[goldie0608]

A couple found Molly Shannon’s phone in a taxi. They ended up making a famous friend

The former "Saturday Night Live" star was grateful this man and woman saved the day.



A New York City couple didn’t just find the cell phone of any celebrity. They found one belonging to a real “Superstar.”

A man named Vincent Zurzolo shared the story of how he and his partner stumbled upon Molly Shannon’s iPhone in a video he posted on Instagram that featured the comedian herself.

“So, Josephine and I are coming home from New York Comic Con and a phone starts ringing in the back of the cab,” he began. “We pick it up and eventually find out whose phone it is. We get a phone call from somebody who’s very nervous that they’ve lost their phone. And look whose phone it is.”

That’s when the former “Saturday Night Live” star jumped into the frame to reveal her identity.

“Superstar!” she joked, reciting the famous line from her Mary Katherine Gallagher character that she did on “SNL” and in the movie “Superstar.”

“How about that?” she continued. “This has never happened to me because I’m very careful with my phone, but it must’ve slipped out of my purse and I was panicked. I got back to my hotel and I did the Find My iPhone and I’m seeing my phone on, like, 33rd Street. And I’m like ‘I’m never going to get it back.’

“But then I called the hotel and they called my number and Vincent was so kind to pick up and I got my phone back from Vincent and Josephine. And I said it’s very serendipitous that we all meet, so there’s some reason for it.”

Zurzolo then added a zinger of his own.

“Then I let them know we’re swingers and she’s staying the night,” he joked.

“Yeah, but it all worked out great. Happy Sunday,” she said before the trio hugged.

Finding a personal item owned by someone famous is rare, but it’s not totally unprecedented. In 2018, a man discovered Diane Keaton’s wallet that she had lost 50 years earlier.

“This is the craziest story!” she Keaton wrote on Twitter.

[PennySerenade]

Turning the page: How a local book club became a lockdown lifeline for teen girls in Ontario



TORONTO -- When their library gathering space—and book source—shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local reading club for teenage girls could have closed its own chapter.

But founder Tanya Lee decided to mail out materials to the 15 young members—and soon realized how important it was to keep it alive.

“They told me how me mailing those books really helped with their depression during the pandemic, because they weren’t allowed to go out,” Lee told CTV News Toronto. “They lived in high-priority neighbourhoods where the COVID-19 rates were really high.”

With schools shuttered and social connections severed, the group decided to move the “A Room of Your Own” club meet-ups online. Before long it became an escape from the stress of COVID-19 and the accompanying isolation.

“Everyone was feeling so lonely, we didn’t really have much to do,” said Ali Chamberlain, 14. “The books and being able to talk about them—I’d get so excited about the book club.”

Soon, hundreds of other young women from across the country began to join in, and Lee put out the call for corporate sponsors to provide books to the growing group. Chapman’s Ice Cream donated 600 novels and Lee is hoping more companies will answer the call.

Every book featured by the club has a strong female protagonist, providing the members with identifiable characters from every walk of life.

“The books we’re reading are stories of empowerment of women that we can really relate to,” Chamberlain said.

“I like them a lot better than the ones we read at school,” echoed Soleil Bignall, 15. “I also like the fact that it’s mainly female authors.”


The members have had a chance to meet many of the writers, including Michelle Obama, who they met on the former First Lady’s book tour in 2019.

Since the pandemic hit, authors have joined their twice-monthly meetings virtually, giving the teens a chance to interact with them online—and develop other social connections at the same time.

“It’s a great experience to be able to meet authors, read a bunch of books, talk about them with people who also read the book, and are enthusiastic about it,” said Amelia Zdaniuk, 13.

But it is clear, said Lee, that for many the club became a lifeline during lockdown—providing social support and creating connections that will last beyond the pandemic.

“I knew it would help, but I didn’t know the extent to how much they needed that,” she said.

“We’re reading books that we really didn’t know we needed,” said Chamberlain.

[Mintydreams00]

Is your cat plotting to destroy you?

There are some very good reasons why our feline "friends" should not be trusted.




Ready to have your mind blown with a cool cat fact? Cats were not domesticated by humans—they domesticated us themselves. Around 8,000 years ago, the Mesopotamian ancestors of modern cats realized that humans enjoyed surrounding themselves with garbage and rats. Cats like both of those things, so they began invading human settlements, feasting on all-you-can-eat rodents and trash like the gods they are.

Humans had no choice but to submit to their new feline overlords, whose rule turned out to be beneficial for our budding civilization. Cats guarded our crops from varmints, shielded communities from disease by keeping rats at bay, and were so freakin’ adorable that not a single person could resist smooshing those furry little faces. And so, both our species began to coexist, with the humans in charge of hunting, gathering, and laboring, and the cats in charge of napping, grifting, and getting belly scratches.

Ready for another cool cat fact? They can weaponize their poop. Nearly all cats that spend time outdoors have poop that’s laced with toxoplasma gondii bacteria, and whenever they do their business, it becomes airborne. When rodents get a whiff of cats’ poop fumes, the bacteria buries itself into their brains, multiplies like mad, and starts calling the shots.

In time, the rodents come to believe that cats are their friends. And then, unafraid to approach cats, they get eaten. The cycle repeats, the rodents keep offering themselves up on a silver platter, and the cats get to take more naps. Oh, and toxoplasma gondii also affects humans, so if you’ve ever cleaned a litter box, there’s a chance the cats already have control of your feeble brain.

Are you beginning to worry that your cat might be up to something? No? Well, brace yourself, because you’re about to get smacked in the face with a third astonishing cool cat fact. As human and cat societies became fully enmeshed, cats stopped relying on hunting and scavenging for food, and became fully dependent on humans as a food source. When a cat wants to be fed, it will begin purring and meowing at a frequency between 220 and 520 hertz, which, is “coincidentally” just about the same frequency as the cries of a human baby. Sounds at this frequency trigger a sense of urgency in the human brain, compelling us to obey the cat’s commands.

Today’s cats may get their food from a can, but they’ve never lost their killer instinct, nor have they forgotten their place in the food chain. Do they love us? Yes. Might they destroy us? Maybe. Should they be trusted? Absolutely not. So if you want to learn the true meaning of terror this Halloween season, take a gander at Temptations’ Limited-Edition “Tasty Human” Cat Treats, decide if you’re brave enough to toe the line dividing man and beast, and dare your cat to take his best shot.

I love my cats more than my human children, because my cats might be reading this and I’m not sure what they’re capable of they’re superior to people in every conceivable way. I vow to spend every one of my days tending to their needs, catering to their whims, and doing other really nice stuff that can only happen if nobody eats me. Remember: I am a friend, not food, and if a situation arises where somebody in this house needs to get eaten, it should be my husband, who is the meatiest member of our family.

Fellow cat people: Are you sufficiently intimidated by your feline companions? Have they ever given you reason to suspect that you may be in danger? Did their poop command you to add your cat’s name to your life insurance policy?

[BigGlen]

Taiwan girl, 3, in miracle escape after flying through sky ensnared by giant kite


The young girl is seen flying through the air, wrapped in a huge kite. PHOTO BY YOUTUBE SCREEN GRAB

A young girl in Taiwan had a miracle escape after becoming entangled in a huge kite and being hoisted some 30 metres into the air, as horrified onlookers screamed below.

The girl, aged just three, was attending a kite festival Sunday with family in Nanliao, near Hsinchu City, when she became caught up in the kite’s strings and went airborne, the Guardian reports .

In clips that went viral, staff at the festival can be seem grappling to maintain control of the kite’s tail before it takes off in heavy gusts. Once the kite is in the sky, however, it becomes apparent it has a girl attached to it. In videos, the girl can be seen being thrashed from side to side, the kite taking her higher and higher.

Spectators can be heard screaming in horror. Some people video the incident as she flies away, while others scramble and quickly form a human landing pad. After those on the ground manage to keep hold of the kite and lower her to safety, the girl eventually drops, somehow unscathed beyond scratches on her neck. She was, however, said to have been traumatized.

Officials, the Guardian reported, said that strong winds had seen the kite tail wind its way around the girl at precisely the wrong moment. It had been intended that the kite would drop sweets from on high, for the waiting children. Normally, people would be kept well away from such a kite, but in this case the high winds has disrupted the regular process.

Lin Chih-chien, the mayor of Hsinchu, offered an apology for the incident, saying:

“The city government team offers its sincere apology to the victim and the public. We will review the incident to avoid such an accident from happening again. We will also investigate responsibility and conduct an in-depth review.”

Wait till you see the video....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vom-dadLnQ

New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after two decades of service
Ian Brackenbury Channell was paid $16,000 a year to provide ‘acts of wizardry’ for the city of Christchurch



The official Wizard of New Zealand, perhaps the only state-appointed wizard in the world, has been cast from the public payroll, spelling the end to a 23-year legacy.

The Wizard, whose real name is Ian Brackenbury Channell, 88, had been contracted to Christchurch city council for the past two decades to promote the city through “acts of wizardry and other wizard-like services," at a cost of $16,000 a year. He has been paid a total of $368,000.

The Wizard, who was born in England, began performing acts of wizardry and entertainment in public spaces shortly after arriving in New Zealand in 1976. When the council originally tried to stop him, the public protested. In 1982, the New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Association said he had become a living work of art, and then, in 1990, the prime minister at the time, Mike Moore, asked that he consider becoming the Wizard of New Zealand.

“I am concerned that your wizardry is not at the disposal of the entire nation,” Moore wrote on his official letterhead.

“I suggest therefore that you should urgently consider my suggestion that you become the Wizard of New Zealand, Antarctica and relevant offshore areas … no doubt there will be implications in the area of spells, blessings, curses, and other supernatural matters that are beyond the competence of mere Prime Ministers.”



Since then he has performed in Christchurch, rain-danced in New Zealand and Australia during droughts, and was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours. But he has also encountered controversy with off-colour comments about women.

In an April screening of channel Three’s comedy current affairs show New Zealand Today, hosted by Guy Williams, the Wizard said he liked to tease women by telling them they were devious, and said “they use cunning to get men who are thick”.

“I love women, I forgive them all the time, I’ve never struck one yet. Never strike a woman because they bruise too easily is the first thing, and they’ll tell the neighbours and their friends … and then you’re in big trouble.”

The council said it had sent the Wizard a letter thanking him for his services to Christchurch over the past decades and informing him they were closing the book on his contract, a council spokesperson, Lynn McClelland, said.

McClelland added that it was a difficult decision, but the Wizard would “forever be a part of [Christchurch’s] history”.

The city is embarking on new tourism and promotional direction that will reflect its diverse communities and “showcase a vibrant, diverse, modern city that is attractive to residents, domestic and international visitors, new businesses, and skilled migrant workers”, she said.

The Wizard said the council had decided to stop paying him because he did not fit “the vibes” of the city. He said he was a provocateur.

“It implies that I am boring and old, but there is nobody else anything like me in Christchurch.”

“It’s just they don’t like me because they are boring old bureaucrats and everyone likes me and no one likes them,’’ he said.

The Wizard is a well-known face to Christchurch residents, but in recent years, his presence has diminished, and sightings have become rare. He says that is because the council has made him invisible and would not respond to his suggestions to improve tourism.

“But when they cancelled this honorarium, everyone got furious, they have awakened a hornet’s nest here, it’s hilarious. The next few months are going to be real fun.”

The Wizard said he would keep up his regular appearances at Christchurch’s Arts Centre, chatting to tourists and locals. The centre is hosting an exhibition of his life this month, which is supported by the council.

When asked if he would curse the council over its decision, he said he preferred to give blessings.

“I give children happy dreams, general good health, and I want to make bureaucrats become more human.”


JUST REALIZED THIS IS A DUPLICATE STORY - MY BAD =)

Do mice really love cheese?

Contrary to popular belief, mice really aren't all that crazy about cheese. Sure, they might eat it if there's nothing else around -- a hungry mouse can't be too picky -- but it's far from his favorite food.

By: Bambi Turner | Updated: Feb 8, 2021

Despite the love lost between mice and cheese, the image of a mouse in desperate search of a hunk of cheese to nosh on permeates pop culture, from Shakespeare to "Tom and Jerry" cartoons. While it's unclear where this myth originated, it likely dates back to the middle ages, before the invention of modern refrigeration. Back then, food storage was much more complex than simply sticking something in the refrigerator. Medieval families hung meat from hooks on the ceiling, stored grains in bags or bins and left large wheels of cheese out with just a coating of wax or a layer of cheese cloth for protection.

During this period, it's possible that hungry mice simply dug into whatever food they could access. Meat hanging from the ceiling was tough to reach, so mice likely noshed on grains and cheese. Stealing a few morsels from a bag of grains leaves little evidence in many cases, while biting into a hunk of cheese leaves behind tell-tale teeth marks. This evidence may have spurred the idea that mice love cheese, even if they were actually only eating the cheese because it happened to be accessible [source: Mirsky].

Another theory to explain the mouse-cheese connection is based solely on image. There's just something convenient about sketching a mouse lingering near a perfectly-triangular wedge of cheddar, complete with just a few holes for decorations. It's a much more effective image than a mouse and a dab of peanut butter or a few grains of rice. Perhaps this image simply worked well for animators and cartoonists, who've helped to perpetuate this myth through the years [source: Mirsky].

So if mice don't like cheese, what do they prefer to eat? Think sweet! Mice prefer to dine on sugary foods, including fruit, grains or even chocolate if it's available [source: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals]. If you're trying to bait a mousetrap, a little something sweet will almost always provide greater success than even the finest variety of cheese. The discerning mouse is likely to turn his nose up when offered cheese thanks to its not-so-subtle odor and flavor [source: BBC News].

If you happen to have a pet mouse, keep in mind that feeding him cheese could even be harmful as cheese is not a natural part of the mouse diet. Stick to fresh fruits and veggies along with high quality mouse pellets to maximize nutrition, with a few sweets and grains thrown in as an occasional treat.

People Are Horrified After Company Attaches High-Tech Sniper Rifle To Robot Dog



SWORD International and Ghost Robotics have unveiled their latest weapon and it's honestly the stuff of science fiction films.

We're all aware of robot dogs that have been made by several robotics companies, which are four-legged, canine-looking machines that are able to carry out a range of tasks.

They've been relatively harmless (even if they're a little intimidating)...until now.



SWORD International has displayed its Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle (SPUR for short) attachment for Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicles (QUGVs), which is a 6.5mm Creedmoor sniper rifle.

It's been unveiled at an expo, where the SPUR was seen sitting on top of a Ghost Robotics QUGV. You certainly wouldn't want to come across this bad boy in the wrong circumstances.

While some people will be cheering over such an impressive display of technology, it didn't take long for people to be horrified about what the machine could be used for.

Many flocked to Twitter to vent their concerns.





A statement on SWORD International's website states: "The SWORD Defense Systems Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle (SPUR) was specifically designed to offer precision fire from unmanned platforms such as the Ghost Robotics Vision-60 quadruped.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM5LCH1Jgyw

"Featuring safe, chamber, clear, and fire capabilities that allows for safe and reliable deployment of the weapon system - providing the operator an ability to load and safe the weapon at a distance.

"These features also provide the operator the ability to clear malfunctions, and safely unload the platform prior to recovery.

"Due to its highly capable sensors the SPUR can operate in a magnitude of conditions, both day and night.

"The SWORD Defense Systems SPUR is the future of unmanned weapon systems, and that future is now."

The sniper rifle is accurate up to 1,200 metres away, which is fairly impressive.

Everyday we are moving closer and closer to making "The Terminator Universe" more and more of a reality. Let's hope and pray Google's AI department doesn't merge with this company

Old 50p coin could be worth up to £60 - and it is rarer than Kew Gardens



An old 50p coin that is rarer and harder to find than the more famous Kew Gardens design could be worth up to £60.

The EC 50p was released between 1992 and 1993 by the Royal Mint to celebrate the completion of the Single Market and the UK’s presidency of the European Council.

Its design features a birds-eye view of a conference table with 12 chairs around it for each of the ministers, with the UK at the top of the table.

But only 109,000 of these rare 50ps were minted - around half of that of the Kew Gardens coin, which has a mintage of around 210,000.

There is another catch that makes this particular coin harder to find.

The EC 50p was stamped on an older design of the 50p coin that was taken out of circulation in 1997 - so you won't find one in your spare change.

However, experts say it isn't impossible that one won't be lurking around your home in a forgotten cupboard or at the bottom of your piggy bank.

Coin hunters at Change Checker say the EC 50p could be worth up to £60 if you find one and sell it online.

We also saw a circulated version that sold for £65 - so slightly above the average - on eBay last month.

But the EC 50p is still worth far less than its Kew Gardens counterpart.

In comparison, the Kew Gardens 50p sells for around £150 on average on eBay but we've previously seem examples of it going for up to £200.

Kew Gardens is considered the rarest 50p - it regularly tops scarcity indexes by leading coin websites - as it is still in circulation.

Keep in mind a rare coin is only technically worth however much someone is willing to pay for it though, and if you're flogging it on an auction site, there is no guarantee what it'll end up selling for.

If you're thinking about buying a coin on eBay, you should always do your research first to make sure you're not bidding on a fake.

Websites and Facebook groups from change experts like Coin Hunter can help you work out if a coin is the real deal or not.

You can also get coins verified by the Royal Mint.

In more rare coin news, last week we saw a rare Blue Peter Olympic 50p fetch a whopping £286 on eBay.

We've also got a guide on the rarest error coins that could be worth up to £3,100.

Another coin to watch out for is this bizarre 20p with no date on - it can fetch up to £60 on eBay.

[HogwartsExpress]

US Spy Plane Footage Showing Rubber Duck Shaped UFO Flying 200 MPH Baffles Experts

• A U.S. spy plane caught a “rubber duck” shaped UFO on video shot by Department of Homeland Security agents that is believed to have reached speeds of 200 mph while it was being tracked for 40 minutes.

• The video, filmed by an RC-26 surveillance aircraft, was recorded on November 23, 2019, supposedly while DHS agents were on a search for drug smugglers.

A hour long video purportedly filmed by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) RC-26 surveillance aircraft showing what appears to be a rubber duck shaped UFO has been leaked online and it’s causing quite a stir in the UFO hunter community.

According to the description of the video, posted to the YouTube channel NY UAP DISCUSSION last week, it is “the very FIRST legitimate footage of a genuine UAP craft tracked for over 40 minutes by the department of Homeland Security using FLIR optics system in black hot mode.”

“The footage was captured by an RC-26 reconnaissance plane looking for drug smugglers somewhere over Tuscon Arizona,” the description continues. “The object was spotted 20 minutes into the footage and was tracked for a full 40 minutes until the footage ended.

“The object in question has been verified as anomalous by the organization which analyzed the footage, however, that analysis will be released later on in the year as it is still going through its peer review stage.

“The object in question is traveling anywhere between 90-200 mph as it flies over the desert surface and is also changing direction as it flies. It is estimated to be about 5 or 6 ft long and looks to have a second smaller appendage that flies with it but it is still uncertain if the smaller orb like object is actually a part of the main one or separate from the main. Also there is no clear indication that there is anything between both parts to show they are attached.

“The object is emitting zero heat yet accelerates and decelerates throughout the footage. The change in speed and direction is evident by the terrain as it changes while the object is being tracked and also the speed can be seen in the upper right hand side of the FLIR info. The object can also be seen rotating as it flies.”

The rubber duck shaped UFO footage was supposedly recorded around 9 p.m. on November 23, 2019.

“When I first saw the footage I knew immediately I had something of value. I knew the object wasn’t any kind of conventional drone and was a genuine ‘unknown’,” Andy from NY UAP Discussion told The Sun Online.

“The Department of Homeoand Security’s job is to observe with a trained eye, so when they see something like this and can’t identify it, it’s a big deal.”

Luis Elizondo, the former head of the Pentagon UFO program, confirmed in a livestream that the video is legitimate footage from the Department of Homeland Security. However, he does not know what the object in the video is, speculating that it might just be a cluster of balloons.

“However, that it is only my initial perspective and that is why we are developing good AI – to be 100% sure in cases like this,” Elizondo told The Sun Online.

Take a look at the footage of this rubber duck shaped UFO for yourself and see what you think.

https://youtu.be/PmbrRvd25G0

source: https://brobible.com/culture/article/spy-plane-footage-rubber-duck-shaped-ufo/

Man Marries Woman Who Attacked Him With Axe so She Can Avoid Prison



A pensioner in Russia who attacked a man with an axe was given a suspended sentence after the victim married her so he could plead with the court that she should not go to prison.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Tomsk regional prosecutor's office in Siberia said that the woman, who is now aged 67, had constantly quarreled with the victim aged 38, who is described as a "roommate."

After coming home, the woman approached the victim from behind as he was watching television.

She then "struck him with an axe multiple times in the head, ribs and neck," according to the statement, which was also reported by RIA news agency.

However, when responders arrived at the property, it seemed that he did not want his attacker to take the blame. The victim then tried "to convince the medics and police who answered the call that he had injured himself from an accidental fall."

"Later, the motives for this behavior became clear. During the trial, the man proposed to the defendant and they got married," the statement said, adding that "as a spouse, he asked the court not to imprison" the defendant.

The woman was found guilty under Article 111 of Russia's criminal code of deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm with the use of a weapon, a crime which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

However, she was given a three-year suspended sentence with a probationary period of three years.

The prosecutor's office said that the sentence had not yet entered into force, opening up the possibility of an appeal, The Moscow Times reported. Newsweek has contacted the Tomsk prosecutor's office for comment.
The arguments stemmed from his "unwillingness to keep their apartment clean and orderly."

But things took a violent turn in September 2019 "during the consumption of alcohol with friends," the prosecutor's office press release said, without naming either person.



In August, a video that went viral showed a man attacking a grocery store checkout in Mariupol, a coastal city in the southeast Ukrainian region of Donetsk Oblast, bordering Russia.

The clip, which was filmed by his son, showed the man dressed in black, accompanied by his wife, holding the weapon as he walked into the entrance of an ATB supermarket.

He proceeded to use the axe to destroy price scanners, plastic barriers and store displays, apparently in protest at the store's staff refusing to serve his wife for not wearing a face mask. Police arrived soon after.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-tomsk-axe-attack-pensioner-violence-1638973

[lush]

New Male Contraceptive: A Warm Bath for Your Testicles
October 15, 2021*

• Sterile and clean, what could be better?



Yesterday, we brought you the news about scientists shipping ocelot balls across the country. Some of you may find animal genitalia inappropriate, though, so we thought we’d balance it out with a story about human testicles.

A German industrial designer has developed a potential new kind of male contraceptive. The COSO male birth control device, which work by giving your nads a warm bath, has won the first prize at the German James Dyson Awards.

So far, there have only been two contraceptive options available to men — condoms and a vasectomy. The former can be uncomfortable, while the latter will in most cases permanently destroy a man’s ability to have kids.

Rebecca Weiss, an industrial design graduate from the University of Munich, thought there must be another option. She was inspired to look for one after the was tragically diagnosed with cancer.

“About a year ago I was diagnosed with precursor cervical cancer due to contraception with the pill. After that, hormonal contraception was no longer an option,” Weiss told the James Dyson Awards.

“When my partner and I were looking for an alternative method, we became aware of the lack of male contraceptives. … So I decided develop a new contraceptive approach for men as my master’s thesis,” she said.


Photo: COSO/Instagram

A Warm, Bubbly Bath

With her mind set, Weiss got to work on the COSO. Now, her prototype is complete and it seems to work.

COSO looks like a small, plastic, testicle-sized bathtub. The user fills the device with enough water to be able to submerge his testicles.

The thing then heats the water to a comfortable temperature to prevent your little danglers from retreating into your body cavity. All the user then has to do is remove his pants, sit down with his balls in the tub, and the turn the device on.

COSO will treat your testicles with ultrasound, which should stop sperm mobility and generation. Two weeks after the treatment, the contraceptive effectiveness should begin.

To maintain the effect, you’ll have to give to give your testicles a bath every two months. If you decide you’d like to sire offspring after all, all you have to do is stop using COSO — the effect should wear off within six months.

Using ultrasounds to knock out your sperm might sound like nonsense, but it’s based on science. A 2012 study found that the ultrasound contraception is safe and effective.

“So far, the procedure has been applied to animals. Therefore, the technical parameters can be hypothetically transferred to humans,” said Weiss.

Emphasis on User Satisfaction

Weiss didn’t rely on just decade-old studies to develop COSO, though. To begin with, she surveyed 422 males to see if there was even a demand for the machine.

It turns out that there was. Weiss chose male volunteers between 25 and 30 years of age who were in steady relationships and invited them to design workshops.

During the workshops, the volunteers got to tell Weiss what they wanted from the ball bath device. Additionally, she asked them to draw their vision of what the thing should look like.

Based on the sketches, Weiss developed the first design concepts. She also worked with experts in urology, andrology, sexual therapy, and psychotherapy to evaluate the device and its functionality.

“After finalizing the form by sketches, ergonomic prototypes were made of paper and cardboard to test the dimensions on different test persons. Subsequently, the prototype was checked to the largest common testicular size at the urologist and the shape was adjusted to the testicular anatomy,” Weiss explained.

It’s good that she put that much effort into it. After all, the bathtub needs to fit men of all shapes and sizes.

More Work Needed

If you got excited, you unfortunately won’t get to dunk your testicles into an ultrasonic bath just yet. Although COSO won the design award, Weiss only has a hypothetical design in her hands.

She said that the current short-term goal of the COSO project include developing a functional prototype to test its technical feasibility. She also wants to create a proper high-fidelity, full-scale prototype.

Weiss emphasized that she still needs to build up a comprehensive base of clinical data before getting any kind of a product on the market.

“In order to launch COSO as a contraceptive, it needs financial support for clinical trials. This requires contacts in research or industrial partners,” she said.

Still, if COSO is successful, it will provide men with an easy-to-use and quick contraceptive method. As an added bonus, they’ll be getting it on with freshly bathed testicles.

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
SATURDAY OCTOBER 16
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -5)
2:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

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IN OTHER NEWS

[ozswede]

Western Australian man allegedly set off fake shark warnings with tag removed from great white

A Western Australian man allegedly used a monitoring tag he removed from a great white shark to set off fake warnings in the Albany area for nearly a month.

The 48-year-old allegedly removed the tag from the shark after accidentally catching it and releasing it alive.

The acoustic tag, which had been fitted to the shark by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development as part of a monitoring program was found by police during a search at a property in WA’s great southern region on 1 October.


A WA man allegedly used a monitoring tag he removed from a shark to set off fake warnings in the Albany area.

Between 13 August and 4 September the man allegedly used the tag to activate shark warnings in the area.

Albany police have charged the man with one count of stealing, they told Guardian Australia in a statement.

“WA police have charged a 48-year-old man with stealing in relation to the alleged stealing of an “acoustic monitor tag” used in the tracking of great white sharks by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD),” the statement read.

“The man is due to appear before the Albany magistrates court on 4 November 2021.”

Across Western Australia, there are 34 acoustic receivers for sharks that send real-time alerts which are relayed to the public via SharkSmart and Surf Life Saving when they are swimming in the area.

Since the program started, 115 sharks, including great whites sized up to 4.1 metres, have been tagged. The sharks are each fitted with a tag that emits its own unique low-frequency “clicks” that are picked up by the receivers.

On 13 August the Albany Advertiser reported that a great white shark had been detected by one of two receivers in the Albany area near Middleton beach at 4.46pm and again at 4.53pm.

On 4 September, a great white shark was again detected by the Ellen Cove receiver at 7.56am.

Albany police officer-in-charge Sen Sgt Hugh Letessier told the West Australian that the alleged behaviour was “irresponsible”.

“It leaves an untagged white shark that we know is in waters off Albany,” Letessier said.

“Also the false alarm causes unnecessary fear to residents and people using the water.”

Source

[Fatima99]

Tiny German shepherd pup slowly grows into her ears in impossibly cute video

Footage of a tiny puppy slowly growing into her ears has been melting hearts on TikTok.

Nova, who is a German shepherd cross border collie puppy, has a rather unique look thanks to her unusual genetics - but she still has the iconic shepherd ears.

The gorgeous dog has patchy white and black fur all over her body, making for an unforgettable and signature style.

In this clip, viewers get to see Nova’s German shepherd ears appear gradually over time, going from tiny to fully grown in a matter of seconds thanks to this time-lapse video.

And it's absolutely adorable.





The video, which was uploaded by TikTok user @talesofnova, was a huge hit on the app, with almost four million views and over 550,000 likes.

At the start of the clip, viewers are shown Nova as a tiny puppy, with small ears to match her stature.

However, as the video plays, her ears gradually become more and more noticeable with each and every clip.

By the end of the video, there is no hiding Nova’s fully developed ears as they stand all by themselves in true German shepherd style.

Viewers instantly fell in love with the unique puppy, with one user commenting: “Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous happy fluff ball! "Beautiful little pup, please give her a treat for me and a little nose boop.”

Another commenter wrote: “Sir, this is not a German shepherd, this is clearly stracciatella ice cream.”

A third added: “Awwww hahaha went from border collie ears to German shepherd ears! AMAZING! Such a beautiful colour as well.”

Nova isn’t the only German shepherd to have gone viral on TikTok of late, with the breed proving popular with users.

Cleo the German shepherd recently attracted attention after she was caught on camera greeting her golden retriever friend in a rather feline manner.

The amusing clip showed Cleo crouching to avoid being spotted by her furry friend, all the while slowly creeping closer and closer.

Once she got close enough, her friend finally spotted her and the chase was on as both dogs set off running after each other.

Another of the breed to have received attention on the app was Max, whose Whitney Houston impression wowed viewers.

His owner caught his dog vocalising to the chorus of ‘I Will Always Love You’, which is apparently his favourite song, while they cruised the water in a boat together.

The hilarious video showed off Max’s vocal skills as he howled along as soon as he heard the iconic chorus note begin.

Link to video

https://www.tiktok.com/@talesofnova/vid ... copy_url=0

Wally the wandering walrus sets up home on a motorboat




An appeal has been launched in Co Cork for a pontoon for Wally to use as a 'safe haul-out site'. Walruses are semi-aquatic and must come up on land to rest.
Europe's famous wandering walrus has pitched up off the Co Cork coast.

Dubbed "Wally", the arctic animal has been on a journey of thousands of miles, with stops in the UK, France and as far south as Spain.
He reappeared in Co Waterford last week, and now the mammal has "hauled out" on a boat belonging to Clonakilty Distillery in West Cork.
Adam Collins, a distillery spokesperson, told Sky News the company has "agreed to allow Wally to use the boat for as long as needs be and not move it until a more permanent solution can be found".

The boat is ordinarily used to forage for rock samphire, a botanical used in gin production.
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The large sea mammal, thought to be around four years old, has reportedly sunk one small boat and damaged several others on his visit to Cork.

Seal Rescue Ireland has launched an appeal for a pontoon or other floating platform for Wally to use as a "safe haul-out site, so that he can be effectively monitored, protected from disturbance and damage to property prevented".

"As a Pinniped (like seals and sea lions) walruses are semi-aquatic, which means they must come up on land (or a floating object) to rest," the charity said.

During his stay in the Isles of Scilly earlier in the summer, a purpose-built pontoon was provided for Wally, after he sunk and damaged a number of small vessels.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said "although these images have a comic quality to them, there is a serious side to this, as this animal is a long way from home and we've no way of knowing whether it is stressed, and how it may react to stressful situations".

The group has asked people to come no closer than 100 metres to Wally, and for boat owners not to approach him in the water.