Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[Kyuu]

Two-Inch Feather Emerges From Baby's Neck

http://news.yahoo.com/two-inch-feath...opstories.html

Just the headline alone was enough to go... But yea, kids. All sorts of strange things happen, huh?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

I think you're mistaken it for the wrong bear here.

I thought all bears are supposed to be friendly creatures like that. It is just that their big size and carnivorous nature that makes them feared, albeit inappropriately.

That is why people wear bear fur coats, to make themselves look friendlier and warmer to children. Why can't people look at things from a more positive perspective?

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Kyuu

http://news.yahoo.com/two-inch-feath...opstories.html

Just the headline alone was enough to go... But yea, kids. All sorts of strange things happen, huh?

Don't our bodies already do this with splinters?
A lot of them eventually just gets pushed out unbeknownst to the host?

Although something the size of 2-inch feather is quite amazing.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I thought all bears are supposed to be friendly creatures like that. It is just that their big size and carnivorous nature that makes them feared, albeit inappropriately.

That is why people wear bear fur coats, to make themselves look friendlier and warmer to children. Why can't people look at things from a more positive perspective?

Ever heard of the giant man-eating bear in Japan that nearly decimated an entire village?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebe..._bear_incident

[Chaos2Frozen]

As always with this kind of stories, the humans end up killing an obscene number of bears compared to the number of people the one bear had killed.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

As always with this kind of stories, the humans end up killing an obscene number of bears compared to the number of people the one bear had killed.

That's very nice. Too bad it has nothing to do with the conversation.

The question at hand is, whether or not to disregard wildlife threat to those who live in the proximity or not.
Not a silly Parasyte-like moral lesson in effect, no one's accusing the bear species as bad guys.


.... that stigma usually falls on the wolves. Poor misunderstood wolves.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Why so agitated boss :3 ?

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Why so agitated boss :3 ?

My soon to be wife was eaten by a bear.



........ or something. Anyways wolf racism > bear racism!

[ganbaru]

AP PHOTOS: Creepy ghost town comes up for air
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...05-10-02-29-30

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by aohige

Ever heard of the giant man-eating bear in Japan that nearly decimated an entire village?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebe..._bear_incident

Yes I know. I think for that issue, it is due to the bear having its territory enroached and destroyed for colonisation, and awoke hungry, and having no familiar place to find its food.

So is it the bear's fault or the humans' fault? Kind of like a question that is difficult to answer.

Originally Posted by aohige

.... that stigma usually falls on the wolves. Poor misunderstood wolves.

The reason why wolves have that stigma is because cats created and spread the rumours around humans so they can have the wolves to themselves.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Yes I know. I think for that issue, it is due to the bear having its territory enroached and destroyed for colonisation, and awoke hungry, and having no familiar place to find its food.

So is it the bear's fault or the humans' fault? Kind of like a question that is difficult to answer.

It's never the animal's fault, it's always the humans' fault.
They're simply following their natural behavior.

But nontheless, as a social creature, we still must take precautions for our own safety.
It's not about right and wrong, it's simply about our own interest.

The reason why wolves have that stigma is because cats created and spread the rumours around humans so they can have the wolves to themselves.

I take back my previous statement, cats are evil. Period.

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

AP PHOTOS: Creepy ghost town comes up for air
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...05-10-02-29-30

Proving that the time and cycles are measured differently for humans and nature.

[ganbaru]

Oregon smokejumpers skydive into illegal pot garden
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...05-09-19-20-05

[JokerD]

'Air stewardess' billionaire loses bet to Air Asia chief
'Air stewardess' billionaire loses bet to Air Asia chief

NSFW

Warning: Not safe to view at work or school!

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Sir Richard Branson lost a friendly bet to AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandez after wagering on which of their Formula One racing teams would finish ahead of each other in their debut season of the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and that the loser would serve as a female flight attendant on board the winner's airline.

Well at least he kept his word
Even if it looks horrible

[RRW]

It appears the chips are down for this brother and sisters.

Citra siblings Darren Hagerman. 25, and Jessica Huggard, 22, are in the slammer after a deputy caught them in a Ford van loaded with stolen Frito-Lay chips, according to a news release from the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/str...0,171078.story

[AnimeFan188]

Flying car crashes near elementary school in Canada:

"A flying car crashed near an elementary school in Vernon, British Columbia on
Friday, according to a report from CBCNews. The car, which is kept aloft by a
parasail and driven forward by a rear propeller, hit a fence and then a tree. Both
the pilot and passenger were injured."

See:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/...ool-in-canada/

[ganbaru]

Mom: Accused boy, 12, 'could never' hurt sister
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...05-12-21-21-39

[Kyero Fox]

^ Neither Strange or Silly...

[aohige]

Originally Posted by JokerD

'Air stewardess' billionaire loses bet to Air Asia chief
'Air stewardess' billionaire loses bet to Air Asia chief

NSFW

Warning: Not safe to view at work or school!

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Well at least he kept his word
Even if it looks horrible

Good Ol' chaps having jolly good fun.

Asian entrepreneurs can learn a thing or two from these laid-back millionaires.


EDIT: Sooooo.... um, that new Lamborghini.
They did ask the studio for permission for the new car design... right?



Because um, that's way to suspiciously similar to a certain car we're all familiar with.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by aohige

EDIT: Sooooo.... um, that new Lamborghini.
They did ask the studio for permission for the new car design... right?

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Because um, that's way to suspiciously similar to a certain car we're all familiar with.

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

UOU! I did not see that similarity at first but now that you point it out it's uncanny. I don't think it's intentional though, Lamborghini designers just seem to have lost whatever marbles they had left.

[SaintessHeart]

4 Things Rich People Should Stop Saying

I have nothing against rich people. Hell, I’m hoping to become rich too. And if you ask around, some people would place me in…would place me in the “not poor” category, let’s leave it at that. But that being said, I want to point out that there are some seriously annoying rich people in this country. Not because they have money, bu because they like to say the following crap. If you’re one of them, please stop it:

1. If You’re Not Rich, It’s Your Own Fault

Ah, the meritocracy argument. The belief that effort always correlates to success.

This belief conveniently ignores context. See, certain professions pay better at different times and places. If this were the 1940′s, for example, my pay as a writer would kick seven shades of faeces out of a movie director. And if we were in the Middle Ages, we’d probably point at doctors and say “That’s what happens when you don’t study hard“.

Now, let’s look at 21st century Singapore: No matter how much effort a mechanic, cleaner, or childcare teacher puts in, that person will not earn more than an investment banker.

That isn’t necessarily because investment bankers work harder, or somehow contribute more to society (in fact, the closer to manual labour a job is, the more likely it is to directly benefit society). It’s just that the current economy makes banking a more profitable trade.

If we can save the company $5 million, we might get an extra sandwich at lunch.

The investment bankers, like the app developers who work five hours a week, happened to be in the right place at the right time. They’re rich partly due to circumstance, and not because they’re inherently superior beings launched from Krypton.

I’m not suggesting they didn’t do any work to get there. Or that they don’t have talent. I’m just saying they need to acknowledge it’s not just will, but also circumstance (including educational opportunities) that gave them their success. And maybe following us on Facebook, because we talk about career upgrading all the time.

And that sometimes, people can’t succeed because they’re in the wrong place or time. Not because they don’t try as hard.


2. Mocking the Amount of Money Involved in Scandals

When a scandal hits the front page, there’s a lot of public indignation. Maybe someone seriously overpaid for bicycles, or the director of a charity fund decides “Hey, you know what would help impoverished kidney patients? A golden tap in my office.”

When that happens, we’re all shaken. It ruins our trust in charities, government bodies, etc. But then a small percentage of our population (typically the rich) will say something stupid. Stuff like:

“Come on, $X dollars only? That sort of money is nothing! Why are you people getting worked up over what is, to me, a tiny amount?”

It gets even worse when backed by arguments like:

-$2,000+ is an okay price for a bicycle. I mean, who can’t afford to pay that money for a bit of convenience?
-Compared to how much swindler X made for charity / the government / a company, the money he took is no big deal

Those arguments are (1) a slap in the face, and (2) missing the point.

A few thousand, or hundred thousand, is not a small amount of money. It might seem that way, if you have a District 9 condo worth a Saudi Prince’s harem.

But for many Singaporeans, an amount like $57,000 could pay their HDB loan for years. When rich people roll their eyes at the “trivial” amounts, it’s no less than a wealthy, fat tourist waving a a drumstick at hungry villagers. We’re happy you’re rich and all, but you don’t have to act like a contemptuous dic…person.

Second, we’re not outraged at the amount of money involved. We get that, when someone commits a commercial crime, it isn’t so he can buy a $2 Slurpee. We’re outraged at the betrayal of trust.

It’s not about whether $10,000 or $10 was wrongfully taken. The point is that it was wrongfully taken. If your 10 year old son steals $20 out your wallet, how would you feel? Betrayed and alarmed? Or would you laugh and say “Hell, it’s just $20?”

That’s what we’re pissed about. And that’s why rich people need to lay off the “He may have stolen $X, but he made $Y” argument. It misses the point.


3. Dispensing Advice That Only Other Rich People Can Use

Rich people who were born poor will never do this. But Singapore is home to the occasional heir, who never had to earn his money. And when that person gives advice, I cringe.

Mostly, the advice sounds like this:

Poor Man: I don’t even have a bowl of Yong Tau Foo, I’m starving man.

Rich Brat: Then why don’t you drink some Bird’s Nest? It’s very filling.

Other examples are:

Suggesting your relieve stress by taking a one month holiday, and not understanding why you can’t do this
Wondering why you won’t go on an all salmon diet and sign up for a $3,000 Yoga class, when it’s for your own health
Asking why you don’t just “take a cab there”. Every. Damn. Time.
Suggesting you cure your poverty by investing in property or gold. Because he thinks someone who makes $1,200 a month is in a position to do this.

Look, if you inherited money, congratulations. We’re all happy for you. But if you’re going to walk around dispensing advice, may I suggest you listen first?

Perhaps if you spent less time talking, and more time understanding the issues of the less fortunate, you’d be able to make a real contribution.


4. Saying That Money Trickles Down, Even if You Won’t Invest in Us

Do you invest in local start-ups? Contribute a lot to charity? If you do, you sort of have a right to use the “trickle down” argument.

But you need to realize some rich people are just here to stash money, or for the tax breaks. Or to buy our property. And that money doesn’t “trickle down”. It sloshes around in their bank account, never circulating into our society.

Saying it “trickles down” is like putting a bag of plasma in my hand, and telling me if I hold it long enough I’ll have a full blood transfusion.

So if you’re one of those rich people who walk around saying: “Singaporeans suck, they have no creativity, I’ll never invest here, blah blah blah“, then stop using terms like “trickle down” or “a rising tide lifts all boats”. You do nothing for us. We’re doing you the service, by giving you a low-tax residence that you contribute diddly squat to.

Now back in the 70′s and 80′s, people didn’t put their money here because we’re a tax haven. Or because it’s easy to import cheap labour here. They came here to set up businesses and invest in our workforce, because we had the best and brightest.

They believed in us. Hell, we believed in ourselves. And as a consequence, we got richer together. Now that’s a trickle down effect. If we’re lucky, we’ll recapture that spirit.

But in the meantime rich guy, unless you actually invest in us, lay off the trickle down arguments.