24 votes

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

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

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like unity, elon musk and tortillas. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was curious.

But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from 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!

8 comments

  1. [2]
    cutmetal
    Link
    It's pretty dark and at this point things like this aren't too surprising, but: MSN posts insane AI-generated article calling deceased NBA player "useless"

    It's pretty dark and at this point things like this aren't too surprising, but: MSN posts insane AI-generated article calling deceased NBA player "useless"

    16 votes
    1. CannibalisticApple
      Link Parent
      Wow. It wasn't even the article, but the headline itself. As someone with a dark sense of humor, the idea of an AI announcing someone's death as "Person useless at 42" is amusing, because that...

      Wow. It wasn't even the article, but the headline itself. As someone with a dark sense of humor, the idea of an AI announcing someone's death as "Person useless at 42" is amusing, because that feels like how robots would consider death. If a robot breaks down, it's useless. Still, really bad. The fact it was the headline shows there's absolutely no human oversight on AI-generated articles on MSN.

      I fully agree that AI should never write obituaries. My mom said in journalism classes at college, one of their assignments was to write an obituary for a random celebrity. Apparently a lot of news outlets keep obituaries on-stock so they could add in the key facts and run it when the time came. I guess MSN figured AI could replace that entirely.

      3 votes
  2. TescoLarger
    Link
    A news broadcast went out on television here about how a mysterious crater was found on a Dublin beach, earlier on in the week. They had a whole segment dedicated to it and even featured a self...

    A news broadcast went out on television here about how a mysterious crater was found on a Dublin beach, earlier on in the week. They had a whole segment dedicated to it and even featured a self proclaimed astronomy enthusiast who was holding the suspected meteor believed to have caused the crater. He held it up and discussed the scorch marks it had received whilst travelling through our atmosphere.

    It then turns out the crater was actually caused by a group lads who got together and dug a big fuck off hole in the sand just for the laugh! Iconic stuff, national television!!

    8 votes
  3. spit-evil-olive-tips
    Link
    Every offer from Hollywood’s Union Solidarity Auction, ranked direct link to the auction listings I think it's an underreported scandal that one of the listings is titled "Natasha Lyonne Will Help...

    Every offer from Hollywood’s Union Solidarity Auction, ranked

    the Union Solidarity Coalition, which was created this year by Hollywood writers and directors, is currently hawking a hodgepodge of memorabilia and experiences on eBay in order to raise money for production crew members who are losing health care benefits due to the Writers Guild strike.

    direct link to the auction listings

    I think it's an underreported scandal that one of the listings is titled "Natasha Lyonne Will Help You Solve the New York Times Sunday Crossword" but in the description it clearly says the Wednesday puzzle.

    6 votes
  5. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Woman stuck on grounded Arctic cruise ship says her biggest fear was running out of alcohol Independent – 15th September 2023

    Woman stuck on grounded Arctic cruise ship says her biggest fear was running out of alcohol

    While waiting for the ship to be rescued, one passenger on board, Lis, joked to Nine News that running out of alcohol was her greatest fear. “That is the biggest concern I have,” she said.

    “I had swimming lessons before I came and I’m a good swimmer. So look out: I could be swimming back to Iceland.”

    Independent – 15th September 2023

    4 votes
    1. boxer_dogs_dance
      Link Parent
      Yes the 'unlimited' drinks package is something most cruise lines offer. Typically there is a cap on drinks per day but it is quite high.

      Yes the 'unlimited' drinks package is something most cruise lines offer. Typically there is a cap on drinks per day but it is quite high.

      1 vote
  6. boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a45123358/masked-boot-girls-are-freeing-booted-cars-all-over-atlanta/ Masked 'Boot Girls' Are Freeing Booted Cars All Over Atlanta Georgia For $50, the "Boot...

    https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a45123358/masked-boot-girls-are-freeing-booted-cars-all-over-atlanta/

    Masked 'Boot Girls' Are Freeing Booted Cars All Over Atlanta Georgia
    For $50, the "Boot Girls" will free your car if it is clamped in place.

    After experiencing the placement of a land anchor themselves, the balaclava-wearing Boot Girls (Boot Baby and Boot Sheisty) obtained a boot key from someone who manufactured the tool, NPR reports. Then they started offering their boot removal services for $50 each, and they (and others using the “boot girls” theme) seem to take orders via text and Instagram through referrals as word spreads.

    Parking companies, private property, and private booting companies are vexed about this turn of events, and the City of Atlanta police department is clear about how it feels about freelance boot removal.

    4 votes