7 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 three cheers, yuzu and butterflies. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone has a spreadsheet going.

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!

2 comments

  1. mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Meet the Tower of London's new ravenmaster: Protecting the kingdom from a dark prophecy Euronews – Theo Farrant – 2nd March 2024

    Meet the Tower of London's new ravenmaster: Protecting the kingdom from a dark prophecy

    Legend has it that should the ravens ever depart the tower, catastrophe will befall the kingdom. To prevent this, King Charles II decreed that six ravens must always reside within the tower's walls.

    If an ancient prophecy is right, Michael "Barney" Chandler has just got the most important job in England..

    Euronews – Theo Farrant – 2nd March 2024

    3 votes
  2. spit-evil-olive-tips
    Link
    official press release from the US Dept of Justice: Montana man pleads guilty to federal wildlife trafficking charges as part of yearslong effort to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting

    official press release from the US Dept of Justice:

    Montana man pleads guilty to federal wildlife trafficking charges as part of yearslong effort to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting

    Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, is the owner and operator of Sun River Enterprises LLC – also known as Schubarth Ranch – which is a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn. The Schubarth Ranch is engaged in the purchase, sale and breeding of “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep, mountain goats and various ungulates. The primary market for Schubarth’s livestock is captive hunting operations, also known as shooting preserves or game ranches.

    According to court documents, Schubarth conspired with at least five other individuals between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that would garner higher prices from shooting preserves. Schubarth brought parts of the largest sheep in the world, Marco Polo argali sheep (Ovis ammon polii), from Kyrgyzstan into the United States without declaring the importation. Average males can weigh more than 300 pounds with horns that span more than five feet. Marco Polo argali are native to the high elevations of the Pamir region of Central Asia. They are protected internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, domestically by the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are prohibited in the State of Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.

    3 votes