Odd News Roundup: French hoverboard inventor readies second Channel crossing bid

Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.

French hoverboard inventor readies second Channel crossing bid

A French inventor will on Sunday make his second attempt to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard he designed, having abandoned a previous bid after failing to land on a refueling platform and falling into the sea. Franky Zapata, who wowed crowds during France's Bastille Day celebrations on July 14 by soaring over a military parade in Paris on the device, said he had changed refueling arrangements to give himself the best chance of a successful crossing.

French 'Flying Man' crosses Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard

French inventor Franky Zapata on Sunday succeeded in crossing the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard he designed, zooming over the Strait of Dover in just over 20 minutes. After a previous bid in July that ended with him falling into the sea, Zapata took off from Sangatte, just outside Calais in France at about 0617 GMT, on a little platform powered by five small jet engines and carrying kerosene in a backpack.