A list of curious facts
One: Did you know that each year Sydney stages a feathered fashion show? As part of the annual Royal Easter Show, ducks are dressed up at their finest—and waddle down the catwalk at the Pied Piper Duck Show. Except…. None of this is true—although the story and the photos make the rounds on social media every year.
The real story is less glitzy but far, far sweeter. The ‘duck show’ was the brainchild of an Australian farmer Brian Harrington—who took great pains to dress up his ducks and took them to schools and nursing homes to cheer everyone up. He soon started travelling across the country and was featured in TV shows around the world—who referred to him as the Duck Man. He died in 2015 of an aggressive form of cancer—but his ducks are now immortal on the internet (albeit as fashion models rather than awesome therapy fowl). You can read the tribute to Harrington in his local newspaper here—or check out this Twitter thread that sets the record straight.
As for the ducks, they look like they’ve stepped out of a Jane Austen version of Alice in Wonderland. Get a load of the awesome Pink Ladies above lol! MyModernMet has loads more photos—minus any of the real facts:)
Two: Founded in 1975, the Ouagadougou Golf Club in Burkina Faso boasts an 18-hole and two nine-hole courses—all certified by the French golf federation. But there are no lush green expanses here. It is likely the world’s most eco-friendly golf course—making a virtue out of the great scarcity of water in the country:
Here, there are no greens but "browns" and the fairways comprise earth, stones and sinewy shrubs rather than manicured lawns. Players may well have to contend with a passing herd of goats, which can find themselves vulnerable if a wayward golfer hooks or slices a shot.
Ouagadougou's ‘browns’—as opposed to ‘greens’—are made up of sand bonded with old motor oil to create a level but crumbly surface—making it both challenging and fun. FYI: watering a top-class 18-hole course requires an average of 5,000 cubic metres of water per day—what would be consumed daily by a town of 12,000 people. (France24)
Three: Starbucks coffees just got a whole lot oilier—at least in Italy and soon enough, California. The chain is rolling out a new line of beverages called Oleato. These cuppas are made with extra virgin olive oil—a whole spoonful, in fact. You can choose from: “an Oleato latte with oat milk and olive oil, an Oleato ice shaken espresso with oat milk, hazelnut flavor and olive oil, and the Oleato golden foam cold brew, made with a version of Starbucks' sweet milk foam infused with two olive oil servings.”
Umm, that’s a hard pass for us! Btw, this is outgoing CEO Howard Schultz’s baby—and soon to be his replacement Laxman Narsimhan’s headache. The video report below gives you a sense of how it's prepared. (CNN)
