A legion of Swiss pastry chefs have baked their way into the Guinness Book of World Records with a 1,221.6-metre chocolate Napoleon, the ATS news agency reported.
Around 100 people, most of them pastry chefs, pulled together the 4.2-tonne mille-feuille pastry, breaking a record set in Belgium 20 years ago by nearly 200 metres.
The giant pastry consisted of 864 litres of cream, 576 litres of milk, 600 kilos of flour, 432 kilos of butter and 360 kilos of chocolate fondant.
A total of 250 people helped prepare the feat over the past six months, according to Gilles Desplanches, who initiated the project to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his pastry shop. (AFP)
Rare violin stolen from flat
A rare 18th-century violin worth £140,000 (€173,803) has been stolen from its owner’s apartment, UK police said.
The instrument, a Nicola Gagliano dating back to 1747, is possibly one of only three in the world. Its 31-year-old owner returned to his home in Erlanger Road, New Cross, southeast London, at 10.45pm on Wednesday night to find that the main communal door had been forced open, along with his own front door.
A number of items were taken, including the violin.
The owner of the flat who discovered the burglary later clarified that he was not the owner of the violin. He said his flatmate, who had been lent the valuable instrument, was currently out of the country. (AP)
Odour-eliminating pants
Underpants that are claimed to neutralise the smell of flatulence are proving a hit in Japan, whose hard-working businessmen seem to like the idea of breaking wind without getting into a rumble.
Japanese textile company Seiren has developed a range of underwear that prevents unwelcome odours. A spokeswoman for the company said: “At first we thought about selling them to those who require nursing care and to hospitals.
“But to our surprise, lots of ordinary people, like businessmen who are in positions that require them to see people on a daily basis, bought them.”
Seiren developed the underwear technology after being contacted by a doctor who wanted something to disguise the regular parps emitted by certain people. (AFP)
Man dies at a Viagra party
A Dutchman died of a heart attack at a sex party after he apparently took a mix of recreational drugs and Viagra, a popular Dutch daily reported.
The man, only identified as Luc W., 43, was attending a “swingers’ party” in Belgium when he suffered a heart attack and collapsed, the Algemeen Dagblad reported.
“It was highly likely the victim used drugs and possibly also Viagra,” the paper said of the incident, which happened in the Flemish town of Essen, just across the southern Dutch border.
The victim’s unnamed wife described him as a “lovable man”. (AFP)
‘Smoke Weed Everyday’
Drivers on a road in northern California were surprised to be told to “Smoke Weed Everyday” by an electronic traffic warning sign.
The sign is supposed to tell people that a road in the city of Loomis will be closed for pipeline construction.
It is not the first time the sign has been changed by a mystery hacker. It has also read “Caution Loose Gorilla!”. (AP)