11 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 flock, internet and creative_suite. 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!

6 comments

  1. [2]
    mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Finland Wins World Olive Picking Championship in Croatia Olive Oil Times – Nedjeljko Jusup – 12th October 2026

    Finland Wins World Olive Picking Championship in Croatia

    Finland emerged as the surprise winner of the ninth World Olive Picking Championship on the Croatian island of Brač, outperforming teams from nine other countries despite having no olive-growing tradition of its own.

    The Finnish team harvested 55.4 kilograms of olives in just 45 minutes, finishing ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland in a competition that combines traditional olive harvesting with international tourism and friendly rivalry.

    Olive Oil Times – Nedjeljko Jusup – 12th October 2026

    9 votes
    1. jredd23
      Link Parent
      For some reason I had always thought Italy was No. 1 so am glad someone else is No. 1

      For some reason I had always thought Italy was No. 1 so am glad someone else is No. 1

      1 vote
  2. chocobean
    Link
    Dying man's wish to see highland cow fulfilled The gentleman is still okay, and he seems super happy. Article has two photos of happy man and soft adorable "heylan coo" . The lady who owns the...

    Dying man's wish to see highland cow fulfilled

    The gentleman is still okay, and he seems super happy. Article has two photos of happy man and soft adorable "heylan coo" . The lady who owns the cows is a nurse, and was inspired by Jeremy Clarkson's Farm, apparently, and farming pulled her out of a dark spot after COVID.

    3 votes
  3. [3]
    jredd23
    Link
    So AI says; The odds of winning with the specific number 000 in Pick 3 are 1 in 1,000. This indicates that there is a 0.1% chance of this number being drawn as the winning combination. NC people...

    So AI says; The odds of winning with the specific number 000 in Pick 3 are 1 in 1,000. This indicates that there is a 0.1% chance of this number being drawn as the winning combination. NC people say, hold my beer!
    0-0-0 Lucky lottery number

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      balooga
      Link Parent
      Math derail: How many possible combinations of digits are there in a three-digit number? If the low end of the range is 000 and the high end is 999, you’ve already got the answer. Well— add one...

      Math derail: How many possible combinations of digits are there in a three-digit number? If the low end of the range is 000 and the high end is 999, you’ve already got the answer. Well— add one because you’re counting that zero as a possible value too, so… 1,000. Just struck me as funny that you asked AI to calculate the odds here, and I get it because probabilities can be surprisingly tricky to work out. But in this case it’s literally just counting!

      2 votes
      1. jredd23
        Link Parent
        True that, I asked my buddy Claude for tomorrow’s numbers and I am still waiting; maybe tomorrow I will get them. Otherwise just do what people are doing, lucky number zero baby! Ride or die, am...

        True that, I asked my buddy Claude for tomorrow’s numbers and I am still waiting; maybe tomorrow I will get them. Otherwise just do what people are doing, lucky number zero baby! Ride or die, am all in…

        1 vote