Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Uganda’s Famous Rap-orters ‘Spit’ the News to Hip-Hop Beats

Posted: 11 Jun 2015 02:49 AM PDT

In a bid to get African youth interested in current affairs, Newz Beat, a Ugandan original news program features ‘rap-orters’ who rap headlines to hip hop beats.

Hip-hop is probably the last thing you’d expect to hear when listening to a news bulletin, which is exactly what makes Newz Beat so intriguing. Yahoo news reports that the show is quite relevant in Uganda, where the press faces lots of problems with censorship, and the youth aren't too interested in what's happening around them. A program that features 'rap-orters' instead of traditional anchors is actually quite refreshing.

The offbeat show consists of five-minute episodes aired every Saturday on NTV, just before the station's traditional news bulletin. Each episode covers about four regional and international stories and is recorded in both English and the local language, Luganda. The show is broadcast on air, but since over 90% of Ugandan households don’t have electricity, Newz Beat is also distributed through video halls, where people can get together and watch it.

Newz-Beat-Uganda

Patient Japanese Man Takes Pet Giant Tortoise Out for Long Walks

Posted: 11 Jun 2015 02:01 AM PDT

A Japanese man and his adorable pet tortoise have become internet sensations after photos of them strolling along the streets of Tokyo went viral. The man – funeral director Mitani Hisao – revealed that the tortoise has been his pet for the past 19 years, taking the place of the child he never had.

Hisao added that the African spurred tortoise was a tiny baby, only five cm in diameter, when he first spotted it in a pet-store window. "I never had any children, but 19 years ago my wife caught the eyes of this little tortoise and felt an instant bond with him," he said. "I couldn't leave the store without it." So they adopted the little creature, named it Bon-chan, and cared for it as they would a child.

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Like Smashing Stuff? You Could Get Paid to Be a Mobile Phone Destruction Tester

Posted: 11 Jun 2015 12:39 AM PDT

If you're passionate about breaking high-tech stuff, we may have found the job of your dreams. Believe it or not, a UK-based cell phone comparison website currently has a vacancy for 'Mobile Phone Destruction Tester', a part time position that pays £36,500 (nearly $55,00) a year!

The ideal candidate for the job would be someone who loves mobile tech, and has a "long history of destruction, particularly in the field of mobile phones," the listing on TigerMobiles.com mentions. "We want you to take the latest smartphones and put them through their paces in real world scenarios. Drop them in the bath, stomp them in the mosh pit, accidentally dip them in your Chicken Vindaloo."

However, candidates would also have to be good with written and spoken English, and familiar with using computers, because "there has to be some boring part to the job."

mobile-phone-destruction-tester

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