11 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 yemen, brave and septic tanks. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was documenting.

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. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Lost manuscript of Merlin and King Arthur legend read for the first time after centuries hidden inside another book BBC News – Donna Ferguson – 24th March 2025

    Lost manuscript of Merlin and King Arthur legend read for the first time after centuries hidden inside another book

    An intriguing sequel to the tale of Merlin has sat unseen within the bindings of an Elizabethan deeds register for nearly 400 years. Researchers have finally been able to reveal it with cutting-edge techniques.

    It is the only surviving fragment of a lost medieval manuscript telling the tale of Merlin and the early heroic years of King Arthur's court.

    BBC News – Donna Ferguson – 24th March 2025

    9 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      Really cools stuff. It's amazing the amount of human effort that has been lost. Can you imagine the information that the Library of Alexandria held. wow!

      Really cools stuff. It's amazing the amount of human effort that has been lost. Can you imagine the information that the Library of Alexandria held. wow!

      5 votes
  2. [4]
    Raspcoffee
    Link
    This week, fantasy RPGs meets the modern era in the Netherlands, as a bike thief was caught by the cop who owned the bike - and then ended up being heavily injured by the cop's sword. The usual...

    This week, fantasy RPGs meets the modern era in the Netherlands, as a bike thief was caught by the cop who owned the bike - and then ended up being heavily injured by the cop's sword. The usual Google Translate:

    Bicycle thief Arnhem seriously injured by police officer with sword

    A police officer in Arnhem attacked a suspected bicycle thief with a sword. The 40-year-old man was seriously injured and is in hospital. The officer was arrested, but is now free. He remains a suspect.

    Omroep Gelderland reports that the incident took place on Sunday. The 40-year-old man from Arnhem was allegedly trying to steal a bicycle. He was caught by the owner, who is a police officer in everyday life.

    Confrontation

    When the owner of the bicycle realized what was happening, he went after the suspected bicycle thief. A confrontation ensued between the two, during which the owner of the bicycle used the sword "in defense", according to the police.

    The police officer was arrested and questioned, but released after a few days. The police say it was possible that self-defense was involved.

    9 votes
    1. [3]
      jredd23
      Link Parent
      I love how cops around the world are the same; At least though, he Maybe lost in translation, odd in indeed.

      I love how cops around the world are the same;

      police say it was possible that self-defense was involved.

      At least though, he

      remains a suspect.

      Maybe lost in translation, odd in indeed.

      7 votes
      1. [2]
        Raspcoffee
        Link Parent
        Not lost in translation, it is... pretty damn weird. Even if it is in self defense, it's a question of why the hell he was walking around with a sword. Well, at least a bike thief got caught I...

        Not lost in translation, it is... pretty damn weird. Even if it is in self defense, it's a question of why the hell he was walking around with a sword.

        Well, at least a bike thief got caught I guess. Damn bastards make my Dutch blood boil I tell ya.

        6 votes
        1. terr
          Link Parent
          As the old proverb goes: "The man who walks around with a sword to defend himself against a bike thief is a fool every day but one"

          As the old proverb goes: "The man who walks around with a sword to defend himself against a bike thief is a fool every day but one"

          6 votes
  3. [3]
    jredd23
    Link
    Living in old homes has its charm they say, well sometimes. Boston homeowner thought something was odd about his house. He discovered it was cut in half. Here's the YT video After the last past...

    Living in old homes has its charm they say, well sometimes.
    Boston homeowner thought something was odd about his house. He discovered it was cut in half.
    Here's the YT video

    "We didn't understand when we bought the house, we didn't understand why this wall here was so abrupt,"

    After the last past days, I know the feeling...

    9 votes
    1. fefellama
      Link Parent
      That's the most cut-in-half-looking house I've ever seen. Wonder why the other half was moved?

      That's the most cut-in-half-looking house I've ever seen. Wonder why the other half was moved?

      1 vote
    2. Markpelly
      Link Parent
      Really cool, love hearing about stuff like this. I don't necessarily see a downside, it just makes the house more interesting haha.

      Really cool, love hearing about stuff like this. I don't necessarily see a downside, it just makes the house more interesting haha.

      1 vote
  4. [2]
    Raspcoffee
    Link
    Protester in Pikachu suit joins mass demonstrations in Turkey over arrest of Erdogan’s top rival The clip itself is absolutely beautiful.

    Protester in Pikachu suit joins mass demonstrations in Turkey over arrest of Erdogan’s top rival

    The clip itself is absolutely beautiful.

    9 votes
    1. fefellama
      Link Parent
      You are right, that clip is hilarious! I thought it would be like just the ears and tail, but nope, full-blown Pikachu. Sad to see what's happening in Turkey. Don't want to depress the...

      1. You are right, that clip is hilarious! I thought it would be like just the ears and tail, but nope, full-blown Pikachu.

      2. Sad to see what's happening in Turkey. Don't want to depress the lighthearted mood of this thread, but that's the most blatant authoritarian shit I've seen in a while, which is saying something given everything that's going on in the world right now. Imprisoning political rivals and calling them evil, breaking up protests and arresting protesters, deporting journalists. Like how much more obvious could you get?

      3 votes