Mad World: Eating for a living

Raina Huang started out as a chef but went on to become a professional eater after a video of her downing a 1.8 kg burrito in just six minutes went viral on social media. Pics/Instagram

A Californian woman who travels the world to compete in food-eating challenges is speaking out about her unusual occupation, which has netted her $30,000 (nearly Rs 25 lakhs) in prize money. Raina Huang, 29, can scarf down 100 plates of sushi in 35 minutes and devour 100 dumplings in just 10 minutes.

The ravenous beauty has become a bona fide star on social media, eating her way up to more than 4.3 million followers on TikTok and YouTube by sharing clips of herself downing delicious foods. "I've just eaten a lot and fast all my life and it's become easy," Huang said. "I think it stems from playing video games - I just wanted to eat fast so I could go back to my game." "It's become my full-time job now, and I'm very grateful to be in this position where restaurants are inviting me to come and try their challenges," the 5-foot-2 social media star proclaimed.

"I tried to be a part of the entertainment industry as I wanted to be an actor or singer but that's very saturated," the Californian cuisine crusher claimed. "But it was whilst I was working as a chef that one day someone told me to do a food challenge, and I was able to eat a 1.8 kg burrito in six minutes. Someone recorded me doing it and the video did so much better than anything I had ever done and I thought ‘Oh my god, people like to watch me eat,'" she added. "After five months of doing YouTube constantly, I took a leap of faith and decided to go for it full-time," she said. "My family was questioning it at first but eventually they were very supportive and now they are so happy. Now I'm making more than what I was a chef, which was $2,000 (R1,66,317) a month at the time."

Rs 25L
Amount Huang won in prize-money

The car that isn't quite a car

Japanese artist creates hyperrealistic styrofoam car from scratch

Toyota recently teamed up with Japanese artist Masumi Yamaguchi to celebrate the return of the iconic Land Cruiser 70 SUV to the market in a unique way. The styrofoam car is a 1:1 model of the legendary Land Cruiser 70, with all the parts sculpted and assembled by Yamaguchi. Everything from the body of the car to the windows and the tires is made out of Styrofoam, and then painted, to create the illusion of a real vehicle. The only things that give it away are the reflectionless windows and the matte paint. Yamaguchi is an accomplished styrofoam sculptor who frequently creates such impressive replicas.

A grain of sushi?

PIC/INSTAGRAM

Tokyo restaurant Sushiya no Nohachi reportedly serves great sushi, but it is most famous for its gimmick - making the world's smallest sushi with a single grain of rice. Each piece is made with only a grain of rice and a tiny slice of topping wrapped in the thinnest piece of nori. They are the work of chef Hironori Ikeno, who came up with the idea in 2002 when a client asked him how small he could make his sushi.

Brush master

PIC/INSTAGRAM

Serge Feeleenger is a self-taught Belarussian artist who gained notoriety in the art world for allegedly inventing the ‘ten brushes' painting technique, where he attaches a brush to each of his fingers and uses them to paint simultaneously. Feeleenger claims that his painting technique challenges his brain to work differently, building new neural connections and activating right-brain thinking.

Who let the geese out?

A prison in the Brazilian state of Santa Cantarina recently replaced its guard dogs with a flock of geese that supposedly make loud noises when they detect strange noises, like someone escaping. The "geese guards" patrols a space between the inner fence and outer wall.

Fishy friend from the ocean depths

A Florida scuba diver claims he has been best friends with a 15-foot-shark named Emma for almost 23 years now. Jim Abernethy and Emma first met in 2001 when he removed a fishing hook from her mouth, and they've been inseparable ever since.

Friends who become family

A South Korean woman has legally adopting her adult best friend after a medical emergency made her realize that they needed a stronger connection to take care of each other. Eun Seo-ran met 38-year-old Lee Eo-rie in 2016 after moving to rural Jeolla.