Twisted tales from 2017: viral weirdness from around the world
Some might say that after Donald Trump’s inauguration, world events became so bizarre in 2017 that our covfefe of the year’s offbeat yarns would pale in comparison. Not so. From the US president inspiring people to use toilets in India to snakes on trains in Indonesia and outrageous aircrew rage, there’s something to shock everyone. Many of the stories went viral, such as inter-species sexual activity in Japan and animal-to-human disease transmission. No, those last two are not related. Here we go ...
Female monkeys are having sexual interactions with deer in Japan and scientists are intrigued
After spending a few months observing macaque monkeys living in a Japanese forest, a group of scientists found a pattern of behaviour they described as both “unusual” and “intriguing”.
Adolescent female macaques climbed on top of a sika deer and crouched. Then, they moved their pelvises as if thrusting or grinding. They squeaked sexual sounds. They also bit, sniffed and pulled on the deer’s antlers. The deer, meanwhile, stood nonchalantly and continued foraging for food. When the deer walked away, the female monkeys “often displayed sexually motivated tantrums which consist of crouching on the ground, body spasms and screaming, while gazing at the deer,” the scientists wrote in a peer-reviewed study in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour.
Best friends for 60 years discover they are brothers
Two Hawaii men who grew up as best friends recently learned that they are actually brothers and revealed the surprise to family and friends over the holidays. Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane have been friends for 60 years. Born in Hawaii 15 months apart, they met in the sixth grade and played football together at a Honolulu prep school. Macfarlane never knew his father, and Robinson was adopted. Separately, they sought answers about their ancestry. They later learned they have the same birth mother. They revealed the relationship to friends and family during a party. “It was an overwhelming experience, it’s still overwhelming,” Robinson said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to get over this feeling.”
