The Story of the Most Over-the-Top Christmas Tree in History

Harold Lloyd is known as both one of Hollywood’s legendary stars of early 1900s silent comedy, and as the owner of a year-long Christmas tree adorned with over 5,000 colorful decorations.

If you think yourself the kind of person that goes over the top when decorating the family Christmas tree, don’t beat yourself up too hard, as you’ll probably never be as obsessed with Christmas decorations as Harold Lloyd. The Hollywood legend, who starred in such films as Safety Last! (1923) and High and Dizzy (1920), is said to have had a collection of over 8,000 decorations collected from all over the world. But what he is most famous for is using most of these eye-catching baubles to decorate an impressive Christmas tree that is now regarded by many as the most adorned Christmas tree that ever was.

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The Trembling Rock – A 132-Tonne Boulder That Anyone Can Move

The famous Trembling Rock of Huelgoat forest, in northeastern France, is a 7-meter-long, 137-tonne block of granite that anyone can move with their own hands, as long as they know how to push it.

The forest of Huelgoat is home to numerous large boulders and geological wonders, but Trembling Rock is by far the most popular of them all. The oblong boulder is so large and heavy that no human could ever hope to move it by themselves, and yet anyone, regardless of how skinny or weak they are, can gently rock it up and down just by pushing on the right spot. Left perched atop a much wider rock base in a unique position, Trembling Rock can make even the most feeble person on Earth look like the strongest person in the world.

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Illinois “Goth House” Is Black Both Inside and Out

An octagon-shaped Illinois home listed on Zillow for $250,000 went viral online a few days ago, not for its shape or asking price, but for its all-black exterior and interior.

The now-famous “goth house” of Illinois shot to internet fame after being featured on the Instagram account “Zillow Gone Wild” where people quickly noticed its unusual dark exterior. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the interior decor was not much different. There were some white floor and wall tiles and some grey furniture here and there, but everything else stuck to the black theme of the place, which isn’t something you see every day.

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72-Year-Old Woman Has 19 Consecutive Bench Press World Champion Titles, Is Going for 20

Chiyomi Sawa, a 72-year-old woman from Japan has been the undisputed World Masters Women’s Bench Press Champion for the last 19 years, and she doesn’t plan to stop dominating anytime soon.

Walking past Chiyomi Sawa on the street, you’d be forgiven for mistaking her for just a petite, slightly overweight pensioner, but in reality, she is a natural-born athlete with her sights set on her 20th consecutive world bench press champion title. Ever since she started competing at the highest level, in 2006, Sawa has dominated the world championship, winning first place at every edition, in different weight classes. The 72-year-old is now eyeing champion title number 20, and judging by her track record, she’ll most likely claim it.

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Ukrainian Artist Creates Stunning Steampunk-Inspired Masks

Dmitry Bragin is a Ukrainian artist who specializes in steampunk masks that make the wearer look more machine than man.

While most of Dmitry Bragin’s stunning-looking masks aren’t technically steampunk, as they contain no moving parts, it’s clear that the sci-fi genre served as the main inspiration for them. The talented artist starts off with a flimsy plastic mask that’s easy to shape as his base and adds all sorts of decorative elements to it in order to transform it into the wearable wonders you see below. The materials in his arsenal range from motorcycle parts and discarded camera lenses to metallic children’s toys, although you couldn’t really tell by looking at the finished product.

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Woman Marries Ex-Boyfriend Who Threw Acid in Her Face

A 20-year-old Turkish woman recently sparked a heated online debate after marrying the man who disfigured and almost blinded her with acid after a breakup.

Earlier this month, Berfin Ozek tied the knot with 23-year-old Casim Ozan Celtik, the same man who threw acid in her face two years ago, after they broke up. The two had been dating for some time, but, following a heated argument, they separated, and Casim allegedly decided that if he couldn’t have her, no other man would either, so he attacked her with acid. The substance left the poor woman disfigured, almost completely blind in one eye, and in considerable pain. Still, she somehow found the power to not only forgive her assailant but also fall back in love with him and accept his marriage proposal.

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Alliance of Unpopular Men Protest Christmas in Tokyo

For most people, Christmas is a time of joy and love, but to the members of Japan’s Revolutionary Alliance of Unpopular Men, the winter holidays represent everything they stand against.

For the past 15 years, the Revolutionary Alliance of Unpopular Men has been protesting all celebrations associated with romance, and this year’s Christmas was no exception. Dozens of members went out into the streets of Tokyo armed with banners and loudspeakers to make their disdain for everything romantic, including Christmas, known to the world. The alliance, which allegedly fights for the unpopular men of the world who can’t find a romantic date and are disappointed by romantic holidays, is on a mission to “crush” Christmas, Valentine’s Day and all other similar celebrations.

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Thai Dog Shelter Gives Paralyzed Strays a Second Chance at Life

The Man That Rescues Dogs, an animal shelter in Chonburi, Thailand, cares for over a thousand stray dogs, including a few paralyzed animals that get to run with the pack again, thanks to the care and attention of the staff.

Michael J. Baines is the man behind The Man That Rescues Dogs. The Swedish national moved to Chonburi in 2002 to open his own restaurant, but quickly noticed the large number of stray dogs roaming through the city, many of which could barely survive on the scraps they found every day. In 2011, Baines became attached to one special stray that started coming to his restaurant every day, and soon noticed that his “patron” wasn’t the only one in need of help. Michael started caring for a handful of strays, then for a few dozen, and before he knew it, he was providing food for almost a hundred canines. In 2017, The Man That Rescues Dogs animal shelter was founded, and in the four years since, the staff there not only rescued over 1,000 dogs, but gave a few paralyzed ones their mobility back.

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McDonald’s Replaces Chairs With Stationary Bikes So You Can Burn Calories as You Eat

McDonald’s restaurants in China are replacing regular table seats with stationary bikes in an apparent effort to promote exercise.

Viral TikTok videos that have been doing the rounds online over the past week show stationary bikes being used as seats at McDonald’s eateries in Gunagdong . Made out of recycled plastic, the bikes not only encourage patrons to start burning calories as they eat, but they also allow people to recharge their smartphones with the generated energy. According to McDonald’s China, there are currently 10 such “Green Charging Bikes” at two restaurants in Guangdong and Shanghai.

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Netlicks – Professor Creates “Lickable” TV Screen That Imitates Taste of Food

A Japanese professor has created a prototype lickable TV screen that can reportedly imitate the taste of various foods.

Dubbed Taste the TV (TTTV), the prototype was developed by Homei Miyashita, a professor at the prestigious Meiji University in Japan, as a step towards a true multisensory viewing experience. The Intriguing device uses a carousel of 10 flavor canisters that are sprayed in combination to create the taste of a particular food. The cocktail then rolls onto hygienic film over a flat TV screen, and the viewer can sample it. Miyashita believes that this technology can help people connect and interact even over long distances.

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Australian Parrots Are Getting Drunk on Fermented Mangoes

Red-winged parrots in Western Australia’s Kimberley region are reportedly “flying under the influence” and acting bizarrely after feasting on fermented mangoes.

We may be putting on another layer of clothes in the northern hemisphere, but Down Under it’s the end of the mango season, and red-winged parrots are reportedly taking full advantage of the last available orange fruits, even if they’re a little overripe. The problem is that mangoes are particularly sugar-rich, and can produce relatively high levels of alcohol as they ferment. Humans are unlikely to consume fruits that have reached a certain fermentation point because they have a mushy texture and a taste that is no longer considered pleasant. But to red-winged parrots, a mango is a mango, even if the ethanol level in it is likely to get them drunk.

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Meet Shauna Rae, a 22-Year-Old Woman Stuck In an 8-Year-Old’s Body

After surviving brain cancer as a child, 22-year-old Shauna Rae’ growth was stunted and she is now a young woman stuck in the body of an 8-year-old.

Shauna Rae was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was only 6 months old and underwent chemotherapy treatment that saved her life but also caused damage to her pituitary gland, which caused her to stop growing. Although there is no conclusive evidence that chemotherapy caused the severe deformation of Shauna’s pituitary gland, the cancer treatment has been known to occasionally cause endocrine problems in patients. But the young woman managed to get over her problem, and despite looking like a child, she longs to be treated as an adult.

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Female Soldier Arrested for Accepting Marriage Proposal While on Duty

What should have been one of the happiest experiences of her life turned into a nightmare for a Nigerian soldier, after being arrested for accepting a marriage proposal while on duty.

The female soldier’s trouble began when a video of her accepting the marriage proposal of a kneeling young man went viral on social media. Footage shows other members of the Nigerian military witnessing the proposal and then cheering and congratulating the two lovers. However, for the Nigerian Army, things weren’t quite so simple. This wasn’t a simple romantic gesture that had gone viral online, but video proof of a female soldier accepting to marry a trainee in the government’s youth training scheme, which is apparently a big no-no.

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Chianina – The World’s Largest Domesticated Cattle Breed

With a recorded history of at least 2,200 years, the Chianina is among the oldest known cattle breeds. But what it is most famous for is being by far the largest cattle breed on Earth.

Remember Nickers, the giant Australian steer that shocked the world a few years back? You should, photos of this bovine giant towering over normal-sized cattle were everywhere online late in 2018, causing many to wonder if it was some kind of bio-engineered mutant. The only ones that didn’t seem impressed were Italy’s Chianina breeders. They had been producing impressive specimens much larger than Nickers for many generations, so this was nothing special. At the time, they even put out a statement that read “ours is a giant breed, while the Australian steer is an anomaly”.

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People Are Buying “Radioactive” Jewelry to Protect Themselves From 5G

The Netherlands Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS) recently banned the sale of various so-called “anti-radiation” and “anti 5G” wearables that turned out to contain radioactive materials.

From pendants like the Quantum anti-5G to bracelets and even sleep masks, the internet is full of accessories that can allegedly protect wearers from 5G technology. While we currently have no scientific evidence that 5G is harmful to human health, or even that this sort of accessory can shield wearers from 5G signal, there are plenty of people willing to spend their money on them, just to be safe. After all, what’s the worse that can happen? You just end up with a useless product like those anti-5G USB sticks we featured a while back, right? Well, no. Apparently, by wearing this kind of jewelry, you can actually expose your body to demonstrably-harmful levels of radiation.

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