Made with 400 grams of solid gold and decorated with 152 sapphires, the Louis XIII Fleur de Parme is recognized as the world’s most expensive cigar lighter.

French luxury brand S.T. Dupont started working on the Louis XIII Fleur de Parme cigar lighter at the special request of Steven Hung, a Hong Kong billionaire with a passion for French history. The client had very specific requirements that made it obvious to Dupont that this project could only be carried out by a special designer with an intimate knowledge of French culture and history. Enter Princess Tania de Bourbon Parme, a direct descendant of Louis XIII, but also a renowned designer, who spent six months working with a team of 80 artisans to produce a unique art piece worthy of the title of ‘world’s most expensive cigar lighter’.

Read More »

40-year-old Yoshitaka has been happily married to 65-year-old Aki for over eleven years, despite only learning about the age gap between them on the day before their wedding.

Yoshitaka was only 29 when he met the love of his life. Aki was running a Japanese-style bar and after making some small talk, they realized they had very much in common. They had both gone through failed marriages and were raising children alone, and after visiting Aki’s bar a few times, Yoshitaka asked her out on a date. The Japanese man could tell she was a bit older than him, but he never guessed her real age and she didn’t reveal it either, fearing that it would just scare him away. She was 54 at the time, but told Yoshitaka that she was 44, and he never suspected anything. Aki was always cheerful and her smooth skin didn’t betray her age, so she was able to keep her secret for seven years, up until the day before their wedding.

Read More »

Fat-tailed sheep are a type of domestic sheep mainly found in arid areas and known for accumulating fat, mainly in the rear part of their bodies, which not only gives them a unique look but also helps them stay cool in extreme heat.

Native to the Middle East and North Africa, fat-tailed sheep have been around for thousands of years, but some people are still oblivious to their existence, mainly because of their geographical distribution. In the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about fat-tailed sheep and how shepherds made small wheeled carts to keep their animals’ droopy tails from touching the ground. Although there are several fat-tailed sheep breeds, most of them have broad fat-tails where large amounts of fat are accumulated in buttock-like deposits in the hind parts of a sheep, on both sides. Some of them end up looking like they had a Brazilian butt lift, which makes them really popular with breeders.

Read More »

A small shrine along the treacherous Gata Loops in India’s mountainous Ladakh region has become famous for the large number of plastic bottles left as offerings to a spirit known as the Ghost Of The Gata Loops.

Bicycle and motorcycle racers traversing the Gata Loops as part of their Trans-Himalaya tours are often confused by a large pile of plastic bottles around what looks like a makeshift shrine. Some confuse it for simple pollution, a consequence of the increase in popularity of the region with adventure tourism enthusiasts, but the explanation for this bizarre sight in the middle of nowhere is much more intriguing. Many of those who attempt to cross the Gata Loops leave water bottles at the shrine as offerings for the Ghost Of The Gata Loops, the wandering soul of a poor man who died here decades ago due to thirst and extreme cold. Some people believe that passing by without leaving a water bottle will upset the ghost and bring them bad luck on their arduous journey.

Read More »

A 38-year-old woman in China has been living in a nursing home for the elderly after becoming ill due to overwork and looking for a way to slow things down in her life.

Ms. Yang had been working as a screenwriter in the film and television industry for 11 years when the hectic schedule and extreme work volume started taking a toll on her health. Earlier this year, she became sick and needed to be hospitalized. Doctors told her that she needed to take it easy on herself or she would experience even more serious health problems, so the 38-year-old woman decided to find a way to slow things down. Both her parents had passed away and she had no other close family, so she started looking for a place where she could both relax and recuperate. While browsing the internet for answers, she read about a retirement home and about how calm and slow life was there, so she decided to try it for herself.

  Read More »

A regional beauty pageant in Altamira, Brazil ended in tragedy after the father of one of the contestants started shooting at the judges because his daughter had only gotten fourth place.

The bizarre incident took place on July 28, after the end of the “II Baile da Escolha da Rainha” beauty pageant in the city of Altamira. About a couple of hours after the contest ended, the father of one of the participants, a local rancher identified as Sebastiao Francisco, began voicing his dissatisfaction regarding his daughter’s fourth-place finish in the competition, questioning the judges’ decision and the evaluation criteria. The venue where the beauty pageant had taken place was staffed by private security and military police, but the angry father didn’t seem to care, and at one point took out a gun and attempted to shoot at one of the judges, only to be shot at by police.

Read More »

Italian fashion label Dolce & Gabbana is taking the canine perfume world by storm with Fefé, an “olfactory masterpiece” created by a master perfumer that will leave your pooch smelling like a million bucks.

Priced at an eye-watering €99 ($108) per 100 ml, Fefé comes in a “sleek green lacquered glass bottle, adorned with a vibrant red metal cap and a precious 24-carat gold-plated paw.” Smell-wise, it features “the cocooning and warm notes of Ylang, the clean and enveloping touch of Musk, and the woody creamy undertones of Sandalwood.” Inspired by D&G founder Domenico Dolce’s “unconditional love for his loyal dog Fefé,” the new designer perfume for canines is safe pet cosmetics certified, approved by vets, safety tested, and “enjoyed by dogs.”

Read More »

Zhang Sixuan, a 9-year-old girl from China’s Henan province, bested some of the world’s most elite kung fu masters to earn the title of “Shaolin Kung Fu Star” at this year’s World Shaolin Games.

There are millions of Shaolin Kung fu practitioners around the world, and every year tens of thousands of them compete for a chance to be invited to participate in the World Shaolin Games Finals. This year, an international cast of 124 kung fu practitioners was invited to show off their skills at a Shaolin temple in central China’s Henan Province, in front of respected kung fu masters and an audience of kung fu enthusiasts. Among them was a 9-year-old girl whose incredible flexibility and mastery of tong zi gong (a form of Shaolin kung fu) stunned both the judges and the crowd, earning her the coveted title of Shaolin Kung Fu Star.

Read More »

A Chinese company has come under fire for posting a job ad and asking potential candidates born in the year of the dog not to bother applying because they would automatically be rejected.

The unnamed company in Guangzhou, China’s Guangdong province, recently posted an ad for a job on its administrative staff. It required work experience, and familiarity with office software, and was compensated with a monthly salary of up to 4,000 yuan. However, what really caught people’s attention was a short line asking people not to submit their resumes if they happened to be born in the year of the dog. The post sparked controversy on Chinese social media, with many accusing the company of discrimination, but a source from inside the organization revealed that the boss was born in the year of the dragon and believes that he is not compatible with people born in the year of the dog.

Read More »

Beithir Fire, the world’s strongest beer, comes with a warning label urging consumers ‘not to exceed 35ml in one sitting’ because of the incredibly high alcohol content.

All alcoholic drinks should be consumed in moderation, but that goes double for extreme concoctions like Beithir Fire, a beer so strong it reportedly makes your tongue go numb. Rated at 75% ABV (Alcohol By Volume), this Scottish-style barley ale is brewed for two months and then blended with pure Scottish spirit before undergoing fermentation and triple filtration to remove all impurities. Launched in 2021 by Scotland’s 88Brewery, Beithir Fire quickly achieved legendary status because of its extreme alcohol content. It is still one of the most intriguing beers in the world, but its creators caution daredevils to drink at most 35ml in one sitting to avoid intoxication and potential health problems.

Read More »

A Chinese furniture company has begun producing gorilla-shaped sofas to meet customer demand after AI-generated photos of gorilla sofas started going viral on social media.

Back in April, a design-centered blog called Inspiring Designs published a post featuring dozens of AI-generated images of gorilla-shaped sofas. It’s unclear whether they used Midjourney or some other digital creation tool, but some of the results were indeed fascinating. One could tell from the onset that they were made using AI, but that didn’t make them any less impressive. The problem, as evident from the 8 user comments on the post, was that most people couldn’t make the distinction between AI-generated content and a real product, so they kept asking where they could get a gorilla sofa. Well, a company in China was more than happy to meet the demand.

Read More »

A 24-year-old Chinese man who spent the last five months of his life living in the mountains after a painful breakup now looks at least twice his age and is called “uncle” by people older than him.

Remember Brandon Miles May, the 35-year-old man who looks half his age? Well, today we’re featuring his exact opposite, a young man who looks twice his age, not because of some rare genetic disorder, but simply because he has been exposed to the elements in the mountains of northern and western China. The unidentified man rose to fame in his native country after a video in which he showed his ID to the camera to prove he was in his early 20s went viral on social media. When referred to as ‘uncle’ by the person shooting the video, the balding, rugged-looking trekker says that he is only 24, and proceeds to hold up his ID card to the camera to show that he was born in December of 2000.

Read More »

Authorities in China are reportedly testing powerful laser installations on motorways in an effort to prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel, but drivers’ feedback has been mixed, at best.

Last year, clips of colorful light beams being projected from motorway signs in China started going viral on social media, leaving people scratching their heads about their purpose. What looks like a light show at an open-air rave is actually a trial method of preventing drivers, especially truck drivers, from falling asleep at the wheel. The most popular clip of the bizarre installation was shot on the 1,600-km-long Qingdao–Yinchuan Expressway, which is reportedly mainly used by heavy trucks from the capital city of Ningxia traveling to the port city of Qingdao.

Read More »

Enzo, a 4-year-old boy from Aubervilliers, France, miraculously survived a 43-meter fall from his 16th-floor apartment with only a scratch and no fractures, and no one understands how.

The unusual incident took place on May 26, in a high-rise apartment complex in Aubervilliers, central France. Enzo, a 4-year-old boy diagnosed with autism was in his room when his father, Ji, heard him crying. As usual, he hurried to check on his son and calm him down, but as he tried to enter Enzo’s room, he realized that the door was locked. This had never happened before, and the parents suspect that the boy accidentally locked himself inside which caused him to panic. By the time Ji managed to break down the door, Enzo’s crying had stopped and the room seemed empty. Seeing the window open, the man horrifyingly realized that he was too late.

Read More »

Two chefs at a restaurant in Jiangsu, China, have been sentenced to prison for lacing thousands of dishes with antidiarrheal drugs to ensure stale ingredients didn’t upset people’s stomachs.

On July 30th, the Market Management Bureau of Chongzhou District, Nantong City, issued a statement announcing that two chefs who had worked at a local hotel restaurant had been sentenced to prison and forced to pay a fine of 160,000 yuan ($22,000) for serving “toxic and harmful food” laced with gentamicin sulfate, an antibiotic used to treat diarrhea. The two perpetrators had reportedly been using expired ingredients in their dishes and laced them with gentamicin to minimize the risk of patrons suffering from upset stomachs. According to a police investigation, the chefs sold at least 1,612 servings of gentamicin sulfate-laced food.

Read More »