Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe French cookbook weighs 14 pounds LONDON, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- France's 1,080-page "Grand Livre of Cuisine: Alain Ducasse's Culinary Encyclopedia," at just under 14 pounds is believed to be the world's heaviest book. Advertisement The cookbook, by French chef Alain Ducasse, contains 700 recipes and some 10,000 photographs and will cost more than $245 when it goes on sale in British bookstores in April, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Ducasse, one of France's best-known and most respected chefs who has collected 9 Michelin stars, said the cookbook is the culmination of his 25 years of experience of haute cuisine. Despite its heft and recipes -such as wild brill on the spit with ramps, littleneck clams and new potatoes; duck foie gras papillottes with lady apples; and potted rabbit forequarters spread on toasted country bread with red-clawed crayfish -- it one of France's most successful cookbooks, selling more than 35,000 copies. 'American Idol' Barbie sings LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Barbie is partnering with the U.S. hit TV show "American Idol" on Fox for a new "American Idol" Barbie. Not content with simply running for president as she did last year, Barbie has decided to go for a more hotly contested election -- the title of "American Idol," MTV.com reported. Advertisement Barbie is competing against her very best pals Simone and Tori for the doll version of "American Idol." Barbie -- who doesn't need "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell to tell her being a pop star is all about image and clothes -- is outfitted in a denim micro-miniskirt, leg warmers and a hot pink tie-dye top. She has chosen Britney Spears' "Oops! ... I Did It Again" as her song. Barbie's friend Simone, wearing a fringed skirt, feather boa and her "lucky wrist cuff," chose "Ladies Night" as her song, while Tori, wears pinstriped pants and patchwork blue top and belts out "What I Like About You." Barbie and her friends will get their own "American Idol" show stage this spring, complete with a dressing room. China competes for world records BEIJING, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The pursuit of world records -- via the Guinness World Records -- has become the hot thing to do in China. The appointment of the first Guinness World Records liaison officer in China, former university lecturer Wu Xiaohong, has made it a bit easier to confirm titles such as the world's oldest opera singer, age 93 -- the longest karaoke session, 100 hours -- and the largest bean curd, 6,864 pounds, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Advertisement "People phone us from all over China. Everyone wants to be the best. They sense that the book of records has given them a channel," said Wu. "They have found a stage they can show themselves on. Society in China is changing. China is opening up to the world and it wants to catch up with the developed countries." The United States and Britain have dominated the Guinness Book of World Records since it was first published in 1955.
