Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Taiwanese Ice Cream Shop Sells Pig’s Feet and Tofu Flavored Ice Cream

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 03:00 AM PST

Snow King, an ice cream shop located in Taipei, capital city of Taiwan, serves more than 70 flavors of fresh, homemade ice cream. There's nothing unusual about that, I agree. But wait till you hear what these flavors include.

The shop, in business since 1947, boasts of carrying the most unusual of ice cream flavors. Over here, you can get a lick of Sesame Oil Chicken, a dollop of Pig Knuckle, and even a scoop or two of Taiwan Beer. The family-owned business is now being run by the third generation – 33-year-old Kao Ching-feng. "At Snow King, you get the tastes that Taiwanese know," said Kao. According to him, customers keep coming back for the local flavors and old-fashioned style. They like visiting in large groups, so they can sample a scoop each of all the flavors.

The most famous specialties at Snow King are Red Bean and Watermelon, preferred by the locals. Tourists from Japan like to try exotic flavors like Lychee and Peach, while customers from Hong Kong want Curry and Wasabi. All these unusual ice cream recipes are the brainchild of Kao's 87-year-old grandfather. He had founded the business out of his savings from selling ice cream on the streets of Taipei. Kao says that his grandfather liked to challenge himself and spent years tweaking flavors to his satisfaction. Some of his best flavors came from trying to accommodate his older, diabetic customers. That’s how he invented with Snow King's range of savory ice creams.

Snow-King-ice-cream

Politeness Goes a Long Way at French Café That Charges Extra for Rudeness

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 03:00 AM PST

The French aren't exactly world-famous for being polite, which is why I was quite surprised when I read about this. A French Café is actually charging customers extra for being rude to its staff, and offering discounts to those who are nice.

The Petite Syrah Café, located in the French Riviera city of Nice, has the new pricing scheme on display. If you walk in and simply ask for "A coffee," you will be charged €7 ($9.5). For "A coffee please," the price is much lower – €4.25 ($6). And if you decide to go the distance and say, "Hello, a coffee please," that will make the folks at the Petite Syrah so happy they'll only charge you €1.40 ($2).

The concept is so awesome – I think it's a win-win. I'm sure the patrons love $2 coffees; they'd keep coming back for more and be polite each time. It's great for business and makes a nice work environment, so the staff at the café must be happy too.

La-Petit-Syrah-cafe

A Void – The Famous 300-Page Book Written without a Single Letter “E”

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 02:00 AM PST

'E' is the most commonly used letter in the alphabet. That's why it's so hard to believe that a whole novel exists without a single use of the letter 'e'.

The book in question was originally written in French in 1969, by author Georges Perec. La Disparition (The Disappearance) is a 300-page lipogrammatic novel – a kind of book that consists of constrained writing or a word game.

There is absolutely no mention of 'e' throughout all 300 pages, except the author's name of course. Even the most common word of the French language, 'le' (which means the), makes no appearance at all. La Disparition was later translated into English by Gilbert Adair, with the title A Void.

A-Void-letter-e

11-Year-Old Girl Likes to Play Horse by Jumping Over Hurdles on All Four

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 01:00 AM PST

Anna Salandar, from Båstad, Sweden, is an amazing 11-year-old with an unsual hobby. At an age when kids prefer to play video games, Anna is learning to jump hurdles like a horse – on all fours.

Anna's unique hobby is her own choice; she wanted to be able to run and jump using all four limbs. When she was younger, she wanted to resemble her grandmother's dog, Peggy. When she got older, she thought it would be more fun to be like a horse.

Pretending to be like a horse might sound like fun, but it involves a lot of hard work for Anna. She began her training without hurdles; she first had to perfect the art of galloping. It was important to get her arms and wrists strong. Once she got a hang of galloping, she started with low barriers, about 30 to 40 centimeters high. Over time, she has managed to increase the height to 110 centimeters. The biggest challenge for Anna now, is to jump several consecutive obstacles. "It is very hard, so I get tired in the arms and need to rest," says Anna. Despite this, she practices every single day.

Anna-Salander

Comments system

Disqus Shortname