The Unlikely Success Story of a Man Who Gets Paid to Do Nothing
A 37-year-old Japanese man has built a successful career by renting himself out to do nothing. For some reason, he is inundated with requests from people who just want him by their side. In just two years, Shoji Morimoto has gone from being just another unemployed middle-aged man in Tokyo, to a minor Japanese celebrity, […]
The Men in This Bangladeshi Family Have No Fingerprints
In a world where fingerprints are the most collected and used biometric data, having no fingerprints is both a blessing and a curse, as the men in the Sarker family can attest. For several generations, Sarker men have been born with completely smooth fingertips, and while that may not have been a huge deal a […]
Alien Dumplings – A Downright Scary-Looking Dish
The world is full of unappetizing dishes, from fermented fish dishes to the dreaded Kiviaq, but few actually look scary to get near to, let alone put in your mouth. These Japanese dumplings definitely fall in the latter category. Last year, we published a story on one of the world’s most bizarre looking fish, the […]
After 20 Years, Court Tells Baker to Stop Selling Cookies Made With Sawdust
A German baker who has reportedly been selling sawdust cookies for around two decades has recently been ordered to stop, as the finely milled wood has been deemed unfit for human consumption. An administrative court in the southwestern German city of Karlsruhe has upheld a decision to ban the sale of cookies made with sawdust, […]
Man Turns Everyday Items Into Complex Exoskeletons Inspired by Popular Robots
Known as the “Brooklyn Transformer”, Peter Kokis has become a very recognizable figure in New York, thanks to an arsenal of impressive robot exoskeletons made out of all sorts of everyday items. A former military pilot, Peter Kokis started making his now-famous exoskeletons after joking around with an ex-girlfriend. At one point, during a conversations, […]
Artist Turns Old Lighthouse Into a Vibrantly Colored Work of Art
Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel turned a non-descript lighthouse in northern Spain’s Cantabria region into an eye-catching work of art. Inspired by the “natural wealth of the region by representing local fauna and, with its textures, the cultural diversity of a modern and open Cantabria, which is connected to the world,” Okuda San Miguel turned […]
This 25-Year-Old Puddle Has Its Own Instagram Account
A giant puddle in Russia’s Far East city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is being described as “invincible”, after it somehow survived unfixed for over a quarter of a century. It now has its own Instagram page and over 16,000 followers. As it often happens in Russia and other eastern European countries, what started out as a small […]
Talented Chef Makes Pancake Portraits Inspired by Pop Culture Icons and Anime Characters
Keisuke Inagaki, who describes himself as the “otaku chef” of La Ricetta Restaurant in Zama, Japan, has combined his two biggest passions – cooking and anime – to create his own style of pancake art. The 51-year-old Japanese chef started making cute pancakes in 2011, as a way of lifting the spirits of kids in […]
Entrepreneur Builds 600-Square-Meter Floating Sea Mansion
A Chinese entrepreneur spent a year and only 400,000 yuan ($61,000) building himself an awesome, 600-square-foot floating home on the coast of Fujian province. The protagonist of our story is a young entrepreneur known only by his nickname, “Coastline”, who grew up near the sea, spending most of his time fishing and taking in the […]
This Family Has Been Creating Beautiful Ice Trees Every Christmas, for Over 60 Years
Every year since 1961, the Veal family has been celebrating Christmas by creating their now-traditional giant ice tree on their property in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has become known as the Veal Ice Tree and is considered a seasonal tourist attraction. If you’ve had enough of traditional Christmas trees and you’re looking for something more original, […]
This Ninja-Like Face Mask Promises to Give You a Non-Invasive Face Lift
People nowadays pay lots of money for youth-maintaining facial plastic surgery, but one Japanese company claims that its’ face mask can deliver the same results as a lift, so you don’t have to go under the knife. Japanese company Ya-man claims that its MedLift silicone mask can keep you looking young by sending electrical signals […]
YouTuber’s False Review Forces South Korean Restaurant to Shut Down
HayanTree, a popular restaurant and food reviewer on YouTube, has recently come under fire for causing a restaurant to close down after his false review negatively affected the business. On December 7, HayanTree, who at the time sported just over 700,000 subscribers on YouTube, posted a video review of an all-you-can-eat soy sauce-marinated crab restaurant […]
World’s Ugliest Orchid Discovered in the Forests of Madagascar
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but looking at this new species of orchid discovered by scientists in the forests of Madagascar, it’s easy to see why it’s already been dubbed the “world’s ugliest orchid”. With over 700 genera and around 28,000 individual species, orchids make up one of the largest […]
The World’s Oldest Coal Fire Has Been Burning For 6,000 Years
A coal seam approximately 30 meters under Australia’s Mount Wingen has been burning continuously for approximately 6,000 years, earning the place its famous nickname, Burning Mountain. Underground coal seam fires are not at all uncommon, in fact it’s estimated that about 1,000 coal seams are burning around the world at any one point. Such fires […]
The Photolike Ballpoint Pen Portraits of Oscar Ukonu
Nigerian artist Oscar Ukonu is a master of the ballpoint pen. He wields the writing tool with such precision and skill that he is able to draw artworks that cannot be distinguished from high-resolution photographs. The self-taught artist started drawing when he was nine-years-old, but only got into hyperrealistic art during his time in architecture […]