “joy” across its chest, in the harbor and officials are still investigating how the culprits managed to transport the waterfowl into the harbor without detection. Although it is twenty-five feet tall, since it’s anchored safely in shallow water, officials say that the duck poses no navigational hazard and should be allowed to stay.