With screams and giggles, Minnesota fairgoers are taking delight in the magic of the Tilt-A-Whirl ride as it turns 100 years old. The iconic ride and its brightly colored cars debuted at the Minnesota State Fair in 1926, and it has been bringing joy to fairgoers across the country ever since. It was invented by Herbert Sellner, in Faribault, Minnesota — after he attempted to make a water ride that failed. In Minnesota, many fairgoers say the ride is a family tradition.
The only person to break the sound barrier in a car has earned another world record, this time in a show of force for hydrogen power. British driver Andy Green reached 406.320 mph in a car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines, setting the record for that vehicle category, according to the international governing body of motor sports. The 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot rocketed across the crystalline crust at Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats in a car engineered by British construction equipment manufacturer JCB. Tuesday’s feat didn’t come close to approaching his overall land-speed record of 763 mph, which he set in 1997 in a car powered by jet engines and which caused sonic booms.
The first and only person to break the sound barrier in a car has his eye on another speed record. British driver Andy Green set the land speed record for a diesel-powered car 20 years ago at Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats. Green returns to the lunarlike landscape Tuesday to try to beat that 350.092 mph mark, this time with a hydrogen-powered car. The retired Royal Air Force fighter pilot aims to showcase the power of hydrogen as a clean-energy alternative. But hydrogen power is only as clean as its source, and the vast majority is currently produced from fossil fuels.
More than 90,000 rubber ducks splashed into the Chicago River for the Chicago Ducky Derby. The annual race held Thursday raised funds for Special Olympics Illinois, which trains and organizes competitions for athletes with special needs. Derby attendees celebrated at an area next to the river race course downtown. The winning duck was picked by Becky Cavanagh, the Ducky Derby ambassador and a 13-year Special Olympics athlete.
A small organ in eastern Germany is the headliner of the world’s slowest concert. It has been playing the same piece of music by composer John Cage at a glacial pace for nearly 25 years. A rare chord change on Wednesday represented the completion of nearly 4% of the 639-year endeavor of the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt. The composition is scheduled to finish in 2640. Wednesday’s event marked the piece’s 17th chord change. The next one happens next year, when the overall sound will be reduced by the E4 pipe.
Suze Lopez holds her baby boy on her lap and marvels at the remarkable way he came into the world.
Sheriff’s deputies in Washington’s Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals — loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they rec…
NORTH BEND — It was an unusual wildlife sighting Sunday when four zebras escaped from their trailer and galloped into a Washington neighborhood.
FRANKLINVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Firefighters in southern New Jersey came to the rescue of a dog who got stuck in a spare tire.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — For better or for worse, a wave of couples saying “I do” in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve could set a record for the city's bus…
