 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Here's your weekly digest of the craziest stories from around the world.
1) The shorter your skirt, the more discount this Chinese eatery will offer you 
Love wearing short skirts? A Chinese restaurant is offering women clad in skimpy skirts massive meal discounts.
A Jinan-based eatery is offering its female customers, whose skirts' hems measure at 33 cms (12 inches) above the knee, a discount of 90 per cent on their food, while women wearing clothes revealing mere 8 cms (3 inches) only got 20 per cent off the bill.
In a bid to have more attractive female customers, several Chinese eateries are offering attention-getting promotions lately.
2) First-ever robot wedding takes place in Japan
Heard of robots getting hitched? Well, two robots have tied the knot in Japan in what is believed to be the first wedding of its kind in the world.
Frois, the groom, and bride Yukirin walked the aisle, wore traditional outfits and even carried out a 'wedding kiss' at the event in Tokyo. Special invitations were made, featuring a picture of the two robots inset in a heart, and the 100-strong congregation included a range of smaller robotic models.
After the ceremony the couple even managed to 'cut a cake' before an automated orchestra performed a song for the equivalent of their first dance. The event was organised by Maywa Denki, which produces electronic accessories and designed the groom Frois.
3) Mysterious! Over 600 dogs have jumped off Scotland's 'haunted suicide bridge'
More than 600 dogs have mysteriously jumped from a bridge dubbed the "haunted suicide bridge", with at least 50 of them leaping to their deaths in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
Animal psychologists are baffled by the bizarre phenomenon and explanations range from the curious canines being over-excited; to ghosts haunting the century-old bridge next to Gothic castle Overtoun House, the Mirror reported.
Some locals even claimed that it could be the spirit of the "White Lady of Overtoun" who has been sighted there for over 100 years.
The tragic pets mostly jumped from the same side, in clear weather and were breeds with long snouts.
4) Caution!!!!!! Flying Eggs!
The British village of Swaton last week hosted the annual World Egg Throwing Championships. Drawing hundreds of competitors and cheering spectators, it's a messy game claiming a 700-year history and egg-streme puns.
Teams of two align on the grass to try to throw and catch eggs without breaking the shell. Starting at 10 meters (11 yards) apart, the "tosser" throws an egg to a teammate, the "catcher". After each successful catch they spread further apart.
The winning team is the one that completes a catch with no breakage over the furthest distance. This year it's Richard Gutsell and Michael Speakman.
"It was tough ... We had a downward wind so it helped an awful lot, but it's mainly down to him because if you can't throw it that far you can't catch it," Speakman told Reuters about thrower Gutsell.
The World Egg Throwing Federation, set up in 2004, believes the game originated around 1322 when an abbot in the Lincolnshire village, the only person who had chickens, encouraged church attendance by giving locals alms of one egg.
5) The pope's portrait in condoms?
An art gallery in Milwaukee, US has been criticised for acquiring a portrait of Pope Benedict made out of condoms.
The unusual medium used to create a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI -- 17,000 stretched-out condoms in a variety of colours -- has upset Roman Catholic leaders in Milwaukee, US, where the piece is housed.
Benedict, who resigned in 2013, is now pope emeritus.
Niki Johnson of Milwaukee, the artist who created the work titled 'Eggs Benedict', said in an interview that she disagreed with Benedict’s conservative social positions, including a statement that condoms could contribute to the spread of AIDS in Africa. The portrait, she said, is “not hate-based,” but rather a way to critique Benedict’s views while raising awareness about public health.
The artwork will go on display in November and has ignited a debate about religious doctrine -- the Catholic Church opposes contraceptives -- and freedom of expression.
6) Man on wheelchair robs New York bank, gets away
Police in New York are searching for a man in a wheelchair who allegedly robbed a bank in Queens on Monday.
The unidentified suspect, believed to be in his 20s, cruised into the Santander Bank branch at 37-10 Broadway in Long Island City and handed the teller a note at around 2 pm, according to police.
The employee handed over $1,200 and the crook scooted out of the bank in his wheelchair, fleeing west down Broadway. As he made his escape, the man was captured on surveillance video rolling past several businesses. The crook told the teller he had a gun, but he never actually displayed a weapon, according to authorities.
The apparently disabled suspect was moving so fast in his wheelchair that he was already out of sight by the time the NYPD scrambled helicopters.
7) Google Photos app identifies black couple as gorillas!
Google has said that it is "appalled" that its new Photos app mistakenly labelled a black couple as being "gorillas".
Its product automatically tags uploaded pictures using its own artificial intelligence software.
The error was brought to its attention by a New York-based software developer who was one of the people pictured in the photos involved.
Google was later criticised on social media because of the label's racist connotations.
"This is 100% not OK," acknowledged Google executive Yonatan Zunger after being contacted by Jacky Alcine via Twitter.
"[It was] high on my list of bugs you 'never' want to see happen."
8) Heard of the world's most exclusive website?
Justin Foley is the man behind MostExclusiveWebsite.com, a site that -- true to its name -- only one person can visit at a time. You access the site by requesting a “ticket” for your 60-second window and then waiting in line.
When we tried, we were behind 20,000 people in the list.
The site is believed to have launched at the start of this year but it has been rising in popularity since a link was posted to Reddit.
Once inside the room, users can post a comment to prove that they were there and it is possible to take a ticket at a later date if using a different browser or device.
After posting a message, users are given a 'treat', which a YouTube video revealed to be a series of cat pictures.
According to Foley, of the 300,000 people who have tried accessing the site since Tuesday just 55,000 made it in and out of every nine people waiting in line, eight of them jump ship. So you still have a chance.
9) World’s smelliest flower blooms
Over than 15,000 people have flocked to see the world’s smelliest flower – dubbed New Reekie – after it bloomed in Scotland for the first time.
Amorphophallus titanum – or titan arum – is known as the “corpse flower” because of the stench of rotting flesh it emits to attract pollinating insects when in bloom.
The plant, native only to the Sumatran rainforest, has been nurtured in a glasshouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh for 12 years.
The 2.8m tall, deep red flower and unmistakable stink began to emerge on Friday night, sending plant-lovers in to a frenzy.
As of Tuesday, the flower had started wilting.
10) 'Plane' stupid! Pilots let Playboy model fly commercial aircraft
Two airplane pilots for Aerolineas Argentinas who allowed a busty celebrity into the cockpit for an hour-long flight, even letting her fly the plane for a short period of time, have been fired, and passengers aboard the flight are preparing to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the airline for endangering their lives.
It all started a week ago, when the Greek-born Victoria 'Viky' Xipolitakis -- a celebrity best known for posing for the Greek edition of Playboy and for appearing on the Argentine version of "Big Brother" -- got onboard an evening flight from Buenos Aires to Rosario, Argentina's third largest city.
Pilot Patricio Zocchi and copilot Federico Soaje invited the well-endowed Xipolitakis into the cockpit immediately afterward, and she stayed there for the remainder of the flight, filming the action in a series of six videos, a few of which were leaked to the press late last week.