Italian Winemakers Set Vineyards Ablaze to Keep Them from Freezing
Breathtaking photos of vineyards in northern Italy lit up at night by hundreds of torches have been doing the rounds online for the past week. As temperatures unexpectedly dropped below zero last week, winemakers had to come up with a way to keep the vineyards from freezing, and fire was apparently their best choice. Farmers […]
This Giant Cup Of Coffee Comes With a Cotton Candy Cloud That Rains Sugar
If you’re looking for the ultimate instagrammable coffee, you’ll have a tough time finding something cooler than Sweet Little Rain. That’s an odd name for a cup of coffee, but once you see it in action, you’ll realize it makes perfect sense. Mellower Coffee, a Chinese coffee shop chain headquartered in Shanghai, owes much of […]
Tenants Stop Paying Rent to Protest Insanitary Conditions, Owner Removes Doors and Windows in Retaliation
It’s been over a month since Nicole and Pascal Vermeulen, a middle-aged couple from Lignières, France, have had to sleep in fear of someone simply walking into their home at night. That’s because they don’t have a front door anymore, or windows for that matter, after the house owner removed them as punishment for not receiving the […]
Man Allegedly Gets Pet Tarantula to Keep Arachnophobic Mother-in-Law Away
In a desperate attempt to get a break from his nagging in-laws and regain his privacy, a Reddit user allegedly took advantage of his mother-in-law’s severe arachnophobia by getting a tarantula as a pet. Reddit user “ProbablyAssholeGuy” isn’t really into tarantulas. He thinks they’re cool and all, but he wouldn’t have actually gotten one as […]
Drunk Man Throws Up Tumour, Gets Scared, Swallows It Back
A 63-year-old man recently made news headlines in China for reportedly throwing up a tumor after a drinking session, then getting scared and swallowing it back. The unnamed man from Hunchun County, in China’s Hubei Province, had allegedly been feeling discomfort in his throat for some time, but since it didn’t hinder his breathing or swallowing […]
French Village Is Offering $2,250 to Whoever Can Decipher Its Centuries-Old Stone Message
Plougastel, a small village in France’s Brittany region, is offering a prize of €2,000 ($2,250) to whoever can decipher a 230-year-old inscription carved into a nearby rock-slab. Discovered just a few years ago, the mysterious rock is located in a cove accessible only at low tide. It features 20 lines of writing in a “language” that so far […]
Viral Photos of “Young Boy” Marrying Adult Woman Are Not What They Seem
Last weekend, a series of photos that seemed to show a very young boy getting married to an adult woman went viral on Mexican social media. There was speculation of arranged marriage and child trafficking, but the true story turned out to be more tragic, and at the same time heartwarming, than everyone thought. Mexican […]
Pittsburgh Woman Terrified After Finding Ex-Boyfriend Living in Her Attic
A Pittsburgh woman who had noticed signs of strange activity in her house was shocked to discover that her ex boyfriend, who she had a restraining order against, had been living in her attic for at least three weeks. The woman, whose name was not disclosed by the press for security reasons, had noticed small things […]
This Man Is on a Quest to Build the World’s Largest Coin Pyramid
Three years ago, Corey Nielsen, a middle-aged man from Tolleson, Arizona, embarked on a journey to build the world’s largest pyramid of stacked pennies. He only had a few thousand coins and a dream at the time, but today he’s inching closer to finally accomplishing his goal. The current record for the world’s largest coin […]
Chinese Woman Tries to Eat Live Octopus on Camera, It Doesn’t Go Well
A vlogger from China who live-streamed herself trying to eat a live Pacific octopus ended up screaming in pain after the marine creature used its suckers to attach itself to her face. The young woman, who goes by “seaside girl Little Seven” on popular Chinese video platform Kuaishou, was allegedly planning to eat the octopus […]
Japanese Knotweed – An Invasive Plant That Is Proving Impossible to Control
With weedkillers more advanced than we’ve ever had and significant technological progress, it seems unlikely that any plant could cause major socioeconomic problems, at least in developed countries. That’s what makes the Japanese Knotweed so fascinating. Despite humanity’s best efforts to eradicate or at least control this resilient invasive plant, it continues to spread across […]
Giant Honeybees Use Shimmering “Mexican Waves” to Repel Invaders
The giant honeybees of East Asia can build impressive open nests measuring a few meters across. The fact that they are always exposed makes them vulnerable to predators, particularly large wasps and hornets that love nothing more than invading hives and stealing grubs. Luckily, the bees have a secret weapon that is as visually mesmerizing as […]
Professional Makeup Artist Uses Her Lips as a Canvas for Tiny, Detailed Artworks
We’ve featured some impressive body art on Oddity Central, like Luca Luce’s face-painted optical illusions or the colorful chest artworks of Georgina Ryland, but nothing quite like the detailed lip art of Ryan Kelly. The talented makeup artist paints tiny yet intricate portraits of celebrities and popular characters on her lips. Looking at the kind of […]
You Can Now Hire a Total Stranger to Argue on Your Behalf
If you’re not a confrontational person, having to argue with someone can be a daunting task. Luckily, Chinese online marketplace Taobao now offers people the chance to hire a “professional quarreler” to argue on their behalf. There’s a good reason why Taobao is considered the world’s largest e-commerce platform. You can find virtually anything there, […]
Crazy “Cockroach Challenge” Has People Taking Selfies with Roaches on Their Faces
We’ve seen some crazy internet challenges go viral in recent years, but this latest one takes the cake as the most disgusting of all. The Cockroach Challenge has people putting live cockroaches on their faces, taking a selfie and sharing it on social media. It’s hard to say for sure how and when the Cockroach […]