Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Would You Eat Fish Caught in the Sewer? Yes, Sewer Fishing Is Actually a Thing

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:00 AM PST

Kyle Naegeli, a 15-year-old high school student from the city of Katy, in Texas, loves fishing with a twist. Instead of going to a lake far away from the city, he prefers fishing right beside his home – in a sewer. That's right, sewer fishing is a real sport and Kyle is an expert at it.

The storm drain where Kyle goes fishing is located merely 40 feet from his home. He calls it an untapped fishing paradise. So far, he has managed to catch catfish and bluegills, species that you would hardly expect to find swimming around in a drain. Yet, he's filmed himself getting a hold of these fish and posted the footage on YouTube. In the videos, Kyle drops a 10-foot line tied to a worm or a piece of hot-dog into the drain and returns later to pull out slippery, large fish. "I have a line out constantly, I set it and check it every night," he said.

Many people have doubted his credibility, though, because of the time lag between putting in the bait and retrieving the fish. But some videos don't have any cuts, because he catches the fish almost immediately. Kyle doesn't think it's hard to believe that he's finding so many fish in the storm drain. "The pond is like 100, 150 yards away," he said. "I think it connects somewhere and that's how they're getting in.”

sewer-fishing

Student Creates Hydrophobic Shirt That’s Impossible to Stain

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:00 AM PST

The Silic shirt is an amazing garment that just doesn't catch a stain. No matter what you spill on it – water, soda, or even ketchup – it just rolls right off the T-shirt. Invented by San Francisco based student, Aamir Patel, the shirts are made from a material with billions of silica particles bonded to the fibers on a microscopic level.

Despite the unique material used, Silic shirts are said to feel no different from regular clothing. Patel has created a Kickstarter page for his unique invention and has already exceeded his target of raising $20,000. The campaign closes on 26th January. The shirts are expected to go on sale online in May, at $50 apiece.

Patel has been working on the shirt project for a year-and-a-half now. For his first prototype, he simply sprayed a stain-resistant chemical on a shirt, but he realized it would last for only one wash. Then he started to think of a way to incorporate the technology right into the fabric. After several trials and errors, he finally managed to create a fabric that is stain-proof on a molecular level. Not only does the technology last longer,but  it doesn't even irritate the skin, either. Patel says that most liquid molecules will not be able to touch the fabric because of a microscopic layer of air that forms between the liquid and fabric.

Silic-shirt

The Mind-Boggling Bird Suicide Phenomenon of Jatinga

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:00 AM PST

Jatinga is a small village located in Assam, a state in northeastern India. The village is lush green and scenic, surrounded by serene mountains. But that's not what it's famous for. In fact, Jatinga is well-known for an entirely different reason – its Bird Mystery.

The Bird Mystery is a unique phenomenon that occurs at Jatinga between September and November each year. During these late monsoon months, several migratory and local birds commit mass suicide at the village. Just after sunset, between 7 and 10 pm, hundreds of birds descend from the sky, plummeting to their deaths by crashing into buildings and trees. Since birds aren't known to be suicidal, the phenomenon has baffled villagers, visitors and scientists alike. For many years, locals believed that evil spirits living in the skies were responsible for bringing down the birds .

Of course, this isn't true. After several scientific studies and experiments, it has been concluded that the birds are generally disoriented by the monsoon fog. So they are attracted by the village lights and fly towards them, sometimes hitting walls and trees during the descent. Some of the birds die, while others are grievously injured, becoming easy prey for the villagers to capture. These birds are often dazed and disheveled, and do not put up any resistance when villagers attack them with catapults or bamboo sticks.

Jatinga-bird-mystery

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