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Offbeat
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Offbeat. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Tara Reid attends a benefit gala in Los Angeles in 2023. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Fame and celebrity

US actress Tara Reid seen downing wine in footage from night of alleged drugging

The ‘American Pie’ star accused a YouTuber of spiking her drink, but he denies it and authorities say the video is clear.

Australia

Australian TikTokker gives widowed US cashier, 88, gift of retirement

Hong Kong

Opinion | Cartoonist Harry Harrison’s humorous takes on Hong Kong and beyond in November

Britain

Why social media’s favourite fuel is Oxford University Press’ word of 2025

‘Rage bait’ – online content engineered to provoke – beat out ‘aura farming’ and ‘biohack’ to win the prize, underscoring 2025’s digital division.

A woman angrily gestures at her laptop, highlighting the negativity of social media, where “rage bait” has become widespread. Photo: Shutterstock
Japan

Human washing machine goes on sale in Japan

Users lie down in the US$385,000 pod, close the lid and get cleaned like clothes – but without the spin – while music plays.

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Science

How Cleopatra’s bath loofah may help PLA jets to vanish from space radars

From ancient royal baths to future stealth warfare – a humble kitchen vegetable may hold the key to defeating space-based radar hunters.

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Thailand

‘Everyone was startled’: Thai woman ‘wakes up’ in coffin before cremation

Woman wakes in coffin before cremation; organ donation attempt by her brother halted by missing death certificate.

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An emergency rescue team transport an elderly woman to a local hospital after she was found alive, having been declared deceased prior to her scheduled cremation on Sunday. Photo: Wat Rat Prakhong Tham/AP
Italy

‘Carbonara sauce’ at EU parliament causes stir with Italy

Italy’s agriculture minister has demanded an investigation after he found jars containing pancetta at a supermarket in Brussels.

Australia

Murderer slathers Australian state with lawsuit over Vegemite ban in prison

Andre McKechnie argued that he had a right to eat the spread because it was ‘his culture as an Australian’.

Japan

Japan’s ‘monster parents’ heap misery on teachers with absurd demands

Things have got so bad that Tokyo is creating guidelines recommending police and lawyers be called to handle difficult parental encounters.

With Japanese teachers often overseeing multiple classes of around 30 students per year group, parents’ demands quickly become overwhelming. Photo: Shutterstock
Thailand

Flooded Thai restaurant lets customers dine with live fish

The riverside restaurant draws throngs of customers seeking a unique fish-feeding dining experience.

Diners at the Pa Jit restaurant watch fish swim in the aisles due to flooding from the Tha Chin River in Thailand’s Nakhon Pathom Province on Friday. Photo: AP
Japan

‘Worried’ lawmakers urge Japan’s new PM to get some rest after 3am start

Before taking office, Sanae Takaichi vowed to ‘work like a horse’ and discard the idea of having a work-life balance. She wasn’t joking.

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Viral stories

Japan bullying victim becomes ‘world’s most beautiful’ after US$650,000 plastic surgery

Wealthy ‘patrons’ shell out thousands of dollars to pay for man’s procedures; get ‘company, meals out, parties, shopping’ in return.

Japan

How to survive a bear attack in Japan: 5 tips from the country’s leading expert

A record 13 people have been killed by bears in the country since April. Find out why you must never turn your back on one.

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Japanese emergency doctor Hajime Nakae shows an illustration about bear attack safety at Akita University Hospital. Photo: AFTV/AFP
Thailand

Fishy food: glow-in-dark sushi in Thailand sparks alarm – ‘don’t eat it’

A Thai woman bought the egg sushi from a well-known brand recently when she spotted the ‘blue light’.

A tray of sushi pieces bought by a Thai woman including an egg sushi piece that glows with a blue light in the dark. Photo: Facebook/Mild Burusskorn
Japan

Japan’s deadliest year for bear attacks resurrects century-old nightmares

Surging bear numbers, scarce food and fewer hunters mean another disaster on the scale of the Sankebetsu massacre cannot be ruled out.

Australia

‘Nobody cares’: crocodile causes barely a ripple in Australian resort pool

Video posted on social media showed the scaly predator laying on the bottom of the pool of the luxury hotel in Port Douglas.

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Food and Drinks

Culture shock: how ants can be used to turn milk into yogurt

Researchers tested a traditional fermentation method that involves dropping wood ants into milk to create new cultures. It worked.

A traditional European yogurt-making recipe using live wood ants was tested and found to work, but experts advise against trying it yourself at home. Photo: David Zilber/dpa
Science

The fast and the amphibious: China electric SUV conquers Yangtze

Chery’s all-terrain Jetour G700 masters famous river in a showcase of global tech ambitions that redefine vehicle limits.

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Pets

Does your dog want to play all the time? Why that could be a bad thing

Some dogs’ excessive play and attachment to their toys is similar to behaviours exhibited by human addicts, and could be just as damaging.

Food and Drinks

Japanese wine town once celebrated climate change. Now things are turning sour

In Yoichi, on Japan’s Hokkaido island, the warming climate that once helped produce award-winning pinot noir grapes is now getting too hot.

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Yuichi Hirotsu, 45, checks Pinot Noir grapes at his Hirotsu Vineyard in Yoichi on Japan’s island of Hokkaido on October 7. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

South Korea’s president causes a stir with cooking show cameo amid fire crisis

Opposition critics say Lee Jae-myung’s appearance was ‘inappropriate’ while essential digital services were crippled by a huge fire.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung appears on television cooking show “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator”, which aired during Chuseok harvest festival on Monday days after a major fire had crippled the government’s online services. Photo: YouTube/JTBCentertainment
Super Typhoon Ragasa

Hongkongers plug window leaks with sanitary pads, diapers as Ragasa rages

Residents get creative with sanitary towels, diapers and slippers to prevent windows from leaking or breaking during Super Typhoon Ragasa.

Formula One (F1)

Storm diverts flight of F1 drivers Sainz and Leclerc, forcing them to drive

Duo left stranded by weather after Azerbaijan Grand Prix, so decide to hire a van to get home.

Japan

Udder brilliance? Japan wins Ig Nobel Prize for painting cows like zebras

It is Japan’s 19th consecutive win at the tongue-in-cheek award, which honours research that ‘first makes people laugh, then makes them think’.

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(From left) Kazato Oishi, Tomoki Kojima and Sei Sato, pose for photos in Boston on Thursday after their team won the Ig Nobel Prize in Biology. Their experiment showing that painting zebra-like stripes on cattle significantly reduces the number of biting flies landing on them was recognised at the ceremony in Boston. Photo: Kyodo
United States

US National Toy Hall of Fame announces 2025 finalists, from Catan to slime

The 12 contenders include Battleship, Catan, Connect Four, Trivial Pursuit, cornhole, Spirograph, lightsabers, Furby, slime – and snow.

Connect Four is one of the 12 finalists for the US National Toy Hall of Fame’s 2025 class. Photo: Shutterstock
France

Why is France’s new PM headbutting colleagues?

Macron ally Sebastien Lecornu’s unusual form of greeting has the French media digging into his past before he entered politics.

Video gaming

How pinball’s fortunes have flipped as retro trend grows around the world

From the US to Germany to Britain, pinball machines and halls are seeing a revival as old and new fans alike gather to chase high scores.

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