And other stories from the stranger side of life
Fragments of Ludwig van Beethoven’s skull have returned to Vienna where the rest of the composer is buried. The fragments were donated to the Medical University of Vienna by US businessman Paul Kaufmann who inherited them from his mother, who in turn, received them from her great-uncle physician and medical historian. Kaufmann said he found the fragments in a small box with “Beethoven” scratched on it in a family safety deposit box in a French bank, noted The Times.
Man breaks Football Manager record
A Polish man broke a Guinness World Record by playing the computer game Football Manager for 453 days and 15 hours – the equivalent of 528 years and 137 days of in-game time. Paweł Siciński started playing the game in 2018 and managed his virtual team through 25,084 matches, with a 73% win rate. The longest tenure was with Iceland team Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar, who he managed from the in-game year 2114 until 2434, leading them to 301 championships and 677 cups, noted UPI.
Huge hailstones hurt Italians
More than 100 people were hurt as tennis ball-sized hail rained down on a region of northern Italy, reported CNN. Stones of up to 10 cm in diameter pounded the streets of Veneto, according to regional president Luca Zaia. “The wave of bad weather, after having impacted our mountain regions, has now also hit the plains, causing injury to some people,” Zaia said, adding that most injuries were caused by broken glass and people slipping on the hailstones.
For more odd news stories, sign up to the weekly Tall Tales newsletter
