Japanese man sets record for paper plane flight

A Japanese engineer has set the world record for the longest flight for a paper airplane, keeping his design aloft for 27.9 seconds.

Takuo Toda ,head of Japan Origami Airplane Association, folds a space shuttle-shaped paper plane

After his record flight, Takuo Toda said that his achievement was merely the next step in his ambition of launching a paper plane from space.

Mr Toda, who is chairman of the Japan Origami Airplane Association, performed his feat at a competition in Hiroshima Prefecture in April and it has now been confirmed by Guinness World Records as the longest ever flight by a paper plane

"I had thought that the world record was impossible to break, but the key to breaking the record is how high you fly it," Mr Toda told The Daily Telegraph.

Made of a single sheet of folded paper with no cuts, his design measured 10 cm from tip to tail. He plans to use the same shape to try to break his own record at another event for paper plane enthusiasts in September.

His ultimate aim, however, remains having one of his aircraft launched from the space shuttle.

"Thirty years ago, I saw a space shuttle - with a similar shape to a paper airplane - returning to Earth," said Mr Toda, who traces his hobby back to the two years he spent convalescing after a climbing accident while at university. He claims to have had made a paper plane with an almost identical triangular configuration three or four years before NASA unveiled its shuttle.

"I thought it would be possible for a paper aircraft to do the same thing, but back then no-one would listen seriously to my ideas," he said.

Founder of the association in 1980, he has lobbied scientists and professors to take his proposal seriously and was finally rewarded last year when the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced that it would fund a three-year, 90 million yen (£617,000) study into the feasibility of launching paper darts from the International Space Station and, hopefully, recovering them when they return to Earth about a week later.

"If it is proven that a paper plane can re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and glide back down safely then the scientific community could gain very valuable data about aerodynamics," said Mr Toda says. "That knowledge could even lead to improvements in the design of spacecraft in the future as it would prove that even ultra-light materials are able to withstand the demands of the upper atmosphere."

World's first cloned camel seen in Dubai

World's first cloned camel seen in Dubai

The world's first cloned camel Injaz is seen at the Camel Reproduction Centre in Dubai, April 15, 2009. The female one-humped camel was born on April 8, created from cells harvested from the ovary of an adult she-camel which were grown in culture before being frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Bookings for world's cheapest car Nano

The newly-released Nano -- the world's cheapest car -- pictured at the Tata auto-maker's plant at Pimpri near Mumbai. The Nano went on sale on Thursday, with dealers and the company behind it confident of strong demand despite a slump in global car sales amid the world economic downturn

The much-awaited bookings for the world's cheapest car Nano which worth 2,000 U.S. dollars starts Thursday across India for a limited period of 17 days, local media reported.

Tata Motors states to accept application forms of 300 rupees (6 U.S. dollars) each for the 624-cc jelly-bean shaped Nano and a booking amount ranges between 2,850 rupees (57 U.S. dollars) and 4,110 rupees (82.2 U.S. dollars) among different banks.

Online booking for the Nano, the first such option in India, are also available with cost of 200 rupees (4 U.S. dollars)

The newly-released Nano -- the world's cheapest car -- pictured at the Tata auto-maker's plant at Pimpri near Mumbai

Tata Motors itself has sold over 75,000 booking forms from its 218 outlets across the country so far while booking agent State Band of India has distributed hundreds of thousands of applications only a day after Nano's commercial launch on March 23.

Ravi Bhattacharya, sales manager of auto dealer Autolink Delhi said that ever since the car was commercially launched, his outlets received at least 100-200 unique inquiries daily. His firm has decided to deploy additional sales-people to handle the expected rush for the bookings.

Other dealers say almost half the customers visiting their showrooms to check out the Nano are buying forms, with most of the inquiries related to the top-end variant.

According to Tata Motors, waiting time for the high end with power windows and air conditioning priced at less than 3,000 U.S. dollars could be shorter, since the company will make more of these cars than the 2,000 U.S. dollar base version.

A total of 20 billion rupees (400 million U.S. dollar) has been invested into the Nano project with five years of research and development. But the company, which had to shift its upcoming Nano factory last October after some protests over farmland acquired for the project, has earmarked just 100,000 vehicles for the first phase.

Tallest U.S. Man is 7-foot-8 Va. Deputy

To all those people who blurt out "Wow, you're tall!" as they stare up at George Bell, He knows. And now, the world will know, too. The lanky, 7-foot-8 Norfolk sheriff's deputy is being recognized Thursday by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States.

George Bell, a 7' 8' sheriffs deputy in the City of Norfolk, Va, works on his day off providing security at a park in Norfolk, Va on Saturday, Nov 3, 2007. The 50-year-old is being recognized Thursday, Nov. 7, 2007 by the Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States.

That makes him 2 inches taller than the NBA's current tallest player, Yao Ming, but too short to be the world's tallest living man. He stands below, according to Guinness, Ukraine's 8-foot-5.5 Leonid Stadnyk and China's Bao Xishun, who is 7 feet 8.95 inches.

To answer the inevitable questions:

Bell wears size-19 shoes, pants with a 43-inch inseam and shirts with 45-inch sleeves.

He did play basketball, in college and with the Harlem Wizards and Harlem Globetrotters show teams.

And as for how he feels about being so tall?

"I have no choice but to like it," Bell, 50, said in an interview as he paced the sidelines of a Pee Wee football game at a city park, where he was providing security.

"I'm used to a small man's world," he added in a deep voice that suits his stature. "I've been dealing with a small man's world since I was a kid."

Bell was to be revealed as America's tallest man on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, when 200,000 people worldwide were expected to celebrate Guinness World Records Day by attempting to set records of their own.

Guinness began searching for America's tallest man in August. Bell's ex-wife registered him online, and Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton said Bell's doctor documented his height.

The Guinness record book now lists only the tallest man in the world, but Bell will be noted -- along with the tallest men in several other countries - in the edition to be published next year.

Bell hit 5-foot-4 at age 9. In middle school, he topped 6 feet. By the end of high school, he was 7-foot-6. He played basketball until, at 30, he lost interest in the sport and switched to law enforcement.

His height doesn't intimidate jail inmates - it helps him develop a rapport.

"They've never seen anyone this tall before, so they're amazed," Bell said. "They want to talk."

Bell focuses on the perks of being tall. For example, he usually gets free upgrades to first class on flights when the ticket-counter attendants realize he's going to need a lot of leg room.

He credits his late great-aunt, Etonia Johnson, with his positive attitude: "She always told me, 'Don't feel ashamed of yourself. Stand tall. God made you. Be happy and show your pride.' "

Texan Sets Record With 87 Snakes in Tub

Another day, another bizarre world record for Jackie Bibby, the "Texas Snake Man." Bibby spent about 45 minutes in a see-through bathtub with 87 rattlesnakes Monday, fully clothed, shattering his own record by 12 snakes just in time for Guinness World Records Day, which is Thursday. A Guinness official certified the record.

The snakes crawled under his arms, between his legs and anywhere else they could slither, Bibby said. None bit him.

"They can go wherever they want as long as they don't start biting," Bibby said. "The key to not biting is for me to stay still. Rapid movement scares a rattlesnake. If you move real slow and gentle, that doesn't seem to bother them."

Bibby sat in the dry tub with a pillow behind him, wearing regular clothing. The snakes were not defanged and still contained their venom, he said.

The clear bathtub was specially made several years ago for Bibby by the Guinness folks for a televised segment. He has used it for subsequent attempts at the record for sitting in a tub with snakes.

"I have set several world records in that bathtub," Bibby said.

The record was Bibby's latest grab at glory. Last year he set a Guinness-certified record by holding 10 rattlesnakes by their tails in his mouth at once. He said he hopes to break that record Tuesday by squeezing in an 11th.

The Texas Snake Man also claims to hold non-sanctioned records for climbing into a sleeping bag head first with 20 rattlesnakes and going in feet first with 112.

Dublin is about 120 miles southwest of Dallas.

Most Beautiful Bottom in the World

Contestants compete during the final of the "most beautiful bottom in the world" competition in Munich Oct. 31, 2007. 42 finalists from 26 different countries and regions took part in the competition to win a modelling contract and 10,000 euros prize money.

Twin Girl with Eight Limbs in India

A toddler born with eight limbs and believed by some to be the reincarnation of the multi-limbed Hindu goddess Vishnu, is set to undergo a 40-hour operation to remove half of her limbs.

Lakshmi Tatma was born joined to a 'parasitic twin' and will go under the knife at the hands of 30 surgeons to remove two of her useless arms and legs.

Torment: Lakshmi can not walk or crawl and is unlikely to survive her teens without surgery

The headless 'twin' is joined to Lakshmi at the pelvis and has its own spinal column and kidney.

Without the operation the little girl would never be able to walk or crawl and would be unlikely to live past her early teens, doctors said.

The extraordinary eight-limbed baby was born in a poverty-stricken region of Bihar, India - on the day devoted to the celebration of the four-armed Hindu deity Vishnu.

Fused: Lakshmi's body is joined with the parasitical twin which is attached to her body at her pelvis

Her mother Poonam Tatma said she believed her daughter was "a miracle, a reincarnation" of Vishnu.

Dr Sharan Patil, who will be leading the surgery at the country's Narayana Health City, in Bangalore, said: "Fortunately, Lakshmi has one complete body with a near perfect set of organs.

"Her skeletal system involves two bodies which are fused together at the level of the pelvis.

"The operation itself, although presents several challenges, is not the most complex in the world. What is highly unusual in Lakshmi's case is precisely how her bodies are fused, almost mirroring each other."
Parents Poonam Devi and Shambu Das, who earn about 50p a day as casual labourers, were turned away from several hospitals before her plight was taken up by Dr Patil.

The operation is expected to cost about £100,000.

Hope: Lakshmi and mother Poonam prepare for the op which could save the toddler's life

Poonam, who gave birth to Lakshmi on the celebration day of the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity after whom the new born was named, said: "She is a miracle, a special blessing from God. But she is my daughter and she cannot live like this."

Laskhmi is the subject of a Channel 4 documentary as part of the Bodyshocks series.