January 09, 2020

Of pigs and cussing and parachutes


Of pigs and cussing and parachutes
In Odder News

This week's Odder News, we cover everything from mummies to hogs, from cussing to bows and arrows. Oh, and skyscraper jumping...

  • Shoppers in the Siberian city of Tyumen were surprised to find three domesticated hogs roaming the alcohol aisle of the local supermarket. After sampling a few bottles of cognac following ham-fisted attempts to open them, the pigs were returned to their owner.
  • The ancient Egyptians were overthinking things: all you need to mummify someone is put them on an apartment building balcony in St. Petersburg for a couple years.
  • Opposite corners of Russia apparently have opposite levels of cussing: uncensored utterances are spoken most in Vladivostok and least in Petrozavodsk. Unsurprisingly, throughout Russia, higher living standards are correlated with less frequent exclamations like “f*** this.”
  • Russian authorities bowed to popular pressure and legalized hunting with bows and crossbows.
  • Two men in Krasnoyarsk jumped from the 24th floor of an apartment building with parachutes. All we can say is what Lenta.ru used as their url for the article: “Oh, Russians.”

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The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

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Steppe
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