About 260 riders from 22 countries showed up at the 11th annual Finnish Hobby Horse Championships in Seinajoki, Finland, on June 15, AFP reported. We could stop right there, but why would we? Hobby horsing involves people riding stick horses through a series of jumps, intricate dressage moves and Western riding events. While hobby horsing is not recognized as an official sport in Finland, participants take it seriously. "We have faced so much bullying and judgment," rider Nara Arlin, 24, said. Even so, the sport "is growing every year," said Julia Mikkonen, chair of the Finnish hobby horse association. She notes the athleticism involved in some of the events: "If you jump over obstacles, your hip mobility has to be absolutely insane," she said. She estimates there are about 10,000 hobby horsers worldwide.
Robin to the rescue
Fans of the kitschy 1960s TV show "Batman" will not be surprised to learn that trusty sidekick Robin (also known as actor Burt Ward) has received the President's Lifetime Achievement Award for rescuing more than 15,000 pets. WTOP-TV reported on June 26 that at the same ceremony, Ward and his wife received the United Nations Association of the United States of America Humanitarian Award for their work saving 45 different breeds of dogs. The former Boy Wonder said he and his wife "want to leave this planet better off than when we found it."
The tech revolution
At Crescent Regional Hospital near Dallas, for the first time in the United States patients are consulting with doctors via hologram, ABC News reported on June 26. The technology, designed by Dutch company Holoconnects, features a life-sized 3-D image of the doctor in real time. Raji Kumar, the hospital's CEO, said the technology will reduce doctors' travel time between hospitals and clinics. "They can just hop into the studio to have the consult," she said. She hopes to expand the program to rural hospitals.
Hot enough for you?
It's so hot in Washington, D.C., that Abe Lincoln's legs are falling off. A 6-foot-tall wax sculpture of the 16th president is succumbing to the extreme temperatures, the Washington Post reported on June 24. The statue was placed on the campus of Garrison Elementary School in February, but as the heat dome settled over the capital, he started melting. "His poor legs are starting to come unglued," said Melissa Krull, 41, who lives nearby. Lincoln's head lolled so far backward that the nonprofit that commissioned the work removed it, with plans to restore it to its perch when temperatures moderate.
Fight of the week
At the Walmart in Eunice, La., police were called around 3:30 p.m. on June 22 about a group of women who were fighting, KADN-TV reported. They arrested Brionka Benjamin, 38, and her niece, Makatelynn Benjamin, 20, for simple battery, but Brionka got an additional charge: When the fight began, police discovered on surveillance video, she allegedly tossed her baby into a trash can near the entrance to the store so her hands would be free for punching. She was charged with cruelty to juveniles; the baby was unharmed and released to relatives.
Send your weird news items with subject line Weird News to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
