The race is called "Ironman" for a reason. It's brutal. Competitors must run a full marathon, bike 112 miles, and swim 2.4 miles. Chris Nikic, pictured above, is an ironman because he completed one on Sunday. This 21-year old man from Maitland, Florida is the first person with Down Syndrome to finish an Ironman. The Orlando Sentinel describes the obstacles he had to overcome to accomplish this ultimate athletic challenge:

Chris Nikic had his first surgery, to repair two holes in his heart, at 5 months old. He still needed a walker at 3. [...]

He began swimming as a kid in his parents’ back-yard pool and at 16 tried his first “sprint” triathlon — a dramatically shorter version of the Ironman. But he lost two years of training because of repeated surgeries to reconstruct his ear canals, which, in people with Down syndrome, are prone to chronic infections.

When he restarted, he could barely swim a single lap or run 100 yards without stopping.

But Nikic persisted and, as a result, inspired everyone involved in helping him achieve his goal:

“Because this is a first for us, we had to work out some logistics,” said Beth Atnip, Ironman’s vice president of global operations. “But I’ve met Chris, and he is so impressive. His heart is so big. And I think this will open doors for a lot of other folks who maybe just thought it was impossible.”

-via Super Punch | Photo: Chris Nikic

For Remington Robinson, an artist in Boulder, Colorado, the palette is part of the work, so he leaves it in place as part of each finished painting. The final work is a beautiful landscape painted inside an Altoid mints tin.The image rests on a wood panel that he has attached to the lid with velcro. You can see more of Robinson's works on his Instagram page.

Every pie from Liz Joy's kitchen tells a story. She's an award winning dessert designer (a profession that I had never heard of before but can instantly admire) who markets herself as an artist who can bring unique sugary flavors to particular events and brands. You can see more of Joy work on Instagram or watch an interview about her work here.

Tadas Maksimovas, an artist and art director, used 10 years of his own hair growth to string a violin while the hair was still on his head. Then Eimantas Belickas, a violinist, performed on this somewhat cumbersome but creatively designed violin. At the end, rather than unstring the violin, Maksimovas sacrificed his locks for the good of the art and music worlds.

The 1985 Mississippi public television production Tomes & Talismans is a wonder to watch.

As a librarian, I can really appreciate it. One of my principles of collection development is that it should be possible to rebuild human civilization up to the level of 19th Century America from the information contained in the print collection of any mid-sized library. I have used this principle to argue for retaining old, uncirculated books, such as general encyclopedias of science and engineering, which would be essential for the reconstruction of a destroyed human society.

Thus Tomes & Talismans strikes a chord with me. The 13-episode series, which you can watch for free here, depicts an Earth conquered by alien colonizers called the Whipers. Humanity has chosen to evacuate to another star system. One librarian has remained behind in order to ensure that her library's collection has been preserved and its organization scheme made comprehensible to future generations.

I have watched only the first episode, but it appears that the show tells a dystopian science fiction story while teaching viewers how to make find available information in typical public libraries.

-via reddit

In this low-resolution remake of Pinocchio, a pair of kayakers off Avila Beach, California were almost swallowed by a humpback whale. The whale was feeding on fish and krill when it breached the surface of the water, taking two women, Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel, with it. KSBY News reports that they were underwater for a few seconds before their kayak righted itself and the whale moved on.

Content warning: NSFW language.

-via Dave Barry

For years, entrepreneur Terence Jackson, Jr. of Southfield, Michigan pursued his dream: to build a mobile bowling alley to entertain people at parties and corporate events. Despite the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, he was able to launch his project this summer. He says that Luxury Strike Bowling is the only trailer of its kind in the world: a completely mobile 2-lane bowling alley.

The body of a dragonfly is shaped something like a helicopter. And it does hover in midair. So, yes: dragonflies grow into full-size helicopters. It makes perfect sense. The largest helicopters grow into Mi-26 heavy lift choppers.

-via Born in Space

This past June, Mie University in central Japan graduated its first ninja. That's right, Genichi Mitsuhashi, who is pictured above, holds a master's degree in that field. He's chopping wood because farm work was part of a ninja's lifestyle. The Japan Times quotes him:

“I read that ninjas worked as farmers in the morning and trained in martial arts in the afternoon,” he said.

So Mitsuhashi grew vegetables and worked on his martial arts techniques, in addition to copious ninja study in the classroom.

About three students per year enroll in this program, which was created in 2017. It is focused on the history of ninjas, not the practical skills of ninjas. That didn't stop Mitsuhashi from studying on his own, though.

-via My Modern Met | Photo: AFP/JIJI

Tony DeMatteo of Churchville, New York loves Halloween. Every year, his Halloween celebrations get bigger and better. He's been on a pirate theme since, three years ago, his daughter asked for a Pirates of the Caribbean-style Halloween. This year, he went all-out with a mock ship that is 50 feet long and 20 feet tall. It took him only a week and $3,000 in materials to build. CNN describes his amazing project:

"I have no background in this, I just do it for fun for my kids, and that's what makes it so great," Tony DeMatteo told CNN. "It's also been a rough year for a lot of people so we decided this would be a perfect opportunity to put a smile on people's face and just give them a sense of normalcy."

The father of three said he was motivated to build the pirate ship by his children, whose faces "light up with excitement" whenever they see Halloween decorations.

-via Dave Barry

Pictured above is a Native Alaskan participating in a high kicking contest from 1950. The object is to kick a leather ball hanging from several feet off the air. The ball is gradually raised until only the winner is able to reach it. The Smithsonian Institution describes the legend that led to this sport:

High-kick competitions were once part of Kivgiq, the Messenger Feast. As each man entered the qargi he tried to kick an inflated animal bladder or ball suspended from the ceiling. An Iñupiaq story tells of a young woman who owned two balls; the larger was the sun, and the smaller the moon. The sun ball fell (or in one version was dropped by Raven) and burst open, bringing light to the world. The circular designs seen on this ball represent the sun and commemorate this ancient story.

-via Weird Universe | Photo: University of Alaska at Fairbanks Archives

There are too many practical people on the internet today. This bed frame of a provenance unknown to me appears to allow cats to wander in and out at will.

But how will you detect the cat vomit before it sets deeply into the carpet? And if you simply can't locate your cat and begin a panic attack (I have owned a cat for only one year but can attest that this phenomenon is real), your search must include moving your mattress completely off its frame. Thus many internet denizens reject this design as impractical.

Is the cuteness factor really worth the stress?

-via Messy Nessy Chic

Update: Metro bungelt op 8 meter hoogte na ongeval Spijkenisse (video)

Het artikel staat online:→ https://t.co/kW5ZiiEEy1 pic.twitter.com/WcgJsndpsq

— Joey Bremer (@010fotograaf) November 2, 2020

A light train in Spijkenisse, the Netherlands derailed on Sunday. Fortunately, it didn't plunge down into water 30 feet below. Instead, the rear-most car got stuck on a sculpture shaped like a whale's tail. BBC News reports:

"We are trying to decide how we can bring the train down in a careful and controlled manner," one official told the Dutch national broadcaster NOS on Monday. [...]

The sculpture, titled Whale Tails, is the work of the architect and artist Maarten Struijs, and was erected in the water at the end of the tracks in 2002.

Mr Struijs told NOS that he was surprised the structure did not break.

At the time of the crash, the train was empty of passengers and the driver was uninjured.

-via Design You Trust

A month ago, YouTube member TrainDozer edited an introduction for an imaginary 90s-era sitcom using footage from Star Trek: The Next Generation. This hugely popular video inspired TrainDozer to create a 12-minute episode using selected scenes from the episode "The Naked Now" and a laugh track. It ends perfectly.

-via Geek Tyrant

Trying to imagine the online form that lets students choose how they'd like to get updates on food deliveries pic.twitter.com/spOl3HWKlC

— Nich🎃las Guyatt (@NicholasGuyatt) October 30, 2020

The University of Cambridge dates back to 1209 and has thus experienced the travails of pandemics of the past 800 years, including the Black Death. One of the hygienic practices dating back to that time includes ringing a bell to clear space between the infected and the uninfected. This type of hand bell is called a plague bell.

Cambridge students who are self-isolating can select to have their food deliveries announced by plague bell. One difference between now and centuries ago: they make this selection by filling out an online form.

-via Marginal Revolution