Writing on the social media platform Threads, the unnamed man claimed to have visited Abu Dhabi last August and gone on the famous Ferrari World roller coaster, known for its high G-forces and speed. He started feeling unwell as soon as he got off the ride, but brushed it off as a temporary issue. His dizziness persisted through the night as well, and things only got worse over time.

After returning to Taiwan, the man began experiencing headaches, which only got worse over the next few months, but CT scans revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Last week, however, he suddenly collapsed in bed and was rushed to the Air Force General Hospital emergency room, where another scan revealed a severe dural haemorrhage.

The 40-year-old man underwent brain surgery to remove the blood that had built up in his skull. Doctors told him that this was not a typical stroke, but a chronic bleeding buildup caused by “severe external shaking,” and one actually asked him if he had ridden a rollercoaster lately.

Apparently, as we age, the brain undergoes slight shrinkage, increasing the space between the brain tissue and the skull, which gives the brain more movement space during the dramatic acceleration and deceleration of a roller coaster. This, coupled with the reduced elasticity of blood vessels in our later years, can cause them to rupture more easily under certain circumstances.

The man’s social media post went viral and other people over 40 confirmed his story with their own similar experiences.

“I’m over 50 years old,” one person commented on the post. “In January, I went to Disneyland in France with my daughter. I rode the inverted spinning roller coaster and didn’t feel anything at the time. But one day after returning to China, I suddenly had a retinal rupture and bleeding. Another day, I suddenly felt dizzy. After the examination, I found that my otoliths had dislodged. I probably won’t dare to ride it again.”

“I went to the ophthalmologist for a regular check-up. The doctor said that people with high myopia should avoid roller coasters, free-fall rides, or bungee jumping, as these rides involve violent shaking and can easily cause retinal detachment,” someone else wrote.

Chen claims to have discovered tooth carving completely by accident. While streaming during last year’s Spring Festival, she started snacking on a carrot and decided to use her teeth to shape it into a simple shape. Her creation got a lot of praise from viewers, so she started experimenting with different vegetables.

The young streamer tried white and green radishes, but they were more likely to irritate her stomach, so she ultimately went back to carrots. They are easier on her stomach, have a vibrant orange color and are firm enough to be carved without damaging her teeth.

When working on her edible artworks, Chen Qin doesn’t cut or shape the carrots beforehand; instead, she uses only her teeth, mostly her incisors, but sometimes her canines as well, taking her time for the most detailed parts. The entire process relies mainly on her feel and experience to control the shape and details of the sculptures.

Chen Qin currently has more than 100 carrot artworks to her name, but her most popular creations are the edible versions of the Great Wall of China and Yellow Crane Tower, both of which feature intricate details, such as battlements and beacon towers. She has posted videos of herself carving them with her teeth, and insists that she didn’t use any other tools.

To protect her chompers, Chen Qin eats less sweets than she used to, avoids carbonated drinks, and brushes her teeth at least twice per day, in the morning and evening, and rinses her mouth after meals. She also takes breaks when she has been carving for too long. Still, she admits that she experiences tooth sensitivity when carving for a long time.

Accused of wasting food, Chen Qin clarified that she doesn’t let anything go to waste. She uses her sculptures as ingredients when she cooks, and the scraps are used as pig or poultry feed.

Although the bus was taken around 6 a.m., police were notified later that afternoon. The company originally believed one of the drivers had accidentally taken the wrong bus, and it was only after checking with all their staff that they realised it had been stolen.

AI-generated image

Using the GPS-positioning device on the bus, police were quickly able to locate it in Karlsruhe, a city about 130 km (80 miles) away from Wiesbaden. A patrol car in Karlsruhe spotted the bus, and officers were shocked to find a teenager behind the wheel. He had just picked up his girlfriend from school and was apparently driving back to Wiesbaden.

“We do not yet know how he obtained the key and why he was able to drive the bus so well,” a police spokeswoman said, adding that the boy had taken the bus to drive his 14-year-old girlfriend to school.

An investigation in this unusual case is still ongoing, but the 15-year-old faces multiple charges, including theft and unlicensed driving. Luckily, no casualties were reported, and the bus was returned to its owners without so much as a scratch.

According to Malta’s Transport Minister, Chris Bonett, one of the main goals of the Driving License Surrender Scheme is to create a “mobility shock,” especially among young people, before car use becomes too ingrained a habit.

Through this innovative program, Malta is offering young drivers 25,000 euros ($28,650) to voluntarily hand over their driver’s licenses and refrain from driving for five years. Payments are made in yearly instalments of 5,000 euros, and beneficiaries are obligated to return the received amounts on a pro-rata basis, if they change their mind before the agreed five years have passed

To be eligible for the Driving License Surrender Scheme, drivers must be 30 years old or under, residents of Malta for at least seven years, have a driver’s license for at least 12 months, and not have had their licenses suspended or revoked.

Malta has allocated an annual budget of €5 million to this scheme, limiting the number of beneficiaries to 1,000 people per year. Initial feedback suggest a very high interest in the program, which suggests that for many young drivers, the financial incentive is more important than driving a vehicle.

Interestingly, once the license is surrendered, it is considered permanently suspended, and the individual will have to take 15 hours of driving lessons to obtain a new license after five years.

The declared aims of Malta’s Driving License Surrender Scheme are to reduce the number of active drivers and to encourage the use of public transport, with the end goals of fighting traffic congestion and reducing pollution levels.

But there is something off about Jessica. Even ignoring her seemingly perfect looks, you can’t help but raise an eyebrow when you see that online searches yield no results about her. Apart from the carefully crafted Instagram account, Jessica Foster doesn’t exist. And that’s because she’s not a real person, but an AI-made avatar designed for a very specific demographic.

On Instagram, the blonde influencer posts surprisingly tame content, focused mainly on her life as a US soldier, and her interactions with Donald Trump and various famous guests at the White House, including soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But if you check out her bio, you’ll also see the phrase “yes, I have one,” and a link to her OF.

Whoever created Jessica Foster appears to have done so to funnel her gullible followers to OF, where they pay for more raunchy content, messages from her, and tips. Apparently, the account violates the platform’s terms of service, which state that every account must be linked to a verified human being, and all AI-generated content must resemble that specific real person and be tagged with a #AI label.

“Public servant by day, troublemaker by night 🤍 i’m new to this, don’t be rude please 😭👉🏼👈🏼 btw i respond to every message, but be patient since I’m not a robot haha,” Jessica’s OF bio unironically reads.

Meanwhile, Jessica is stealing hearts and making bucks on social media! She’s definitely not the only AI model doing it, and as AI advances, we’re only going to see more of the same. If anything, her tame social media presence is proof that as long as you push the right buttons, you don’t need to reveal too much skin to make it online.

Shocking photos of tiny hamsters crowding together in the corner of a claw machine at the Yuekong City arcade in Shenzen, China, have sparked outrage on Chinese social media, with many user according the owners of the establishment of animal cruelty. The furry critters not only lived inside the claw machine, surrounded by bright, colourful lights and constant noise, but also had to run from the metal claw that descended from above whenever someone tried to catch them as prizes.

Experts pointed out that hamsters are extremely sensitive to noise and crowds, and the cramped machine space, combined with frequent contact with the metal claws, caused many hamsters to suffer severe stress reactions. Some visitors tried calling police to report the arcade’s abuse, but were told that Shenzen didn’t have an animal welfare law.

Soon after photos and clips of the controversial claw machine spread on social media, the Shenzen arcade replaced the hamster machine with two other machines where the prizes were live fish and small turtles. An employee told local reporters that the owners could have been accused of breaking the Chinese law concerning disease control and prevention, because they didn’t have the relevant licenses to use live hamsters in their venue.

China currently has no laws protecting small animals, farm animals and pets from abuse.

Officially opened on February 6th, 2026, the Monkey Ear Sinkhole high-altitude tube track has been going viral online ever since. It has been compared to a real-life version of Temple Run, the hit mobile video game, with users weaving through the air as they hold on for dear life.

At Hou’er Sinkhole in Guizhou province, adventurers strap into full safety gear, grip the handles, and leap onto the unique zipline, hanging high above the natural sinkhole.

For more unique Chinese attractions, check out this scenic area that allows you to experience wuxia martial arts by flying over trees.

Counting out loud might not sound like the most difficult thing in the world, but can you imagine doing it for up to 14 hours a day, 70 days straight? It’s the kind of monotonous repetition that could make a person go mad, but Favour Ogechi Ani was so passionate about counting and focused on breaking the 18-year-old record for the highest number ever counted out loud that she never thought about quitting.

“Honestly, it was tough, but my passion for counting kept me going,” Favour said. “I had a lovely team supporting and cheering me up, and it was fun despite the challenges. My determination to achieve this project was a burn-the-boats mission. I never thought of giving up for any reason.”

Starting on October 8th, Favour Ogechi Ani started livestreaming her daily counting routine on YouTube, which helped validate her record attempt. She also credits the people cheering her on as an extra motivating factor that kept her counting daily until December 16 of last year.

“Life itself inspired me to attempt something new,” Favour said. “The internal desire to break limits and achieve something extraordinary pushed me to break this record.”

The old record, which had stood for a whopping 18 years, was an out-loud count to 1,000,000, but instead of just counting to 1,000,001 and calling it a day after a grueling counting marathon, Favour kept going until 1,070,000.

“The final day of my counting was emotional,” the Nigerian woman recalled. “Saying that last number was a mix of relief and joy at the same time. It was an incredible feeling, knowing I’d achieved something unique.”

At the age of four, Shao started competing in professional rally events at the age of 4, winning the Hope Star Award at the 2023 China Rally Sprint Championship. In popular racing simulators DiRT Rally 2.0 and WRC 10, he ranked among the top 30 drivers globally, which prompted his father to retrofit his first rally car.

On April 9, 2023, 5-year-old Shao Ziyan obtained the RUNRACING Driving Academy Training Certificate certified by the China Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, thus becoming the youngest licensed racing driver in the country. Last year, he drove a modified race car to participate in the China Wuyi Automobile Rally.

According to Chinese sources, Shao Ziyan’s father invested around 800,000 yuan ($116,000) in modified racecars and advanced driving simulators, and also served as his co-pilot in rally races.

Although he drives better than many adults, Shao Ziyan doesn’t do so on public roads. His racecars are transported to the race venues via trailers, in compliance with the requirements of the Road Traffic Safety Law.

For thousands of years, cow gallstones have been used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat all sorts of serious illnesses, including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. With China now boasting a rate of strokes three times higher than that of the United States of America, the demand for gallstones is higher than ever before, and so is their price.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2025, the price of cow gallstones went up to $5,800 per ounce, which made them twice as expensive as gold, at the time. At the time of this writing, presuming that the price of cow gallstones remained unchanged, they are still more expensive than gold.

Sold under the name Niu Huang (牛黄), bovine gallstones are used primarily in the formulation of Angong Niuhuang Wan, a traditional remedy prescribed for severe neurological conditions like strokes, febrile comas, disturbances of consciousness, etc.

The problem of cow gallstones has always been scarcity. The chances of gallstone formation in cows increase with age, but most slaughterhouses around the world prefer to slaughter cattle at younger ages to improve agricultural efficiency. The scarcity and ballooning prices of gallstones have inspired a veritable frenzy in cattle-growing regions like Brazil, Australia, and Texas, in the US.

Recently, incidents of gallstone smuggling and robbery have surged in the rural town of Bahetus in São Paulo, Brazil, with armed criminals attacking cattle farms not to steal the animals but any gallstones they could find. Gallstone smuggling by slaughterhouse employees has also increased, which has led to the formation of a vibrant black market.

Just like the demand for natural diamonds led to the creation of lab-made diamonds, so too Chinese researchers developed “cultured” gallstones that partially reproduce the neuroprotective and hepatoprotective effects of the natural product, with a controlled toxicity profile. Natural stones are still considered the golden standard, but these synthetic, lab-grown alternatives can at least keep prices from rising even more.

Interestingly, Russian media reports that demand for human gallstones in China has increased as well, with prices for a single stone going up to 100,000 rubles ($1,270). The price of the stones depends on their size and other characteristics, but generally, the larger the stones, the higher their price. Dozens of ads with human gallstones for sale have been identified on a single online platform.