A list of curious facts
One: One of Germany’s tallest buildings is 807 feet tall and called Testturm. Located outside the picturesque town of Rottweil, it is truly unique for one reason: It has no flats or offices or even windows—only 12 shafts designed to test elevators made by TK Elevator. The tallest such ‘test’ building is the H1 Tower, built by Hitachi in Guangzhou, China—which is a soaring 948 feet. But the German one is definitely the coolest. See lead image—and the PR vid below. (CNN)
Bonus fact: Speaking of very large things, did you know the largest eagle is
the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)—with talons as large as a bear’s claw and a wingspan of 6.5 feet. Yes, it’s named after the Greek Harpies—which seems entirely appropriate given that it looks like a Halloween costume. C’mon that does not look real! (Audubon)
Two: Sticking with animals, did you know there are herds of Patagonian mara—living wild on the outskirts of Dubai? Around 200 of these South American rodents—which look a bit rabbit-meets-kangaroo—are thriving warrens near the oasis of Al Qudra. They were likely brought into the country as a vanity purchase—and somehow escaped. You can see them frolicking below. (The Independent)
Three: Move over oat, soy and almond milks. Indonesians have discovered the virtues of fish milk—which may be the perfect solution for an island short on cows. Now, the process of ‘milking’ the fish doesn’t sound too appetising:
The process begins in the coastal town of Indramayu where twice a day fishermen deliver their catch of ponyfish and other coastal fish to a factory. There, the creatures are deboned, broken down using a chemical process called hydrolysis, dried and reduced to a white protein-rich powder.
The powder is then trucked to a separate facility where it is mixed with strawberry or chocolate flavoring, and sugar, and boxed for distribution. Mix the concoction with water and ta-da: fish milk.
Sadly, fish milk is not yet a hot TikTok trend—even the Health Minister is a little icked out. Maybe because it smells kinda… fishy. (Wall Street Journal, paywall, New Zealand Herald)
