9 votes

Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like coordinates, consumer electronics and dictionaries. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was befuddled.

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!

4 comments

  1. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Trains cancelled over fake bridge collapse image BBC News – Zoe Toase & Laura O'Neill – 6th December 2025

    Trains cancelled over fake bridge collapse image

    Trains were halted after a suspected AI-generated picture that seemed to show major damage to a bridge appeared on social media following an earthquake.

    Network Rail said the railway line was fully reopened at around 02:00 GMT and it has urged people to "think about the serious impact it could have" before creating or sharing hoax images.

    BBC News – Zoe Toase & Laura O'Neill – 6th December 2025

    4 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      Heck, that's not odd, that's darn f'ing scary! I can't imagine what the mass panic will be because of this action. I wonder if laws would apply; it's to me like yelling fire in a theater. I am no...

      Heck, that's not odd, that's darn f'ing scary! I can't imagine what the mass panic will be because of this action. I wonder if laws would apply; it's to me like yelling fire in a theater. I am no DA but this to me should be prosecuted. It's bad enough that foreign states etc., are trying to create strife, panic, cheat etc., but when it gets to this local level I would hope that there are consequences to actions that this causes. Doesn't say how it started, but in my opinion, just sharing without validating is to me wrong and should have consequences. If not the people, the platform that allows this sort of thing to happen.

      4 votes
  2. fefellama
    Link
    (In Portuguese) Man chokes and dies at a resort during a watermelon eating contest The prize would have been a serving of french fries. I always thought that amateur eating contests were low-key...

    (In Portuguese) Man chokes and dies at a resort during a watermelon eating contest

    The prize would have been a serving of french fries.

    I always thought that amateur eating contests were low-key dangerous, seems like that was the case here.

    3 votes
  3. jredd23
    Link
    From our news desk in Brick, NJ, we go live! It seems the alleged deer, Rudolph, we believe in custom. Was caught creating a ruckus and perhaps drunk with power. The alleged perpetrator named...

    From our news desk in Brick, NJ, we go live! It seems the alleged deer, Rudolph, we believe in custom. Was caught creating a ruckus and perhaps drunk with power. The alleged perpetrator named Rudolph, we believe, was politely asked to leave the store. After refusing, deer was pushed out!

    2 votes