13 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 charlie kirk, jimmy wales and business. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was eagle-eyed.

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!

17 comments

  1. [5]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Czech police finally catch up with 'phantom racing car driver' BBC News – Rob Cameron – 8th September 2025

    Czech police finally catch up with 'phantom racing car driver'

    Police in the Czech Republic have finally arrested the driver of a Formula 1-type racing car which had been spotted on the motorway on numerous occasions since 2019.

    The red racing car, decked out in full Ferrari livery, was followed to a property in the village of Buk, some 60km (37 miles) south-west of Prague, after the latest sighting was reported to police.

    BBC News – Rob Cameron – 8th September 2025

    11 votes
    1. chocobean
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Hehehe towing. And I mean, fill up at home, brah. This reminds me of a clip I saw the other day, where a chap was shining strong green laser at a helicopter, then when police showed up at his door...

      He said police "allegedly saw us towing a Formula 1 car which they claimed had been speeding along the motorway a few minutes earlier - of course we know absolutely nothing about this."

      Hehehe towing. And I mean, fill up at home, brah.

      This reminds me of a clip I saw the other day, where a chap was shining strong green laser at a helicopter, then when police showed up at his door he claimed it was a group of youth and not him. (Clip, two weeks ago, from The Independent, on YouTube. Also hilarious) -- thing is, there are all kinds of high powered recording devices these days. Saying anything that "sounds plausible" is just providing the court with fresh evidence. Get a lawyer and a shut up.

      4 votes
    2. mysterylevel
      Link Parent
      Love it. Lesson learned, keep the helmet on haha

      Love it. Lesson learned, keep the helmet on haha

      3 votes
    3. [2]
      jredd23
      Link Parent
      I read this a couple days back, awesome! If I had the means, and the ability, why not! YOLO baby!

      I read this a couple days back, awesome! If I had the means, and the ability, why not! YOLO baby!

      2 votes
      1. chocobean
        Link Parent
        Because it's illegal, unsafe, and if you had the means you can rent time at a track :P even better than driving one F1 is being able to just rent a wide variety of cars for the track

        Because it's illegal, unsafe, and if you had the means you can rent time at a track :P even better than driving one F1 is being able to just rent a wide variety of cars for the track

        2 votes
  2. [2]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    defiant nuns flee care home

    defiant nuns flee care home

    10 votes
    1. chocobean
      Link Parent
      oh good for them! I hope they get left in place unharrassed until the end of their days. They're obviously supported by the community of former students....

      oh good for them! I hope they get left in place unharrassed until the end of their days. They're obviously supported by the community of former students....

      6 votes
  4. [4]
    Mendanbar
    Link
    Nepal Currently Being Run Via Discord After Gen Z Uprising gg Nepal... gg

    Nepal Currently Being Run Via Discord After Gen Z Uprising

    The next time someone tells you the youth aren’t engaged enough in politics, just point them to Nepal. According to multiple reports, the youth of the South Asian nation managed to oust the existing government following an attempted ban of major social media platforms and took to Discord to hold an impromptu convention to elect an interim prime minister.

    gg Nepal... gg

    8 votes
    1. [2]
      CannibalisticApple
      Link Parent
      Now I want to know what discussion on that server looked like, especially since their choice for the interim Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, isn't Gen Z. The article said the server "hosted...

      Now I want to know what discussion on that server looked like, especially since their choice for the interim Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, isn't Gen Z. The article said the server "hosted conversations with candidates for the role" so presumably that includes her.

      On that note, I really wonder how those older candidates felt about Discord being used for this, heh. The idea of campaigning on Discord feels kinda surreal to me.

      5 votes
      1. chocobean
        Link Parent
        She appears to have a longer reputation for being not intimidated by power, and a good clean un-bribeable judge. Her role is to facilitate a clean general election, not to stay in power for long....

        She appears to have a longer reputation for being not intimidated by power, and a good clean un-bribeable judge. Her role is to facilitate a clean general election, not to stay in power for long. The protests were organized via Discord and that's why they went with this vote, not that they'll use Discord for their upcoming (tba) first general election :) I would love it if the Discord team worked with them to facilitate whatever they need so that they COULD hold it via discord though that would rule. Discord channels (servers?rooms?) have a ceiling of 10,000 participants so there's a technical hurdle as well. If the young government can somehow overcome (1) not everyone has internet and (2) many of their youths are desperately poor. Cell phone in everyone's hands would do it. The biggest problem is that Nepal is right in between China and India, actually.

        4 votes
    2. chocobean
      Link Parent
      their population pyramid is actually a pyramid, which is why this didn't work for Hong Kong, and likely wouldn't work for US / Canada. The future truly belongs to the youth of Nepal. Their...

      their population pyramid is actually a pyramid, which is why this didn't work for Hong Kong, and likely wouldn't work for US / Canada. The future truly belongs to the youth of Nepal. Their challenges are very very harsh, but certainly they have their priority straight of ousting corruption and ruling families first. I am watching their trajectory with great interest and well wishes. gg indeed

      4 votes
  7. chocobean
    Link
    It's Monday but I missed this one and cant' wait: Man arrested after driving child-size pink Barbie Jeep through Prince George, B.C.

    It's Monday but I missed this one and cant' wait:

    Man arrested after driving child-size pink Barbie Jeep through Prince George, B.C.

    Kasper Lincoln was caught 'riding purdy' in a pretty pink Barbie Jeep. He says police nearly impounded the toy, which belongs to his friend's daughter, but his friend convinced them to let him take it home. [...]

    RCMP say they pulled Lincoln over for a traffic stop and, in the course of talking to him, found he had a suspended licence and believed he was inebriated, later verified by two breath analysis tests, which Lincoln also confirmed to CBC News.

    Lincoln also said the police told him they had received multiple calls about him, and told him he'd been driving in the middle of the road, which he denied, saying that for the majority of his journey he had been driving on the sidewalk until he saw the blocked off lane.

    But none of that information was available to onlookers like Andrea Stirgard, a mail carrier who was leaving a nearby Canada Post office, was with her co-workers when they saw the Barbie Jeep coming toward them.

    "We were just kind of watching him, living his best life," she said of Lincoln. "He was just happy as a clam.... We were actually kind of jealous."

    The police action, she said "seems a bit overkill, but that's just me."

    "It was honestly epic, I give the guy 10 stars."

    4 votes
  8. CannibalisticApple
    Link
    Blue Archive got hacked, but the hacker just spawned the same character everywhere without touching valuable data, Nexon confirms A bit older than a week but figured I'd share. For context, Blue...

    Blue Archive got hacked, but the hacker just spawned the same character everywhere without touching valuable data, Nexon confirms

    A bit older than a week but figured I'd share. For context, Blue Archive seems to be some online anime RPG game. I know nothing about it, I just found out about it from this amusing video of the hack. Even without knowing anything about the game, I can agree this is one of the funniest hacks of all time. No malice or theft or inappropriate content, just spamming a single character.

    3 votes