China’s ‘Stink-Raising Water’ Craze Sees Children Creating the Smelliest Potions Possible

There is a bizarre craze sweeping China’s primary and secondary schools. Students are adding all sorts of smelly ingredients to plastic bottles to create the stinkiest recipes possible. Chinese media recently reported multiple incidents involving bottles of foul-smelling water created by young school students using online recipes. Apparently, they were related to a strange craze […]

China’s Pyramid-Shaped Mountains Spark Conspiracy Theories

China’s Guizhou Province is home to about a dozen conical hills known as the Anlong Pyramids because of their resemblance to the much more famous pyramids of Egypt. In recent years, Anlong County has become a popular tourist destination thanks in no small part to its pyramid-like mountains which have captured the imaginations of millions […]

Self-Service Pet Vending Machines Spark Outrage in China

Photos and videos of unmanned vending machines selling live animals like cats, small dogs, and rodents installed in various Chinese cities have been going viral and sparking outrage among the general public. The significant technological developments of the last decade have created a fast-growing “unmanned economy” that continues to spread into almost every sector of […]

Wanted Criminal Pretends to Be Deaf and Mute for 20 Years to Avoid Prison

A Chinese man wanted for murder managed to avoid police detection for over 20 years by pretending to be a deaf and mute scavenger in the mountains of Hubei Province. On the evening of May 22, 2004, a young and quick-tempered man named Xiao got into a heated argument with a neighbor in his home […]

Man Dies Trying to Exercise by Hanging from a Chin Strap

A Chinese man recently lost his life while performing a controversial type of exercise that requires practitioners to hang only by their chins to relieve neck and spine pain by reducing pressure on nerves. Over the past decade or so, a bizarre form of exercise has been getting traction throughout China. It basically involves swinging […]

The World’s Deepest Subway Station Will Clog Up Your Ears

The Hongyancun subway station in Chongqing, China is 116 meters deep and the difference in air pressure will often leave users with clogged ears when accessed via its elevator. When the air pressure outside of the eardrum becomes different than the pressure inside, you experience ear barotrauma. It occurs most often during steep declines and […]

The Basic Dance Move Paralyzing Little Girls in China

The backbend is considered a crucial move in Chinese folk dancing, but it is also the main cause of severe spine cord injuries in children as young as five, leaving thousands of them paralyzed for life. Ironically, the vast majority of parents pushing their beloved children towards folk dancing have their offspring’s best interest in […]

Ox Horn – Huawei’s Newest R&D Complex in China Looks Bizarrely European

Ox Horn, a sprawling research and development complex built by Huawei in Shenzen, China, features 12 towns and 100 separate buildings, all inspired by European architecture. If someone were to be teleported in the middle of Ox Horn and made to guess where they were, China would probably be at the bottom of their answer […]

Nanny Left with 5-Month-Old Child After Parents Disappear with Her Money

A Chinese nanny has been forced to take care of a toddler for months without any compensation after the child’s parents disappeared without a trace with money they had borrowed from her. Ms. Yu, the victim in this bizarre case that has been making headlines in China for over a month, claims that she was […]

Restaurant Sparks Controversy for Serving Alien-Looking Raw Octopus Eggs

A Japanese food restaurant in Singapore recently attracted criticism online for serving a bizarre-looking dish consisting of a raw octopus egg sack. Known as tako tamago, the strange dish that landed Singapore restaurant Koji in hot water with social media users isn’t the most appetizing food we’ve ever featured on Oddity Central. It’s basically a […]

China’s Obsession with Protruding ‘Elf Ears’

In many cultures, ears protruding too much from the skull are considered a physical defect, but in China, people are more than happy to go under the knife to attain this physical trait known as “elf ears”. China’s ‘elf ears’ cosmetic craze received worldwide attention in 2021 when it was covered by some of the […]

Young Woman Who Called Boyfriend Up to 100 Times a Day Diagnosed with “Love Brain”

An 18-year-old Chinese girl who became so obsessed with her boyfriend that she tracked his every move and called him 100 times per day was eventually diagnosed with a condition called “love brain”. Chinese outlet Yueniu News recently reported the case of Xiaoyu, an 18-year-old girl from Sichuan province who became so obsessed with her […]