Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Company Wants to Turn the Scent of Missed Loved Ones into a Comforting Perfume

Posted: 27 Apr 2015 02:13 AM PDT

Thanks to a French company, it might soon be possible to store the comforting scent of a loved one forever. They plan to launch their new line of perfumes made from fragrances that people leave on their clothes, in September.

The idea for the perfumes belongs to French insurance agent Katia Apalategui. She came up with it seven years ago, when she was devastated about losing her father. At the time, she wished there was a way she could store his scent in a bottle. Apparently, her mother felt the same way: "I also miss the smell and do not want to wash his pillowcase," she had told Katia.

Intrigued by the idea of preserving odor, Katia began to investigate if she could actually make it happen. She tried researching but met with little success, until she came across an innovation agency called Seinari, in Normandy. They put her in touch with the department of organic and macromolecular chemistry at the University of Le Havre. Researchers there were able to explore the possibilities of bringing Katia's idea to life. After much trial and error, they actually developed a technique to extract the odor out of a person's clothes, and reconstitute it as an alcohol-based perfume in only four days' time.

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Chinese High-School Installs Metal Bars on Balconies to Prevent Suicides

Posted: 27 Apr 2015 12:03 AM PDT

A high school in China was recently in the news for bearing a striking resemblance to a correctional facility. When questioned, the school authorities revealed that they were forced to install 'anti-suicide iron barriers', after two students jumped to their deaths in the past six months.

The authorities at Hengshui No. 2 High School also insisted that although they installed the barriers "out of safety concerns," they also added a few plants to lighten up the mood. "The pot plants are supposed to make the building feel less bleak," a teacher explained.

While the move might indicate the authorities' concern towards students, the question remains as to why students would choose to end their lives at school. It turns out several schools in Hengshui City, where the school is located, are notorious for their harsh and exacting approach towards education. Apparently, these schools expect students to work hard all day long, with the sole purpose succeeding at the 'gaokao' college entrance exam.

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Man Forms His Own European Country on the Concepts of Absolute Freedom and Peace

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 11:36 PM PDT

31-year-old Vit Jedlicka has formed his own European nation on a three-square-mile territory located between Serbia and Croatia. The piece of land technically doesn't belong to either country, so he decided to use the space to fulfill his own political ambitions.

Vit, who is an active member of the conservative Party of Free Citizens in the Czech Republic, has long since wanted to live in a country that doesn't have an army, and where taxes are optional. When he realised that his ambitions may never be fulfilled in his own country, he decided to found a new one instead.

He revealed that while his initial intention was just to protest against his own country’s policies, he later realised that he and those who share his libertarian views would probably never succeed in changing things in the Czech Republic. So he founded 'The Free Republic of Liberland', a nation that functions with a single motto: 'Live and let live'. The new nation has a new flag, new national anthem, and a provisional government, which is currently collecting donations to assist in drafting the constitution. They accept bitcoin, too!

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