In Other News

[Berzerker]

prostitutes dont promote prostitution

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I'm pretty sure most of them do.

[Sugarrynad]

I'm pretty sure most of them do.

Exactly.

[Broken_Erika]

Explosive gender reveal party shakes houses miles away


Explosives used at a gender reveal party have caused buildings to tremble across the US state of New Hampshire.

An expectant couple had gone to a quarry to let off an explosion to reveal the sex of their unborn child.

People in towns miles away felt the impact, which was said to be caused by mixing chalk with 80 pounds of Tannerite, an over-the-counter explosive.

The man who set it off has reportedly handed himself in to police.

Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt as a result of the blast.

The explosion was so big it was caught on a doorbell camera.

Local news reported people across New Hampshire saying there had been an earthquake, with some reporting cracks in the foundation of their homes.

What is a gender reveal party?

It's a tradition which started in the US, where expectant couples throw an elaborate party to announce the sex of their child, before the birth.

Often there is a ceremony; like a cake-cutting, or a balloon-popping, where the contents will be either blue or pink to reveal the sex of the child. This is usually a surprise to both parents.

It's not the first time these events have caused dangerous accidents.

• Have gender reveal parties gone too far?

In September last year, a firework at a gender reveal party caused a week-long wildfire in southern California that destroyed woodland and caused people to flee their homes.

In 2019, a 56-year-old woman was killed instantly when shrapnel from a homemade explosive hit her head at a gender reveal party.

Authorities are still investigating the New Hampshire explosion.

In case you're wondering, according to reports, it's going to be a boy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-56861212

[SlowwHand]

Human-Monkey


https://theconversation.com/first-hu...problem-159355

[Uncle Sparky]

Dr. Zaius is working on it.

[BanditGaming]

I feel that it's ethically bad, but I'm curious as f*k to see it goes successfully.

[ricketyclik]

Chromosome 6 by Robin Cook.

[Berzerker]

will we tell our human-monkey hybrid they will suffer greater pain in childbirth?

[Broken_Erika]

They should try splicing Squirrels and provolone cheese, then you won't have to look in 2 different places for squirrels and cheese.

[Broken_Erika]

US woman pays price for non-returned Sabrina the Teenage Witch rental

An arrest warrant, felony embezzlement charge and 20 years of turned-down jobs - all over a Sabrina the Teenage Witch videotape.

The criminal history was slapped on Texas resident Caron McBride after she failed to return the VHS copy of the nineties sitcom in 1999.

She only found out the truth when she tried to change her name on a driving licence after getting married.

She said she'd not watched the tape and it must have been rented in her name.

"Just not my cup of tea," Ms McBride, 52, told local media.

• Thank you note for VHS player makes thousands cry

Her name was used to rent the VHS - a black plastic box with spooling tape in it for those who have moved on - in a store called Movie Place in Norman, Oklahoma, on Valentine's Day in 1999.

It was not returned after the agreed 10-day period. The prosecution in the case said Ms McBride had "wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously embezzled" a tape, which it valued at a rather startling $58.59 (£42.18).

The store apparently closed in 2008, part of the countrywide disappearance of the rental video industry which was wiped out by streaming services.

Ms McBride's criminal record, however, remained.

It was the Texas driving licensing team that told her of the felony embezzlement charge after a recent background check.

Ms McBride said she called the Cleveland County District Attorney's office in Oklahoma, where an official told her the charge "was over the VHS tape".

"I had to make her repeat it because I thought, this is insane," she said. "This girl is kidding me, right? She wasn't kidding".

Ms McBride said she suspects the words "felony embezzlement" led to her rejection from at least five jobs without explanation over the past 20 years.

"It's a serious issue. It's caused me and my family a lot of heartache financially because of the positions I've lost because of those two words. Something's got to give," she told KFOR.

The case has now been dropped, but Ms McBride still needs to get the record expunged.

She says she believes a man she was living with at the time may have rented the tape for his young daughters.

Even the Sabrina team were moved. Star Melissa Joan Hart posted a shrugging emoji and another of the show's cast, Caroline Rhea, said: "Seriously let's all sign a script for her to help her out."

Netflix ran a revamp of the show - Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - from 2018 to 2020. It was not available on videotape.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56888875

[Broken_Erika]

There can be only one

Josh fight: Hundreds join friendly battle for naming rights


Hundreds of people have gathered in a US park, armed with pool noodles, to take part in a friendly battle over the right to use the name Josh.

Last April, Arizona student Josh Swain, 22, jokingly messaged dozens of people who shared his name, and challenged them to a fight.

It quickly went viral online.

A year later, dozens of people called Josh arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, to battle for the popular name.

The event began with "an epic contest of rock, paper, scissors" between organiser Josh Swain and another Josh Swain from Omaha, said Yousef Nasser, a reporter with local broadcaster KLKN, who filmed the battle. The Arizona Josh won the contest.

The subsequent pool noodle fight was open to anyone with the first name Josh. Dozens of Joshes - some wearing Spider-Man costumes and others in Jedi robes - tried to hit one another with the noodles, as a large crowd of cheering supporters looked on.

In the end, four-year-old Josh Vinson Jr, nicknamed Little Josh, was crowned the winner. He received a Burger King crown, a champion's belt and a small trophy.

"From the start it was a spectacle," Mr Nasser told the BBC. "I would describe it as an internet meme come to life."

The event also sparked a charity fundraising drive, which raised over $8000 for a local children's hospital, Mr Nasser added.

The idea for the event began in April 2020 when Mr Swain, in "a spell of pandemic boredom," started a group message with as many people he could find on Facebook who shared his first and last name. The college student challenged the doppelgangers to a duel for the right to be known as Josh Swain, on 24 April 2021.

He posted the exchange on Twitter, where it gained tens of thousands of "likes".

Mr Swain said he was surprised at how big the event turned out.

"I did not expect people to be as adamant about this as they are right now," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56886857

[Broken_Erika]

Canadian 'sign war' captivates the internet



For the past week, the Canadian town of Listowel has been embroiled in a war of words via business signs that has captivated local residents and people around the world.

It started as a battle between two businesses in the Ontario town - Speedy Glass and Dairy Queen (DQ) - and has since spread to the entire town and even further afield.

Locals have been joining in, creating fun mottos for their business' sign.

"There are thousands of signs on local businesses from our town alone to neighbouring towns and cities and counties," Trevor Cork, owner of Speedy Glass, told the BBC.

He decided to challenge DQ to a sign war after seeing a similar attempt in Virginia that had gone viral.

"It absolutely blew up," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56972907

[SlowwHand]

[Uncle Sparky]

No Facebook for Pussygrabber.

[BeBMan]

FB is bad for ppl anyway:

In 2014, researchers in Austria found that participants reported lower moods after using Facebook for 20 minutes compared to those who just browsed the internet. The study suggested that people felt that way because they saw it as a waste of time.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...d-the-unknowns

[DARcness]

https://6rmdtdlklvenw5ikxlb2nyh5iy-ac5fdsxevxq4s5y-amp-tagesanzeiger-ch.translate.goog/putzfrau-ersetzt-ihren-chef-als-buergermeisterin-237162216558

[SlowwHand]

Don't like cats? I do. There are worse things.

Animal Rescue Has Released 1,000 Feral Cats into Chicago's Streets to Combat City's Rat Problem

[Uncle Sparky]

I bet a witch came up with that plan! Burn the witches!