What do you get when you mix government labs, airplane fly-bombings, and a relentless flesh-eating parasite? The world’s oddest (but strangely effective) pest control program—where billions of sterile flies are released across borders in a high-stakes game of biological brinkmanship. Curious how fly matchmaking became our frontline defense against nature’s nastier surprises? Read on for the wild details.

After a century of warnings and countless off-color jokes, Parisians can finally take a legal dip in the Seine—thanks to a €1.4 billion cleanup and a healthy dose of daring optimism. Will the restored river become the city’s new summer hotspot, or just another well-intentioned experiment? Let’s wade into the murky mix of nostalgia, skepticism, and genuine Parisian flair.

Just when you think hospital staff have seen it all, along slithers an inexplicably lively 30-centimeter swamp eel—discovered, quite literally, where the sun doesn’t shine. This head-scratching medical episode from Huaihua, China, blends human curiosity with biology in ways textbooks never dared. Tempted to find out how an actual eel landed a starring role in abdominal drama? Dive in—if you dare.

Forget kale smoothies and miracle supplements—for Leslie Lemon of Aylesbury, 106 years young, the path to a long life is paved with custard (and a healthy helping of rhubarb). Is this the most delicious route to triple digits yet? Join me as I dig into the sweet, surprisingly poignant tale of Britain’s longest-lived pudding devotee.

If you thought you’d heard every bizarre folk remedy the internet has to offer, think again. This week’s tale features a man, a hypodermic needle, and an extremely ill-advised experiment in self-injected “back pain relief”—with his own semen. Sometimes the archives cough up stories so unique, you’re left wondering: what other ungoogleable cures are quietly brewing out there?

Ever wondered if dads are really “hardwired” to snooze through midnight baby wails? Turns out, new research says not so much—there’s no biological loophole granting fathers immunity to crying infants. The real reason one parent shoulders extra night duty? Habit, tradition, and the ol’ chore chart—not chromosomes. Sometimes, the stories we tell outlast the facts.