Shortest Domestic Scheduled Flight - Lasts Just 53 seconds!

 

Credit: Mark Longair (www.flickr.com)

The Orkney islands of Westray and Papa Westray are linked by the world’s shortest scheduled passenger flight, a hop so brief it can be over in less than a minute. Operated by Loganair since 1967, the Britten‑Norman Islander aircraft covers just 2.74 km, with the journey often lasting around two minutes including taxiing. This tiny route has become a symbol of aviation adapting to geography, serving islanders with remarkable efficiency. Pilot Stuart Linklater embodied its endurance, flying the trip over 12,000 times in his career and once completing it in a record 53 seconds.

Read more: Shortest domestic scheduled flight | Guinness World Records

Flight passengers reveal jaw-dropping behavior in ‘weirdest things’ they have seen

Credit: ThamKC (stock.adobe.com)

Passengers on Reddit’s r/delta forum shared the strangest in‑flight behaviors they’ve ever witnessed, sparking thousands of reactions. The thread highlighted how cramped cabins and diverse customs often lead to bizarre encounters, with experts noting that stress and limited personal space amplify unusual conduct.

Quirky highlights included:

• A man playing Amazing Grace on a wooden recorder during landing.

• A woman carrying a life‑sized doll head as her seatmate.

• Passengers clipping toenails mid‑flight and flossing aggressively at their seats.

• A baby’s diaper changed directly on a tray table.

• A traveler eating spaghetti from a plastic bag.

• A rooster escaping from an overhead bin.

• Chatty seatmates ignoring headphones, plus Donald & Melania Trump impersonators spotted in the first row.

Etiquette experts urged passengers to respect personal space, wear socks if removing shoes, and avoid unhygienic grooming.

Read more: Flight passengers reveal jaw-dropping behavior in 'weirdest things' they have seen | New York Post

Mysterious Manhattan-sized interstellar comet spotted blasting through solar system: NASA

 

Credit: Aritist's concept of interstellar object 3I/Atlas NASA/SWNS

NASA has discovered a massive interstellar comet named 3I/ATLAS blazing through our solar system, marking only the third known object from beyond our cosmic neighborhood. Detected by the ATLAS telescope in Chile, the comet spans roughly 12 miles—larger than its predecessors, Oumuamua (2017) and 21/Borisov (2019). Scientists traced its path back to June 14 and believe it originated from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, though its exact origin remains unknown.

Currently near Jupiter and traveling at 37 miles per second, 3I/ATLAS is about 416 million miles from the sun. It features a glowing tail and a cloud of gas and dust around its nucleus. The comet will pass within 150 million miles of Earth in October but poses no threat. It’s visible with a small telescope through September and will reappear after passing the sun in December. NASA emphasizes it’s a natural object, not artificial, but its presence is thrilling for astronomers.

Read more: Mysterious Manhattan-sized interstellar comet spotted blasting through solar system: NASA

Strange Radio Pulses Detected Coming From Ice in Antarctica

 

 Credit: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State. Creative Commons

Between 2016 and 2018, NASA’s ANITA experiment detected unusual radio pulses from beneath the Antarctic ice—signals that defied known particle physics. These pulses, instead of bouncing off the ice, appeared to originate from below the horizon, suggesting the possibility of unknown particles or interactions. A recent study led by Penn State researchers, using 15 years of data from the Pierre Auger Observatory, found no similar signals, indicating the anomalies likely weren’t caused by neutrinos.

Neutrinos are elusive, nearly massless particles that rarely interact with matter, making them difficult to detect. ANITA was designed to capture their rare interactions in ice, but the steep angles of the detected signals implied they had passed through thousands of kilometers of rock—an unlikely scenario. Researchers are now developing a more sensitive detector, PUEO, to investigate further. Stephanie Wissel believes the anomalies may stem from unknown radio propagation effects near ice, leaving the mystery unresolved..

Read more: Strange radio pulses detected coming from ice in Antarctica | Penn State University

The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19

(Source: The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

On December 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy bombers known as Flight 19 vanished during a routine training mission over the Atlantic. Led by Lt. Charles Taylor, the squad became disoriented after compass failures and worsening weather. Taylor mistakenly believed they were over the Florida Keys and led the flight further out to sea. Despite a massive search effort, no trace of the planes or their 14 crewmen was found. A rescue plane also disappeared. The incident fueled Bermuda Triangle legends, though the Navy attributed the loss to unknown causes. The mystery remains unsolved, with no confirmed wreckage ever recovered.

Read more: The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19 | HISTORY