Here’s a fresh collection of offbeat, quirky stories from around the world.
With the likes of Kim Kardashian and Miranda Kerr constantly parading their perfect posteriors on social media, it comes as little surprise that body conscious beach-goers are spending nearly $500 (Rs 30,000) on a new treatment that promises to enhance their derrieres. Make way for the ‘butt facial’ -- the latest beauty craze to come out of New York. The costly 40-minute procedure uses lasers, chemical peels and moisturisers to tone and smooth the skin.
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An apple a day boosts a woman's sex drive
Apples can increase levels of sexual arousal in women, according to a new scientific study. A report in the Archives of Gynaecology and Obstetrics says a survey of 731 Italian women found those who ate between one and two apples a day had better sex lives. Researchers asked the women -- with no other sexual problems -- to complete a Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire measuring sexual function, sexual frequency, orgasm, lubrication and overall sexual satisfaction. The results showed “daily apple use is associated with higher FSFI scores in sexually active female patients, thus increasing their lubrication and overall sexual function”.
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North Korea's World Cup 'triumph'
Photographs: Reuters
They have a history of tall tales and false victory claims. So it’s no surprise a mock video has appeared on YouTube of North Korea “celebrating” qualification for the World Cup final -- at the expense of arch enemies the USA, Japan and China. Complete with images of leader Kim Jong-Un saluting the team and fans celebrating at a “live site” on the street, the fictitious footage includes a highlights of a 2-0 victory over China in an empty stadium.
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China dynamites mountain tops for airport
Image: The new airport in Hechi has been built at 2,200 feet above sea levelA new airport in the city of Hechi, in the mountains of Guangxi in south west China, has been built at 2,200 feet above sea level, on the top of 65 mountains. “We sent men up with explosives who dug holes and blew up the tops of the mountains. It was the only way to flatten them. Then we filled in the valleys between the mountains,” said Wei Yuanzhe, a spokesman for the company managing the airport. With a runway only 1.3 miles long and 150ft wide, and with a 1,000ft sheer drop on one side, arriving at Hechi will be “like landing on an aircraft carrier”.
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Chinese toddler gets trapped in washing machine
Image: Fire officials cut open the washing machine and rescue the toddlerA Chinese toddler managed to get himself wedged stuck in a washing machine after climbing in when his mother wasn’t looking. After spending 30 minutes trying to remove Peng, 3, from the machine in the city of Suzhou in central China’s Anhui province, his mum Qian Tien, 27, finally gave up and called the professionals. But even experienced Chinese firemen who say children getting stuck in unusual places is not uncommon were unable to remove the boy. In the end, they resorted to tearing the machine apart using electronic hydraulic rescue tools, and later an angle grinder to saw it in half.
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Mexican mayor marries crocodile
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons
The mayor of a Mexican fishing town has married a crocodile in an elaborate ceremony where the bride wore white and guests danced with the reptile. The reptile is a princess, according to local tradition, and it is hoped the nuptials will boost catches of fish, shrimp and other seafood along the Pacific coast. Before the ceremony, the wedding party walked with the crocodile bride through the southern Mexican town of San Pedro Huamelula. “It's my wish to marry the young princess,” mayor Joel Vasquez Rojas said as the pair tied the knot.
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Solid gold crib goes on sale for Rs 102 crore
Photographs: Courtesy of Suommo
A luxury baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of £10 million (Rs 102 crore). It is dubbed the most expensive cot in the world. The solid gold crib, named the Dodo Bassinet, takes six months to build. The magnificent crib of golden dreams was created by Ximo Talamantes, designer and CEO of Suommo.
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Chinese city bans, destroys matches to fight terror
A city in China's violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang has banned matches and destroyed more than 20,000 boxes of them as part of efforts to fight terror attacks. Fukang, which sits near regional capital Urumqi, decided to remove all matches from circulation to ensure they are not used by "terrorist groups or individual extremists to carry out criminal activities".
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Woman in extreme debt because of Kim Kardashian craze
Photographs: Claire Leeson's Facebook page
Claire Leeson is 24 years old and "up to her eyeballs" in debt. But her money problems don't come from school loans or car payments: They come from her desire (need) to look like Kim Kardashian, whom Leeson idolizes above all others.
Leeson became obsessed with Kim K after she started watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2009 and, having been bullied at school, she began imitating the most famous (and most annoying) (My favorite is Khloe) Kardashian in order to give herself a boost of confidence. When she's "got her Kimmy on" Leeson says, she feels unstoppable, invincible and like she's really making something of herself.
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New toaster can burn YOUR face into bread
Photographs: Vermont Novelty Toaster Corporation
We've seen Jesus in toast form. but now a new novelty toaster is allowing the selfie-obsessed to burn their own image into their morning slice.
The Vermont Novelty Toaster Corporation now offers a service by which customers' photos are used to create personalized toasters.
The finished products - which retail for $75 apiece -- lightly grill bread to a golden brown, save for the image outline which is burnt on at a higher heat to make for a darker hue.
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Singapore bans book based on Central Park Zoo's 'gay' penguins
Photographs: Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters
Singapore is putting the freeze on a children’s book about the Central Park Zoo’s “gay” penguin couple — by taking copies from libraries and destroying them. The country’s National Library Board will pulp three copies of “And Tango Makes Three”, claiming the tale is inappropriate, government officials said.
“We support teaching children about conventional families, but not about alternative, nontraditional families,” said Yaacob Ibrahim, the country’s minister of communications. The approach is to reflect existing social norms, and not to challenge or seek to change them.”
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