16 votes

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

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like asthma, tildes community fork and rant. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was out of the loop.

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!

18 comments

  1. [3]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Doctor faces inquiry after giving his cat a Cat scan at Italian hospital The Guardian – Angela Giuffrida – 5th February 2025

    Doctor faces inquiry after giving his cat a Cat scan at Italian hospital

    An Italian doctor has been placed under investigation after giving his cat a Cat scan at a hospital in Aosta before performing a life-saving operation on the feline.

    She survived the ordeal, but the local health authority undertook an internal inquiry into the incident and referred the case to prosecutors in Aosta, who said Fanelli could face charges of wasting public money and depriving patients of essential services.

    The Guardian – Angela Giuffrida – 5th February 2025

    11 votes
    1. chocobean
      Link Parent
      Duh, they should have used the PET scan 🙄

      Duh, they should have used the PET scan 🙄

      14 votes
    2. moocow1452
      Link Parent
      Her owner must not have been in network.

      Her owner must not have been in network.

      2 votes
  2. [2]
    Raspcoffee
    Link
    This week in the Netherlands, a seal takes a nap in a hotel room in Vlissingen. (Video)

    This week in the Netherlands, a seal takes a nap in a hotel room in Vlissingen. (Video)

    8 votes
  3. [6]
    Raspcoffee
    Link
    Belgian parliament approves coalition agreement after 40-hour marathon debate. Quick google translate:

    Belgian parliament approves coalition agreement after 40-hour marathon debate. Quick google translate:

    After a debate of more than forty hours, the Belgian parliament has approved the coalition agreement of Prime Minister Bart De Wever. "Is this way of debating really still appropriate in this day and age?", De Wever wondered during the debate.

    The debate started on Wednesday morning at 10:00. The vote on the coalition agreement did not start until around 2:30 in the night from Thursday to Friday. As expected, all coalition parties voted in favour of the coalition agreement. This meant that a majority of 81 members of parliament approved the agreement, while the 66 opposition members voted against it.

    The debate was not even that long due to doubts as to whether a majority of parliament would approve the coalition agreement. It took so long mainly because the members of parliament responded extensively to each other and to the new ministers.

    At the start of the debate, all party leaders had forty minutes to respond to the government statement. However, because other members of parliament continually interrupted them, that time quickly ran out.

    For example, N-VA faction leader Axel Ronse stood on the podium for six hours straight. That took its toll. After two days and nights of meetings, he almost lost his voice.

    De Wever criticizes parliament for long debate

    Prime Minister De Wever (N-VA) was only able to start answering questions from parliament after 28 hours on Thursday. At the start of his term, he asked: "Is this way of debating still appropriate in this day and age?"

    And members of parliament also complained in the corridors about the long debate. They also applauded after De Wever's statement, which the prime minister did not entirely like. "You do realize that you are applauding yourself, don't you? Everyone participates in this, in the sketch that this is. But the sketch always continues."

    After De Wever had completed his contribution on Thursday afternoon, thematic debates of the ministers also took place. The vote did not take place until late at night.

    The members of parliament certainly did not have to stay with the debate the entire time: the seats were often empty during the debate while politicians took a nap behind the scenes. But some politicians tried to get as much of the debate as possible. For example, Ronse only missed half an hour due to "a power nap", De Standaard reports.

    8 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      A debate about a debate, sounds productive.

      A debate about a debate, sounds productive.

      5 votes
    2. [2]
      updawg
      Link Parent
      Well, he had 40 hours. I'm sure he wondered a lot of things.

      "Is this way of debating really still appropriate in this day and age?", De Wever wondered during the debate.

      Well, he had 40 hours. I'm sure he wondered a lot of things.

      5 votes
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Yeah it doesn't sound quite filibuster level but you do have to wander away from some main points to keep going that long

        Yeah it doesn't sound quite filibuster level but you do have to wander away from some main points to keep going that long

        5 votes
    3. [2]
      CannibalisticApple
      Link Parent
      Off-topic, this is the clearest way I've seen to ensure the reader knows which day 2:30 am refers to. It's always tricky with the early morning hours right after midnight, since it's technically...

      The vote on the coalition agreement did not start until around 2:30 in the night from Thursday to Friday

      Off-topic, this is the clearest way I've seen to ensure the reader knows which day 2:30 am refers to. It's always tricky with the early morning hours right after midnight, since it's technically the next day but it also still feels like part of the previous night.

      4 votes
      1. Raspcoffee
        Link Parent
        It's a pretty common way it's phrased here in the Netherlands, but now that you mention it I realize it's not common elsewhere.

        It's a pretty common way it's phrased here in the Netherlands, but now that you mention it I realize it's not common elsewhere.

        2 votes
  4. [3]
    jredd23
    Link
    Thank god my habits are of the liquid variety, otherwise I would be in trouble. Can't imagine what I would be thinking if I rolled up to a big pink human looking thing in a tree! Downtown Boston’s...

    Thank god my habits are of the liquid variety, otherwise I would be in trouble. Can't imagine what I would be thinking if I rolled up to a big pink human looking thing in a tree!

    Downtown Boston’s Outdoor Winter Art Exhibition

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      chocobean
      Link Parent
      Nature's Glow is cute, and I wouldn't mind a giant one of those. But the pink squishy thing is just weird :| not totally creepy but "doesn't spark joy" , shall we say.

      Nature's Glow is cute, and I wouldn't mind a giant one of those. But the pink squishy thing is just weird :| not totally creepy but "doesn't spark joy" , shall we say.

      3 votes
      1. CannibalisticApple
        Link Parent
        I wonder if it would be less weird if it was a different color from pink, since pink feels so... fleshy. So it makes Monsieur Rose feel less cute, more like a giant naked cartoon man. Especially...

        I wonder if it would be less weird if it was a different color from pink, since pink feels so... fleshy. So it makes Monsieur Rose feel less cute, more like a giant naked cartoon man. Especially with the scar on his chest, which a quick search tells me is a reference to the artist's heart surgery when he was seven, but just kinda emphasizes to me this is a giant cartoon man with no clothes on.

        4 votes
  5. updawg
    Link
    Toronto Chipotle Strava challenge ends in spicy controversy

    Toronto Chipotle Strava challenge ends in spicy controversy

    The promise of free burritos for a year had hungry Torontonians running in circles–literally. On Jan. 31, Chipotle’s Strava challenge wrapped up after a month of intense competition, with runners vying to complete the most laps around a designated Chipotle restaurant to claim the title of Local Legend. Toronto’s challenge came down to the wire, with an unexpected twist, as one runner vaulted to the top of the leaderboard in the final hour to claim the win–even though 10 days earlier, he’d indicated he was injured and would withdraw.

    Canadian Running’s own Marley Dickinson believed he was leading by about 150 segments when, on the final day, with just 40 minutes left in the challenge, Jérôme Sakoun uploaded 230 segments and was declared the winner.

    4 votes
  6. [2]
    smoontjes
    Link
    Is it cheating to post stuff about the US government? Task forces monitoring foreign influence and Russian sanctions disbanded

    Is it cheating to post stuff about the US government?

    Task forces monitoring foreign influence and Russian sanctions disbanded

    4 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      As Mr. Twain said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Obviously he never imagined American justice system combating counter intelligence Ops and the American men...

      As Mr. Twain said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Obviously he never imagined American justice system combating counter intelligence Ops and the American men who empower them.

      5 votes