Rice capades

When fried rice is served not to appease hunger but to create a record, food waste is almost unavoidable. With sights just on world records, people will go for such titles, forgetting their real meaning.

On Oct 22, a new world record was set in Yangzhou in East China's Jiangsu province: a Guinness for "the largest serving of fried rice". Four days later, the record was revoked amid torrents of public criticism and media reports.

The reason: At least part of the 4,192 kilograms of fried rice was wasted. Even though the organizers admitted only 150 kg of the rice was "improperly disposed of", the remainder was unaccounted for. It was supposed to have been distributed to schools, but no evidence was forthcoming.