Asif Khan

Neil Harbisson, A Real-Life Cyborg Who Can Hear Colors And Make Dirty Socks Sing

Neil Harbisson is an evolutionary event. But the event has unfolded in such a low-key, under-the-radar way that not many know about it, or even realise its importance. For quite a few it’s even a joke. For Neil Harbisson is the world’s first officially recognized cyborg. A cyborg, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “a person […]

8y ago

Japan

Don’t Fart In Public, Japan Tells Tourists

Farting is not a spectator sport, and the Japanese are quite clear about it. Japan’s Hokkaido Tourism Organization has issued an advisory for foreign tourists, asking them to withhold their fire completely in public or at least be super discreet about it. The advisory comes in the form of an illustrated booklet titled The Traveler’s […]

8y ago

London|Twitter

Rent Rage: Londoners Reveal On Twitter How They Are Being Ripped Off By Greedy Landlords

The rent you pay for a roof over your head is going through the roof. What would you do? Young Londoners have hit upon a novel way of tackling this problem. Fed up with the ever-rising cost of rentals, they have started an online campaign to shame their greedy landlords. Tenants are scribbling their rent […]

8y ago

Bullet Train Converted Into Art Gallery, Touted As World’s Fastest Art Experience

You may have admired contemporary art on solid ground, but have you ever done that on a moving train? Art lovers will now have the opportunity of doing exactly that. Japan’s Genbi Shinkansen, a “contemporary art bullet train,” has hit the rails today in all its “artful” glory. A veritable art gallery on wheels, Genbi […]

8y ago

Fugu: This Fish Dish Can Kill You, Recommended Only For The Brave And The Suicidal

Is it worth risking your life for fish? Quite a few Japanese think so, which explains why fugu the fish dish is such a sought-after delicacy in Japan. The Japanese have been eating it for ages, knowing fully well that they may not come out of the meal alive. For just a single tiny fugu […]

8y ago

Man Keeps Zombie In His Front Yard, 5 Years Later Gets An Order To Remove It

Is it illegal to keep a friendly zombie in your front yard? A Nashville resident has found to his horror that it just may be the case — his homeowners’ association has ordered him to remove a zombie statue from his front yard, WKRN reported. Jim Grinstead has had the statue on his lawn for […]

8y ago

World’s First Snoopy Museum Opens in Tokyo

World’s first Snoopy Museum opens in Tokyo’s Roppongi district today. It is the first official “satellite” museum of the original Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, and will display over one hundred artworks of the late American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. Schulz is famous all over the world for his Peanuts comic strip, […]

8y ago

Detachable Penis Leaves Hercules Blushing

Getting your penis stolen with unfailing regularity is not good news, especially if you have been the poster boy of masculinity for thousands of years. Unknown miscreants have been stealing the penis of a Hercules statue in France for quite some time now, and the situation has gotten so bad that the authorities have been […]

8y ago

Selfie Bench ‘Scandal’ Hits Welsh Town

Imagine going to a cinema hall and finding the seats facing away from the screen. Or going to a tennis match and finding the seats facing away from the court. Something similar has happened with two newly installed seaside benches in Porthcawl, Wales. The benches have sparked off a controversy after it was noticed that […]

8y ago

‘Hello, This Is The Swedish Prime Minister Speaking’

It’s no prank. Sweden wants to talk to you. If you are lucky, even the Swedish prime minister will talk to you. Callers to “The Swedish Number” in Sweden – world’s first country to have its own phone number – were in for a big surprise when the country’s prime minister himself started taking the […]

8y ago

Man Starts Living In A Box, Authorities ‘Unbox’ Him Over Safety Concerns

This is a major setback for the box-living movement. A 25-year-old San Francisco man who had started living in a wooden box to save money has had to move out because city authorities deemed his dwelling unsafe. Peter Berkowitz had been living inside a tiny, specially-constructed wooden box for the past few weeks. The box […]

8y ago

Drones Turn Into Delivery Boys In Japan

Home delivery will never be the same again. Japan has started to test out drones as “delivery boys” in the country’s Chiba prefecture, a first-of-its-kind initiative in an urban area. The trial run – or rather, flight – saw drones loaded with delivery goods flying between shopping malls, nearby parks and apartment buildings. The demo […]

8y ago

This Aging Suit Will Make You As Old As Your Grandpa

Many of us are guilty of this: getting annoyed with old people for being too slow, too “time-consuming.” What if we were able to experience, even for a brief while, how it actually feels to be an old person? To see the world through their eyes, to walk as they walk, to talk as they […]

8y ago

Cuddle Alert: Cuddle Hedgehogs In Tokyo, Turn ‘Chief Wombat Cuddler’ In Tasmania

Two cuddle-worthy news items have hit the internet recently, one involving cafe-dwelling hedgehogs, and the other an orphaned wombat. Let’s check out the stories. Hedgehog Cafe Hedgehogs have always gotten bad press owing to their prickly nature. Regarded by many as the animal version of a cactus plant, they don’t easily inspire cuddlesome thoughts. But […]

8y ago

Poo Museum Wows Britain With Breathtaking Exhibits

Everybody does it. Those you can’t possibly imagine doing it, also do it. Nothing unites humankind the way this simple, primitive digestive climax does. Yet, a vast conspiracy of silence reigns over this most basic of human acts. But not anymore, not anymore. A poo museum has just opened up, and that, too, in a […]

8y ago

Doctors Save Man’s Hand From Amputation By Burying It In His Stomach

Surgeons have saved the hand of an injured factory worker from a near-certain amputation by burying it in his stomach. A “pocket” was created in the belly of Carlos Mariotti, 42, and his injured left hand was put in this pocket and stitched up after covering the area with a protective skin flap, the Mirror […]

8y ago

‘Hardcore Henry’: The Marriage Of Action Film And Video Game

Hardcore Henry is the kind of movie that compels its makers to jokingly call for “splash zones” in theaters i.e. having the first few rows in theaters reserved for nausea-prone viewers who can watch the movie and vomit in peace. For those not so easily made queasy, Hardcore Henry promises a first-of-its-kind experience at the […]

8y ago

books

Human Library: You Can Borrow People Here And Read Them

Have you ever been to a human library? A human library is a place where you “borrow” human beings instead of books, and then go on to “read” them, that is, have a conversation with them. It is a place where difficult questions are “expected, appreciated and answered.” Founded in Denmark in 2000, the Human […]

8y ago

scotland

Ambassadog Wanted: Scotland Launches Hunt For A Dog Ambassador

Bark if you qualify. Scotland’s national tourist board VisitScotland has launched a hunt for an “Ambassadog,” a dog ambassador who will promote tourism in Scotland this year, according to a report in The National. The chosen Ambassadog and its owner will get to travel around Scotland, attend promotional events and walks, and if lucky, meet […]

8y ago

San Francisco|Train

Manspreading: San Francisco Subway Proposes Up To $500 Fine For Offenders

Manspreading, the male practice of sitting with legs spread wide and hogging additional seat space, could attract a fine of up to $500 in San Francisco subway trains, according to a proposed plan. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the railway system serving San Francisco’s Bay Area, has proposed a staggered penalty structure for passengers […]

8y ago