706 people named Kyle got together in Texas; not enough for a world record
KYLE, May 19: How many people named Kyle can fit in one place? For one Texas city, not enough.
Another attempt by the city of Kyle, Texas, to break the world record for the largest gathering of people with one name fell short Saturday despite 706 Kyles of all ages turning up at a park in the suburbs of Austin.
The crown is currently held by a town in Bosnia that got 2,325 people named Ivan together in 2017, according to Guinness World Records.
It’s not the first time the Kyles have come gunning for the Ivans. Last year, the official count at what has become known as the Gathering of the Kyles clocked in at 1,490 in the fast-growing Texas city that is about 37 miles south of Austin, the state’s capital.
Kyle is not a chart-topper among popular names in the U.S., according to the Social Security Administration, which annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state. The most recent data showed Kyle ranked 416th among male names in 2023.
By comparison, Ivan ranked 153. (AP)
Max the cat is now a ‘doctor of literature’ from Vermont State varsity
CASTLETON, May 19: A Vermont university has bestowed the honorary degree of “doctor of litter-ature” on Max the cat, a beloved member of its community, ahead of students’ graduation on Saturday.
Vermont State University’s Castleton campus is honoring the feline not for his mousing or napping, but for his friendliness.
“Max the Cat has been an affectionate member of the Castleton family for years,” the school said in a Facebook post.
The popular tabby lives in a house with his human family on the street that leads to the main entrance to campus.
“So he decided that he would go up on campus, and he just started hanging out with the college students, and they love him,” owner Ashley Dow said Thursday.
He’s been socializing on campus for about four years, and students get excited when they see him. They pick him up and take selfies with him, and he even likes to go on tours with prospective students that meet at a building across from the family’s house, she said. (AP)