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Oddities

Kaffa Roastery's founder Svante Hampf shows package of "AI-conic" coffee blend generated by artificial intelligence in Helsinki, Finland, Friday April 19, 2024. Kaffa, an artisan roastery based in the Finnish capital has introduced a coffee blend that has been developed by artificial intelligence in a trial in which it's hoped that technology can ease the workload in a sector that traditionally prides itself on manual work. (AP Photo/Jari Tanner)

A coffee roastery in Finland launched an AI-generated blend. The results were surprising

An artisan roastery based in the Finnish capital has introduced a coffee blend that has been developed by artificial intelligence in a trial in which it’s hoped that technology can ease the workload in a sector that traditionally prides itself on manual work.
 
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Boone County Sheriff's Office shows Andrew Wilhoite. Wilhoite, 41, who won a primary election for a township board position while charged with killing his estranged wife has been found guilty Thursday, April 18, 2024, of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. (Boone County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

Man who won primary election while charged with murder convicted on lesser charge

 
Tunde Onakoya, 29, a Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate, plays a chess game in Times Square, Friday, April 19, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours — a new global chess record

 
This image provided by researchers in April 2024 shows views of some of the vertebrae of Vasuki indicus, a newly discovered extinct snake from about 47 million years ago, estimated to reach nearly 50 feet (15 meters) long. The scale bar at the center of each row showing rotated views of an individual vertebra indicates 5 centimeters (almost 2 inches). (Sunil Bajpai, Debajit Datta, Poonam Verma via AP)

This ancient snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a ton

 
This image taken from video shows dozens of young dancers waiting to hear if they have broken a world record for dancing on pointe in one place in the Plaza Hotel, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in New York. The spectacle was organized by Youth America Grand Prix, a ballet scholarship program that is celebrating its 25th anniversary with three nights of performances at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. (AP Photo)

How many ballerinas can dance on tiptoes in one place? A world record 353 at New York’s Plaza Hotel

 
This image provided by Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer. (Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith via AP)

A vehicle backfiring startled a circus elephant into a Montana street. She still performed Tuesday

The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath in Butte, Montana.
 
This undated photo taken by Cameron Clifford, shows Terrance, the pet octopus his son Cal adopted at their home in Edmond, Okla. The family soon learned that Terrance was female as she laid 50 eggs that later hatched, with nearly half of them surviving. Although female octopuses usually die soon after laying their eggs, Terrance is still alive four months later. (Cameron Clifford via AP)

A 9-year-old boy’s dream of a pet octopus is a sensation as thousands follow Terrance’s story online

Nine-year-old Cal Clifford had always wanted a pet octopus. His dream recently came true when his father Cameron Clifford helped him adopt Terrance the octopus and set it up in a saltwater aquarium at their home in rural Oklahoma.
 
This photo provided by the KC Pet Project shows a goat believed to be named Chug after being rescued from a bridge on Tuesday, April 9 2024 in Kansas City, Mo. The escaped mountain goat that somehow got stuck under the bridge has survived a rocky rescue effort and now may be reunited with the owners who suspect he was stolen from their farm two months ago.(Tori Fugate/KC Pet Project via AP)

Mountain goat stuck under Kansas City bridge survives rocky rescue

An escaped mountain goat that somehow got stuck under a Kansas City bridge has survived a rocky rescue effort and now may be reunited with the owners who suspect he was stolen from their farm.
 
Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez delivers against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Who’s really left-handed? In baseball, it can be hard to tell

MLB and its history are dotted with men who played out of their natural handedness, a phenomenon that is seen occasionally in other sports but is a regular occurrence on the diamond.
 
A giant American flag is unfurled before the start of the home-opener baseball game at Yankee Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, April 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

First an earthquake, now an eclipse. Yankees play ball on the same day as another natural phenomenon

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New York City on Friday as the Yankees went through batting practice before their home opener.
 
Coco nibbles on a blade of grass in a National Palace courtyard, in Mexico City, Thursday, March 4, 2024. Nineteen feral cats have free rein of Mexico's National Palace, long roaming the gardens and historic colonial halls of the most iconic buildings in the country. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A new declaration in Mexico gives 19 cats roaming the presidential palace food and care fur-ever

Feral cats have long wandered the gardens and elegant halls of Mexicos’ presidential palace. But this week the 19 palace felines made history when the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared them to be “living fixed assets.”
 
This is a handout photo issued by Guinness World records on Saturday, April 6, 2024 of John Alfred Tinniswood. The world’s oldest man says the secret to a long life is luck, regular exercise - and fish and chips every Friday. Englishman John Alfred Tinniswood, 111, has been confirmed as the new holder of the title by Guinness World Records. It follows the death of the Venezuelan record-holder, Juan Vicente Perez, this month at the age of 114. (Guinness World Records via AP)

The world’s oldest man says the secret to his longevity is luck, plus regular fish and chips

The world’s oldest man says the secret to his long life is luck, moderation — and fish and chips every Friday.
 

Gray wolves hadn’t been seen in south Michigan since the 1900s. This winter, a local hunter shot one

Wildlife officials say an animal a Michigan hunter thought was a big coyote when he shot it in January has been determined to be a gray wolf.
 
FILE - Two Air New Zealand passenger jets taxi past each other at Sydney Airport on July 13, 2003. A passenger has been fined for urinating in a cup during a delay on deplaning after landing at Sydney Airport. Officials said on Friday, April 5, 2024, in incident after a 3-hour Air New Zealand flight from Auckland occurred in December last year and a Sydney court fined the 53-year-old man 600 Australian dollars for offensive behavior in February. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)

Airplane passenger fined in Sydney for urinating in a cup

A passenger has been fined for urinating in a cup during a delay in deplaning after landing at Sydney Airport.
 
An alcoholic beverage bottle sits on the sand in Brick N.J. on Thursday, April 4, 2024, the day that the Clean Ocean Action Environmental Group released a report showing that volunteers picked up and disposed of 176,206 items of trash along New Jersey's 127-mile coastline last year. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Voodoo doll, whoopie cushion, denture powder among bizarre trash plucked from New Jersey beaches

Pretty soon it will be beach season again at the Jersey Shore. If last year was any indication, it’ll be time to pack the voodoo dolls, whoopie cushions, zip ties and denture powder.
 
In this image provided by Corinne Martin, Mehrad Houman holds his dog, Mishka, after she was examined by veterinarian Nancy Pillsbury in Harper Woods, Mich., Friday, March 29, 2024. Mishka was discovered in suburban Detroit, eight months after disappearing in San Diego. (Corinne Martin via AP)

A California dog missing since the summer is found in Michigan

A dog missing in California since last summer turned up more than 2,000 miles away in Michigan. Police in a Detroit suburb responded to a call about a stray dog last week, picked up the terrier mix and contacted an animal welfare group.
 
FILE - Atlanta Braves' Hank Aaron eyes the flight of the ball after hitting his 715th career homer in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta, Ga., Monday night, April 8, 1974. Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record of 714 career home runs. Dodgers southpaw pitcher Al Downing, catcher Joe Ferguson and umpire David Davidson look on. Just in time for the 50-year anniversary of Hank Aaron's record 715th home run, Charlie Russo is making available video he shot of the homer. (AP Photo/Harry Harris, File)

50 years later, a Braves fan shares long-private video of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run

Just in time for the 50-year anniversary of Hank Aaron’s record 715th home run, Charlie Russo is making available footage he shot of the homer.
 
FILE - Monkeys eat fruit during monkey feast festival in Lopburi province, Thailand. Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Thai wildlife officials laid out a plan on Wednesday, March 3, 2024, to bring peace to a central Thai town after at least a decade of human-monkey conflict. (AP Photo/Chalida EKvitthayavechnukul, File)

Thailand has a plan to contain the monkey mayhem in the popular tourist town of Lopburi

Thai wildlife officials have a plan to bring peace to a central Thai city after at least a decade of human-monkey conflict.
 
A periodical cicada nymph wiggles in the grass in Macon, Ga., on Thursday, March 28, 2024, after being found while digging holes for rosebushes. Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cicadas are nature’s weirdos. They pee stronger than us and an STD can turn them into zombies

The periodical cicadas that are about to infest two parts of the United States aren’t just plentiful, they’re downright weird.
 
A periodical cicada nymph is held in Macon, Ga., Wednesday, March 27, 2024. This periodical cicada nymph was found while digging holes for rosebushes. Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Invaders from underground are coming in cicada-geddon. It’s the biggest bug emergence in centuries

Trillions of evolution’s bizarro wonders, red-eyed periodical cicadas, are about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries.
 
This photo taken from Albuquerque Police Department police video shows police making an arrest on March 20, 2024 after a chase with a horse-mounted police officer in Albuquerque, N.M. The shoplifter was detained outside a Walgreens. (Albuquerque Police Department via AP)

Shoplifter chased by police on horses in New Mexico, video shows

Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, clearly had all the horsepower in a chase captured on bodycam video.
 
In this photo made from video, a child points to the sky, where a helicopter had dropped thousands of marshmallows to a park below in Southfield, Mich., on Friday, March 29, 2024. The annual Great Marshmallow Drop took place at Catalpa Oaks County Park in Southfield, Michigan, and was hosted by Oakland County Parks. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Children race to collect marshmallows dropped from a helicopter at a Detroit-area park

It has been raining marshmallows in suburban Detroit. A helicopter dropped thousands of the gooey sweet treats onto a park in Southfield Friday in the annual Great Marshmallow Drop.
 
FILE - Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 138th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced that Phil and his wife Phyllis, have become parents of two groundhog babies on Wednesday, March 27. Phil is credited by many with predicting whether an early spring is coming based on whether he sees his shadow on Feb. 2 each year. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)

Punxsutawney Phil, the spring-predicting groundhog, and wife Phyllis are parents of 2 babies

Start handing out those groundhog-size cigars: Punxsutawney Phil is a father. The Pennsylvania group that handles the spring-predicting groundhog and his groundhog wife Phyllis says the couple became parents on Saturday.
 
FILE - Eggs are cleaned and disinfected at the Sunrise Farms processing plant in Petaluma, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, which had seen an outbreak of avian flu. Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as the spring holidays approach, reflecting a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Norwegians facing a shortage as Easter nears are hoarding eggs from neighboring Sweden

A shortage of eggs in shops during Holy Week has led Norwegians to flock to supermarkets across the border in Sweden and hoard the traditional Easter food.
 
A view of a poster advertising comedian Ed Gamble's Hot Diggity Dog tour on the Bakerloo line platform at Embankment underground station in London, Wednesday March 27, 2024. Gamble has been ordered to change a subway station poster campaign for his new standup show because the image of a hot dog violated the transit network’s ban on junk food advertising. The poster for the show, “Hot Diggity Dog,” showed a mustard- and ketchup-smeared Gamble beside a half-eaten hot dog on a plate. A bemused Gamble replaced the wiener with a cucumber, and the poster was approved. (Joe Sene/PA via AP)

No joke: UK comedian told to remove hot dog from subway poster over junk food ban

A British comedian has been ordered to remove a picture of a hot dog from a poster in London subway stations for his new standup show.
 

This stinks. A noxious weed forces Arizona national monument’s picnic area to close until May

Visitors to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in south-central Arizona might not be able to use the attraction’s picnic area until May.
 
This image provided by Murrieta, Calif., Police Dept. shows an altered photo of a suspect used by the The Murrieta Police Department. The Southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego after the Danish toy company asked the agency on March 19, 2024, to stop editing Lego heads over suspects' photos on social media. (Murrieta Police Dept. via AP)

Lego head mugshots add to California’s debate on policing and privacy

A Southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego. The Danish toy company asked the agency to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in the photos it publishes on social media.
 
In this photo provided by the Franklinville Volunteer Fire Company, firefighters attempt to get Daisy the dog unstuck from a tire, in Franklinville, N.J., March 21, 2024. (Courtesy of Franklinville Volunteer Fire Company via AP)

Firefighters in New Jersey come to the rescue of a yellow Labrador stuck in a spare tire

Firefighters in southern New Jersey came to the rescue of a dog who got stuck in a spare tire. The Franklinville Volunteer Fire Company crew found Daisy when they responded to a Franklin Township home last Thursday.
 
Ryan Hegarty, assistant director of Stockton University's Maple Project, toiches a tap he just placed into a red maple tree at the university's Galloway, N.J. campus on Feb. 21, 2024. The university is using a federal grant to examine the feasibility of establishing a maple syrup industry in southern New Jersey, where the predominant maple trees yield half as much sugar as those in New England, which produces most of the nation's syrup. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Maple syrup from New Jersey: You got a problem with that?

Welcome to New Jersey, known around the world for Tony Soprano, Turnpike tolls, chemical plants, and ... maple syrup?
 
Waiters carry trays with a cup of coffee, a croissant and a glass of water as they take part in a waiter's run through the streets of Paris, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris race celebrates the waiters and waitresses who nourish city’s life and soul

Paris has resurrected a 110-year-old race for its servers. The dash on Sunday through the city center celebrated the dexterous and, by their own admission, sometimes moody men and women without whom France wouldn’t be France.