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RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Organizers of a camel beauty contest in Saudi Arabia disqualified and fined 43 breeders who used illegal methods such as Botox injections to improve the appearance of their camels.

The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, in which breeders compete for over $66 million in prize money, is in its sixth year. Because of the high stakes, breeders use a range of illegal methods to improve their chances of winning. These include Botox and hormone injections, bobbing a camel’s tail, and dyeing its coat.

To detect tampering, the camels are inspected physically and scanned with x-ray and sonar devices.

The owners of winning camels not only receive cash prizes, but are able to sell their animals at higher prices. Thus, fines for tampering are high, ranging from $8,000 to $27,000 per offense.

ACTON, ENGLAND — A British company set a Guinness World Record for the largest pyramid made of recycled washing machines. Currys PC World, a retailer of home appliances and electronics, stacked 1,496 recycled washers into a pyramid 44 feet tall.

Guinness said the base of the pyramid was comprised of 256 washers forming a square that measured 31 feet per side. The machines, all refurbished and ready for reuse, were stacked unsecured.

Currys said the pyramid was an effort to raise awareness about recycling the 1.45 million tons of electronic waste generated in the UK each year.

A survey conducted by the company last year found that 68 percent of Brits claim to be confused or uncertain about the recycling process. Translation: not interested enough to find out.

SÃO JOSÉ DO RIO PRETO, BRAZIL — In November, a cow escaped from a slaughterhouse, wandered through town, and ended up at a water park. The park was closed for the season, so the cow was at first undetected.

Employees said the cow found its way up a ramp to the top of a water slide, then dropped to its knees and slid down the chute and into the swimming pool below. It was then rescued and secured.

The workers said the slide is designed to hold 450 pounds, but held the 700-pound cow without damage.

The cow was not returned to the slaughterhouse, but was adopted by a nearby rancher and will live out its life among new bovine friends.

The rancher named the cow Tobogã, which means “slide” in Portuguese.