Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Man spends decades on 'Bathtub' plane RENTON, Wash., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- An 84-year-old Washington state man said he has spent nearly six decades creating a replica of a 1924 "Dormay Bathtub" plane and he hopes to fly it this year. Advertisement Ed Kusmirek of Renton said he bought an authentic engine for the plane for $40 in the 1950s and he has since restored the engine and during the past seven years built a replica of the airframe from re-purposed parts including pot lids, dirt bike wheels and a spring from an old recliner, The Seattle Times reported Monday. Kusmirek, who worked for 39 years as a researcher at Boeing, said he needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and a refresher of his flying skills before taking the plane into the air. The pilot conceded the Dormay Bathtub is "very pilot unfriendly," and replicas of the plane were involved in fatal crashes in 2008 and 1994. However, Kusmirek said he loves the design of the aircraft. Advertisement "It looked so rudimentary, so birdlike. That's what started it all," he said. He said he hopes to take the plane for one flight before donating it to a museum. S.D. marathoner only ran half the race SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Organizers of the Sioux Falls Marathon in South Dakota said they disqualified a runner as the winner after realizing he only ran half the race. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported that while Olok Nykew, 37, a St. Paul, Minn., resident who is originally from Sudan, crossed the finish line first Sunday morning, officials determined he had run the half-marathon course, not the full 26.2-mile marathon course. The companion events followed separate, but sometimes overlapping, routes through the city before ending at the same spot. The marathoners wore black numbers and the half-marathoners wore red. Nykew who came in 25 minutes faster than the event's record, was wearing a black number but finished among runners wearing red ones. "He registered for the marathon and ended up running the half and came in 25 minutes before the record," assistant race director Jason Richards told the newspaper. "They figured it out and disqualified him." Advertisement Nykew expressed confusion and said he realized when he reached the finish line so quickly something must have gone wrong. "I thought, what is this? When I got there, I thought it was not long enough. I'm thinking I'm not cheating. I was just confused. It was an honest mistake," he said. The real winner was Justin Gillette, 29, of Goshen, Ind., who broke the event record he set last year with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 10 seconds. Dropped ring vanishes during wedding REDHILL, England, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A ring dropped by the best man at a British wedding was found by the vicar hours after the end of the ceremony. Elizabeth Gray and Lewis Aubrey said they were in the middle of their vows at St. John's Church in Redhill, England, during the weekend when Aubrey's brother, Matt, dropped the ring, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday. The wedding party and guests spent 10 minutes searching for the ring before deciding to complete the ceremony using the bride's mother's ring as a substitute. Guests searched the church while the couple posed for photographs outside the church, but they were unsuccessful. However, the Rev. Nicholas Calver said he was not ready to give up. Advertisement "I was determined to find it and went back to the church in the evening. In the end, there was a crack between the step and the raised dais," Calver said. He said it took him about two hours to find the ring and he rushed to the reception where he performed the "take this ring" portion of the ceremony for a second time as the groom placed the token on his wife's finger. Cactus falls on Arizona home MESA, Ariz., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- An Arizona couple said their house was damaged when a 30-foot-tall cactus on their property broke apart and pieces struck their home. The Lindstroms of Mesa said the saguaro cactus broke apart Saturday morning and cost $3,000 to remove, KSAZ-TV, Phoenix, reported. The couple said two arms of the cactus hit the shed outside of their home before hitting the house itself. They said the damage includes a smashed computer and ripped-out wiring for their telephone and cable. They said the body of the cactus stayed upright by leaning against a telephone pole. The Lindstroms said Friday's monsoon may have contributed to the cactus breaking apart.
