The world's youngest grandmother, and more

last updated 8 January 2015

The world's youngest grandmother

A 23-year-old Romanian woman has become the world’s youngest grandmother. Rifca Stanescu eloped at age 11 and gave birth to a daughter, Maria, when she was only 12. She urged Maria to stay in school and not follow in her footsteps, but Maria married when she was 10, and had a baby six months later. “I am happy to be a grandmother,” says Rifca, “but wished more for Maria.” Rifca’s mother, who is now a great-grandmother, is 40.

The truth behind Bambi’s plaintive cries

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The child actor who provided the voice of Bambi in the animated Disney classic says he was tricked into thinking his real mother was in danger when he recorded the film’s heartbreaking central scene. Donnie Dunagan, now 76, was 6 years old when a Disney executive told him as he sat in front of a microphone: “Your mother is in trouble; we’re going to put you on the speaker, call for your mother.” Bambi’s plaintive cries as he searches for his dead mother have since haunted generations of filmgoers. Dunagan says he has forgiven the unnamed Disney executive, although “he probably shouldn’t have done that.”

Nostalgia for the scent of a cow

A German firm says it’s doing brisk business selling the odor of cow flatulence sealed in a can. Designer Daniela Dorrer says the product, which retails for $8, is aimed mainly at city dwellers who now pine for the aromas of their childhood. “We are planning other smells such as horse, straw, pigs, and manure,” said Dorrer. “But most people miss the smell of cows in the country—not really surprising as much of the smell is from cows.”