Some fans of The Simpsons think the show predicted the outbreak of the coronavirus in 1993. During an episode, a worker in Japan says: “Please don't tell the supervisor I have the flu” and coughs. However, an image purportedly from the same episode, featuring a newsreader talking about “coronavirus”, has turned out to be a hoax.
Wine pours out of taps in Italian village
Wine-loving residents in an Italian village were delighted when wine began pouring out of taps. The oddity occurred when a winery in Castelvetro accidentally began pumping wine into the area’s water system. The local council later apologised.
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.
Pilot draws penis as he waits to land
A pilot drew a penis in with his flight path while waiting to land at an airport. The Lufthansa aircraft created the genital image while waiting to land at Bremen Airport in Germany. The phallic creation was noted up by FlightRadar24 - a website that tracks commercial flights.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For more outlandish tales and news to make you smile, sign up for our new Tall Tales email at theweek.co.uk/sign-up-for-the-tall-tales-email. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
5 hilariously cold cartoons about the Alaska summitCartoons Artists take on the Alaskan totem pole, a peace flag, and more
-
Journalists killed in Gaza: a chilling assaultIn the Spotlight Anas al-Sharif and three of his Al Jazeera colleagues were targeted by the IDF
-
Crossword: August 16, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
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
