Popular Douyin streamer Kong Yufeng recently sparked controversy in China by eating pig feed on camera as part of a challenge to live on the cheapest food she could find.

On October 30, Kong Yufeng, aka ‘King Kong Liuke’, posted a controversial video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, in which she announced a self-imposed challenge to live on the cheapest food she could find for at least one week. The popular streamer told her fans that she had browsed Zhihu, a Chinese forum known for sharing budget-friendly tips, and found pig feed to be the best option. A large bag of pig feed cost only 100 yuan (US$14) and was allegedly high in protein, low in fat, and “healthier than takeaway food,” so she decided to try it in front of her fans. According to Kong, the pig feed contained natural ingredients like soybeans, peanuts, sesame, corn, and added vitamins, but the taste was an acquired one.

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A young Chinese woman had the happiest day of her life turned into a nightmare after her husband asked for a paternity test because of their newborn baby’s suspiciously dark skin.

Chinese newspaper China Times recently reported the bizarre case of a 30-year-old Shanghai woman desperate to save her marriage after giving birth to a dark-skinned baby by C-section. The woman took to social media to tell her sad story and ask other mothers for advice on how to handle the situation. She claims that after delivering the baby, when it came time for her husband to meet his son for the first time, he just stared at him with bewildered eyes and refused to hold him. The woman admitted that she too found the baby’s dark skin odd and felt embarrassed when holding it, feeling the need to clarify that she “had never been to Africa and didn’t know any black people”.

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A severely sick Chinese man was pushed to a local bank branch on a hospital bed by his family in order to confirm his identity for a money transfer.

A video that has been doing the rounds on Chinese social media shows a woman struggling to push a man on a hospital bed in a Shandong Province bank after being told that the only way to access his account was to confirm his identity in person. Despite explaining to the bank manager that the account holder was hospitalized because of severe health problems, the family was told that the only way to access their account was to bring them there in person. The man was so sick that he could not move on his own, but even evidence of his hospitalization failed to convince the bank staff, so they had no choice but to figure out a way to bring him in for identity confirmation.

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American start-up Heliospect Genomics is charging wealthy parents-to-be up to $50,000 to screen their embryos for IQ and other desirable traits.

Wish you could ensure your unborn child has a higher-than-average IQ? Well, apparently now you can, with the help of genetic enhancement technology. This is controversial territory, as it tends to normalize the idea of superior” and “inferior” humans,, but according to undercover video footage obtained by the campaign group Hope Not Hate, at least one genomic prediction company has begun selling its services to parents who can afford them. Heliospect Genomics has apparently already offered its services to over a dozen parents undergoing in-vitro fertilization, charging them up to $50,000 to screen 100 embryos for IQ and other traits and boasting that their technology could help select children with IQ scores six points higher than those conceived naturally.

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The owners Ricco, a Bantam rooster from Bourgoin-Jallieu in France’s Isère department, are scheduled to show up in Court following a neighbor’s complaint regarding the bird’s loud crowing.

“Difficulty concentrating, sleep deprivation, hearing fatigue,” these are just some of the symptoms cited by the plaintiff who summoned Ricco’s owners to Court in January of next year. The person, who prefers to remain anonymous, is one of the owners’ neighbors and they claim that the rooster’s crowing is unbearable both at night and during the day. However, the owners of the 5-year-old bird have always disputed these claims, insisting that the door to Ricco’s chicken coup is operated by an automated system programmed to open the door only at 8:30 am during the winter and at 9:00 am in summer. They insist that the rooster crows about fifteen times in a quarter of an hour in the morning, and then a few more times during the day.

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A Malaysian woman who took care of her bedridden husband for six years following a car accident recently announced that her husband divorced her and married another woman following his recovery.

For years, Nurul Syazwani documented her daily life as her husband’s caretaker on social media, showcasing her busy routine which included feeding the man through a nasogastric tube, changing his diapers and helping him bathe. Nurul’s husband was injured in a car accident and needed six years in order to walk again, during which time she was by his side. Her dedication and dutiful service to her husband attracted 32,000 fans on Facebook alone, many of whom were shocked to learn that Nurul Syazwani’s husband hadn’t only divorced her after recovering but had also married another woman. They learned of the crazy development from Nurul who congratulated her ex-husband and his new bride in a Facebook post.

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A Chinese aquarium has attracted a lot of criticism by replacing its real whale shark with a life-size robotic version that emulates both the look and the movements of the marine animal.

On October 1st, Xiaomeisha Sea World in Shenzhen, China, reopened its gates to visitors after a five-year hiatus for renovations. The 60,000-square-meter marine park managed to attract around 100,000 paying visitors in its first week, but that financial success was overshadowed by the controversy around one of the new attractions, a robotic whale shark. According to several Chinese news sources, many visitors were disappointed to see that the whale shark swimming in the large aquarium around them was man-made, and not the real deal, especially since Xiaomeisha Sea World made no effort to inform them beforehand that it had no real sharks.

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A popular mountain scenic spot in China’s Sichuan Province allegedly allows visitors to chase after wild boars and even take them home for free if they can catch them with their bare hands.

Wild boars are some of the strongest and most dangerous animals one can find in the wild. They can weigh up to 300 kg (660 pounds), reach speeds of up to 70 km/h (43 mph) and can tear through almost anything with their sharp tusks. Boars are particularly vicious when cornered, so a tourist attraction where you can pay to risk your life trying to catch these animals using only your bare hands sounds nothing short of insane. However, it turns out that the Jiuhuang Mountain Scenic Area in Sichuan, China has been letting people chase after boars and keeping whatever they catch for at least a decade.

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Derrick Anderson, a Republican candidate running for Congress in the U.S. state of Virginia, landed in hot water after allegedly borrowing a friend’s family for a campaign video.

Derrick Anderson, a former Army Green Beret running for an open seat in Virginia’s 7th District, was recently accused of trying to mislead voters by posing with the wife and three daughters of a “longtime friend” and trying to pass them off as his own family. Anderson is not married, doesn’t have any children and his campaign website states that he lives with his dog. There is obviously nothing wrong with the retired Green Beret not having a family, but experts would tell you that families have long been a staple of U.S. election campaigns, and with reproductive rights being a key issue this election cycle, posing as a happy husband and father is that much more important for the Republican candidate.

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A Chinese man who built a pontoon bridge for an isolated village using his own money was fined multiple times and ultimately given prison time for the unauthorized structure.

Before 2005, Zhenlin Village, in Northern China’s Jilin Province, was completely cut off by the Taoer River, with locals having to travel around 70 kilometers to the nearest bridge. However, everything changed when a villager by the name of Huang Deyi, who had previously operated a small ferry to and from the village, decided to do what the regional authorities wouldn’t – build a small bridge across the river. The rudimentary pontoon bridge was welcomed by the community, and people were more than happy to pay a small toll to Huang for using it, as it was much cheaper and less time consuming than driving 70 km to the nearest authorized bridge. Business was good, and in 2014, Huang Deyo along with 17 other villagers improved the bridge by welding together 13 metal boats so it could support heavier vehicles, but four years later, the Taonan Water Affairs Authority came knocking, ordering the dismantling of the bridge and accusing Huang and his family of illegally profiting from it.

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Kroshik, a 14-year-old ginger cat from the Russian city of Perm lost his ability to walk after ballooning to a whopping 17 kilograms (38 pounds) in weight due to overfeeding by his loving humans.

Photos of the obese Kroshik went viral last week after being shared on Russian social network VKontakte by volunteers at the Matroskin Animal Shelter in Perm. In them, a young woman is struggling to hold him in her arms, which makes sense, considering he weighs three times as much as he should. According to Matroskin staff, Kroshik was rescued from a local hospital whose staff contacted them after the 14-year-old feline lost his ability to walk due to his weight and advanced age. Kroshik had been living in the hospital basement for years, hunting rodents and enjoying the affection of humans, but in the last few years, he ballooned in seize due to overfeeding. When he got so fat that he literally couldn’t stand on his four legs, nurses at the hospital called the animal shelter.

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An Indian teenager was accused of emotional blackmail after going on a hunger strike for three days to pressure his poor mother into buying him an iPhone.

A short video shot by a smartphone shop owner in India went viral last week for featuring a teenage boy who confessed to going on a hunger strike for three days to convince his mother to buy him a new iPhone. The woman, who reportedly makes a living by selling flowers outside a temple, is also featured in the video and has a facial expression that pretty much says everything about her inner struggle. Shared by Indian journalist Abhishek on X (formerly Twitter), the video has been viewed over a million times and has sparked a heated debate about gadgets as a status symbol and the entitlement of younger generations.

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Animal lovers and animal rights activists the world over are asking for a boycott of the Bully Cat, a hairless breed becoming increasingly popular among people fascinated by extreme body shapes.

The bully cat is a relatively new feline breed that takes the characteristics of the hairless sphynx to a whole new level while adding other problematic features. This particular hairless breed has stubby short legs and heavily wrinkled skin that animal experts claim is prone to horrifying health problems. Believed to have originated in the United States only a few years ago, the bully cat quickly became popular overseas as well, particularly in the UK where animal welfare organizations recently began sounding the alarm about what they are calling a designer fad with painful consequences for the animals being exploited by unscrupulous breeders.

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A Russian chess player is facing a lifetime ban from official competitions after allegedly trying to poison an opponent by spreading mercury compounds on her chess board.

Amina Abakarova, a 40-year-old chess player from the Russian Republic of Dagestan, stands accused of trying to poison another female player during a chess tournament in Makhachkala. Surveillance footage from the Dagestan Classical Chess Championship shows the 40-year-old woman spreading a substance later identified as mercury on the chess board and pieces that would later be used by another player, Umayganat Osmanova. CCTV footage clearly shows Abakarova walking to the table where Osmanova was about to play and tampering with the chess board and pieces before casually walking away so as not to draw attention. Her actions would have probably gone unnoticed had Umayganat Osmanova not begun to experience symptoms like nausea and dizziness just 30 minutes later.

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A Wuhan beauty clinic is being accused of tricking a mentally-challenged 19-year-old man into getting a boob job by claiming that he could then make money through live-streaming.

The 19-year-old young man, whose mother claims he has the mind of a 5-year-old boy, reportedly applied for a job at the unnamed beauty clinic, which provided “full board and a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan ($400)”. However, after asking about potential job opportunities for men, he was told that he should first undergo a breast enlargement surgery and then begin working after he recovered. The man’s mother surnamed Lu, recently unveiled chat archives between her son and beauty clinic staff in which he is assured that boob jobs are ok for men as well and that such procedures were very popular among live-streamers. Despite expressing doubt at first, the impressionable youth agreed to get the surgery and even pay for it.

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