Hard Numbers: Filipinos flee volcano, Nigerian chef cooks up a storm, MBS spends big on gaming, not dead yet in Ecuador
15,000: Almost 15,000 people have fled the erupting Mayon volcano in the northeastern Philippines. The volcano is a tourist draw due to its made-for-Instagram conical shape, but if it explodes the mighty Mayon could bury entire villages in lava and even send clouds of ash all the way to Manila.
93:11 — Nigerian chef Hilda Baci broke the Guinness World Record for cooking non-stop by making food for 93 hours and 11 minutes, with only one five-minute break per hour to rest or go to the toilet. During her marathon cooking session, Baci mostly prepared local dishes such as jollof, a spicy tomato-based stew with rice very popular in West Africa.
8 billion: Saudi Arabia has dropped nearly $8 billion since Jan. 2022 on buying or acquiring stakes in gaming and e-sports companies. Officially, this is part of the kingdom's broader push to diversify its economy away from oil, but we also know that Crown Prince MBS is an avid gamer.
5: Before you put someone in the ground, make sure he/she is, erm, actually dead. In Ecuador, a 76-year-old woman was found still breathing almost five hours after her body was placed in a coffin for a vigil before her burial. This is why wealthy people who suffer from taphophobia (the fear of being buried alive) have special safety coffins built.