12 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 delusions, experts and eyeo. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was taking notes.

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!

8 comments

  1. [4]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Ikea Shanghai becomes a hot spot for senior dating El País – Guillermo Abril – 16th August 2025

    Ikea Shanghai becomes a hot spot for senior dating

    Pensioners from the Chinese megacity defy loneliness with a weekly meeting in the Swedish multinational’s cafeteria.

    In the Ikea cafeteria in Shanghai, dozens of elderly people meet every Tuesday to have a chat and make friends. For years, retired men and women, widowers, divorcees and singles, from the age of 50 onward, arrive around 1 p.m., take their seats, and open bags of food and thermoses of tea they bring from home. They peel tangerines, eat sunflower seeds, and get up again and again to refill their cups of free coffee.

    El País – Guillermo Abril – 16th August 2025

    10 votes
    1. tanglisha
      Link Parent
      This is sweet. They've made IKEA their third place.

      This is sweet. They've made IKEA their third place.

      5 votes
    2. [2]
      chocobean
      Link Parent
      One sees the group as a target to squeeze money out of. The other is providing free indoor seats and tables, lighting, water, coffee, garbage disposal, and a welcoming home like atmosphere.

      Beijing promotes the so-called silver economy that consists of products and services for the elderly — a sector that “enjoys enormous potential,” according to the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party.

      The seniors that frequent the Ikea café are unlikely to be drawn in. Their expenditure is not high. They are not interested in spending money.

      One sees the group as a target to squeeze money out of. The other is providing free indoor seats and tables, lighting, water, coffee, garbage disposal, and a welcoming home like atmosphere.

      2 votes
      1. jredd23
        Link Parent
        In a world that continually has people whose job is to squeeze every single cent from people I agree. Ikea isn't my favorite place but if those who go find it a nice place to meet, why not.

        In a world that continually has people whose job is to squeeze every single cent from people I agree. Ikea isn't my favorite place but if those who go find it a nice place to meet, why not.

        3 votes
  2. [3]
    patience_limited
    Link
    Wild Pigs Turn 'Neon Blue' in California, Triggering Warnings

    Wild Pigs Turn 'Neon Blue' in California, Triggering Warnings

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      fefellama
      Link Parent
      Potential? Buddy, I don't know much about the anatomy of wild pigs, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be neon blue on the inside. What amazes me is that these pigs survived long enough...

      Game hunters have found startlingly 'neon blue' flesh inside of wild pigs in California, triggering advisory statements on potential contamination

      Potential? Buddy, I don't know much about the anatomy of wild pigs, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be neon blue on the inside. What amazes me is that these pigs survived long enough to get hunted rather than just succumbing to the pesticides directly.

      5 votes
      1. jredd23
        Link Parent
        That's exactly what I was just thinking, WTF moment. Wow.

        That's exactly what I was just thinking, WTF moment. Wow.

        3 votes