Speed-freak rides a 860m rollercoaster on rollerskates

The twists and turns of being flung around a rollercoaster in the usual way is enough excitement for most of us. But for some people - one specific, crazy person in particular - that thrill's just not enough. 

German speed-demon Dirk Auer decided to take things up a level, by taking on the Mammoth rollercoaster at a Stuttgart theme park on specially designed roller-skates. 

Reaching speeds of up to 90km/h as he sped around the 860 metre track last week, Auer found himself subjected to forces up to 3G as he completed the ride in just over a minute. The stunt was, he said afterwards, 'a lot of fun'. 

The skates used - with wheels to grip either side of each track - were created specifically for the stunt. Each had 16 wheels, weighed 20kg, and took 110 hours to build. 


Stop the ride, I want to get off: if Auer was going to have second thoughts, this picture captures the moment at which it was definitely too late 

If he'd fallen from the wooden rollercoaster, at the Tripsdrill theme park, it's likely that Auer would have ended up rather dead. 

'This was a very dangerous stunt because there were so many factors to consider,' he understated. 

'The roller caster is wooden and so unlike rides made from iron and steel there was always a chance of the odd nail or screw that would not be entirely flat. If the skates were to catch a stray nail then I could have fallen and I would almost certainly have died.' 

Auer admires the scenery as he shoots round the rollercoaster at 90km/h. Nutcase. 

This isn't the first time that Auer's taken on such a crazy stunt - in fact, he's made a career out of it. He holds numerous world records for his in-line skating, including the record for the fastest speed being pulled behind a car - reaching 191mph while being dragged behind a Porsche. 

Zoo hails gay penguin couple as foster parents

Thought this was a cute story and wanted to share...Enjoy!

Two homosexual Humboldt penguins have become happy foster parents at the Bremerhaven Zoo, marking the first time two male penguins have helped hatch a baby bird in the northern German port city.

The proud fathers, known as Z and Vielpunkt, are one of three homosexual penguin pairs at the zoo. They assumed the role of surrogate parents when an egg was cast aside by a heterosexual pair. The zoo has tried to have gay birds incubate an egg before, but this is the only occasion it has worked.

"We are of course, very excited about this," Dr. Joachim Schöne, veterinarian at the zoo, told The Local on Wednesday.

In late April 2009, a female Humboldt penguin laid two eggs. The hetero couple actively nurtured and incubated the first egg, but for unknown reasons, they simply kicked the second egg out of the nest. Zookeepers placed the second-hand egg near the homosexual couple in hopes that both fathers would care for it as their own.

The two penguins, who have been together for more than five years, have proven to be loving parents and evidently happy fathers, said Schöne.

"It's really touching how they both care for the chick," he told news agency DPA.

According to the zoo, such homosexuality is nothing out of the ordinary in the animal kingdom. And since penguins split parenting work evenly, there are no traditional motherly or fatherly roles.

Schöne said the zoo was ecstatic the gay birds decided to take on the trials of fatherhood and they were "absolutely" accepted by the rest of the penguins. 

The zoo has maintained a mix of homosexual and heterosexual Humboldt penguin pairs on its grounds for over three years. Zookeepers had tried to encourage the gay birds to breed with some imported females brought in from Sweden in 2006, but they stayed faithful to their homosexual partners.

With breeding in captivity remaining rare, zoo officials are pleased to have parents of any sexual orientation raising baby birds. Four other eggs are excepted to hatch in early June.