Etc...

That was no weenie roast

At first blush, you wouldn't think that tiny Campbellsport, Wis., and the city-state of Singapore (population 4 million) would have anything in common. But last month, both mounted meaty efforts to win listings in the Guinness Book of World Records. Meaty? Yes, in Singapore's case, a 364-foot-long satay - grilled chicken or beef on wooden skewers basted with spicy peanut sauce and cooked over charcoal. The current mark, also set in Singapore six years ago, is 272 feet. Meanwhile, in Campbellsport, townsfolk stuffed bratwurst into a 48-foot-long casing, cooked it on a grill made for the occasion by a retired welder, and topped it with more than four gallons of relish, ketchup, and mustard. The finished product was sold in $10 chunks to benefit the volunteer fire department.

At last week's Democratic National Convention, Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of presidential candidate John Kerry, said that one of the best faces America has ever projected in the world is the face of a Peace Corps volunteer. Today there are 7,533 volunteers - the most since 1974 - working to strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between Americans and people in 71 other countries. Living on monthly allowances consistent with the standard of living in the country where they are assigned, the volunteers spend two years fostering development in the fields of business, agriculture, health, information technology, education, and more. They serve only where the corps is invited, and their geographic distribution changes constantly. The countries where the most volunteers serve, according to Peace Corps data, with the number of volunteers, as of September 2003:

1. Ukraine 314
2. Honduras 248
3. Guatemala 245
4. Romania 219
5. Paraguay 213
6. Mali 210
7. Nicaragua 204
8. Tanzania 194
9. Kenya 180
10. Dominican Republic 173