23 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 polyamory, caramelization and parking. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was studious.

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!

16 comments

  1. [5]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    French matchstick Eiffel Tower record bid ruled out over wrong matches BBC News – Hugh Schofield – 8th February 2024

    French matchstick Eiffel Tower record bid ruled out over wrong matches

    His model took eight years, 706,900 matches and 23kg of glue to build. The final piece of wood was carefully glued into place on 27 December, 100 years to the day since the death of the engineer Gustav Eiffel.

    Realising that the most annoying part of the job was going to be shaving off hundreds of thousands of bits of sulphur from individual matchsticks, he contacted the match manufacturer.

    They supplied him with kilos of sulphur-less matches - in other words sticks without the red part at the end. Perfect for building, but technically not real matches.

    Unfortunately for him, the Guinness World Records rules stipulate that only "commercially available" matches qualify for a record-breaker.

    BBC News – Hugh Schofield – 8th February 2024

    15 votes
    1. [3]
      nothis
      Link Parent
      One of the cases where I genuinely want to hear both sides of the argument.

      One of the cases where I genuinely want to hear both sides of the argument.

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        mycketforvirrad
        Link Parent
        Apparently Guinness had a change of heart... All's well that ends well.

        Apparently Guinness had a change of heart... All's well that ends well.

        11 votes
    2. pseudolobster
      Link Parent
      One thing I find really odd is the previous world record holder was 2ft shorter but used nearly 10x as many matches. ... (from this article)

      One thing I find really odd is the previous world record holder was 2ft shorter but used nearly 10x as many matches.

      The [previous] record is held by Toufic Daher, from Lebanon, whose matchstick Eiffel Tower reached 21.4 feet high in 2009, using 6 million matches.

      ...

      ...piecing together 706,900 matchsticks to make a 23.6-foot model of the Eiffel Tower, easily beating the existing record by 2 feet.

      (from this article)

      4 votes
  2. [7]
    aphoenix
    Link
    Disturbed show postponed after singer comes down with a sickness - this isn't the first time I've read this headline in the last 25 years but it is funny every time. If anyone is unaware, the band...

    Disturbed show postponed after singer comes down with a sickness - this isn't the first time I've read this headline in the last 25 years but it is funny every time.

    If anyone is unaware, the band Disturbed sings a song called "Down with the Sickness".

    14 votes
    1. [6]
      cfabbro
      Link Parent
      Ooh wah ah ah ah! ;) Ironically, their cover of The Sound of Silence is by far their best song though, IMO.

      Ooh wah ah ah ah! ;)

      Ironically, their cover of The Sound of Silence is by far their best song though, IMO.

      7 votes
      1. [4]
        aphoenix
        Link Parent
        I've got a soft spot for that first album (The Sickness), even though I think you're probably right. It's good that he showcases that he can actually really sing instead of just doing metalvoice....

        I've got a soft spot for that first album (The Sickness), even though I think you're probably right. It's good that he showcases that he can actually really sing instead of just doing metalvoice. But there are so many good songs that make you want to move on The Sickness and it also spawned one of the best covers of all time, Richard Cheeses version.

        5 votes
        1. [3]
          cfabbro
          Link Parent
          You can't mention the Richard Cheese cover and not link to it! For shame! :P My favorite Richard Cheese cover is still Welcome to the Jungle though.

          You can't mention the Richard Cheese cover and not link to it! For shame! :P

          My favorite Richard Cheese cover is still Welcome to the Jungle though.

          6 votes
          1. [2]
            aphoenix
            Link Parent
            I believe in our users to be able to find it! Plus I wouldn't want to rob someone of having to think "wait, am I just googling Dick Cheese? Should I do this?" ;)

            I believe in our users to be able to find it! Plus I wouldn't want to rob someone of having to think "wait, am I just googling Dick Cheese? Should I do this?" ;)

            4 votes
            1. cfabbro
              Link Parent
              LOL! Thanks, you almost made me snort milk out my nose. (I'm eating a homemade oatmeal cookie) :P

              LOL! Thanks, you almost made me snort milk out my nose. (I'm eating a homemade oatmeal cookie) :P

              3 votes
  3. [2]
    BeardyHat
    Link
    Unfortunately, due to the owners health problems (seriously, get well), Lickinghole Brewery in Goochland has to close its doors for a spell.

    Unfortunately, due to the owners health problems (seriously, get well), Lickinghole Brewery in Goochland has to close its doors for a spell.

    5 votes
  4. [2]
    smoontjes
    Link
    Danish bedrooms drawers abundant with dildos and other sex toys Not sure if the article is accessible outside of Denmark but here's a snippet through deepl: "Sex toys per capita" 😆

    Danish bedrooms drawers abundant with dildos and other sex toys

    Not sure if the article is accessible outside of Denmark but here's a snippet through deepl:

    A study shows that people in the Nordic countries have more sex toys than the British and French.

    Do you have five sex toys at home? Then you're what you might call an average Dane.

    A study conducted by the University of Copenhagen based on responses from almost 12,000 participants shows that Danes have the most sex toys among the countries surveyed.

    - When I first saw the number, I was a little surprised. But I started to think that it can be pretty quick if you have a couple of dildos, a vibrator, a set of handcuffs and a penis ring. Then you're quickly up to five," says Gert Martin Hald, a professor at the Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen, who is behind the study.

    The figures on which the study is based were conducted by the analysis company Cint for the sex toy retailer Sinful.dk.

    The respondents are representative samples from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France and the UK and not from Sinful.dk's customer database. Gert Martin Hald has subsequently analyzed the results.

    - We must recognize that this is completely normal - especially considering the female anatomy, where only 30 percent of women can achieve an orgasm solely through penetrative intercourse.

    According to the study, Denmark is at the top of the list when it comes to the number of sex toys owned. The other Nordic countries are just behind. The British have an average of 3.5 sex toys per capita, while the French have just under three.

    "Sex toys per capita" 😆

    5 votes
    1. mycketforvirrad
      Link Parent
      Related reading: Love lockdown: Danes snap up sex toys after being told to stay home Reuters – Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen – 7th April 2020

      Related reading:

      Love lockdown: Danes snap up sex toys after being told to stay home

      Sales of sex toys in Denmark have more than doubled after Danes were told to stay at home to limit the spread of the coronavirus, according to the country's biggest retailer of the merchandise.

      "It makes me happy that we are doing something good during this difficult time, when people feel vulnerable," said Mathilde Mackowski, co-owner of Sinful, the biggest sex toy seller in the Nordics.

      Reuters – Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen – 7th April 2020

      4 votes