40 votes

Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

Posted by mycketforvirrad (edited )
Tags: ask.discussion, recurring.weekly, offbeat fridays, offbeat

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like indictments, ukraine and superconductors. All very worthy and well worth discussing, undoubtedly.

But one of my favourite tags is offbeat, and a cursory glance sadly reveals that this tag has only been utilised five times in the month of August.

Inspired by my own recent post on Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

14 comments

  1. patience_limited
    (edited )
    Link
    Michigan cat's 16-inch tail earns Guinness World Record I had to include this since my home state rarely makes (good) news, and one of my part-Siamese cats has a graceful and elegant, very...

    Michigan cat's 16-inch tail earns Guinness World Record

    I had to include this since my home state rarely makes (good) news, and one of my part-Siamese cats has a graceful and elegant, very prehensile 12" (30 cm) tail. She likes to wrap her tail around my ankle to say "hello" when she wants attention... [As admirable as that long-tail feature might be, I don't love the idea of breeding animals for any extreme that's detrimental to their health. The dull truth is that a cat's tail length is generally proportional to its size, and the Maine Coon breed mentioned in the story tends to be quite large.]

    16 votes
  2. [4]
    nukeman
    Link
    A rare spotless giraffe was born in a Tennessee zoo

    A rare spotless giraffe was born in a Tennessee zoo

    A female reticulated giraffe was born at Brights Zoo in northeastern Tennessee late last month — but unlike her mother she was born without any spots, a rarity.

    14 votes
    1. [2]
      balooga
      Link Parent
      I always assumed giraffes were white with brown spots, but I guess this proves that they are actually brown with white... grout..... hmm I don't think we have a word in English to describe the...

      I always assumed giraffes were white with brown spots, but I guess this proves that they are actually brown with white... grout..... hmm I don't think we have a word in English to describe the spaces between spots, but you see what I'm getting at.

      10 votes
      1. AgnesNutter
        Link Parent
        Perhaps they are mistaken in saying no spots, and she is actually all spot no gaps

        Perhaps they are mistaken in saying no spots, and she is actually all spot no gaps

        4 votes
    2. mycketforvirrad
      Link Parent
      In related unusual animal colour news, a most unusual looking squirrel was spotted in a northern suburb of Stockholm. A lot of the Swedish press were breathlessly keen to describe the stir it...

      In related unusual animal colour news, a most unusual looking squirrel was spotted in a northern suburb of Stockholm. A lot of the Swedish press were breathlessly keen to describe the stir it caused!

      Ovanlig tvåfärgad ekorre skapar uppståndelse i Solna
      Unusual two-coloured squirrel causes a stir in Solna

      När Josefin Backman var på promenad i Solna utanför Stockholm med sin dotter fick hon se en sällsamt vacker syn – upp för ett träd pilade en tvåfärgad ekorre. Förmodligen är det en mutation som ligger bakom djurets vitbruna färgteckning.

      When Josefin Backman was walking in Solna outside Stockholm with her daughter, she saw a strangely beautiful sight - up a tree darted a bi-coloured squirrel. It is probably a mutation that is behind the animal's white-brown coloring.

      5 votes
  3. [3]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Loch Ness monster search in Scotland: Where is Nessie? DW – Suzanne Cords – 24th August 2023

    Loch Ness monster search in Scotland: Where is Nessie?

    No one has been able to catch the famous sea monster Nessie that legend has it lives in Loch Ness. Now, a huge search operation with state-of-the-art technology is on.

    DW – Suzanne Cords – 24th August 2023

    13 votes
    1. [2]
      Hobofarmer
      Link Parent
      It's almost like there might not be anything there at all! In all seriousness, I love cryptids and the stories behind them. They make for fascinating local folklore and add so much to the mystique...

      It's almost like there might not be anything there at all!

      In all seriousness, I love cryptids and the stories behind them. They make for fascinating local folklore and add so much to the mystique of some places. I don't believe in any of them, however.

      9 votes
      1. godzilla_lives
        Link Parent
        That's exactly how I feel about cryptids, especially the weird local ones you find in small-town USA. With Nessie, it's basically become an economic feedback loop at this point with these...

        That's exactly how I feel about cryptids, especially the weird local ones you find in small-town USA.

        With Nessie, it's basically become an economic feedback loop at this point with these "searches." They can't possibly expect to find anything, can they? But it will generate attention and keep the spirit alive, and I'm sure it helps with the local economy in some way. It makes me think of the Mothman festival you see in that one town; just another way to stand out and try to generate some buzz in an otherwise sleepy little town. Kind of like my town's Tomato Festival (yes, lol), but instead of vegetables it's cryptids, heh.

        Suddenly getting an urge to listen to the Last Podcast on the Left...

        5 votes
  4. [2]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    'Extreme situation': Bulldozer carries 14 people out of Calif. mudslide “It’s not something I have ever done in my 34 years as a firefighter,” Cathedral City Fire Chief Michael Contreras told the...

    'Extreme situation': Bulldozer carries 14 people out of Calif. mudslide

    “It’s not something I have ever done in my 34 years as a firefighter,” Cathedral City Fire Chief Michael Contreras told the Desert Sun. “But disasters like this really cause us to have to really look at those means of rescue that aren’t in a book and that you don’t use every day.”

    https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/tropical-storm-hilary-bulldozer-rescue-18309999.php

    10 votes
  5. [2]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    The "Waffle House Index" is an unofficial metric used to determine the severity of Hurricane Idalia and other storms in the U.S., and has existed for nearly 20 years. Florida Emergency Management...

    The "Waffle House Index" is an unofficial metric used to determine the severity of Hurricane Idalia and other storms in the U.S., and has existed for nearly 20 years.

    Florida Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate coined the term "Waffle House Index" in 2004 after Hurricane Charley. The term was inspired by chain restaurant Waffle House's reputation for staying open during extreme weather and quickly reopening after hurricanes, tornadoes or other severe weather events.

    The indicator was a passive way of learning the damage severity in a region, using the number of Waffle House locations that remained open in the aftermath of a storm to determine how much assistance may be required for disaster recovery.

    https://www.foxnews.com/weather/waffle-house-index-used-determine-severity-hurricane-idalia

    5 votes
    1. NoblePath
      Link Parent
      This article, frustratingly for me, said that they used the index, but did not report the actual value for idalia. What’s up with that?

      This article, frustratingly for me, said that they used the index, but did not report the actual value for idalia. What’s up with that?

      3 votes
  6. boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    Car with giant bull named Howdy Doody crammed into passenger seat pulled over by Nebraska police. That’s a lot of bull! The full-sized bovine was riding shotgun in a tricked out Crown Victoria....

    Car with giant bull named Howdy Doody crammed into passenger seat pulled over by Nebraska police.
    That’s a lot of bull! The full-sized bovine was riding shotgun in a tricked out Crown Victoria.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/car-bull-named-howdy-doody-crammed-passenger-seat-pulled-nebraska-poli-rcna102719

    4 votes
  7. mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Could eating squirrel burgers help save red squirrels? ITV News – 28th August 2023

    Could eating squirrel burgers help save red squirrels?

    A Welsh farmer has said eating grey squirrel burgers could help preserve red squirrels.

    Gareth Wyn Jones defended the use of grey squirrel meat, saying it will help to "protect our red squirrels, they're beautiful, they're in danger".

    ITV News – 28th August 2023

    3 votes