Offbeat

Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry is using artificial intelligence to track down money earned by psychics and fortune tellers as part of a broader drive to combat the informal economy and boost tax revenue.

The ministry has turned its attention to the rapid growth of online services such as astrology, spiritualism, star charting, magic, meditation, and numerology — many of which operate without clear regulation.

According to state-run Anadolu Agency, AI technologies have been engaged to track digital footprints across multiple platforms, including social media, online payment systems, and messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

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Eleven rare bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey found buried on a beach near Margate Pier (www.inquirer.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

11 comments fedilink

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How a Runaway Dog Became a Hero for New Orleans (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

0 comments fedilink

For months, Scrim ran wild around the city, eluding capture and developing a giant fan base. His saga has inspired tattoos, murals and Mardi Gras floats.

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Sam Jones wombat: US influencer draws backlash for taking baby wombat from mum (www.bbc.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

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Florida woman arrested for aggravated battery with a Pringles can (www.wesh.com)

submitted 1 month ago by TheWaterGod to c/offbeat

4 comments fedilink

Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/GWcNj

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Air India confirms Chicago plane returned due to clogged toilets (www.bbc.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

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Octopuses are now punching fish in the face. This video shows exactly why | Discover Wildlife (www.discoverwildlife.com)

submitted 1 month ago by otters_raft to c/offbeat

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Watch: Demolition takes down record-breaking rollercoaster (www.bbc.com)

submitted 1 month ago by otters_raft to c/offbeat

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German Soccer Player's Child Bites Referee's Testicle Forcing Game to Be Canceled (www.latintimes.com)

submitted 1 month ago by TheWaterGod to c/offbeat

2 comments fedilink

Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/FYVdV

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Fake captain steals $8 million fishing vessel (www.nationalfisherman.com)

submitted 2 months ago by TheWaterGod to c/offbeat

3 comments fedilink

Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/7ccUp

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Guizhou: Chinese foodies pose as mourners to try funeral home's noodles (www.bbc.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

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Underweight baby seal is rescued from Connecticut streets and recovering at an aquarium (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by otter to c/offbeat

0 comments fedilink

If you want more marine mammal content but from the PNW side of things, [email protected]

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Couples Exchange Bacteria During Intercourse. It Might Help Track Down Sexual Assault Perpetrators. (www.smithsonianmag.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

4 comments fedilink

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‘Cake Bandit’ opossum hospitalized after indulging in an entire Costco cake (www.aol.com)

submitted 2 months ago by TheWaterGod to c/offbeat

1 comments fedilink

Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/2xk8V

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Ancient Egyptian mummies smell "spicy" and "sweet", study finds (www.bbc.com)

submitted 2 months ago by otter to c/offbeat

13 comments fedilink

The authors of the academic study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on Thursday, had to get the smell from inside the sarcophagus without interfering with the mummy inside.

The researchers, from UCL and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, did so by inserting a tiny tube so they were able measure the scent without taking any physical samples.

If you want to smell the smell too

They say recreating the composition of the smells chemically will allow others to experience a mummy's whiff - and help to tell when the bodies inside may be starting to rot.

"We want to share the experience we had smelling the mummified bodies, so we're reconstructing the smell to be presented in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo," Cecilia Bembibre, one of the researchers, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

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A humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker in Chilean Patagonia — and it's all captured on camera (apnews.com)

submitted 2 months ago by otter to c/offbeat

10 comments fedilink

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Over $1 million in olive oil stolen from Montreal trucking company (www.ctvnews.ca)

submitted 2 months ago by TheWaterGod to c/offbeat

19 comments fedilink

Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/XKvEk

First it was egg thieves, now olive oil. What's next, bacon bandits?

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Thieves stole 100,000 organic eggs off a trailer in Pennsylvania. Police are scrambling (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 2 months ago by otter to c/offbeat

5 comments fedilink

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More than 100 red-bellied black snakes found in Sydney backyard (www.bbc.com)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by otter to c/offbeat

4 comments fedilink

Key details

When his colleague arrived, he discovered 40 red-bellied black snakes - four of which gave birth to more live young once he had placed them in a removal bag.

Red-bellied black snakes are one of the most common venomous species in Australia but have not caused any human deaths on record.

The five adult and 97 baby snakes are currently under quarantine and will be released into a national park once the weather cools.

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Welsh woman fined for flatulence-fueled cyber harassment (www.theregister.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

3 comments fedilink

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Woman set home on fire using bag of Takis chips (www.live5news.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/offbeat

6 comments fedilink