Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Gun that was used in 1881 to kill Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid sold for 6 million USD at auction
Norwegian women's beach handball team fined for not wearing bikini bottoms during championship game, instead chose to wear tight shorts covering parts of their thighs which was deemed inappropriate by disciplinary commission of the European Handball Federation
Eric Clapton says he will cancel shows at places that discriminate by requiring vaccination, as a response to the British government requiring Covid-19 vaccine passes for access to live venues and nightclubs
22-year-old Tadej Pogačar wins his second streight Tour de France and also defends his wins in the mountains and the young rider classifications, as Wout van Aert becomes the third rider after Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault to win a mountain stage, an individual time trial and a bunch sprint in a single Tour following his win on the Champs-Élysées
Yokozuna Hakuho wins his 45th Grand Basho and his 16th undefeated tournament defeating Ozeki Terunofuji in the deciding match in the Nagoya Grand Basho, despite the loss Terunofuji is expected, in the coming week, to be be named the 73rd Yokozuna, crowning a remarkable comeback story
British sprinter Mark Cavendish equals Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France victories by winning the sprint in Friday's stage from Nîmes to Carcassonne, the 36-years-old's fourth win in this year's Tour after not winning a stage for five years
Psychoanalyst Dr. Donald Moss writes article claiming whiteness is a malignant, parasitic like condition with no permanent cure and which triggers perverse appetites particularly targeting nonwhite peoples, published in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
Uttar Pradesh bride dies suddenly on wedding day, groom instead marries her sister on the same day with dead body of original betrothed lying in next room, family says change of plans was a tough call and that they have never witnessed such mixed emotions
Art school professor stages protest against Pablo Picasso outside Barcelona museum, claims to not believe in cancel culture but feels need to highlight artist's supposed sexism and abuse of women
Amazon unveils coffin-like wellness chamber to offer warehouse workers time to focus on their mental health, featuring potted plants, a small fan and a computer to watch relaxation videos, retail giant deletes Twitter clip unveiling chambers after online ridicule
3,000 year old Scythian DNA could be used for human clones, suggests Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu, magazine Popular Mechanics fears new army will be created consisting of genetically superior ancient warriors
Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard becomes first transgender athlete in Olympic Games, competed as a man until gender transition in 2013, has since won multiple medals as a women despite attempts to ban her from competitions
Walter Mondale dies at 93, was US vice president under Jimmy Carter but became most known as presidential candidate in 1984 and for the huge margin with which he lost, 13 electoral votes against 525 for Ronald Reagan
Spock is not rational but terrible at making predictions, 83% of things he says are impossible happen and the more confident he is the more wrong he is, says Julia Galef after analyzing all Star Trek episodes and films
3,400-year-old golden city of Luxor discovered by archaeologists in Egypt containing stunningly preserved remains, built by 18th-dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III and abandoned by his son Akhenaten, archaeologist Salima Ikram says it’s a snapshot in time like an Egyptian version of Pompeii
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has died, was married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years and became the longest-serving consort in British history
Meditation is not always a harmless activity without negative side effects, sometimes leads to psychological destabilization which in turn can trigger psychotic episodes, naive enthusiasm and marketing expose sensitive individuals to serious risks
74 year old Florida golfer drowns in pond, friends tell police he liked searching the course for lost balls
Six books by children's author Dr. Seuss will cease publication, publishing company saying books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong, discontinued titles include And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo and McElligot's Pool
Black woman glues her hair solid with Gorilla Glue and it remains so a month later even after she checked herself into a hospital, weighs legal options despite package stating "do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing", while some say racism forced her to use the product
Rod Stewart reaches plea deal to settle battery charges after thumping a security guard in the ribs and making a mock Nazi-era salute while partying on New Year's Eve 2019 at a luxury hotel in Florida wearing a gold lame jacket
85-year-old Spanish woman believed to have died from Covid-19 returns to her care home in Xove where her husband also lives nine days after family were told she had been buried following a mix-up of names, due to coronavirus protocols the family were unable to attend the funeral
Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit launches LauncherOne rocket into space from a modified Boeing 747 at 35,000 feet before releasing ten Nasa satellites into orbit after lighting its NewtonThree engines to boost itself out of Earth's atmosphere, following two aborted attempts last year
Long-tailed macaques who steal from tourists in Bali temple are able to estimate value of loot, demand more food to return more valuable goods, primarily try to snatch phones, wallets and glasses, according to researchers who spent nine months filming thefts and ransom negotiations
In newly unearthed interview tapes from the 1970s Oshima Hiroshi speaks about his role aligning Japan with Germany, as the Japanese ambassador to Germany before and during World War Two he expresses regret for only taking military prowess into account and not consider the overall strength of countries, from economics to industry, expecting Germany to prevail in the war
Worlds first underwater roundabout opens 72 meters under Skálafjørður in Faroe Islands, part of tunnel system which connects most populated island Streymoy with second most populous Eysturoy, roundabout decorated with green and blue lights in artistic creation likened to a jellyfish
Cipher created by the Zodiac Killer cracked 51 years after it was sent to San Francisco newspaper, international team of cryptographers solved the riddle with help from specialized software, two of the serial killer's four coded messages remain to be decrypted
Russian outrage over recommendation to abstain from alcohol two weeks before and four weeks after Covid-19 vaccination, many claim Russians are unable to stay sober for so long, creator of Sputnik vaccine says a glass of champagne doesn't hurt and the important thing is not drinking for three days before and after each injection
USA and Israel is in contact with and cooperates with extraterrestial beings, says Haim Eshed who is retired general and former chief of Israel space security program, Donald Trump was on the verge of disclosing the secret but was stopped by Galactic Federation which does not think humans are ready to know the truth about space and spaceships
IKEA ends seven-decade tradition and discontinues its catalogue which was first published in 1951 and reached its peak in 2016 when more than 200 million copies were distributed to households and IKEA stores in more than 50 countries
Singapore approves, as first country in the world, the sale of meat made in a laboratory to consumers, the product, created from animal cells without the slaughter of any chickens, will debut as a chicken bite with breading and seasoning in a single restaurant priced similar to premium chicken
Diego Maradona dies at the age of 60 from a heart attack at his Buenos Aires home, one of the greatest players of all time was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup and won two Serie A titles with the Italian side Napoli
Jeopardy!'s host Alex Trebek passes away at the age of 80, fought stage 4 pancreatic cancer since March 2019
On World Vegan Day, Britain's first permanent vegan butcher, Rudy's, opened, set to sell meat-free versions of traditional products such as baycon, soysage and turk'y, according to co-founder Matthew Foster people understand what it is they are selling and that all products are designed to emulate meat, taste like meat and have meat-like texture
Sir Sean Connery has died at the age of 90
South Korea faces a kimchi crisis after the price of cabbage skyrockets 60% this year, an abnormally long monsoon between June and August topped by three typhoons in August and September destroyed cabbage fields needed to make kimchi
A ban on transgender women competing in international rugby matches will not stop them playing the women’s game in England if they maintain testosterone levels below a certain level for a year as it is claimed more evidence is needed to justify a full ban, Fair Play For Women, which campaigns against trans women in women’s sport, say the international ban put safety top of its agenda and ask why the same is not offered to amateurs
12-year-old Jackson Oswalt has managed to build a working nuclear reactor making him the youngest on record to achieve this feat, he began building his own DIY nuclear reactor after being inspired by the previous Guinness World Record holder Taylor Wilson, who had managed to construct one by the age of 14
Slovenian Tadej Pogačar set to be the youngest winner of Tour de France in 111 years after turning a 57-second deficit to favourite and fellow countryman Primož Roglič into a 59-second lead on the penultimate stage, will also claim the King of the Mountains jersey and the young riders' white jersey
Two strict vegan parents plead guilty to negligently causing serious injury after their baby developed cerebral palsy, they repeatedly ignored medical advice that their plant-based diet would not sufficiently nourish their young child, the father made his own vegan formula out of dates, fruit and other vegetables, he has now adjusted his own diet and eats meat
Oscars introduce diversity requirements for films that wish to be eligible for the Best Picture Award, needing to hire more black, female, LGBT or disabled cast and crew or address themes that affect those communities, new rules to be introduced in 2024
Liberty Minecraft announces end of project, libertarian game server will be online until June 2021 but will not receive any updates, founder Nathan Dempsey thanks players for five wonderful years
BBC sends TV licencing letter to Kew Palace in Richmond whose last resident was King George III and family in 1820, as free licences for over 75s are scrapped in Britain
A wooden statue honouring the 1980s movie Rambo First Blood has been erected in Hope, British Columbia, actor Sylvester Stallone was quite pleased with the statue before it went up in the city where the 1982 action movie was filmed
The vegan community was dominated by wealthy white women but black and racialized vegans want to take over, black people make up the fastest growing vegan demographic, unlike whites who had to culturally appropriate foods to fit a vegan agenda vegetable-rich diets are not new for people of colour
British farmer Stuart Baldwin in Wigan deposits 421 tyres on front yard of man who was caught on CCTV dumping them on Baldwin's land, had given the culprit a deadline to come and collect the tyres
Yvel is creating the world’s most expensive coronavirus mask with a price tag of USD 1.5 million, the 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds, the buyer specifically requested it would be the priciest in the world, designer Isaac Levy said he would not wear it himself but he was happy the work was able to provide for his employees during very challenging times
George W. Bush publishes book with portrait paintings of 43 immigrants as well as biographical essays he has written about them, purpose is to campaign for liberal immigration laws but publication has been intentionally delayed to after the 2020 presidential election
Movement of "sovereign citizens" grows world-wide according to BBC, consists of individuals who do not see themselves as obligated to follow laws or pay taxes after using legal means to exist contract relationships with states, habit of challenging laws and regulations in court described as paper terrorism
Poppy Lekner wins the 2020 Parkin Drawing Prize of 25 000 NZD, her winning piece of art featuring thousands of forward-slash characters on an A4 piece of paper was created the day before entries closed using a typewriter, Charlotte Davy, head of art at New Zealand's national museum explained the reasoning for the decision, "It's such a beautiful... minimal work where she's really exploring a kind of meditation of process, literally just repeating forward-slash over and over again ... creating a beautiful woven pattern,"
Terunofuji wins historic summer basho in Tokyo after major injury problems, first wrestler ever to have fallen as far down the divisions and then climb back up to lift the Emperor's Cup, won his first tournament as an Ozeki in 2015 before dropping out of the Makuuchi division in 2018
Afrofuturist pioneer Sun Ra articulated negative theology pointing to vacuum at core of African American experience, challenged black people to turn marginalized position into creative opportunities, portrayed by Ming Smith in photographs featured in upcoming book
Arbiom trials a new plant-based protein based on fermented and broken down wood claiming a very easily digestible, high protein content, antibiotics free, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative made from dead trees and wood manufacturing scraps for both humans and livestock, the larger food manufacturing community has reacted mostly positive to the new ingredient
Director Joel Schumacher dead at 80 from cancer, got famous for directing the successful movies St. Elmo's Fire, The Lost Boys and Flatliners, also directed Falling Down, A Time to Kill, Phone Booth, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin
Singer Vera Lynn dies at 103, became a symbol of hope in Britain during World War Two with her song We’ll Meet Again and was known as the Forces’ Sweetheart
Maya inspired prophecy of world ending in December 2012 based on confusing Julian and Gregorian calendars, tweets scientist, ancient calendar actually ends on June 21, 2020
Japanese sweets feud ends as Kyoto court allows Shogoin Yatsuhashi Sohonten to continue informing customers about founding of company in 1689, competitor Izutsuyatsuhashihonpo, founded in 1805, sued on grounds that highlighting longer manufacturing tradition falsely implies better products, defense attorney Orita Yasuhiro admits that the conflict probably is comprehensible only to the people of Kyoto
Serial burglar Jake Fletcher in South Wales is caught mid-burglary when squawking parrot wakes its owner who stops the thief from getting away with her daughters rucksack, video games, a bottle of prosecco and a bottle of gin, the burglar is jailed for two years
German low-cost carrier Eurowings resumes services from Düsseldorf to Sardinia, is forced to turn around at its destination as the Olbia Airport is still closed to commercial traffic
South Korean fotball club FC Seoul apologizes after replacing supporters with apparent sex dolls in stadium stands, some of the dolls held signs mentioning adult sites, doll manufacturer say dolls were not for sexual use
Jerry Stiller dead at 92 from natural causes, most known for playing Frank Costanza on Seinfeld
Elon Musk can't name his son X Æ A-12 as California's computer system can only handle the 26 English alphabet characters plus an apostrophe, bill to allow for more characters was dropped in 2014 due to the system upgrading costs being too large, according to family law attorney David Glass
Elon Musk and Claire Boucher announce birth of son X Æ A-12, Musk's sixth son after twins and triplets from his previous marriage
Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider dies from cancer at 73, the German quartet set the template for synthesiser music in the 1970s and 80s with songs like Autobahn and The Model
Icelandic Game of Thrones actor and strongman Hafþór Björnsson beats Eddie Hall's deadlift world record by lifting 501 kg with straps, says he believes he could have done more but that he and his family were happy with breaking the 2016 record by 1 kg
Raven in Bashkortostan, Russia uses plastic lid as snowboard, four runs caught on film as it grabs the lid with beak after descending hill to fly up and go again, watching raven appears disinterested
American actor Brian Dennehy dies at 81 of natural causes, won two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe and earned six Emmy nominations, had roles in films such as First Blood, Cocoon and F/X
64-year-old retired man ejected by mistake from Rafale-B plane at 2500 feet while grasping for ejector handle during ascent at 47 degree angle, loses helmet not fastened properly and lands in field next to German border with minor injuries, the man had never expressed desire for such flight but got it as surprise present and found it hard to decline, pilot lands safely despite system intended to eject both seats
European football championship Euro 2020 postponed until summer 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Uefa decides during emergency video conference on Tuesday, will now run from 11 June to 11 July next year
Hundreds of crab-eating macaques swarm the streets in Thai city of Lopburi in search of food during current drought crisis, the infamously naughty macaques are a great nuisance in parts of Thailand and the yearly city festival serving the monkeys a buffet exacerbates the problem, authorities began a program in 2014 where gibbons and langurs were trained and deputized to control the monkeys
Teenager in Leeds sent home from school for selling hand sanitizer to fellow students for 50 pence per dose, his mother has trouble disciplining him as father calls him a legend, culprit himself plans to use profits to buy kebab
Test subjects notice no difference when 25% of butter in cake is replaced with larva fat, if ratio is increased to 50% they report an unusual taste and say they would not buy the cake, according to Belgian researchers hoping to find ways to increase consumption of insect food
Actor Max von Sydow dead at 90, appeared in several landmark films and TV series over several decades with iconic roles in for instance The Seventh Seal and The Exorcist
900-strong Hungarian vigilante grouping "Easy Riders" pit biker brawn against against domestic abuse, one phone call summons legion of wind-browned bikers to your residence, Easy Riders also offer counselling services for those who wish to extricate themselves from abusive relationships, existing civil organizations against domestic abuse largely ineffective says female member Vera Mero
Wuhan stages perfunctory grocery deliveries just in time for Sun Chunlan's Premier progress through Wubei province, entourage of Party sycophants stand by in mute admiration as couriers defy infection hazard for the good of the nation, 15-second video clip of residents jeering "It's fake!" from rooftops trends briefly on Weibo before vanishing without trace Friday
61 year old woman in Ireland spends 20 years cutting down non-native spruces planted by the state and replacing them with indigenous trees, convicted for stealing logs but claims she has only fulfilled civic duty to protect environment and biodiversity
Jack Welch dead at 84, was CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001 and one of the iconic big business leaders of his generation
Music activists makes computer generate all possible melodies formed with twelve notes with eight different tones, copyrights all of them under permissive license to prevent musicians being sued for copying them in the future
Freeman Dyson dead at 96, was leading theoretical physicist and mathematician, pioneered important concepts in space exploration and several other areas, worked at Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton from 1953 to his death
Vladimir Putin denies rumours he uses doppelganger in public appearances, TASS reporter hazards "Are you real?", to which Putin replies "Yes", concedes rumours are true inasmuch as the FSB suggested Putin use a body double in the early 2000s, claims he gracefully declined
62-year-old former Marine George Hood sets world record by staying in the abdominal plank position for 8 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds, has trained an average of 7 hours per day for the last 18 months to regain the record he lost to Mao Weidong from China in 2016, now aims to beat the world record of 2,806 pushups completed in one hour
Skylines of African cities transformed by buildings funded, designed and built by Chinese actors who now have 40% of Africa's construction markets, transnational Sino-African architecture expected to link cultures for many decades to come
LEGO Chief Designer Jens Nygaard Knudsen dead at 78, created the iconic minifigure and was behind many of the classic themes such as Space and Pirates