Man breaks speed-drinking record
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A man in New York won a Guinness World Record when he drank a two-litre bottle of fizzy drink in 18.45 seconds. Eric ‘Badlands’ Booker, a competitive eater who shares his speed-drinking videos on YouTube, chose bottle of sugar-free cola for his bid, pouring the bottle into a measuring cup first. He celebrated his achievement with an immense burp and added: “Yes! That's what I'm talking about!”
Michael Jackson’s ghost lives in Marilyn Monroe reincarnation
A medium claims she is married to the ghost of Michael Jackson. Kathleen Roberts says: “Michael stays in me all the time so he comes to the restroom with me and calls these special bonding moments ‘toiletries’.” Kathleen, who insists she is a reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe, says Jacko’s spirit isn’t interested in a sexual relationship and “scares me with spider visions and dead corpse visions if I kiss him or try to initiate romance physically”. However, she adds, he “loves” eating cookies.
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Suspect flees cops on police ATV
A man being arrested in Oklahoma managed to escape and steal a police all-terrain vehicle (ATV) before leading officers on a high-speed chase through multiple counties while still handcuffed. The chase continued for some time, with the ATV reaching speeds of up to 70 mph and a police helicopter joining the pursuit. It ended when police forced the suspect to ditch in a pool of muddy water along a dirt road. He surrendered to officers without further incident.
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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
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