In Other News

[Broken_Erika]

Philippines: Student 'anti-cheating' exam hats go viral


Images of students wearing so-called "anti-cheating hats" during college exams have gone viral on social media in the Philippines, sparking amusement.

Students at one college in Legazpi City were asked to wear headgear that would prevent them peeking at others' papers.

Many responded by creating homemade contraptions out of cardboard, egg boxes and other recycled materials.

Their tutor told the BBC she had been looking for a "fun way" to ensure "integrity and honesty" in her classes.

Mary Joy Mandane-Ortiz, a professor of mechanical engineering at Bicol University College of Engineering, said the idea had been "really effective".

It was implemented for recent mid-term exams, which were sat by hundreds of students at the college in the third week of October.

Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her initial request had been for students to make a "simple" design out of paper.

She was inspired by a technique reportedly used in Thailand some years previously.

In 2013, an image went viral appearing to show a room of university students in Bangkok taking test papers while wearing "ear flaps" - sheets of paper stuck to either side of their head to obscure their vision.

Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her engineers-in-training took the idea and ran with it - in some cases innovating complex headgear in "just five minutes" with any junk they found lying around.

Others donned hats, helmets or Halloween masks to fulfil the brief.

A string of the professor's Facebook posts - showing the youngsters wearing their elaborate creations - garnered thousands of likes in a matter of days, and attracted coverage from Filipino media outlets.

They also reportedly inspired schools and universities in other parts of the country to encourage their own students to put together anti-cheating headwear.

Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her tutees performed better this year, having been motivated by the strict examination conditions to study extra hard.

Many of them finished their tests early, she added - and nobody was caught cheating this year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63363473

[Uncle Sparky]

That man narrowly avoided being in deep doo doo...

[PLATO]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63304390

Wow. That's a pisser

[Broken_Erika]

Japan heritage worker backs car into oldest toilet at Kyoto temple


A man whose job it is to help preserve Japan's cultural heritage has accidentally smashed his car into the country's oldest toilet at a centuries-old Buddhist temple.

The communal loo at Tofukuji in Kyoto dates back to the 15th century and is designated an important cultural asset.

Its ancient door was ruined after the employee hit the gas without realising the car was in reverse, police said.

No one was injured and the actual latrines inside remained intact.

The unnamed man, who works at the Kyoto Heritage Preservation called police soon after the crash, telling them he had crashed into the temple. He was said to be visiting the temple on business, according to the Sankei Shimbun newspaper.

A photo in the newspaper showed what appeared to be the car after it drove into the toilet's 700-year-old wooden door and pillars.

Toshio Ishikawa, director of the Tofukuji Research Institute, was "stunned" by the scale of the accident.

Another official said that although the damage is repairable, restoring the outhouse to its original state would require "lots of work".

• Japan to lift restrictions on foreign tourists
• Cost of living: The shock of rising prices in Japan

The unused communal toilet - known as tōsu - was built in the first half of the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and is located inside Tofukuji temple.

It's nicknamed the "hyakusecchin", which means 100-person toilet, as it was used by more than 100 trainee monks at the temple practicing religious self-discipline, the newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported.

The paper describes it as a structure containing a stone row holding around 20 circular holes.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63304390

[BeBMan]

In totally other news the Bibs turned 100 today. Gratz.

[Jon Miller]

Beyond meat is OK, but I can't eat a lot of it. It is better than some of the standard stuff... but I actually like the black bean burgers (which I don't see around as much now, unfortunately) and falafel burgers better. I also can eat them more often, even if I am really hungry I am not eating a second beyond meat burger in a sitting.

JM

[EPW]

Beyond meat is pretty good, but it's better just to eat a whole food plant-based diet and cut out the substitutes.

[pchang]

Beyond Meat is based on pea protein. My wife says it tastes like peas and won't buy it.

[Broken_Erika]

Beyond Meat executive fired for biting into non-vegan meat

Beyond Meat executive exits after biting incident


The Beyond Meat executive who was accused of biting a man's nose is leaving the vegan food company.

The US firm, known for its plant-based burgers, had suspended Douglas Ramsey, then chief operating officer, indefinitely after the incident.

His departure comes amid a broader shake-up at the company, which is struggling with faltering demand for fake meat.

The firm also said it was axing 200 staff, about 20% of its workforce.

"We believe our decision to reduce personnel and expenses throughout the company, including our leadership group, reflects an appropriate right-sizing of our organization given current economic conditions," Beyond Meat boss Ethan Brown said.

"We remain confident in our ability to deliver on the long-term growth and impact expected from our global brand."

Beyond Meat, which started selling its plant-based food in 2012, has blamed cost-of-living pressures for pushing shoppers to less expensive options, including traditional meat.

The company has also seen its edge eroded by a wealth of new competitors, including from food giants such as Kellogg and Tyson Foods.

Executives warned investors on Friday that sales this year are likely to fall 9% to 14% compared to 2021.

It is the second time the company had cut its forecast in recent months - and marks a sharp slowdown from the more than 20% growth the firm had initially projected.

The company said it had been "negatively impacted by ongoing softness in the plant-based meat category overall, especially in the refrigerated subsegment, and by the impact of increased competition".

"Inflation is believed to be an underlying factor exerting pressure on the category as consumers trade down into cheaper forms of protein, including animal meat," it added.

Beyond Meat had announced an earlier round of job cuts in August. Multiple executives in addition to Mr Ramsey have also left the company in recent weeks.

The company did not respond to a request for comment about Mr Ramsey.

He was arrested last month for reportedly biting a man's nose during a row after a football game in Arkansas. His last day was 14 October, the company said.

Before joining Beyond Meat last year, Mr Ramsey had a three-decade career at meat processing giant Tyson Foods, where he oversaw the company's poultry and McDonald's business units.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63260645

[BeBMan]

Just read that they use people to produce energy now:

Glasgow arts venue SWG3 has switched on a system that creates renewable energy from the body heat on its dancefloor.

Dancers' heat is piped via a carrier fluid to 200m (650ft) bore holes that can be charged like a thermal battery.

The energy then travels back to the heat pumps, is upgraded to a suitable temperature and emitted back into SWG3.

The owners say this will enable them to completely disconnect the venue's gas boilers, reducing its carbon emissions by about 70 tonnes of CO2 a year.

How long until you will be required to dance for your energy at home??? Soon we're all in the Matrix, I tell you

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63161838

[BeBMan]

Orca mob hunting down a single shark - unfair!

[Broken_Erika]

Footage shows pod of orcas killing a great white shark and devouring its liver

It's the 1st 'irrefutable evidence' that orcas are feeding off great whites near South Africa, says biologist

Great white sharks can no longer claim the title of top predator — at least not off the coast of South Africa.

New drone and helicopter footage shows a pod of orcas ruthlessly pursuing a great white shark in Mossel Bay before going in for the kill. The grisly video culminates with one of the killer whales gobbling up a large chunk of the shark's liver.

Scientists have long suspected that killer whales have been hunting sharks off South Africa's coast and driving them from their natural habitat. Now they have "irrefutable evidence," says shark biologist Alison Towner.

"When I saw the footage, of course, it just confirmed everything," Towner, a PhD candidate at South Africa's Rhodes University, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

"And as haunting it is to see the behaviour, one can't help but be awed by it as well. It's really quite a novel piece of natural history to observe."

Towner is the co-author of a new paper analyzing the footage, which was published this week in the journal Ecology.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/footage-shows-pod-of-orcas-killing-a-great-white-shark-and-devouring-its-liver-1.6610075

[Uncle Sparky]

I bet the American wanted the pope to nullify Bden's election... FREEDOM!!!

[BeBMan]

American tourist demands to see pope, smashes two sculptures at Vatican

(...)
The man had demanded to see the pope, according Il Messaggero, a newspaper based in Rome, and when he was told he could not, he allegedly hurled one Roman bust to the floor.

As he ran off, with staff in pursuit, he knocked down another, both outlets reported.
(...)

Take that, pope!

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/10/06/american-tourist-smashes-two-sculptures-vatican-busts/8194709001/

[Proteus_MST]

Don't cook chicken in drugs/medicines:

https://www.cnet.com/culture/internet/stop-cooking-chicken-in-nyquil-fda-begs-in-response-to-social-media-trend/

Boiling chicken in cough Syrup?
Who started this strange trend?

I 'm toying with the idea to start a "who will send me most of his money" TikTok challenge

If you post it with the pic of a beautiful woman and claim that is you, this surely will raise a lot of money

Or, as my favorite Youtube-Channel (Viva La Dirt League) has it: