Our pick of the strange but true stories from around the world.
A deadly playmate
A mother has shared a frightening reminder of the dangers of playing near the ocean in Australia after her children discovered that an old tennis ball they had found on the beach contained a deadly blue-ringed octopus. The woman posted to Facebook that her children had played with the ball for 15-20 minutes before the creature poked a tentacle out through a hole. A bite from a tiny blue-ringed octopus can be deadly within minutes if left untreated.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
German casino closed down by sex toy
A casino in Halberstadt, Germany, and several other nearby buildings were evacuated overnight after a patron noticed "strange ticking and humming sounds" emanating from a rubbish bin in the male toilets. A bomb disposal team was called to the scene, where it was discovered that the source of the noises was a discarded "male-oriented" sex toy – a mechanical penis ring that had its vibration function activated.
Turkish singletons call for official help
Men from the southern Turkish village of Uzumlu have taken to the streets to protest the refusal of the women of the village to marry them. They say they have been left single for up to nine years as the women would rather marry men who will take them to live in the country's larger cities. One protester reportedly carried a placard calling for assistance from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while promising that the men will "impregnate their spouses with at least five children".
-
The week's best photosIn Pictures A silver-painted boy, a raging flood, and more
-
Roblox, one of the world's most popular video games, has become a bastion of hate speechThe Explainer The platform has over 111 million daily users
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
Zoos offer cockroach naming and hippo poo candlesTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
NHS tells Scots to walk like penguinsTall Tales Walk like penguins in the snow, says NHS
-
Experts discover why dogs wag their tailsTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Peruvian 'aliens' aren't really aliensTall Tales And other stories from stranger side of life
-
Woman accidentally puts nan in washing machineTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Couple sues after ‘farting dog’ ruins flightfeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Experts suggest the real-life Dracula was veganfeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Pedants forgive Waterstones over apostrophefeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
