Paid Slapping Service in Japanese Bars

In some Japanese bars, waitresses can slap customers for an additional fee. The pleasure is quite affordable, ranging from 300 to 500 yen. The biggest effect is achieved when the customer genuinely desires to be slapped by the waitress, and the waitress herself also enjoys this activity and approaches it wholeheartedly.

The Unusual Celebration of Drunken Hedgehog Day

On November 28th, an unusual holiday is celebrated: Drunken Hedgehog Day. This holiday was invented in medieval Hungary. Hedgehogs were given beer to make them braver and to protect the harvest from mice and rats.

The Most Expensive Ferrari in the World

The most expensive Ferrari in the world is the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which participated in the Le Mans 24 hours race. For the past 38 years, this sports car belonged to a collector from the USA and recently he sold it at an auction for $51.7 million. The amount is a record for Ferrari, but not extreme - it is the second most expensive lot in history. The title of the most expensive car is held by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut: last year it was sold for $142 million.

Scientists invent AntiFake tool to protect your voice from neural networks

Scientists have come up with a solution to prevent neural networks from stealing your voice by releasing the AntiFake tool. This utility uses special voice distortion algorithms that make it difficult to copy your voice. Interestingly, the voice still sounds natural to humans, just like your regular speech. According to tests, AntiFake confuses even the most advanced speech synthesizers in 95% of cases. The only downside is that you will have to record all your voice messages with the utility turned on.

Woman Fined $3300 for Attempting to Carry Chicken Sandwich on Plane

A woman in Australia was fined $3300 for attempting to carry a chicken sandwich onto a plane. She was informed that permission was required and that the fine could have been even higher. Meat import controls are sometimes tightened due to the epidemiological situation.

NASA Rejects Elon Musk's Rocket for Martian Mission

The space agency plans to send two ESCAPADE mission probes to the Red Planet to study electromagnetic fields. Initially, NASA intended to use the Falcon Heavy rocket, but later changed its mind and opted for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket.

Largest Transaction Fee in History: 83.65 BTC for a Single Bitcoin Transfer

A translation of 139.4 bitcoins from one wallet to another has been discovered on the network, with a transaction fee of 83.65 BTC (2 million dollars), making it the largest in history. The reward amount accounted for more than half of the initial sum. This could have happened due to inattention: when sending, the sender can edit the fee to expedite the transfer - they may have accidentally entered the wrong figure.

Advertising banned in England due to potential harm to nature

In England, advertising has been banned for the first time due to potential harm to nature. Authorities stated that a commercial featuring Toyota Hilux SUVs encourages people to drive off-road, which is damaging to the environment.

Universal Electric Cart Invented in Canada

In Canada, a universal electric cart was invented. The creators of the Utility Personal Transporter promise that their brainchild will become the smartphone of the automotive world: thanks to removable modules, it will have access to a wide range of functions. UPT can become an electric scooter, a cart, a golf cart, a lawnmower, a snowplow, a garbage truck, and even a microelectric vehicle.

An unusual victory

British blogger Josh Peters defeated a chess grandmaster using signals transmitted through a vibrating anal plug. This is a playful reference to the scandal involving Hans Niemann, who was accused of cheating with sex toys after his victory over Magnus Carlsen. The chess player was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, but the story became memorable.

Trash Collection Championship Held in Japan

Japan recently hosted a championship for garbage collection, a clever approach to street cleaning. Teams from 21 countries competed in the tournament's final. Prior to this, qualifying rounds were held worldwide. The winners were the British team, who earned the most points for the quantity and type of trash collected.

BBC Cancels Top Gear After Accident and Ratings Decline

The decision to cancel the show Top Gear came after an accident involving host Freddie Flintoff during the filming of the 27th season and a decline in ratings. The program first aired in 1977 and originally focused on road safety, but in 2002 it changed format with the introduction of hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. In 2015, the trio did not renew their contracts with BBC and launched their own car show, The Grand Tour, on Amazon.

Bill Gates recommends

Bill Gates has recommended the mini-series 'All the Invisible Light' on Netflix. It is an adaptation of Anthony Doerr's novel of the same name, in which a German soldier begins to doubt his beliefs.

Bill Gates Shares his List of Best Popular Science Books of the Year

1. 'The Song of the Cell' by Siddharth Mukherjee, an American oncologist of Indian origin. It is a popular science narrative about biology, the theory of evolution, and medicine. 2. 'Not the End of the World' - an exploration by data analyst Hannah Ritchie. She offers an original perspective on the ecological crisis based on statistical analysis. 3. 'Invention and Innovation' by Czech-Canadian scientist Vaclav Smil. Gates notes that he has read all 44 books by the author and has personally discussed questions of technological progress with him.

Fighting loneliness

The authorities of a Swedish city have called on residents to greet strangers in order to combat loneliness. According to research, nearly half of young people aged 16 to 29 in Luleå have experienced problems related to loneliness, which are further exacerbated by the habit of keeping distance. The new campaign aims to change this situation. The concept is simple: just warmly greet peers on the street with the word 'hej' - a common Swedish greeting.

Attractive People Have More Successful Careers

Researchers from Norway and Poland examined data from 11,583 individuals from a large-scale study on teenage health conducted in the United States, exploring the connection between attractiveness and social success. It turned out that women who were perceived as more attractive had a slight advantage in achieving career success compared to others. However, similar differences were even more noticeable among attractive men. They obtained better education and more prestigious and higher-paying job positions compared to others.

Street Artist JR and Daft Punk's Musician Transform Paris Opera into an Open-Air Stage

Street artist JR, choreographer Damien Jalet, and musician Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk transformed the Paris Opera building into an open-air stage. In a grand dance show on the opera's facade, 153 dancers participated. During the performance, they repeated the phrase: 'Darkness preserves the grace of light.' JR expressed his desire to bring light back to people during a period of gloomy news from around the world.

The Largest Solar Power Plant in the World is Launched in the UAE

The largest solar power plant in the world has been put into operation in the UAE. Its capacity is 2 GW. Al-Dhafra will provide energy to 200,000 households and will annually prevent over 2.4 million tons of CO₂ emissions.

Adidas to release reusable rubber overshoe for sneakers

Adidas will release reusable rubber overshoe called Bubble Shells which will only fit the Superstar model. Apparently, Adidas has realized that wearing white sneakers can be challenging in many countries for most of the year and they have come up with this solution to the problem.

Eyed penguins recognize partners by their body spots

Eyed penguins have discovered their partners by the spots on their bodies. Italian biologists have found that eyed penguins can distinguish their own partner from other birds by the pattern of spots on their body. It is unique to each individual.