10 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 alex pretti, anti ice and youtubers. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was bemused.

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!

7 comments

  1. [2]
    skybrian
    Link
    China’s new condom tax will prove no effective barrier to country’s declining fertility rate (Mostly for the headline.)

    China’s new condom tax will prove no effective barrier to country’s declining fertility rate

    Once the world’s most populous nation, China is now among the many Asian countries struggling with anemic fertility rates. In an attempt to double the country’s rate of 1.0 children per woman, Beijing is reaching for a new tool: taxes on condoms, birth control pills and other contraceptives.

    (Mostly for the headline.)

    7 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      From experience, tax is cheaper, just saying!

      From experience, tax is cheaper, just saying!

      5 votes
  2. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Soap, wifi, but no football: a room without a view at Blackpool’s stadium hotel The Guardian – Michael Butler – 25th January 2026

    Soap, wifi, but no football: a room without a view at Blackpool’s stadium hotel

    Seems perfectly reasonable that anyone booking a “Superior Room with Pitch View” at the Blackpool Football Club Stadium hotel, located inside the Bloomfield Road Stadium, would expect a hotel room with a view of the pitch. And that is exactly the case – except, bizarrely, when Blackpool are actually playing, with some hotel guests scuppered recently by the smallest of fine print when booking: “Due to the EFL rules and regulations, bedroom curtains have to be kept drawn throughout a match.” Failure to do so could result in a £2,500 fine. Ouch.

    The Guardian – Michael Butler – 25th January 2026

    6 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      Cool nonetheless. Reminds me of hotels with baseball diamond field.

      Cool nonetheless. Reminds me of hotels with baseball diamond field.

      2 votes
  3. [2]
    jredd23
    Link
    A really good secret is that we have had a snow storm on the NorthEast part of the USA, however I did find my next build; Autonomous snow blower - the next step in our evolution. Finally,...

    A really good secret is that we have had a snow storm on the NorthEast part of the USA, however I did find my next build; Autonomous snow blower - the next step in our evolution. Finally, something I can totally see myself buying and if need be building it! If you build it, they will....

    4 votes