WTF News: It's Weird, True and Funny

A newborn baby was declared dead after 35 minutes of his birth but was found to be alive, when her father came to collect her body after 10 hours.

The Columbian baby, now-named Milagros, which means "miracles", was born prematurely at St Francis hospital in Quibdo.

The mother, Jenny Hurtado was only 27 weeks pregnant, when she was rushed to the hospital, the New York Daily News reported.

Medics then performed a C-section but were unable to find signs of life, and declared the baby to be dead just 35 minutes later.

When the attendant handed the baby's body over to the father's at the morgue, they heard a soft cry.

Realizing the infant was still alive, the workers rushed her onto a plane to the Santa Teresita del Nino Jesus clinic in Bogota.

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About 44 per cent Britishers believe we are not alone in the Universe and the aliens do exist, according to a new survey.

The survey also revealed that 45 percent said that the British government had covered up paranormal activity's evidence.

Almost 33 percent Brits believed in ghosts, while 10 percent said that they had been confronted by a spooky being, the Daily Star reported.

About quarter of women believe that dogs possess telepathic powers, while nearly 25 percent people are convinced that humans would be able to converse with dogs in future.

More than 1,000 people took part in the poll to launch a new ITV show, Mystery Map, which will be delving into the UK's top myths and mysteries

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Starlings have been flocking to Rome for decades, but this year financial cuts have left Italy's capital covered in poo... literally.

The distinctive birds have been spending their winters in Rome for decades, at first settling in the outskirts of town and then moving closer and closer into the main hub, drawn to the heat radiating from the city buildings.

The starlings spend their days eating olives in the nearby olive groves scattered around the city suburbs, then they return to the centre of town in the evenings ... and do their thing ... in streets, on cars, on buildings and on statutes.

In the past local authorities had the budget to minimise the mess, implementing novel strategies like mimicking loud falcon cries (to scare the birds away) and pruning the olive trees.

This year, however, budgets were cut and local authorities were not able to take the same measures, leaving residents and travellers to fend for themselves, the Herald Sun reported.

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Brazil's agriculture ministry was forced to declare a state of emergency this week in its main crop growing region, Mato Grosso, due to an infestation of the little caterpillars, as well as in the state of Bahia, where growers lost money last year because of the pests.

Smaller than a human thumb, and with a knack for ploughing through soy, corn and cotton, the Helicoverpa has been terrorizing Asia, Australia and Africa since the 19th century, Quartz website reported

In response, Brazil’s agriculture industry recently approved the importation of more powerful pesticides to fend off the menacing insects, but plenty of damage has already been done.

The tiny buggers cost Brazil an estimated $4.7 billion last summer alone. Outbreaks have been reported in as many as 21 different states throughout the country.

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Brazil's business hub of Sao Paulo played a host to a contest which honored women's rear ends.

The 2013 edition of Miss Bum Bum, had 15 young women competing for the crown, News.com.au reported.

25-year-old Dai Macedo from the central state of Goias was the winner for her 107 centimetres (42 inches) of "bumbum", who got the vote of a half-male, half-female jury.

Second place was grabbed by Eliana Amaral from Pernambuco in the north and the third place went to Jessica Amaral from the central northern region of Para.

Administration student, Macedo had been involved in controversy where she claimed on social media that the result would be fixed to give the title to her rival, Mari Sousa.

After her win, Macedo said that she was all emotional as she didn't expect to win and even though all hell broke loose on social media sites but now she can say the contest was real.

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A list of odd jobs in the world, ranging from an odor judge to a dinosaur duster, has been complied by photographer Nancy Rica Schiff.

Schiff, who has spent 15 years taking pictures of world's weirdest jobs, said that she came across people who have "the wacky occupations including an odour judge, fish counter, condom tester, mermaid, dinosaur duster and crisp inspector, the Daily Star reported.

She has produced two books from her images, titled ' Odd Jobs' and ' Odder Jobs', and revealed that she has always been fascinated by unusual employment.

Schiff also revealed that her inspiration came from an odd-looking fellow at the Hollywood Race Track whose job it was to time the horse races and thinking up other odd jobs came from research, word-of-mouth and luck.

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US Food and Drug Administration has warned that an ingredient acrylamide, found in many fried foods , could be harmful to people.

Acrylamide forms in many plant-based foods while they are cooked at high-temperatures, like frying or baking; it's often found in French fries, cereals, crackers and many other food products, Fox News reported.

According to a recent report on the FDA website, studies have found that high levels of acrylamide could raise cancer risk among animals -- and many experts believe that the risk could translate to humans as well.

The chemical was first discovered in 2002. According to the FDA, acrylamide forms from sugars and an amino acid that are naturally found in food.

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The design of one of the nine new stadiums being built in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has reportedly been likened to a vagina after the plans were unveiled.

The architects said that the design of the Al Wakrah stadium was inspired by the flowing shape of a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel used by pearl divers and fishermen in the region for centuries.

However, Metro.co.uk reports that blogs likened the 40,000 capacity stadium to a vagina, and a blog writer applauded the design, unintentional or not, saying that the 'bigwigs' behind the design should embrace this so-called faux pas and rebrand it as a deliberate nod towards the increasingly liberal Qatari policies concerning women in sport.

The writer further said that in a world where sport and vaginas very rarely come together with such prominence, and quipped that 45,000 people crammed inside a woman's reproductive system is not a big deal as they have been there before.

The 2022 World Cup has been beset with controversy since being awarded to ultra-conservative Qatar in 2010, the report added.

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The oldest animal ever known lived from 1499 until the day researchers cracked its shell open, killing it in the process.

Ming, an ocean quahog from the species Arctica islandica, was initially thought to be a record-setting 402 years old. But the scientists who found it on a seabed near Iceland in 2006 now say further analysis has revealed that it was an incredible 507 years old, reports CBS.

The researchers, who didn't realize how old Ming was when they first found it, opened the ancient clam up to judge its age by counting growth rings inside its hinge ligaments. That's because the rings are "better protected" there, scientist Paul Butler tells ScienceNordic, which notes that Ming was named for the Chinese dynasty that ruled when it was born.

But the rings were so close together that scientists ended up having to count the rings on the outside to be accurate, leading CBS to point out that Ming could have lived on, had scientists just started there.

"We got it wrong the first time and maybe we were a bit (hasty) publishing our findings back then. But we are absolutely certain that we've got the right age now," says Butler.

The old, dead, mollusk still has a huge amount to offer science, reports the Herald-Sun. Scientists believe it will provide valuable data on changing sea temperatures over the last half-millennium -- and maybe even some clues to longevity.

WTF news.... 

For some, the humble round doorknob is unremarkable, a simple tool, a means to an end. For others, it is a piece of art, an object of beauty, an architecturally significant adornment on the welcoming portal to a building. For others, it is so synonymous with ordinariness that a 'knob' is a pejorative word for being dull or stupid.

In Vancouver, Canada, the doorknob is heading into a setting sun. Its future has been date-marked, legislated out of existence in all future construction, a tip to society’s quest for universal design and the easier-to-use lever handle, the Vancouversun reported.

In September, Vancouver council adopted new amendments to its building code, effective next March, that, among other things, will require lever handles on all doors and lever faucets in all new housing construction.

It is not like the doorknob will disappear entirely. Like many inventions, it will hold its own for a long, long time. There are, after all, a few people who still use typewriters instead of computers. Vancouver’s rule is not retroactive to existing homes. But over time, the effect will become magnified as housing is replaced.

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A bulletproof protection three-piece suit will soon be released by a Canadian tailor.

The company, Garrison Bespoke, has claimed that it has combined style and safety, using lightweight carbon nanotube technology to absorb impact from bullets fired from handguns and prevent punctures from knife attacks, News.com.au reported.

The suit, which is retailing at almost 20,370 dollars, has been designed for a select few customers to help them avoid being killed while traveling abroad.

The head of special projects for the company, David Tran, said that the focus was on "making the ultimate James Bond suit".

The suit was inspired by a conversation with a client who was shot in a foreign country six months ago, but lived to tell the tale, and is also the first person to buy its bullet-proof suit.

WTF news

If you have a fear of heights you should probably avoid the record-breaking 140ft tall Meg-a-Blaster waterslide.

The mammoth installation is being built in Kansas City in the US and is due to be completed next spring, according to Gizmodo.

Brave visitors to Schlitterbahn Park will reach speeds of more than 60mph on the way down, hopefully towards an equally massive pool.

The 134.5ft Insano waterslide in Brazil is currently the world’s tallest, with people clocking up speeds of around 62.5mph as they descend.

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