15 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 silly, certifications and socializing. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was documenting this.

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!

14 comments

  2. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    The goat brigade that stops raging forest fires in Chile El Pais – Maolis Castro – 26th July 2025

    The goat brigade that stops raging forest fires in Chile

    Biologist Rocío Cruces and her husband, forestry engineer Víctor Faúndez, are the creators of the organization Buena Cabra (“Good Goat”). The couple is developing a smart collar to advance strategic grazing that prevents fires in the central Biobío region, the third-most-populated region in Chile.

    El Pais – Maolis Castro – 26th July 2025

    7 votes
    1. JCPhoenix
      Link Parent
      Back where I used to live, the local port authority utilizes goats to clear out brush along the riverbanks, under bridges, and the nearby trail.. And it's worked well enough that they've been...

      Back where I used to live, the local port authority utilizes goats to clear out brush along the riverbanks, under bridges, and the nearby trail.. And it's worked well enough that they've been brought back several times.

      And they're popular! Whenever the goats are out, the local subreddit explodes with goat pics and people trying to see the goats working hard.

      4 votes
  3. [4]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    ‘Come With Me, Chuck E.’: Mouse Arrested on Credit Card Fraud Charges Charles Entertainment Cheese (alias Chuck E.) was arrested for stealing a woman's credit card and making fraudulent charges on...

    ‘Come With Me, Chuck E.’: Mouse Arrested on Credit Card Fraud Charges

    Charles Entertainment Cheese (alias Chuck E.) was arrested for stealing a woman's credit card and making fraudulent charges on the card at local businesses.

    I have absolutely been holding on to this one all week because I first came across it in a TikTok from the sister/aunt of one of the families present. A fun fact she added not in this article was that Mr. Cheese was also in possession of a little bit of weed and was asked if he had a medical marijuana card to which Charles Entertainment responded "I was on my way to get one."

    (Chuck E. was decapitated in the police car to reveal a human underneath, leaving this poster uncertain how deep the nesting doll goes)

    5 votes
    1. ThrowdoBaggins
      Link Parent
      Oh, that’s a terrifying thought! “Well, the first head came off, so that was a lie, so how can we really trust that the current human version is also legitimate? Better remove their head too, just...

      (Chuck E. was decapitated in the police car to reveal a human underneath, leaving this poster uncertain how deep the nesting doll goes)

      Oh, that’s a terrifying thought! “Well, the first head came off, so that was a lie, so how can we really trust that the current human version is also legitimate? Better remove their head too, just in case”

      5 votes
    2. [2]
      chocobean
      Link Parent
      Funny if ultimately it's a mouse under all the layers. So she solved her own crime. I had a credit card mysteriously be used after showing it to a hotel employee, gave the CC the info and asked...

      Funny if ultimately it's a mouse under all the layers.

      The strange tale started when a woman noticed her card was gone and began to see fraudulent charges, including small purchases at a smoke shop, a grocery store and a Whataburger, according to an arrest report from the Tallahassee Police Department.

      She visited one of the stores and viewed security camera footage from the time her card was used. She thought she recognized the customer using the card, the report said — it was an employee at a nearby Chuck E. Cheese, where she was a regular.

      So she solved her own crime. I had a credit card mysteriously be used after showing it to a hotel employee, gave the CC the info and asked for updates which never came. I thought about filing police report but didn't want to waste my time

      2 votes
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        A real ratatouille situation

        Funny if ultimately it's a mouse under all the layers.

        A real ratatouille situation

        4 votes
  4. [4]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    Radioactive wasp nest discovered at old US nuclear weapons site Of note, the wasps do not appear to have been located with the energy department claiming they don't fly far from the nest and would...

    Radioactive wasp nest discovered at old US nuclear weapons site

    Of note, the wasps do not appear to have been located with the energy department claiming they don't fly far from the nest and would obviously have lower levels of radiation than the nest.

    I think superpowers are on the table

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      nukeman
      Link Parent
      Didn’t realize my site’s wasp mania had made it across the pond!

      Didn’t realize my site’s wasp mania had made it across the pond!

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        CannibalisticApple
        Link Parent
        So as an expert, how screwed are we in the rise of radioactive superpowered wasps?

        So as an expert, how screwed are we in the rise of radioactive superpowered wasps?

        3 votes
        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          Alternatively, what are the odds that radioactive wasp based superpowers are now in play? Could this be the moment where we all shift to a dimension where such abilities are not just possible but...

          Alternatively, what are the odds that radioactive wasp based superpowers are now in play? Could this be the moment where we all shift to a dimension where such abilities are not just possible but probable?

          4 votes
  5. skybrian
    Link
    Rotating Eyeballs

    Rotating Eyeballs

    Goats, like most hoofed mammals, have horizontal pupils. The purpose of those elongated pupils is to allow them to scan the horizon for possible predators.

    When a goat’s head tilts up (to look around) and down (to munch on grass), an amazing thing happens. The eyeballs actually rotate clockwise or counterclockwise within the eye socket. This keeps the pupils oriented to the horizontal.

    4 votes