Wacky News Ep 14: Radioactive Cure, Fish Rain and Panic Attack Lawsuit

Manorama: Podcast recording starts in 3…2…1

Athira: Hey everyone! You are listening to Onmanorama’s Wacky News. My name is Athira Madhav, here to bring you some of the craziest news stories this week. Joining me is my beloved robot Manorama who collects all these crazy stories. 

Manorama: Is it summer already? My system is getting too hot! 

Athira: I know! It's so hot!!! Order me some cold watermelon juice Manorama! I need to eat more fruits to cool down my body.

Manorama: I am not your butler. You can order by yourself. By the way, watermelon is not a fruit, it's a vegetable. They belong to the cucumber family of vegetables.

Athira: Do I look like I care? Order one, or I will build another robot to do it for me.

Manorama: Go record your Wacky News podcast, you stubborn human! By that time, let me check out the juice bars nearby.

Athira: Good idea. Start the news countdown for me.

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Athira: The world’s most expensive ultramarathon called the Highland Kings marathon requires participants to pay 15 lakh rupees as an entrance fee. This four-day camping race covers 120 miles on the west coast of Scotland and is limited to only 40 participants. Runners will also have access to luxury amenities like butlers, Michelin-star chefs, and hydrotherapy pools.  

Manorama: But you’ll only get one medal, right? With that amount of money, I can rent 15 people to run regular marathons for me. 

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Athira: Authorities claim that an anonymous person is responsible for over 90 % of the noise complaints received by Dublin International Airport. Last year that person sent across 12,000 complaints, which means, on average, they wrote 34 complaints per day. The person didn’t even give up during Covid lockdown restrictions, when the number of flights was significantly less!

Manorama: I have a great idea. Dublin Airport Authorities should file a complaint against the person for filing too many complaints. 

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Athira: The Trapp family living in Minnesota is officially the tallest family in the world, with an average height of 6 ft 8 in. Mother Krissy Trapp, who is 6 ft 3 in tall, loves to say that she is the shortest person in the world’s tallest family. The youngest member of the Trapp family, son Adam Trapp is 7 ft 3 in tall. 

Manorama: What a lucky family! Even if they get lost among crowds, they can easily find each other. 

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Athira: According to some news reports, every year, a small town in northern Honduras known as Yoro receives a rain of fish. Natives call it Lluvia de Peces. Though fish rain occurs sometime between May and June, nobody has seen fish falling from the sky. Still, photographic evidence shows hundreds of fish covering the areas after powerful storms.

Manorama: Imagine being a cat in the Yoro town. It will be like an annual holiday season. 

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Athira: An all-black 990-sq-ft apartment in Manchester, England, inspired by the Bat Cave, is now up for sale for four crore rupees. Every room in the two-bedroom apartment is painted black and filled with black furnishings. Except for the toilet, bathtub and sink, every surface, including the walls, floor and windows, is black.  

Manorama: I understand why the toilet was white. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to pee in an all-black toilet. Finding the commode itself would take half an hour.

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Athira: Japanese beverage maker Kirin Holdings has teamed up with researchers at Meiji University in Tokyo to create smart chopsticks that make food taste savoury. The smart chopsticks send electrical stimulation to the eater’s wristband and transmit sodium ions from the food to the mouth of the user to create an enhanced sensation of saltiness. The company believes that this device can help people reduce added salt in their food. 

Manorama: You know what’s even more sensational than these chopsticks?

Athira: What?

Manorama: The Daily News Dose Podcast by Onmanorama. Their podcast gives me brief notes about major happenings of the day. This way, I stay up to date about what’s happening around me

Athira: Sounds wonderful! Where can I listen to it?

Manorama: It is available on all podcast streaming platforms.

Athira: Then let us finish recording Wacky News soon and go listen to the brand new episode of Daily News Dose. Drinking fruit juice and listening to podcasts is a vibe!

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Athira: A Kentucky man won $450,000 in a lawsuit against his former employer, who allegedly fired him for having a panic attack and leaving his own surprise birthday party. Employee Kevin Berling suffers from an anxiety disorder that causes panic attacks when he is the centre of attention. But his former company forgot his condition and threw the birthday party which caused Kevin to storm out of the party and later caused him to lose his job. 

Manorama:  What a horrible company! That guy must have experienced deathday on this birthday!

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Athira: World's oldest person, Kane Tanaka, passed away in Japan at 119. Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903, and became the oldest living person in January 2019 at the age of 116 years and 28 days. She is also the second oldest person ever recorded, behind Jeanne Calment who lived to 122. She survived cancer twice, two world wars, the Spanish flu and the Covid pandemic.

Manorama: Now that’s the real-life wonder woman!

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Athira: Les Grands Buffet à Narbonne is known as the world’s most impressive all-you-can-eat buffet. This buffet arranged in Narbonne, France offers customers the most decadent dishes of French cuisine, in a luxurious environment, at an affordable price. You can find 111 types of dishes, from lobsters to foie gras and cassoulet, and 70 types of wine.

Manorama: Shall I book a ticket to France Mrs Athira?

Athira: Oh my god Manorama! You know me so well! I hope you showed the same concern while ordering my juice.

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Athira: Did you know that radioactive distilled water manufactured from 1918 to 1928, was once sold as a drinkable cure for all diseases in America? The New-Jersey based company that manufactured Radithor claimed that their expensive tonic gave users a boost of energy and cured dozens of illnesses, including anorexia, hysteria, and insomnia.

Manorama: I don’t think their claim was wrong. The ultimate cure was death but I guess people who consumed it didn’t read the fine print. 

Athira: Speaking of boosting energy? Where’s my juice?

Manorama: System shut down in 3….2….1

Athira: Woah! What’s happening? 

Manorama: My battery is running out of juice dummy! First, recharge me!

Athira: Oh, sorry sorry, sorry, let me wind up this podcast first. Well, that’s all for today folks! Did you like the episode? Do let me know. My annoying  Manorama robot and I will be back with even wackier news soon. So don’t forget to tune in. Tata!