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 running.trail, education and hyperphantasia. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was in the dark.

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. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Meloni's Brothers of Italy party launches saucy carbonara crusade in the European Parliament Euronews – Vincenzo Genovese – 18th November 2025

    Meloni's Brothers of Italy party launches saucy carbonara crusade in the European Parliament

    Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s party has cooked up a letter to President Metsola criticising the sale of "Italian-style" products in the Parliament’s supermarket in Brussels.

    After having accused the European Commission of "cancelling Christmas," Italian conservatives are now turning their ire against the European Parliament, which in their view is guilty of allowing the sales of faux "Italian-style" products within its premises in Brussels.

    Euronews – Vincenzo Genovese – 18th November 2025

    7 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      At last, the start of the food wars has begun.

      At last, the start of the food wars has begun.

      3 votes
  2. [4]
    patience_limited
    Link
    What is menstrual masking? The potentially risky new beauty trend IMHO, this treatment is best suited for the faces of politicians who interfere with reproductive rights, but I digress.

    What is menstrual masking? The potentially risky new beauty trend

    Popularised on social media, hashtags such as #periodfacemask have amassed billions of views. In most videos, users apply menstrual blood for a few minutes before rinsing it off. There’s no clear agreement on how much blood to use or how long to leave it on. Some call the practice healing or empowering, describing it as a spiritual ritual that connects them to their bodies and ancestral femininity. But what does the science say?

    Advocates of menstrual masking often argue that period blood contains stem cells, cytokines and proteins that could rejuvenate the skin. There is currently no clinical evidence to support using menstrual blood as a topical skincare treatment. However, its biological composition has shown potential in medical research.

    A study found that plasma derived from menstrual fluid could significantly enhance wound healing. In laboratory tests, wounds treated with menstrual plasma showed 100% repair within 24 hours compared with 40% using regular blood plasma. This remarkable regeneration is thought to be linked to the unique proteins and bioactive molecules in menstrual fluid: the same substances that allow the uterus to rebuild itself every month.

    IMHO, this treatment is best suited for the faces of politicians who interfere with reproductive rights, but I digress.

    7 votes
    1. [3]
      first-must-burn
      Link Parent
      Your digression has me thinking about not-water balloons.

      IMHO, this treatment is best suited for the faces of politicians who interfere with reproductive rights, but I digress.

      Your digression has me thinking about water not-water balloons.

      7 votes
      2. chocobean
        Link Parent
        The kind of stock market we can all participate in.

        The kind of stock market we can all participate in.

        3 votes
  3. [2]
    JCPhoenix
    Link
    Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect Hmm.

    Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect

    We conducted a quasi-experimental field study on the Milan metro, observing 138 rides. In the control condition, a female experimenter, appearing pregnant, boarded the train with an observer. In the experimental condition, an additional experimenter dressed as Batman entered from another door. Passengers were significantly more likely to offer their seat when Batman was present (67.21% vs. 37.66%, OR = 3.393, p < 0.001).

    Hmm.

    7 votes
    1. chocobean
      Link Parent
      Surely we need to repeat this experiment with all kinds of era Batman (Batsmen?) to see which one inspires the most moral behaviour. And other characters too. Make a ranking tier list. Would Moses...

      Surely we need to repeat this experiment with all kinds of era Batman (Batsmen?) to see which one inspires the most moral behaviour.

      And other characters too. Make a ranking tier list. Would Moses or Jesus be S tier? Do people behave worse than baseline when it's a villain? What about completely offbeat characters like T-Rex or Minion? Also interested in Male/Female versions of the same character eg Superman vs Supergirl, Red vs Pink Power Rangers, Male vs Female Loki etc.

      4 votes
  4. [2]
    jredd23
    Link
    Fan of Mission Impossible tv series and movies. Always thought it was cool that once the mission was received, the device will self-destruct. Anyway, for those who aren't willing to put the work...

    Fan of Mission Impossible tv series and movies. Always thought it was cool that once the mission was received, the device will self-destruct. Anyway, for those who aren't willing to put the work into it, I got you fam!
    This SSD Includes a Self-Destruct Button That Will Wipe Its Data

    Of course, a user could destroy an SSD by physically crushing it.

    4 votes
    1. DistractionRectangle
      Link Parent
      This "external SSD will only complete the data wiping when it's connected to a PC." Good luck, Jim.

      This "external SSD will only complete the data wiping when it's connected to a PC." Good luck, Jim.

      4 votes