DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
Fancy a fight? PICTURE: Rhema Kallianpur/Unsplash
• Scores of people gathered in the Japanese fishing town of Ito, 150 kilometres south of Tokyo, last weekend to take part in a rather unusual event – the All-Japan Pillow Fighting Championships. Described as a “mix between dodgeball and chess”, the event, which was started by a group of high school students in 2013 but now involves people of all ages, sees teams of five take starting positions “sleeping” under duvets before, when a whistle is blown, leaping to their feet and throwing pillows at each other while trying to protect their ‘king’ from the opposition’s attacks. One member of each team is permitted to use a duvet as a shield. Last Saturday’s event was a qualifying event for the national competition which will be held in February.
• Police in Germany have credited the Holy Spirit with saving a speeding driver from receiving a €105 fine after a dove flew in front of his windshield at precisely the right moment and prevented his identification on a speed camera. Police in Viersen reportedly said in a police statement that it was “no coincidence” the Holy Spirit, for which the dove is a symbol, had intervened and they had “understood the sign and leave the speeder in peace this time”. But they added that they hope the driver likewise understands the “hint from above” and drives within the speed limit.
• A laptop loaded with some of the world’s most infamous malware programs has been purchased for $US1.3 million at auction. The Samsung NC10 laptop, which was loaded with ransomware viruses like WannaCry, BlackEnergy, ILOVEYOU, MyDoom, SoBig and DarkTequila – which have caused billions in damages around the world, was created by artist Guo O Dong in an art project called ‘The Persistence of Chaos’. The work was commissioned by cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct and, according to Guo, was to make physical the abstract threats posed by the digital world. It’s a condition of sale that the laptop remained offline.