Brain device could spot when you daydream at work
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A brainwave device could give office workers a jolt if they daydream during working hours, reported The Times. The productivity software can spot from a wearer’s brainwaves if they are daydreaming and, through a haptic scarf, jolt them back to work. “If done well, neurotechnology has extraordinary promise,” said Nita Farahany, a technology ethicist, but “if done poorly, it could become the most oppressive technology we have ever introduced on a wide scale across society”.
Zookeepers solve pregnant gibbon mystery
Zookeepers in Japan believe they have solved the mystery of how a gibbon became pregnant despite living alone in her cage, said CNN. Momo, a 12-year-old white-handed gibbon, baffled everyone at the Kujukushima Zoo and Botanical Garden in Nagasaki last year when she gave birth despite having no male companionship. A DNA test showed the father to be Itō, a 34-year-old agile gibbon, who was in an adjacent enclosure and is thought to have impregnated her through a small hole in a steel plate between their enclosures.
Locals livid over pizza prominence
Residents in a Leicestershire town are up in arms as a ninth pizza takeaway opens in the area. The new arrival, Pizza GoGo, is within walking distance of a number of other fast food outlets providing pizza and locals in Coalville are fed up. “It’s ridiculous,” Ken Morgan, an engineer from Ravenstone, told Leicestershire Live, “you couldn’t force me to eat pizza even if you tried”. Lynne Tanner, 67, said: “It’s annoying because it’s all we seem to get here now.”
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
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
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.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?
In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in music
under the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.
The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Zoo moves parrots that swore at guests
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Zoos offer cockroach naming and hippo poo candles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Bizarre pizza toppings horrify Italians
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
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Snake pizza launched in Hong Kong
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published