cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23926129

A Japanese man borrowed some of the luck of the Irish and broke a Guinness World Record by growing a 63-leaf clover.

Yoshiharu Watanabe, 45, started cross-pollinating clovers at his Nasushiobara home in 2012 with an aim toward breaking the world record.

"Since the number of leaves has increased year by year, I have been aiming for the Guinness World Records title ever since," he told Guinness World Records.

Watanabe said he used a combination of letting his clover patches pollinate naturally and hand-pollinating those with the most leaves. He said his methods weren't always successful.

"Sometimes the number of leaves can go down, or sometimes you end up with the normal three-leaf clover," he said. "We know that genetics are involved in a higher number of leaves, yet we don't exactly know how it works."

Watanabe's prize clover has 63 leaves, beating the previous record of 56 leaves, set by fellow Japan resident Shigeo Obara in 2009.

Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/78AIL

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16991987

An online shop has started selling women's worn knickers, dirty socks and used tampons, netting sellers healthy additional incomes.

The website is called Sububis, which means underwear in Latin, and its founder, a 32-year-old woman who wishes to remain anonymous, set the business up to sell lingerie and underwear worn by various men and women in October 2021.

She also reportedly sells used bras, socks and shoes. A pair of worn female underwear goes for about $120, while a pair of dirty socks goes for about $44.

"I kept hearing from acquaintances who receive enquiries on social media as to whether they want to sell their underwear."

This gave her the idea to offer these items online so that the sellers and buyers can remain anonymous and never have to meet.

"Anonymity was not guaranteed during the payment process and that put many people off, although they are not fundamentally averse to the business," she said.

A friend of the woman reportedly told her that she was stalked by a buyer on Instagram after selling a similar item. The experience reportedly scared her so much that she stopped selling these items online.

...

But the founder said that she does not want to sell her own items on the platform, saying it would be "too intimate for me".

"I want to make a clear distinction. If I knew who was getting my clothes, I would feel like I was giving too much away," she said.

Instead, a total of seven women and men are selling their worn underwear on the platform, which has been operating since October 2021.

"It is going very well. We have several orders a day, I'm already recruiting new 'subabes'," she said.

...

Underwear and socks reportedly sell the best. The shop reportedly only has male buyers at the moment. There is reportedly a growing demand for tampons and worn period pads as well.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13907451

Glastonbury, the massive UK festival held nearly every year since 1970, will provide gallons of urine to a start-up that has found an interesting use for it.

NPK Recovery is implementing its tech to recycle festivalgoer pee into environmentally friendly fertilizer. This is being done by partnering with Glastonbury’s female toilet provider, Peequal. After everything is collected post-festival, NPK’s labs will receive it for processing.

This isn’t the first time urine has been used in such a way at the festival. With so many people, in 2019, they were able to power the screens on the Pyramid Stage with a special urinal. We also previously reported on NASA recycling astronaut pee for drinking water.

Coming up on the 54 year anniversary.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16938759

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16933715

A Florida man eating in a diner with his wife recently sneezed so forcefully it caused parts of his intestines to exit his body through a surgical wound, according to researchers.

The case, published in a May 2024 edition of the American Journal of Medical Case Reports, describes the unnamed man as a 63-year-old with a history of prostate cancer.

...

The morning of the sneeze, the man’s doctors reported that he was healing well and could remove staples binding the wound together.

He and his wife went out to breakfast at the diner to celebrate.

"During breakfast, the man sneezed forcefully, followed by coughing. He immediately noticed a ‘wet’ sensation and pain in his lower abdomen. Looking down, he observed several loops of pink bowel protruding from his recent surgical site," the researchers write.

Stunned, the man covered the protuberance with his shirt and considered driving himself to a hospital, but feared changing positions would make the wound worse and called an ambulance instead.

A smiling face made from living human skin could one day be attached to a humanoid robot, allowing machines to emote and communicate in a more life-like way, say researchers. Its wrinkles could also prove useful for the cosmetics industry.

Edit to say: There's a video in the link 🌝

Residents in a town in Cornwall have received a letter from Royal Mail apologising for late mail - explaining that its delivery workers were being hampered by dive-bombing seagulls.

Royal Mail said those living in the affected zone in Liskeard could choose to wait until the birds were not aggressively protecting their young, or nominate a new address.

One Liskeard resident described it as "deadly" to go outside when the birds were nesting.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to a company that appears to sell products containing human fecal matter without approval from the agency.

In March, the FDA wrote to Human Microbes, a company advertising itself as "the world's largest, highest quality stool donor bank" for fecal microbiota therapy transplants, after reviewing its website a month prior.

This type of therapy should only be used in the context of an authorized clinical trial, or to treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile, also known as C. difficile, a bacteria that causes diarrhea and intestinal conditions, like colon inflammation, the agency said.

Per Human Microbes' website, the therapy yields "promising results in clinical trials" to treat other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and mental health disorders like depression and anxiety, among others.

Wealthy philanthropists with ties to Wall Street and Silicon Valley are unbowed by a botched climate experiment to limit the amount of sunlight hitting the earth, vowing to continue bankrolling future solar geoengineering tests as temperatures catapult upward.

POLITICO contacted a dozen people or groups who funded a controversial program by the University of Washington to reflect sun rays by altering clouds. Those who responded indicated that it's worth pushing through the public skepticism surrounding efforts to determine how to best deploy the last-ditch global warming fix — if at all.

...

The funders' comments came after two high-profile experiments were shutdown following public backlash, pointing to the challenges of conducting controversial research that could result in weather disruptions or other unintended consequences. The latest experiment was derailed earlier this month when local officials in Alameda, California, rejected a request by Washington researchers to restart a test to brighten clouds from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Francisco Bay.

Furious Frenchmen are threatening to turn the Seine into a sewer this Sunday in a bizarre protest against the eye-watering costs of Olympic preparations.

The movement, cheekily dubbed #JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin (I'll poo in the Seine on June 23), has gained traction after Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo boasted she'd take a dip to prove the river's cleanliness.

Hidalgo, however, has now back-pedalled on her pledge, conveniently citing the hastily-called French elections as reason to postpone her plunge.

A staggering £1.2 billion has been poured into purifying the Seine for Olympic swimmers and triathletes, as the river prepares to host key events during the Games.

...

With just five weeks until the Games, recent tests revealed alarming levels of two types of faecal bacteria, including E.coli, falling short of Olympic standards.

A pet donkey that escaped his owners five years ago in California has been found "living his best life" with a herd of wild elk.

Terrie and Dave Drewry, of Auburn, are convinced the animal, filmed by a hiker earlier in June, is their pet "Diesel".

The couple say they are relieved the animal is safe - and have decided to let him wander free with a new family as a "wild burro" .

A dog in the US has been crowned the ugliest in the world.

The eight-year-old Pekingese called Wild Thang won the 2024 World's Ugliest Dog contest in California on Friday.

The animal has competed in the contest five times, coming second three times before finally taking the top prize this year.

Wild Thang contracted the viral disease canine distemper as a puppy, according to his biography.

"He survived, but not without permanent damage," it says.

"His teeth did not grow in, causing his tongue to stay out and his right front leg paddles 24/7."

Apart from the physical issues, he is "a healthy, happy Glugly (glamorous/ugly) guy".

He and his owner Ann Lewis took home a cheque for $5,000 (£4,000).

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13644221

A man standing for election against Jacob Rees-Mogg in a mask covered in beans and eggs wants to introduce a “statutory brunch hour.”

Phin “Barmy Brunch” Adams is the Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate for North East Somerset and Hanham. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that at the time he decided to become a parliamentary candidate, the constituency had looked more like a safe seat.

He said: “I wanted to run against someone who looked to be safe in their seat to create a Portillo moment if possible or at the very least — let’s be realistic here — provide a none of the above alternative for those voters who are either disaffected by politics or whatever.”

He added: “If people don’t ordinarily vote, then vote extraordinary.”

...

If elected as Barmy Brunch, he wants all workplaces to have to stop and serve brunch between 11am and midday. He said he wants to “MAKE BRUNCH GREAT AGAIN” — but that there is a serious point behind it too.

He said: “Yes, it's ambitious, it's bold, it's an hour long. If we can just pause and just breathe, its one of the things that I think is key to upholding the good mental health that we all really desire.”

He warned that the mental health system was “underfunded” and “broken.” He said: “However the policy manifesto is read, it can be taken as a joke, that’s fine if it brings a smile to someone’s face that’s fine — but equally, if someone comes and accuses me of not taking politics seriously, I am incredibly serious about positive mental health.”

...

Barmy Brunch said he had looked at Ed Davey and considered the Liberal Democrats, but was worried by the party going against its 2010 manifesto policy of voting against tuition fee rises, which happened when he was a student. He said: “At the very least, the Monster Raving Loony Party has never broken a promise. That’s because they’ve never been elected.

...

He added that some friends had told him his Barmy Bruch mask looked “scary” or criminal. But he said: “I would like to see a criminal get involved in any criminal activity wearing a face mask that has beans and egg and has holes cut out for the eyes. I think it's more in the realm of Mr Blobby than one of the drug lords in Colombia.”

cross-posted from: https://zerobytes.monster/post/1532884

A 20-year-old man woke up in a hospital in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh to find out that his genitals had been removed and his sex change operation done. His life turned upside down, he started crying when his “friend” told him that he was now a woman and they both will have to get married.

The victim, a resident of Sanjak village, was allegedly tricked into a hospital visit by his friend who allegedly colluded with doctors of the Begrajpur Medical College to carry out the sex reassignment surgery. The friend later threatened the victim that he will now have to live with him as no one from his family or community will accept him, or he would shoot his father and seize his share of the family land.

The Satanic Temple is once again announcing plans for the Sooner State after a bill was sent to the governor’s desk which could allow students to receive class credits for religious and moral instruction off school campuses.

House Bill 1425 would force school districts to adopt a policy which allows students to go off-campus to attend a religious or moral instruction course taught by an independent entity. The student would be allowed to miss up to three class periods per week to attend such a course.

Instructors of these courses would not need to be licensed or certified teachers.

...

In response to the bill being one step away from becoming the state’s newest law, The Satanic Temple is highlighting their own learning academy that Oklahoma students could use to possibly earn school credit.

In a post on social media, the religious group stated their Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (HAIL) could soon be available for Oklahoma students.

“The Satanic Temple believes that public schools should be free from religious influence,” the post said. “We are, however, prepared to ensure our members’ children receive the same opportunities as those participating in other religion’s programs. By not vetoing HB 1425, Governor Stitt will allow the state to grant elective credit for religious and morality classes taught by The Satanic Temple, making it possible for parents to invite TST’s HAIL program to their local public schools as soon as this fall.”

Farmer James Steele, 95, lost the treasured timepiece in the early 1970s when the strap broke while he tended his cattle.

It is thought one of his animals must have swallowed the watch, which ended up in a cowpat in the field.

He searched the field at his dairy farm in Morda, near Oswestry, but there was no sign of the watch.

...

Incredibly, half a century later, he has now been reunited with the timepiece after metal detectorist Liam King found it buried in the mud.

...

"I was really pleased because I never thought I would see the watch again. I only have half the bracelet because the other half must have disintegrated.

"Unfortunately it is not going. The face has gone a greenish colour but it has not rusted up. It shows how well-made it was, to survive 50 years under a field.

Scientists have found microplastics in human penises for the first time, as concerns over the tiny particles’ proliferation and potential health effects mount.

Seven different kinds of microplastics were found in four out of five samples of penis tissue taken from five different men as part of a study published in IJIR: Your Sexual Medicine Journal on Wednesday.

...

Ramasamy said he wasn’t surprised to find microplastics in the penis, as it is a “very vascular organ,” like the heart.

The samples were taken from study participants who had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED) and were in the hospital to undergo surgery for penile implants to treat the condition at the University of Miami between August and September 2023.

...

Now their presence has been confirmed, more research is needed to investigate potential links to conditions such as ED, Ramasamy said.

A North Wales village has been mildly scandalised by four letters mown into grass onto a children’s playing field. At first glance they appear to spell "COOK" but residents insist the word is altogether ruder.

The guerilla graffiti in Ewloe, Flintshire, has become the talk of the village, causing widespread shock and hilarity. The culprit’s identity is a mystery but he or she has been labelled Deeside’s answer to Britain’s best-known subversive artist. “Has Banksy bought himself a lawnmower?” wondered one local when he shared pictures online.

Now one knows exactly why the 50ft-long letters were mown neatly in grass on Big Park playing fields in the St David’s area of Ewloe. As they are so neat, it’s assumed a ride-on mower was used - and that confusion was created by the tyre tracks it left when adding a second letter “C”. “It definitely doesn’t say “cook,” confirmed one resident.

...

Later aerial photos confirmed the word as being obscene or poultry-related.

Visitors to Kew Gardens are still able to catch a glimpse - and whiff - of its titan arum plant, otherwise known as the corpse flower, after it burst into bloom on Tuesday, external.

The flower, which is said to stink like rotting flesh, usually only emerges once every two years.

The famous south-west London botanic gardens says it often attracts thousands of visitors whenever the titan arum flowers, who hope to experience the "magnificent sight and disgusting stench".

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Science journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science Marnie Chesterton, who visited the "hot and humid" glasshouse on Wednesday, said there was a "buzz of excitement from the crowds".

She explained that the plant had "hit peak stink yesterday, when you could smell it as soon as you opened the hothouse door", but was now "more subtle, apparently".

Describing the stench, she said: "When I put my face up close to the flower, I got a whiff of unwashed lavatory with strong undertones of something that went off at the back of the fridge. Definitely rotting."

The former footballer and manager Joey Barton has issued a public apology on the social media site X and has agreed to pay £75,000 to Jeremy Vine, after a high court ruling that calling the broadcaster a “bike nonce” on social media was defamatory.

The radio and TV presenter sued Barton after the former footballer called him a “bike nonce” and a “pedo defender” during an online argument on X in January and March this year. In May the high court ruled that the social media posts could defame Vine.

...

On Tuesday, at 12.24pm, Barton posted the apology from the X account he had previously used to insult the broadcaster. He wrote that he had accused Vine of having a sexual interest in children, and had created a hashtag with the allegations which had been viewed millions of times.

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He also apologised for posts that had stated that Vine had advocated forced vaccination, based on an edited clip of his TV programme. “I accept that he did not advocate this policy and that the video clip has been edited to give a misleading impression of what he was in fact saying,” he said.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13504108

A "mysterious monolith" has appeared in a desert north of Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says the shiny, reflective structure – similar to one found in Utah years ago – was spotted by its search and rescue unit near Gass Peak over the weekend.

"We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water... but check this out!" police wrote on X alongside an image of the monolith.

The discovery comes months after a hiker in Wales captured a video of a mysterious "UFO"-like monolith on top of a hillside along the country’s border with England.

...

Similar monoliths also have been found in Belgium, Romania and the Isle of Wight – an island in the English Channel.

In November 2020, one of the monoliths, estimated at between 10 feet and 12 feet high, was found by Utah state wildlife employees who were counting sheep from a helicopter.

...

Then a week later, another monolith was discovered in Atascadero, California, which is north of Los Angeles.

It’s unclear who is behind the placement of the monoliths. A New Mexico artist collective claimed responsibility years ago.

Archive link

Previously: monolith in Powys

The troubled son of famed chef Marco Pierre White been jailed for robbing a Grade II-listed cafe after he was identified by the distinctive tattoos on his legs while escaping from a window.

Marco Pierre White Jr is serving a 41-week prison sentence after being caught smashing into a Bath delicatessen with a champagne bottle and stealing £250 in May.

The 29-year-old was identified by authorities after his trousers fell down revealing his distinctive tattoos on his legs.

...

“He probably thought he was in the clear but when he crawled back through the window he got his tracksuit caught on the frame and accidentally mooned his bare backside right at our CCTV cameras.”

He added: “He’s been hanging out with the wrong crowd for years and we know he’s got a drug problem.

“This is the second time he’s broken into our cafe – the first time was almost exactly a year ago when he stole about £650.

“The hilarious thing about this burglary is that we only knew it was him because his trousers got caught around his ankles and we could see his tattoos on his bum cheeks.”

“Surely this is the most solitary organism in the world,” wrote palaeontologist Richard Fortey in his book about the evolution of life.

He was talking about Encephalartos woodii (E. woodii), a plant from South Africa. E. woodii is a member of the cycad family, heavy plants with thick trunks and large stiff leaves that form a majestic crown. These resilient survivors have outlasted dinosaurs and multiple mass extinctions. Once widespread, they are today one of the most threatened species on the planet.

The only known wild E. Woodii was discovered in 1895 by the botanist John Medley Wood while he was on a botanical expedition in the Ngoye Forest in South Africa. He searched the vicinity for others, but none could be found. Over the next couple of decades, botanists removed stems and offshoots and cultivated them in gardens

Fearing that the final stem would be destroyed, the Forestry Department removed it from the wild in 1916 for safekeeping in a protective enclosure in Pretoria, South Africa, making it extinct in the wild. The plant has since been propagated worldwide. However, the E. woodii faces an existential crisis. All the plants are clones from the Ngoye specimen. They are all males, and without a female, natural reproduction is impossible. E. woodii’s story is one of both survival and solitude.

My team’s research was inspired by the dilemma of the lonely plant and the possibility that a female may still be out there. Our research involves using remote sensing technologies and artificial intelligence to assist in our search for a female in the Ngoye Forest.

cross-posted from: https://real.lemmy.fan/post/4305310

MADISON, Wis. -- More than 100 nude bikers took to the streets of downtown Madison Saturday morning for the annual World Naked Bike Ride.

"I think there's a sense of defiance, you know," said long-time participant Nicholas Wootten. "We wanted to really make a statement that we're back."

Last year, the ride was thrown into controversy after a 10-year-old girl participated nude. The Wisconsin State Legislature took up bills aimed at stopping the event, but after they died at the end of the last legislative session, the ride is back in full swing.

Dane County Supervisor Jeff Weigand was one of the first to raise concerns after the child participated last year. He says he believes the laws currently on the books should already prevent events like this.

"There has been enforcement of the state statutes in the past, however different leadership comes in and then they tell police departments not to take action," Weigand said. "As a father of five and a former Dane County foster parent, I can especially tell you that children should not be permitted to take part or witness this type of event. The innocence of children is special, and as adults, we need to protect that innocence. The participants are actually taking away my freedoms because I can't bring my kids downtown Madison anymore, and if I do, I have to be very, very careful."

The Dane County District Attorney and the Madison Police Department both declined to take action after the child took part saying the laws Weigand is referring to did not apply in this case.

...

There are many reasons why people choose to ride nude with hundreds of others. Some participate in protest of oil usage, others to promote body positivity. Buchweitz says part of it for him is about biker safety.