This & That

  • University of Ninja

    A Japanese university is planning what it says will be the world’s first research center devoted to ninja — the black-clad assassins known for secrecy and stealth. While mostly confined…

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  • A Pledge to Palau

    Visitors to the tiny Pacific nation of Palau are being made to sign a promise to respect the environment, an innovative move that authorities hope will curb ecological damage caused…

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  • Super Suction

    The clinging power of octopus tentacles has inspired a breakthrough adhesive patch that works on wet and oily surfaces with potentially huge medical and industrial uses, according to South Korean…

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  • Out-of-pocket Expense

    A superstitious passenger delayed a flight from Shanghai for several hours in June 2017 after throwing coins at the plane’s engine for good luck, Chinese officials said. The elderly woman was…

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  • Elephant showers

    Trained elephants sprayed motorists and passers-by with water in Thailand’s old capital city of Ayutthaya in April 2017 to welcome the Buddhist New Year, known as “Songkran.” The jumbos from…

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  • Bald ambition

    More than 30 bald men gathered at a hot spring facility in Tsuruta City, Japan, in February 2017 to show off their hairless heads and have fun. Members of the…

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  • Bottled Air

    Even as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledges to ensure that blue skies never become a luxury, a state-backed firm is doing brisk business selling 48 yuan (U.S. $6.95) cans of…

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  • Running with Scissors

    Doctors in Vietnam have removed surgical forceps from a man who unknowingly carried them inside his body for 18 years, national television network VTV reported. Ma Van Nhat, 54, said…

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  • Shrine For Pet Blessings

    Pet owners have been flocking to the Ichigaya Kamegaoka Hachimangu shrine in Japan since it introduced New Year ceremonies for dogs and cats in 2000 — and numbers have skyrocketed…

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  • Potty Training

    Japan’s toilet chiefs say they have come up with a plan to stop tourists from getting their knickers in a twist over the country’s mind-bogglingly high-tech loos. Under new guidelines,…

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