A Chinese farmer claims to have successfully created a hybrid fruit that allows people to enjoy the taste of both melon and watermelon in equal measure.

A 40-something watermelon farmer from Fuyang, in China’s Anhui province, referred to only as Mr. A by Chinese news outlets recently lit up Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, with photos of a strange-looking fruit that he claimed was half-melon and half-watermelon. He had apparently documented his efforts to create a melon-watermelon hybrid for a while, but last week he posted the fruits of his labor on Weibo, claiming that he had finally achieved success after several failed attempts. The unusual fruits look like watermelons growing on top of melons, which he claims allows people to enjoy the taste of both fruits at the same time.

Read More »

Photos and clips of a proud-looking pigeon with its chest puffed out like a cartoon character and impressively long legs have been getting a lot of attention online.

The “chad pigeon” went viral after a UK pigeon breeder shared a clip of their impressive-looking bird on TikTok, where it quickly went viral. Million of people around the world have seen the footage and still can’t believe it’s a real animal. Some are convinced that it is the work of an AI-powered digital tool, while others claim that the video was digitally altered for views. However, the bird in the video is just a really impressive specimen of a rare pigeon breed called “English Pouter”. A simple Google search reveals that there is nothing too special about this particular bird, and that the extremely puffed-out chest and long legs are breed-specific traits.

Read More »

A family of poppy farmers in Slovakia has been having trouble getting rid of hundreds of swans that have become addicted to poppy seeds and sometimes even overdose on them.

Poppy farmers near the Slovakian town of Komarno first reported the presence of swans in their fields back in February. It is believed that they were originally attracted by the large puddles of water that formed in the area, but after pecking at the flowers all day, many of them became addicted to the opium-containing seeds and refused to leave. Back in May, Slovakian media reported that around 200 swans had made a poppy field near Komarno their home, causing around €10,000 in damages to the flowers and getting so high on the natural narcotic that many of them couldn’t even fly anymore.

Read More »

Teachers in Switzerland recently reported a worrying number of students, some as old as 11, still coming to school in diapers because they never learned how to use the toilet.

In Switzerland, some children begin school at age four, so it is not uncommon for them to still be wearing diapers. However, they are not the problem that many teachers in the European country are reportedly facing these days. According to multiple sources, students as old as 11 years old are coming to school in diapers, and teachers are expected to clean and change them if necessary. Apparently, the problem has become widespread enough that one headmaster in Aargau is organizing events to inform parents that children have to be ‘dry’ when they return to school after the summer holiday, while another school is putting out flyers to inform parents that teachers are not responsible for changing schoolchildren’s diapers.

Read More »

One of the world’s most expensive and sought-after coffee varieties is actually harvested from the droppings of the jacu, a large, black, turkey-like bird whose digestive system brings out the aroma of the coffee beans.

When Henrique Sloper, the owner of the Camocim coffee farm in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, first saw his coffee plantation overrun by jacu birds, he panicked, not knowing that the birds would soon become a sort of business partner. He called environmental protection agencies, but they didn’t know what to do and suggested that the farm introduce some natural predators for the large birds. But that was difficult to do, especially with a bird as large as the jacu, so, in the end, Sloper decided to adopt the old ‘if you can’t beat them, join them‘ mantra, and soon discovered that the bird invasion had been a blessing in disguise.

Read More »

The Speed Project is a relay-style ultramarathon unlike any other. It is an unofficial race for which runners have to receive an invitation, and it has but one rule – no running on freeways.

You’ve probably never heard of it, but within the ultramarathon community, participating in The Speed Project is somewhat of a Holy Grail. Running across the Death Valley, from the Santa Monica pier all the way to the Las Vegas welcome sign in a 340-mile ultramarathon with no rules and no set course has proven unusually appealing to runners looking for something new and exciting. It has been called the running world’s equivalent of “Fight Club”, because of the secrecy and mystery surrounding it, but it was precisely these characteristics that have massively boosted its popularity in recent years. However, despite big brands’ desire to be associated with The Speed Project, it remains exclusive to participants selected by the ultramarathon’s founders.

Read More »

The StockCam is an unusual camera cage for photography enthusiasts who need multiple mounting points for various accessories, as well as stability and better camera handling. It’s also shaped like an assault rifle…

If you’re a photographer who’s also into guns, you’ll probably love the design of the StockCam. It combines the functionality and convenience of a high-quality camera cage, with the aesthetics of a modern assault rifle. It even features a trigger to activate the shutter or lock the cage to ensure that the shutter doesn’t accidentally get pressed. You actually use it by pressing the stock against your shoulder and looking into the camera display as you would in a gun scope, and then press the trigger to shoot, as in take a picture. But can you imagine using one of these things around police?

Read More »

23-year-old Luiz Augusto Márcio Marques stopped growing after undergoing a surgical procedure to remove a very rare and aggressive tumor. Today he looks like a 13-year-old boy.

Luiz, who is better known as Guto in his native city of Passo Fundo, in Southern Brazil, had a perfectly normal life until the age of 7, when he started experiencing excruciating headaches that began manifesting more frequently as time passed. None of the doctors his parents took him to could diagnose his condition correctly, and the headaches started affecting his school activity and his daily life. Some claimed that it was just a virus, while others said that it was a psychological condition, or that he was just making everything up because he was lazy. It was only after the boy suffered a seizure that he was taken to the city hospital where the real cause of his headaches was finally revealed…

Read More »

Trucks aren’t usually built for speed, but in the right hands they can become faster than any commercially-available supercar, and there’s no better proof than the legendary Shockwave, the fastest truck ever built

Originally built by the legendary Les Shockley in 1984, Shockwave was modified by Darnell Racing Enterprises and is still the Guinness record holder for ‘the world’s fastest jet truck’. The heavily-modified Peterbilt Semi had literally nothing under the hood, but that’s because a jet truck doesn’t need a diesel engine. Instead, this powerplant on wheels featured three Pratt & Whitney J58s jet engines at the back, which could develop a total of 36000 bhp to propel Shockwave forward at, well, shocking speeds. It could cover a quarter mile in 6.5 seconds, while a supercar like the Lamborghini Aventador does it in “only” 10.4 seconds.

Read More »

This $1.6 million unique property in rural Washington doesn’t look like much from the outside, but its unassuming exterior conceals a stylish and cozy interior.

Most people would call you crazy for even considering spending over one and a half million dollars on four steel grain silos in Odessa, Washington, but these are not your average grain bins. As you can see in the pictures below, three of the four metallic silos are connected, which is unusual for this kind of structure, but that’s only because they make up a modern and spacious living space. The current occupant, a local hunter, reportedly spent $100,000 on the four old silos and then another $500,000 to convert them into this rather impressive summer home, which comes complete with a shooting range and freeze-proof pond.

Read More »

The ‘Chicken Orb” is a sphere made of metallic wire that allows chickens to move around and forage freely while preventing them from jumping onto flower beds and other places they’re not supposed to go into.

The Chicken Orb has been around for at least a couple of years, but it only recently started getting attention after photos and videos of it in action started going viral online. It all started from the misconception that the metallic wire orb was actually a sort of chicken armor designed to provide protection from predators while still allowing the domestic bird the freedom to forage and move around in peace. That got the debate going among chicken owners, many of whom criticized the device as useless, as it only acted as “to-go food packaging” for birds of prey, and did nothing to stop cunning predators like foxes or ferrets.

Read More »

The Xian Mangia is a fully functional electric double-cabin truck that not only costs under $3,000, but can also be shipped right to your doorstep.

A few years back, we wrote about the world’s cheapest electric car, the Changli Nemeca, a petite box on wheels that cost just $930 and could be delivered straight to the client’s home. Well, apparently, the idea of a super-affordable electric vehicle that could be delivered at home rather than be picked up from a dealership stuck, because there is now a variety of different EVs to choose from, including a double-cabin truck that costs less than a midrange PC. The Xian Mangia can be ordered online from Chinese shopping giant Alibaba, for just $2,920 and will arrive at your door in 15 – 20 days.

Read More »

Four siblings, aged 13, 9, 5, and 1, miraculously survived a plane crash in one of the most remote areas of Colombia, and then 40 days alone in the Amazon jungle.

On May 1st, 2023, a small Cessna 206 airplane en route to San Jose de Guaviare suffered an engine failure and crashed deep in one of Colombia’s most remote and dangerous regions. Three adults, including the pilot, died in the crash, but the four children on board miraculously survived. However, they were stranded with little to no supplies, in a jungle filled with dangerous snakes, spiders, and mosquitoes, where members of the ex-Farc military group are still active. For 40 days, thousands of volunteers searched for the siblings, and the hope of them being found alive kept millions of Colombians on the tip of their feet. Last week, the miracle everyone was waiting for materialized – the children were found alive and well in a jungle clearing.

Read More »

Located in an abandoned mine, 419 meters under the mountains of Snowdonia in Wales, the ‘Deep Sleep’ hotel is the world’s deepest hotel.

Comprised of four private twin-bed cabins and a grotto room with a double bed, a dining area, and toilet facilities, Deep Sleep is a hotel unlike any other. Set deep within a section of the abandoned Cwmorthin slate mine, 1,375 feet (419 meters) underground, it is being advertised as the deepest hotel in the world. If that sounds like the kind of place you’d actually want to spend the night, know that you’ll not only have to pay up to £550 ($688) per night, and traverse a ‘steep and challenging’ route through the old mine shafts to reach it.

Read More »

A Chinese mountain climber recently sparked controversy after reportedly refusing to pay the $10,000 resue fee of the sherpa who found her unconscious on Mount Everest.

On May 18, while making the climb up Mount Everest, Chinese mountain climber Fan Jiangtao stumbled upon an unconscious woman in her 50s. An experienced mountain climber herself, the woman had reportedly reached the summit and was on her way back to base camp when she started experiencing health problems. Fan and the sherpa decided to abandon their goal of conquering Everest in order to take Luo back to the base camp safely. During their descent, they met Xie Ruxiang, a Hunan Provincial Mountain Climbing Association member, who also abandoned his climb in order to help. His sherpa, however, was reluctant to join them, but they needed the extra hands so Xie promised him a fee of $10,000, to which the man agreed. No one asked the person being rescued, though…

Read More »