AI puts fortune tellers out of business
And other stories from the stranger side of life
The jobs of clairvoyants are being taken over by AI bots as fortune tellers “face a bleak future they did not see coming”, said the Daily Star. Instead of visiting psychics and “crossing their palms with silver”, people are visiting artificial intelligence mediums which use “sophisticated algorithms” to work out the future, said the tabloid. The technology is “threatening the future of traditional mystics who ply their trade at fairgrounds and seaside resorts”, it added.
Mayor finds cocaine haul while fishing
The Tampa Bay mayor hauled in 70 pounds of cocaine during a recent fishing trip. The chief border patrol agent of the Miami Sector said last month that his agents recovered the drugs concealed in bricks wrapped in what appears to have been cellophane and adorned with a picture of a pink and blue butterfly. He said at the time that the drugs were “discovered by a recreational boater” in the Florida Keys, and the individual has now been revealed to be Mayor Jane Castor, said UPI.
Woman in Texas in three-way scrap
A woman in Texas was attacked by a hawk and a snake at the same time after the bird accidentally dropped the “wriggling serpent” on her, said the BBC. Peggy Jones, 64, was mowing her lawn when a passing hawk dropped a snake on her before “swooping down to angrily try to reclaim its meal”, said the broadcaster. It wrapped itself around her arm, attacked her face and sank its talons deep into her flesh. The episode left her with cuts and bruising to her arm and face.
Subscribe to 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.
For more odd news stories, sign up to the weekly Tall Tales newsletter
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Kelly Cates to present Match of the Day
Speed Read Sky Sports presenter to take over from Gary Lineker at start of next season
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Eclipses 'on demand' mark a new era in solar physics
Under the radar The European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission gives scientists the ability to study one of the solar system's most compelling phenomena
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Codeword: December 16, 2024
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Dentures and witch gear left at hotels
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Why Dutch people put pancakes on their heads today
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Fly found in man's colon
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Judi Dench accidentally video called co-star from bath
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Kevin Bacon the runaway pig finally caught after 18 days
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Female frogs 'fake death' to avoid advances
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Couple sues after ‘farting dog’ ruins flight
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Luton Airport bendy buses join Ukraine war effort
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published