Oddity Central (2024)

22/07/2024

Shogo Yoshida, who goes by Bachi Yubi-san (Mr. Drumstick Fingers) on social media, started attracting attention in Japan in late 2022 by posting photos and videos of his deformed fingers on social media.

The feedback wasn’t always positive, as some called his hands ‘gross’ or ‘grotesque’ and scolded him for trying to make money off of his disability, but the young Japanese man had been used to criticism for a long time.

Ever since he was diagnosed with pachydermoperiostosis (PDP), a rare genetic condition that caused his fingertips to swell up like small balls, Shogo Yoshida had to face the ridicule and disgusted looks of his peers, but as he grew older, he learned to manage his uniqueness and turn it into something positive.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/hairdresser-with-ball-like-fingertips-turns-his-rare-condition-into-a-strength.html

22/07/2024

Laurence Van Wassenhove was recruited as a civil servant by France Telecom in 1993 before the company was taken over by Orange. Her original employer knew that she was hemiplegic – partial paralysis of the face and limbs – from birth and suffered from epilepsy, and offered her a position adapted to her medical conditions.

She worked as a secretary and in the HR department until 2002 when she asked to be transferred to another region of France. Her request was approved, but her new workplace was not adapted to her needs, and an occupational medicine report confirmed that the position was not suited for her. Despite this, Orange allegedly failed to make any adjustments to her job, preferring to pay her full salary for the next 20 years, without giving her anything to do.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/woman-sues-company-for-paying-her-to-do-nothing-for-20-years.html

22/07/2024

A Turkish university candidate was recently arrested after being caught using an AI-powered system to obtain answers to the entrance exam in real time.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/student-caught-using-artificial-intelligence-to-cheat-on-university-entrance-test.html

21/07/2024

Most supermarkets these days are constantly looking for ways to speed up the checkout process, and for good reason – with time being such a valuable commodity, many customers feel pressured by their peers to pack their groceries and pay as quickly as possible, so as not to hold up the line too long.

However, one supermarket in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture seems to have solved the problem with an extra-slow checkout register where people can spend upwards of 20 minutes without feeling pressured in any way.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/supermarket-implements-extra-slow-checkout-sales-increase-by-10-percent.html

21/07/2024

Dylan Phillips, a car mechanic from England, set a new Guinness Record for the world’s fastest wheelbarrow with a speed demon capable of speeds of up to 52 mph (84 km/h).

https://www.odditycentral.com/auto/english-mechanic-builds-the-worlds-fastest-wheelbarrow.html

20/07/2024

Hailing from the Colombian city of Barranquilla, Lina has become the talk of an entire country after her unusual story went viral online. After a series of disappointing romantic relationships with men her own age, the young woman realized that she could achieve emotional and financial stability a lot easier if she targeted pensioners instead.

Reflecting after yet another failed relationship, Lina remembered that her neighbor’s elderly husband always flirted with her, and she understood that she was a lot more desirable to pensioners because they would give anything to be with a woman her age. So she started spending time in parks and other places where lonely old men usually hang out, and she is now in a polyamorous relationship with seven pensioners who all support her financially.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/young-woman-dating-seven-pensioners-at-once-sparks-contoversy.html

20/07/2024

Danionella cerebrum, a translucent fish 🐟 only 12mm in size can produce sounds exceeding 140 dB, comparable to the sound perceived by a person standing 100 m from a passenger jet during take-off.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/fish-the-size-of-a-human-fingernail-is-as-loud-as-a-jet-engine.html

27/06/2024

There is no scientific evidence that young people have an aversion to classical music, but police in Espoo swear that it works, and the fact that they have been using this tactic for the last six years is a testament to that.

Apparently, at the end of the school, year, the beach in Espoo’s Haukilahti neighborhood becomes a popular gathering place for youths eager to party until the late hours of the night. Local authorities had tried multiple other methods to disperse youths, but nothing worked quite as well as classical music masterpieces like Strauss’ The Blue Danube, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and Schubert’s Ave Maria. So, starting in early June, police blast classical music from a couple of loudspeakers on the beach to keep youths from gathering there after sunset.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/every-year-this-finnish-city-blasts-classical-music-to-keep-youths-away.html

26/06/2024

Jun Chen, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, came up with the idea for a non-invasive speech-enabling device after feeling his vocal cords get tired as a result of lecturing for several hours at a time.

He began thinking of ways of helping a person speak without using their vocal cords, and with the help of his colleagues at the University of California, he designed an innovative patch that sticks to the user’s throat and uses AI technology to decode their muscle movements into speech.

The lightweight device is resistant to skin sweat and also harnesses the user’s muscle movements to generate electricity, which means that it doesn’t require a battery to operate.

26/06/2024

23-year-old Xiaofang (pseudonym), met the love of her life while working as a volunteer at a retirement home in Hebei Province. 80-year-old Mr. Li (pseudonym) was a resident there and the two quickly became friends after realizing that they shared many interests and hobbies. But, as time went by, their friendship evolved into something more, as Xiaofang was attracted by Mr. Li’s maturity, stability, and wisdom, while he was moved by Xiaofang’s youthful vitality and kindness.

Unfortunately, the young girl’s family did not approve of her romantic relationship with a man old enough to be her grandfather, but she decided to follow her heart and severed ties with her parents to be with Mr. Li.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/23-year-old-woman-marries-80-year-old-man-sparks-controversy.html

25/06/2024

Back in March, a leopard at the Panzhihua Park Zoo in China’s Sichuan Province became an overnight internet sensation after photos and videos of him went viral online.

The overweight feline quickly became known as ‘China’s Officer Clawhauser’, a reference to the overweight police officer from Disney’s hit animated movie, Zootopia. Many people joked that the fat leopard resembled a seal, while others took his deformed frame more seriously, expressing concerns about the animal’s health and general well-being.

Due to mounting criticism, the zoo was eventually to put out a statement, promising to make a series of changes to make the leopard lose some of its extra weight. However, it recently announced that its initiative failed miserably, as the real-life Officer Clawhauser hasn’t lost any weight in two months.

https://www.odditycentral.com/animals/zoo-tries-to-make-obese-leopard-lose-weight-fails.html

25/06/2024

Australian engineer Robin Macan had always wondered why no one had come up with a more comfortable bicycle 🚲 seat. The flaw of the common saddle was obvious – “no amount of cushioning can compensate for the inherent pain points on the human body,” so he came up with a concept for an articulating bicycle 🚲 seat that would dynamically distribute body weight as the rider pedaled.

He took his prototype to the Inventors Association of Australia, a nonprofit offering support to inventors, and that was where he connected with industrial designer Philippe Guichard. The two set out to refine the design, and after two years of work, they combined forces with Whistle, an industrial design and engineering company, to develop a market-ready product.

Now, the vabsRider split-seat bicycle 🚲 saddle is ready to offer users the most comfortable bike ride 🚴 of their lives.

25/06/2024

A Colorado man can consider himself extremely lucky to be alive after surviving a gunshot thanks to the silver necklace around his neck.

The bullet would have pierced the victim’s neck if not for the silver chain around his neck, which turned what would have likely been a fatal gunshot wound into a minor puncture wound.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/man-miraculously-survives-gunshot-after-silver-necklace-stops-bullet.html

24/06/2024

At first, they said artificial intelligence was coming after our jobs, but now it seems that not even beauty pageants are safe. Originally announced back in April 2024 by Fanvue, a subscription-based platform for creators, the world’s first beauty pageant for AI-generated avatars made international news headlines and sparked controversy online.

But, based on the popularity of AI models like Aitana Lopez and Emily Pellegrini on social media, this type of event was bound to happen at some point. About 1,500 AI-generated girls were submitted by creators from all over the world, but only 10 of them made the finalist list.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/worlds-first-ever-ai-beauty-pageant-names-its-10-finalists.html

24/06/2024

To make a good green onion latte, you have to mash a few green onions 🧅 in the cup, then add ice🧊 , milk🥛 , and coffee☕ , before finally topping it off with lots of chopped green onions.

Spring onions and coffee definitely don’t sound made for each other, but spring onion-infused lattes are apparently all the rage in China these days.

https://www.odditycentral.com/foods/scallion-latte-spring-onion-infused-coffee-is-all-the-rage-in-china.html

24/06/2024

The history of Avenida 9 de Julio can be traced back to the glory days of the Argentinian capital. Buenos Aires was called the ‘Paris of South America’, so local authorities decided to cement that reputation by building a monumental piece of infrastructure inspired by Paris’ Champs Elysee.

Only a simple copy wasn’t enough they wanted something larger, more impressive, so they settled on an urban highway passing through the center of the city that was double the width of the famous French avenue. It was a colossal project that took almost half a century to finish, but in 1980, Avenida 9 de Julio was finally completed. It still holds the record for ‘world’s widest avenue’.

😮😮😮

23/06/2024

Located in the middle of fertile paddy fields along Tokushima’s Prefectural Road 10, Benten Mountain is the shortest mountain ⛰️ in Japan and one of the shortest in the world. It takes the average person just one minute to reach the summit and yet over 10,000 people make the journey here every year for this specific purpose.

For some, it’s just the novelty of scaling a 6.1-meter-tall mountain ⛰️, others come to admire the wax tree, camelias, and other flowers that call the rocky mass their home, and a few make the short trek to reach the Itsukushima Shrine built in honor of Benzaiten, the goddess of wisdom.

23/06/2024

Yuntai Waterfall is the most popular scenic spot in the Yuntai Mountains, drawing millions of tourists annually. The tallest waterfall in Asia (a sheer drop of 314 meters) offers stunning vistas and a breathtaking spectacle that was recently revealed to be the result of modern technology.

A Chinese vlogger managed to make their way to the top of Yuntai Waterfall where they spotted large metal pipes feeding water into the waterfall for an enhanced video effect. At first, the viral video of the discovery was criticized as fake, but sources from the Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area acknowledged that the waterfall is slightly enhanced to ensure a pleasant experience for tourists, regardless of natural factors.

23/06/2024

To celebrate All-Russian Football Day last Saturday, two teams of 7 players each gathered at the Luzhniki Olympic Sports Complex to break the record for the longest football ⚽ match ever.

The game started at noon on Saturday and ended after 26 hours, at 2 in the afternoon on Sunday. The previous record had been set in 2014 when two teams played the beautiful game for 24 hours straight. This time around, the Red Team defeated the White Team with a score of 416 goals to 409.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/worlds-longest-football-match-ends-after-26-hours-of-play-and-825-goals.html

22/06/2024

Mohamed Ramzi, a 30-something vlogger from Algeria, sparked outrage in his home country last summer by posting a TikTok video inspired by a popular European vlogger who became famous for social experiments like hugging random people on the street. Only that kind of thing is apparently frowned upon in Algeria, as the footage sparked outrage and attracted condemnation from the general public, and not even Mohamed’s apology could stop the imminent charges against him.

Last year, a court found him not guilty on all charges, but his case was then referred to the Algerian Judicial Council after prosecutors appealed the decision, and this time he was found guilty.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/algerian-vlogger-sentenced-to-two-months-in-jail-for-hugging-people-on-the-street.html

20/06/2024

With just one match left to play, Kerekegyháza SE and Miklós GYFE were tied at 43 points, but the latter had a comfortable 40-goal advantage, which virtually guaranteed its first-ever Hungarian U14 football title. But there is a reason why ‘virtually’ isn’t synonymous with ‘definitely’.

In their last match, Kerekegyháza SE scored an epic 43-1 victory over Palmonostora, the last team in the rankings, while Miklós GYFE only managed a 1-0 victory in their last match. Miklós GYFE was getting ready to celebrate their title after the comfortable win when they got the unbelievable news that they had actually finished second, behind Kerekegyháza. The 43-1 victory is now being investigated by the Hungarian Football Federation.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/football-team-wins-championship-after-suspicious-43-1-victory.html

19/06/2024

A Vietnamese blind dating cafe in Ho Chi Minh’s District 1 recently went viral for a controversial reason. According to multiple reports, Mina Cafe features two different rooms for men and women, separated by a glass wall.

The controversy lies in the fact that the wall is advertised as a mirror when in reality it is only a mirror from the women’s side. The men’s room is dark and they can clearly see the person on the other side. Basically, the blind date part is only valid for the women, as the men can freely admire their potential partners like items on display.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/blind-dating-cafe-sparks-controversy-with-one-way-window-for-men.html

19/06/2024

Chinese media recently reported multiple incidents involving bottles of foul-smelling water 💧 created by young school students using online recipes.

Apparently, they were related to a strange craze where students add all sorts of disgusting ingredients 🤢 to a plastic bottle of water and let the mix ferment to create the stinkiest 👃 concoction possible. They write the recipe on the bottle, and if stinky enough, share it online so that other can take the experiment even further. It has been dubbed the “stink-raising water” craze and education authorities are scrambling to prevent it from becoming even more popular, as experts believe it puts public health at risk.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/chinas-stink-raising-water-craze-sees-children-creating-the-smelliest-potions-possible.html

19/06/2024

The Este Med Clinic recently took the internet by storm with a before-and-after photo of a patient referred to only as Michael. The after photo showed the man at least a couple of decades younger, his wrinkled skin now as tight as a youngster’s, a full head of hair, and a perfectly sculpted nose.

Michael looked so good in his ‘after’ photo posted on Instagram that some users wondered if the clinic had simply put him in a time machine. Had the two photos not been posted together, most people would never have guessed they were of the same person. But this was only the beginning, as a look at Este Med’s Instagram profile showed dozens of other incredible transformations that even plastic surgery experts found hard to believe.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/turkish-plastic-surgery-clinic-goes-viral-for-impossible-before-and-after-photos.html

18/06/2024

Japanese company Kirin Holdings unveiled a taste-enhancing spoon🥄 dubbed Elecispoon which improves taste buds’ perception of salt🧂 thus making food taste better.

The Elecispoon is a smart spoon designed to improve people’s health by helping them cut salt from their food.

https://www.odditycentral.com/technology/japanese-company-officially-launches-taste-enhancing-smart-spoon.html

18/06/2024

Doctors at the Second People’s Hospital of Fujian Province in China recently reported the shocking case of a 35-year-old man referred to only as Mr. Ye who suffered a fractured femur during a coughing fit.

According to D**g Zhong, director of the Department of Orthopedics at the hospital, the unusual incident occurred during a coughing fit, which is unusual considering that men in Ye’s age range typically suffer femur fractures as a result of serious trauma, such as car accidents or falls from considerable height.

Mr. Ye told doctors that he felt a sharp pain immediately after a particularly strong cough, but he simply brushed it off as a cramp. It was only after walking became difficult because of the pain that he decided to seek medical help.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/35-year-old-man-breaks-hardest-bone-in-the-human-body-while-coughing.html

18/06/2024

Interestingly, the world’s heaviest rideable motorcycle is named after the German Panzer tank, it was built in Germany by Germans, but it is made up mostly of Soviet parts. The 38,000 cc T-55 engine comes from a Soviet tank, the giant sidecar was cut out of the transport case of a Russian medium-range missile, and the headlight comes from a Soviet border security point operated by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the Cold War.

The Panzerbike may look like a war machine straight out of a Mad Max film, but it was actually meant to convey the idea of peace. Tilo and Wilfried Niebel set out to build their magnum opus using only parts originally built for military purposes. The metal piping, and the wheels, all came from military vehicles and equipment. Even the diesel return line was made from a blood transfusion device that the brothers found in a military hospital.

https://www.odditycentral.com/auto/the-worlds-heaviest-rideable-motorcycle-is-powered-by-a-tank-engine.html

17/06/2024

The aptly named Shooting Star Vodka 🥃 starts off as organic, locally sourced wheat and botanicals from France distilled using iStill, the most advanced distilling technology.

The mixture is then slowly reduced over a month-long period using pure spring water from a well dug 150 meters below the Pegasus Distillery in Burgundy.

But what really sets Shooting Star Vodka apart from other premium spirits is the aging process. Shooting Star Vodka is aged in small batches for at least one year using large terracotta jars 🏺 with pieces of meteorite suspended in the middle. As the space rock 🌌 partially dissolves into the vodka, it allegedly gives the spirit a mineral taste.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/200-meteorite-infused-vodka-promises-out-of-this-world-taste.html

17/06/2024

Earlier this month, Yekaterinburg-based supermarket chain Zhiznmart came under fire for allegedly selling compromised food products that had landed at least 18 people in the hospital with food poisoning. As a result, several suppliers refused to work with Zhiznmart anymore for fear of getting audited by Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s federal agency in charge of consumer wellbeing and protection.

Left with empty shells and a sullied reputation, Zhiznmart founder made a bold public statement, promising to compensate each person proven to have been poisoned by his products with 1 million rubles ($11,000) 💰. His promise went viral, and before long, people were trying to get food poisoning 🤢 at Zhiznmart and get compensated.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/people-lick-supermarket-eggs-in-hopes-of-getting-food-infection-and-receiving-compensation.html

17/06/2024

On May 22, the popular girl group Oh My Girl performed at a university festival in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. However, it was what occurred on stage after the group’s performance that made news headlines all around the country in the days that followed. On May 26, several videos were posted on South Korean social media showing the host of the event inviting male fans of Oh My Girl on stage and then collecting the used water bottles left behind by the members of the group.

Fans were asked to participate in a talent show for the chance to win an unusual prize – the used water bottle of the Oh My Girl member of their choice.

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/university-festival-gives-girl-groups-used-water-bottles-away-as-prizes-to-fans.html

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