Ronaldo NFT expected to fetch $1m
And other stories from the stranger side of life

A one-of-a-kind Cristiano Ronaldo NFT trading card, minted by a digital fantasy football game, is expected to fetch $1m (£727m) in its forthcoming online sale. The NFT depicts the football star in the black and white kit of Juventus, despite his transfer to Manchester United. But it is still valid for use in Sorare, a digital fantasy football game. A spokesperson for auctioneers Bonhams said Sorare said it is a “natural evolution” of the era of trading physical stickers of footballers.
Baked beans fan transforms home into shrine
A baked beans fanatic who legally changed his name to Captain Beany has spent £10,000 turning his South Wales home into a shrine to his favourite snack. The 67-year-old, previously known as Barry Kirk, has painted his walls orange, stuck Heinz Beanz labels onto almost every surface and created a beans-themed Christmas tree. He told the Daily Star that he is “currently single”.
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Pablo Escobar’s hippos are people
A US court has ruled that the offspring of hippos once owned by Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar can be recognised as people or “interested persons” with legal rights. A lawsuit was filed against the Colombian government over whether to kill or sterilise the hippos, whose numbers are growing at a fast pace and pose a threat to biodiversity. However, a legal expert said the ruling would not apply in Colombia where the hippos live.
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