World's youngest transexual, 12

A boy believed to be the youngest sex change patient in the world wants to bring forward the operation two years.

The German youngster, christened Tim and now called Kim, was allowed to start hormone treatment at the age of 12. Now aged 14, Kim told Germany's Stern TV his dearest wish was to have the final cosmetic surgery to remove male genitalia when he is 16.

Under German law the operation can not take place until Kim is 18, which would mean either a law change or traveling abroad.

Pictures of him on German TV showed Kim looking like a typical teenage girl, playing with strands of his long hair while seated in the pink attic bedroom of his parents' house.

He keeps a piggybank filled with change he has been saving for the operation - since the age of five, even though all the costs so far have been paid by the German National Health Service.

When he was just two Tim tried on his older sister's clothes and played with Barbies. As soon as he could speak he told his parents "I'm a girl" and later had a row where he declared he wanted to "cut off my thing".

His father, named only as Lutz P. for legal reasons, said they realised then it was not just a phase and that the problem was serious.

Kim's mother, who has not been named, said: "If your child has a heart defect you send him to a specialist, but when your child is transsexual, everyone seems to have an opinion."

Kim's family turned to Dr. Bernd Meyenburg, head of a clinic for children with identity disturbances at Frankfurt university. He has studied transsexuality since the 1970s but said Kim was a "real dilemma".

He said: "If we do something about it, it's irreversible. And if we allow nature to take its course, that too is irreversible." He added however that: "it would have been a crime to let Kim grow up as a man".

Worst sound in the world revealed...

A quest to identify the worst noise in the world has ended with top 'honours' going to the sound of someone vomiting.

The year-long online study, which attracted 1.1m votes, ranked microphone feedback as the second worst sound.Crying babies and the scrapes and squeaks of train wheels were joint third, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Some sounds expected to figure highly in the poll, did not do so. Fingernails being dragged down a blackboard came 16th while the dreaded dentist's drill was only 20th.The study, set up by Trevor Cox, a professor of acoustic engineering at Salford University, sought opinions on 34 sounds at the website www.sound101.org.

"From a scientific perspective, we really don't understand why some sounds are so horrible, but our reactions are part of what makes us human," he said. "If, as engineers, we can learn what offends people then, in some cases, we may be able to engineer them out of existence or at least reduce their impact."

Woman passes test after 23 years

A woman has finally passed her driving test after 23 years.

Maria McCarthy started taking lessons when she was 17.She has had over 250 lessons and ten instructors.

Maria from Sidmouth, Devon, claims she had "driving dyslexia" which stopped her negotiating roundabouts and corners.According to the Sun, she said: "Nothing about driving came easily to me. It was a mixture of nerves and lack of ability."

World's biggest rubber band ball

A US man has made the world's biggest rubber band ball.

A rubber band ball, created using more than 175,000 rubber bands, is pushed to a scale for a weigh-in in Chicago before its certification by Guinness as the world's largest /Empics

Steve Milton, of Eugene, Oregon, created the ball out of more than 175,000 rubber bands.

Guinness accepted it as a record breaker after it tipped the scales at 4,594lbs at a Chicago weigh-in.

The mammoth ball, which has a circumference of 19ft, broke the former record set by John Bain, whose ball weighed in at 3,120lbs.

The 26-year-old started his ball in November 2005 with just a few small rubberbands.

"It was just a great project with me and my kids," said Mr Milton, who worked on the ball with his six-year-old son, Bryce Milton, and his fiancee's son, Austin Johnson, 7.

"We did a little bit of research on how big rubber band balls are, and realised there was one out there that was 3,120 pounds and we knew we could do it."

Briton is world champ - at 'rock, paper, scissors'

A Londoner is hoping to become BBC Sports Personality of the Year after winning the 'rock, paper, scissors' world championships.

Sales manager Bob Cooper, 28, won the title by defeating a field of more than 500 contestants in Toronto.

He puts his success down to hard work, training, research and sunglasses, reports the BBC.

"It's similar to poker when you're out there bluffing, putting out the right or wrong signals. The eyes give away a lot so the shades are a definite benefit," he said.

Mr Cooper spent one or two hours each day training for the event, playing friends and colleagues or studying tactics.

His fans have voted for him to be nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Voting for nominees is now closed.

"Hopefully I could get nominated for Sports Personality of the Year, or we could begin a campaign to reopen nominations," he says.

Japanese champ to defend burger title

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee - Japanese competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi will try to defend his title in a Tennessee hamburger-eating contest in which he is undefeated. He is among 13 finalists that are going to Chattanooga, headquarters of fast-food chain Krystal Co., to eat as many small, square hamburgers as they can in eight minutes. Kobayashi took the title in the contest's first year in 2004 and again in 2005.

Last year, Kobayashi swallowed 67 hamburgers to win the title and a check for $10,000.

The eating machine from Nagano fended off San Diego State University engineering student Joey Chestnut, who was tied with Kobayashi at 60 Krystals with 37 seconds left.

Chestnut finished with only 62, but he will return to challenge Kobayashi this year.

Now a project engineer living in San Jose, California, Chestnut said he has been training for the finals using frozen Krystal burgers because there are not any locations in California.

The 172-pound Kobayashi finished 69 Krystals during the first contest in 2004.

Kobayashi also holds the title of hot dog-eating champion, after eating 49 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York.

Krystal, the oldest fast-food chain in the South, holds two-minute qualifying rounds in eight Southern U.S. cities in the months leading up to the championship.

The average person can eat four to six Krystal burgers in two minutes; Chestnut ate 28.

The Krystal finals are governed by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Founded by brothers Richard and George Shea in 1997, it regulates events for safety and keeps records on everything from meatballs to green chiles.

Man, 105, seeks wife

A 105-year-old Chinese man has placed lonely hearts adverts in newspapers for a new wife.

Gong Duruo, 105, has placed lonely hearts adverts in newspapers for a new wife /Lu Feng

Gong Duruo, who was born at Chengde, Hebei province, in 1901, wants a wife less than half his age.

Gong, a doctor, said: "First, the woman better have a history of doctor practice or learning literature, since I need assistance to write a medical book.

"Second, the woman should be younger than 50, and can take care of my life."

Gong has two medical degrees - one from the American State University around 1940, the other from the West China University of Medical Sciences in 2000.

He currentlly lives with relatives but told Inner Mongolia Morning Papers he was looking for life partner again.

"Every one should have a goal. Without a goal, people would die very early. That's why scientists always have longevity, like Einstein, since they have life-goals," he said.

Man recites pi to 100,000 places

TOKYO - A Japanese mental health counselor recited pi to 100,000 decimal places from memory on Wednesday, setting what he claims to be a new world record.

Akira Haraguchi, 60, needed more than 16 hours to recite the number to 100,000 decimal places, breaking his personal best of 83,431 digits set in 1995, his office said Wednesday. He made the attempt at a public hall in Kisarazu, just east of Tokyo.

Pi is a physical constant defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

It is usually written out to a maximum of three decimal places, as 3.141, in math textbooks. But the number, which has fascinated scientists for centuries, has no theoretical limit to the number of decimal places it can be written to. It is a constant that appears in the proofs of many equations defining the universe.

"What I am aiming at is not just memorizing figures, I am thrilled by seeking a story in pi," Haraguchi said.

The Guinness Book of Records currently lists Hiroyuki Goto, also from Japan, as the official record holder for reciting pi from memory. He recited the ratio out to 42,195 decimal places in 1995.

Guinness never entered Haraguchi's 1995 feat in its record book. The editors of the book could not be immediately reached for comment regarding Haraguchi's latest attempt.

Haraguchi, a psychiatric counselor and business consultant in nearby Mobara city, took a break of about 5 minutes every one to two hours, going to the rest room and eating rice balls during the attempt, said Naoki Fujii, spokesman of Haraguchi's office.

Fujii said all of Haraguchi's activities during the attempt, including his bathroom breaks, were videotaped for evidence that will later be sent for verification by the Guinness Book of Records.

Two local education officials joined 29 conference hall staff who worked in rotation to monitor Haraguchi.

Haraguchi, who began reciting pi at 9 a.m. Tuesday, reached his previous record of 83,431 digits Tuesday night, finishing exactly at 100,000 digits at 1:28 a.m. Wednesday, Fujii said.

In 2002, University of Tokyo mathematicians, aided by a supercomputer, set the world record for figuring out pi to 1.24 trillion decimal places.

World's most expensive marmalade

A jam maker has marked its 125th anniversary by producing the world's most expensive marmalade.

F Duerr & Son's Fine Cut Seville Orange Marmalade with Whisky, Champagne and Gold costs £5,000 a jar.

That means it would cost an estimated £76 to spread on just one slice of toast, reports the Telegraph.

It contains finest Seville fruit with vintage Dalmore 62 whisky from Whyte & Mackay, valued at £32,000 per bottle, Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1996 vintage champagne and flakes of 24-carat gold leaf.

The Manchester-based firm's special marmalade is encased in a custom-made crystal jar valued at £1,100.

Mmanaging director Mark Duerr said: "It's unbelievably good - we tasted it at a board meeting last week for the first time, and were amazed. The whisky comes through immediately. The champagne's more subtle."

The initial plan was to make the exclusive preserve a one-off production, with the one-kilo jar being auctioned on eBay to raise money for the Manchester Kids charity.

However, Duerr's has been so impressed by the taste that it is considering making a more affordable version as a normal product.

Eye-popping record bid

A Brazilian man is hoping for a place in the record books for his ability to pop his eyes out of their sockets.

Claudio Pinto from Brazil is hoping for a place in the record books for his ability to pop his eyes out of their sockets /Resende

Claudio Pinto, 48 is making a living out of shows where he pops his eyes out, Terra Noticias Populares reports. He reckons he can pop both eyes 95% out of their sockets.

Mr Pinto done various tests and doctors say they have never seen or heard of a person who can pop the eyes as much as him.

Mr Pinto said: "It is a pretty easy way to make money. "I can pop my eyes out four centimetres each, it is a gift from God, I feel blessed."

World's First Underwater Post Office

Vanuatu Post has created the world’s only Underwater Post Office. Situated within a marine sanctuary, off Hideaway Island near Port Vila in Vanuatu, the Post Office can receive mail delivered in person if you are a visiting diver or snorkeller or sent via the Main Post Office to ensure all mail items receive the special cancellation from this unique underwater paradise.

Big slice of pi sets new record

A man from Kent has set a new British and European record by reciting the mathematical expression pi to more than 22,000 decimal places.

Daniel Tammet, 25, from Herne Bay, puts his ability to recall such a vast quantity of figures down to epileptic seizures he had during his childhood.

He used his record-breaking feat, which took nearly six hours, to raise money for the National Society for Epilepsy.

He said learning the number was "actually rather easy".
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Suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge - shockingly high

A staggering 1,218+ suicides have been recorded. 833 of the suicides coincide with particular light poles on the bridge.

Nepal Boy Claims to Be Shortest in World

KATMANDU, Nepal, Aug. 30, 2006
Nepal's shortest boy is waiting for word from the Guinness World Records, where he has applied to be named the shortest in the world, his supporters said on Wednesday.

Khagendra Thapa Magar, 14, is only 20 inches tall and weighs 10 pounds.

According to Min Bahadur Thapa, president of the Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation, they are expecting to receive a reply from London-based Guinness World Records in the next few days. The foundation was set up to collect funds for the boy.

There was no listing on the Guinness World Records' web site on a shortest boy category, but Thapa claimed their closest competitor was 25 inches tall.

The boy and family members are currently touring south Nepal, seeking support for the foundation.
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