Six things to amuse you today that have nothing to do with the US election

Weird news
It’s been an entertaining few days (Picture: PA/NORTH NEWS/BNPS)

Now let’s be honest, we all know that Donald Trumpwinning the 2024 election and becoming the 47th president of the United States was always going to be the biggest story of the day.

But we also know that not everybody will want to read about every last detail.

Whether it’s election fatigue after long months of campaigning, or simply a lack of interest in US politics, there are plenty of reasons you might want a break from Trump’s orange-hued face.

If that’s you, has rounded up some of the weirdest and funniest news stories we’ve covered in the last few days to help take your mind off things.

Moo Deng has a new rival

A pygmy hippo called Haggis born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo. An endangered pygmy hippo has been born at zoo in Scotland - and called Haggis. The 'incredibly rare' animal was born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo on Wednesday October 30. The female calf, who has been named Haggis by the wildlife conservation charity, was brought into the world by her parents Otto and Gloria. Jonny Appleyard, hoofstock team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said, ?Haggis is doing really well so far and it is amazing to see her personality beginning to shine already.
A pygmy hippo called Haggis has just been born (Picture: RZSS/SWNS)

Move over Moo Deng, there’s a new pygmy hippo in town.

Only weeks after the Thai internet sensation went viral for her adorable antics, a new baby pygmy hippo was born, this time at Edinburgh Zoo.

And to reflect her place of birth, this little one has been named Haggis.

See more pictures of the little cutie here.

The radioactive island with mutant sharks

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Island - File photo taken in August 2011 shows the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The dark-colored bay-like area (center, upper) is a crater created by a 1954 U.S. hydrogen bomb test. (Photo by Kyodo News Stills via Getty Images)
Bikini Atoll is home to some unusual wildlife (Picture: Kyodo News Stills via Getty Images)

That’s certainly not a sentence I expected to write today.

The Marshall Islands, a ring of coral reefs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, looks like the perfect place to throw on a floppy sun hat and read a book below swaying palm trees.

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But in the 1940s and ’50s, the US used two of the far-flung atolls, Bikini and Enewetak, to test out 67 nuclear bombs – one of which was 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

Bikini Atoll now has such a reputation for groovy wildlife it inspired the setting of Spongebob Squarepants.

But while visitors are unlikely to find any talking sponges, the radiation lingering in the water is having a big impact on the wildlife.

Find out more here.

Italian beauty spot selling cans of air

Three cans of air from Lake Como
What a bargain (Picture: lakecomoair.it)

If you’re looking for an item to represent your holiday which doesn’t fall into the standard fridge magnet or t-shirt category, this could be the one.

Empty cans containing air from Lake Como are being flogged to gullible tourists for £8.40 (€10) a pop.

The sealed 400ml containers are being sold at a bookshop and a restaurant on the lake, as well as in Menaggio and Lenno, two other popular destinations at the holiday hotspot.

You can hear more from the marketing company who came up with the idea here.

Marathon runner stops for 36 pastries en route

Dated: 30/10/2024 Greggs loving runner Bradley Whalen-Griffiths, 29, from South Shields, South Tyneside, who ate a sausage roll at every branch of the bakery in Newcastle while completing a marathon, polishing off 29 savoury snacks during his 26 mile five and a half hour challenge. See story North News
Bradley loves a sausage roll (Picture: North News)

This is the sort of motivation that could get anyone to consider running a marathon.

Bradley Whalen-Griffiths loves Greggs so much that he built it into a 26-mile training routine.

Over the course of five-and-a-half hours he ran a marathon around Newcastle with stops at all 29 of the city’s bakery branches, spending £36.80 on a sausage roll at each one.

Find out what inspired him to take on the pastry-fuelled challenge here.

Hundreds turned up for fake Halloween parade

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout photo issued by Artur Martins of people waiting in Dublin for a non-existent Halloween parade. Groups congregated on O'Connell Street on Halloween night after posts online suggested there would be a spectacle there from 7pm. Just before 8pm, Gardai posted on social media site X to appeal to people to leave. Picture date: Thursday October 31, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story IRISH Halloween. Photo credit should read: Artur Martins/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Bad news for families hoping for a fun Halloween night (Picture: Artur Martins/PA Wire)

AI has claimed yet more victims.

Large crowds gathered in the centre of Dublin after a fake website promoted an event on O’Connell Street to mark October 31.

The penny only appeared to drop when they encountered furious bus and tram drivers who were unable to get through the hundreds of locals looking for a creepy night out.

The confusion appears to have originated from a website called My Spirit Halloween, which features an apparently AI-generated list of events in the Dublin area.

Find out more here.

‘Prisoners’ on the run from jail

BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833) Pic: MaxWillcock/BNPS Running with conviction... These runners escaped to victory as they completed 26.2 miles in the UK's only marathon inside a prison. There were 135 die hard marathon fans taking on the gruelling challenge - completing 55 laps around the corridors, gangways and prison yard at the Victorian former jail in Dorchester, Dorset. Some got into the spirit by dressing as inmates or police officers.
Not something you see every day (Picture: MaxWillcock/BNPS)

A load of prisoners went on the run in the first marathon of its kind.

Originally built in the 1800s, Dorset’s Dorchester Prison has been closed since 2014.

But the corridors were teeming once again when 135 runners completed 55 laps, totalling 26.2 miles, around the prison complex in the first marathon held inside a prison in the UK.

Some embraced the venue’s theme by donning black and white stripy prison uniforms, while others dressed up as police.

Check out the brilliant pictures here.

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