#OddlyEnough 17: Smallest Greeting Card, Christmas Food and More!

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Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas!

This week, we bring you Christmas special stories from around the world. Read up on the smallest greeting card created by British scientists, how residents of a small town became land owners in Scotland, Trump’s new robot at Disney World, Orlando, Christmas and Islam and how this season is celebrated in India.

Micro Christmas! – Scientists Create ‘Smallest’ Greetings Card

British scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have created a card so small that it’ll take 200 million of them to fit into a standard postage ramp. The card measures 15 X 20 micrometres. It was illustrated using an ion beam. The card’s cover features a drawing of a snowman with a ‘season’s greetings’ above that along with a greeting message inside the card. The previous smallest card made by the NPL measured 200 X 209 micrometres.

Read the story here.

Lord and Lady – All Residents of Scotland, US, Become Scottish Owners

All 1,694 residents of Scotland, a town in Connecticut, are all set to become land owners in Scotland, the country. The Scottish land preservation company, Highland Titles, said that it was gifting one square foot of land of its natural reserve in Glencoe Wood, Scotland. This is generally done so that the land cannot be developed. In addition to this, all the residents will get the title of Lord and Lady Glencoe.

Read this story here.

Robot Trump – Disney Unveils New President at Florida Park

At Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida, Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents is one of the biggest tourist attractions. This hall was shut for nearly a year, preparing to include Donald Trump. Trump’s robot gives a speech along with 44 other Presidents of America. His speech is devoid of any jibes toward Hillary Clinton, North Korea or even fake news. There was earlier a petition signed by 15,000 people to exclude Trump’s speech from this family attraction.

Read this story here.

Christmas and Islam – How the Festival Was Celebrated by Victorian Muslims

In 1887, Imam William Henry ‘Abdullah’ Quilliam founded Britain’s first mosque in Liverpool. Known to locals as the ‘Islam Church’ the mosque opened its doors to the poor on Christmas. It prepared a lavish feast of bread, meatloaf, tea and coffee. The day continued with a musical concert drawing many number of people in. Britain’s first Muslims were mostly English converts who looked for commonalities to reach out to the community.

Read this story here.

X’mas, Food and India – The Country Celebrates with Delectable Delights

Indian Catholic communities borrowed heavily from the Portuguese when it came to cook for Christmas. The most popular sweets are made of palm jaggery, gram flour, coconut, rice flour and semolina. The fruit cake is also a regular during this season. It contains crystallised candied fruit, nuts and wine. In fact, most of the Christmas special sweets prepared in India are quite similar to the ones prepared for Hindu festivals.

Read this story here.

Vijayta Lalwani