14 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 right to repair, friendship and warfare.drone. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was in doubt.

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!

10 comments

  1. [3]
    patience_limited
    Link
    Australian trash parrots have now developed a local drinking tradition Urbanized animals are usually nocturnal and shy, but cockatoos ganging up on drinking fountains in broad daylight is a little...

    Australian trash parrots have now developed a local drinking tradition

    Urbanized animals are usually nocturnal and shy, but cockatoos ganging up on drinking fountains in broad daylight is a little too Hitchcockian.

    9 votes
    1. chocobean
      Link Parent
      Cute! Video from news.com.au on YouTube. I was imagining it might be because it's less embarrassing to learn a skill when there isn't a queue of experts waiting for their turn.

      Cute! Video from news.com.au on YouTube.

      longer attempts at the water fountains, and those made when fewer other cockatoos were present, were significantly more likely to succeed," Mioduszewska said. "It offers a valuable lesson from the cockatoos — when mastering a skill, it is important to keep trying and to minimize distractions whenever possible.

      I was imagining it might be because it's less embarrassing to learn a skill when there isn't a queue of experts waiting for their turn.

      5 votes
    2. jredd23
      Link Parent
      What a funny reference. As the world goes bananas, but the birds keep on evolving.

      What a funny reference. As the world goes bananas, but the birds keep on evolving.

      4 votes
  2. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Rome’s taxi drivers outraged at claim they drive like F1’s Max Verstappen The Guardian – Angela Giuffrida – 3rd June 2025

    Rome’s taxi drivers outraged at claim they drive like F1’s Max Verstappen

    Rome taxi drivers are in uproar at the suggestion they drive as badly as mad Max Verstappen, with some challenging Formula One drivers to navigate the traffic and potholes of the Italian capital as skilfully as they do.

    Verstappen, a four-time F1 champion, was issued with a penalty on Sunday after crashing into George Russell’s Mercedes in the Spanish Grand Prix.

    Responding to questions about the incident from an Italian journalist, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes F1 principal, said: “This is road rage, like the taxi drivers in Rome or Naples.”

    The Guardian – Angela Giuffrida – 3rd June 2025

    7 votes
    1. PnkNBlck71817
      Link Parent
      I'm loving some of the replies from taxi drivers

      I'm loving some of the replies from taxi drivers

      Nicola Di Giacobbe, from the taxi union, Filt-Cgil, joked: “We drive like a Mercedes since it only goes 30 miles an hour, just like us.”

      3 votes
  3. [4]
    Raspcoffee
    Link
    200-year-old condom featuring erotic etching goes on display at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum Not superduper NSFW for the record, but if you have a very sensitive work environment you may not want to...

    200-year-old condom featuring erotic etching goes on display at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum

    Not superduper NSFW for the record, but if you have a very sensitive work environment you may not want to click at work lol

    6 votes
    1. [3]
      jredd23
      Link Parent
      Interesting, wonder if they were just trying to get a rise out of people.

      Interesting, wonder if they were just trying to get a rise out of people.

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        chocobean
        Link Parent
        Well they sure aren't trying to keep this item under wraps. The Judgement of Paris (wiki) is not an art motif (?right word?) I was aware of before. Today I learned.

        Well they sure aren't trying to keep this item under wraps.

        The Judgement of Paris (wiki) is not an art motif (?right word?) I was aware of before. Today I learned.

        4 votes
        1. Promonk
          Link Parent
          Right word. Plural "motives" or "motifs." I've encountered "motive" as an alternate singular spelling, though I think it's mostly archaic. My recollection is that I saw it in the sorts of literary...

          Right word. Plural "motives" or "motifs."

          I've encountered "motive" as an alternate singular spelling, though I think it's mostly archaic. My recollection is that I saw it in the sorts of literary criticism that spelled "role" as "rôle," so around the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

          3 votes