Etc...

Honey, can we eat it yet?

In the fridge of Colleen and Scott Porter's home in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, at the moment, is a mango. Nothing unusual about that, right? After all, Hawaii is tropical, and mangoes are a tropical fruit. Ah, but there is. This one is about the size of a human head and weighs 5 pounds, 7 ounces - and that's big even for its variety, Keitt, which typically reaches two to three pounds. What's more, it sort of came in answer to prayer. Colleen, who has tended a mango and avocado orchard for years, wasn't sure she wanted to do so any more. So she "looked up to the sky for some kind of answer." That's when she saw it in one of her trees. Because it wasn't yet ripe, she kept a two-month vigil, covering it with a bag to keep birds, insects, and other pests from feasting. Finally, one day last October, she climbed a ladder for a closer look, and it dropped into her hands. Since then, it has been weighed (multiple times), measured, and photographed, and a mold has been made of it - all because the Porters were sure they had a champion. And The Guinness Book of World Records evidently agrees. It sent a certificate to that effect, which they've framed - yes, in mango wood - and has notified them that their specimen is "a strong contender" for inclusion in next year's edition.