Oddity Central |
- Buy a Pair of Shoes for a Chance to Find Your Sole Mate
- Meet Stanley Thornton, the 31-Year-Old Adult Baby
- Hotheads Pay to Let Out Their Aggressions in Dallas Anger Room
- Chinese Village Gives Every Villager Gold and Silver Bars
| Buy a Pair of Shoes for a Chance to Find Your Sole Mate Posted: 27 Mar 2012 04:39 AM PDT
Cinderella and Prince Charming re-uniting over a glass slipper has always been a popular fairy tale, the stuff that fantasies are made of. But now it might actually happen for real. Playing God-Mother here are Kuala Lumpur's shoe retailer, Shoes, Shoes, Shoes and a dating company called Lunch Actually. "Buy a pair of shoes and get a free man!" is their slogan. The scheme goes something like this – bachelors who sign up choose about 20 shoes they like from the Shoes, Shoes, Shoes collection. When a woman picks up a shoe labeled "Date Included" at the store, they get to go on a free date with the man who chose it too. So basically, you know you have one thing in common with your date – your taste in shoes. Of course, it's understandable if the woman wants just the shoes and nothing to do with the date, so she can refuse. But there's another incentive waiting for her on the date. The man will carry a Shoes, Shoes, Shoes discount cash voucher that he paid for himself, for the shoes that the woman bought. This could be anywhere between 10% to 100% of the total price. Some women might not want to miss out on that, in exchange for one date! Also, there's no limit on the number of shoes a woman can purchase under this scheme. Some say the shoe-dating campaign is sexist, but Violet Lim, founder of Lunch Actually, says she finds the offer pretty intriguing. "This campaign is a new and exciting way of connecting potential partners together," she says. It sure does sound like an innovative method to find both a sole and soul mate! via Forbes Buy a Pair of Shoes for a Chance to Find Your Sole Mate was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Meet Stanley Thornton, the 31-Year-Old Adult Baby Posted: 27 Mar 2012 04:26 AM PDT
It's often said that in order to de-stress, you need to keep the inner child alive. But what if there was a person who kept it alive all day, every day? Sounds a little creepy, I know, but that's exactly what 31-year-old Stanley Thornton does. He lives a double-life – as an adult outside the house and a baby inside. Some see it as a psychological condition, and others call it a fetish, but Thornton says it's only his method of letting go of stress. Thornton's typical day goes something like this: Every night he goes to sleep in his giant crib, dressed in a playsuit, with colorful mobiles hanging from the ceiling. In the morning, his mommy wakes him up and feeds him with a bottle or a spoon. He then changes into adult clothes when he goes outside. But he's back home in the evening and into his baby clothes again. It's play time and he's occupied with Legos, stuffed animals and a giant high-chair. Thornton was 13 years old when he was abused and started wetting the bed at night, so he started wearing diapers. He then gradually began to realize that he liked and wanted all the comforts of babyhood. At age 20, he started day wetting and wearing a diaper full time. The strangest part here is that the woman caring for him is not really his mother. Sandra Diaz is Thornton's roommate, and voluntarily cares for him as a mother would for her child. "I love him like he is my favorite nephew," she says. "He is like my family member who lost his mother, and I'm like the aunt stepping in and saying I'm still here for you." Photo: TLC video caption Thornton used to go to work as a security guard, but after an accident, he now receives disability benefits for a heart condition. Apparently, he's not the only one who likes living a baby life. In 2000, he started a website for other 'adult babies' where people could find it easy to find mothers and babies. But Thornton is quick to point out that none of these people have any sexual interest, they only derive comfort from living like a baby. "I like to be treated like a baby, just to get the love and affection, safeness, just to go back to a time when you're caring for a one or two year old." Stanley says he knows he is overaged and oversized for such childish games, but ever since he was a teenager he has found comfort in his private obsession. via TLC Meet Stanley Thornton, the 31-Year-Old Adult Baby was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Hotheads Pay to Let Out Their Aggressions in Dallas Anger Room Posted: 27 Mar 2012 04:02 AM PDT
Have you ever been so angry that you just wanted to hurl that laptop right across the room, but restrained yourself in the interest of 'proper conduct'? I know I have. Anger is a common emotion experienced by everybody at some point. Some manage it, some don't. But it gets the better of even the best of us at times. However, an emotional outburst is never appreciated by the people around you, even if you had a very valid reason for it. That's why, now there's the Anger Room. It's a place where it's absolutely okay to be angry and break things. They even give you the tools and set it up so that you can vent out all the anger from years and years of holding it all in. The founder of the room is a Dallas businesswoman, Donna Alexander. The smash sessions at the Anger Room can last for 5, 15 or 25 minutes and the place can be set up according to your liking. It could be an office, a kitchen or a living room. Cheap furniture, TV sets, balloons, inflatable punching bags and headless mannequins are provided, along with a golf club to break it all. For protection, participants are allowed a hard hat, gardening gloves, goggles and a face mask. They also require you to break things in the direction of the graffiti-filled wall, for the safety of the camera crew on the opposite side. 30-year-old Donna says she had the idea in mind ever since she was 16. "I wanted a place where you could punch holes in the walls, but I figured someone else would do it. Finally, in 2008, I started doing trial runs in my garage." She would let her friends do all the bashing on items that she found on the streets and thrift stores. So far, she says her business has been 'smashing'. Although she is yet to break even, it's growing at a fast pace. According to Donna, what surprises people the most is the amount of physical strength it takes to last even 15 minutes. I suppose when you're angry it feels like you could destroy the world but once all that anger has been let loose, people end up gasping for air after just a few minutes. One word of advice though – if you happen to use the Anger Room, make sure you belt up your jeans tight enough. Just look at the video and you'll know what I'm talking about… via Man Cave Daily Hotheads Pay to Let Out Their Aggressions in Dallas Anger Room was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Chinese Village Gives Every Villager Gold and Silver Bars Posted: 27 Mar 2012 03:33 AM PDT
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of a village-owned business, Changjiang Village, in China’s Jinagsu Province, has given every one f its 3,000 villagers 100-gram bars of gold and silver. It’s no secret that China has the world’s fastest growing major economy, but some of its residents like to flaunt their riches anyway. Take Changjiang village, for example. This little settlement happens to own the Jiangsu Xin Chang Jiang Group, one of the top 20 private enterprise in China. It is involved in eight different industries, including electricity, chemicals and metals, and it’s apparently very successful in all of them. At least that’s the signal they’re sending through their latest gesture of generosity. Following a promise made back in 2009, the village’s party leader recently ordered over 600 kilograms of gold and silver, and handed it to every villager in 100-gram bars. For security reasons, the exact date the precious metals would arrive in Changjiang wasn’t revealed to any of the villagers, but on March 15, every family received a household safe to keep their valuables in. Everyone sensed the big moment was approaching, and just two days later a barge carrying the gold arrived and they were all asked to come and collect their gifts. Every person was given a gold bar and a silver bar, so the largest family in the village ended up with 700 grams of gold, worth 280,000 RMB ($43,750), plus 700 grams of silver. But it’s safe to say even the ones that received just one bar of each were overjoyed. Asked what they were going to do with their precious gifts, some said they would keep them as heirlooms, while others were determined to turn them into beautiful jewelry for their future sun-in-laws. Apparently, the unmarried men and women of Changjiang are very popular in China, precisely because of their wealth. I guess unlike other parents who have to go to marriage markets, the ones in this village just have to pick from the many offers. But this isn’t the only present the people of Changjiang have received for owning one of the most successful businesses in China. In previous years, each family received a villa, stock dividends, as well as a previous gold giveaway in 2010. Last year the company spent 64,000 yuan ($10,000) just for decorating each of the village villas… Not too long ago, we featured another of China’s rich villages, Huaxi Village, where you can find replicas of some of the world’s most famous landmarks. Source: Shanghai Daily via ChinaSmack Chinese Village Gives Every Villager Gold and Silver Bars was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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