Friday, January 22, 2021

Japanese man ‘rents himself to do nothing’, gets thousands of clients

A 37-year-old Japanese man is earning a living by renting himself “to do nothing”. With thousands of clients, he has got an enormous following on social media. Anyone can rent him for 10,000 yen ($96.56). He will not do anything except “eat, drink and give a simple response.” He started renting himself first in June 2018 when he tweeted, “I offer myself for rent, as a person who does nothing. Is it difficult for you to enter a shop on your own? Are you missing a player on your team? Do you need someone to keep a place for you? I can’t do anything except easy things.” Initially, he had started offering his services for free, however, he now charges to reduce the volume of requests he gets and also to discourage time-waters. He sees three to four clients every day and has had over 3,000 clients since he launched his unusual services. While people rent him for different reasons, most of his clients are bored or lonely and want to be listened to. He has been hired to have lunch, pose for photos, accompany a person filing a divorce, catch butterflies in the park, listen to health care workers struggling with work. “I’m not a friend or an acquaintance. I’m free of the annoying things that go with relationships but I can ease people’s feelings of loneliness,” he said. The man quit his job in publishing to “do nothing”. He has published books about his career choice. (Times Now News )

Finland Not Opening Its Borders For Tourists In Near Future

Finland isn’t getting to open its borders for tourists within the near future. The Finnish government is ready to introduce new Coronavirus-related entry restrictions. A spokesperson for the Finnish Ministry says the Finnish government was expected to adopt tougher measures to stop the spread of the latest variants of the Coronavirus. Further, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health also proposed to the govt to limit cross-border travel to the maximum amount as possible to make sure travelers undergo the COVID tests at the borders. As per the ministry, the restrictions would likely put a stop to all or any travels, except the specified business travel. As of now, people coming back from high-risk countries are required to watch a 10-day self-monitored quarantine, the duration of which may be reduced by testing negative for COVID. (Pathic)

**WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES!**

Couple accused of having sex on Myrtle Beach Skywheel ride and in community pool to make porn videos

A couple has been accused of having sex on the Myrtle Beach Skywheel ride and in a community pool to make videos for a popular porn site. Both 36 years of age, face multiple charges after police say they saw videos of the two having sex in public on a pornography site. Myrtle Beach police opened an investigation into indecent exposure on January 12th and said they found the videos. In one video, the couple is having sex inside a gondola encased with glass and in view of the public on the Skywheel ride. The incident happened on or around January 2nd. In another video, the couple is seen having sex in a community pool. The woman faces three counts of indecent exposure, two counts of participation in preparation of obscene material, and malicious injury to personal property. She was released from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on $18,000 bond.  The man has been charged with two counts of indecent exposure and one charge of participation in preparation of obscene material. He was released from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on $14,000 bond. (Fox News)

Strong winds forced a wheelchair-bound climber to stop his ascent of a 1,050-foot skyscraper but the stunt allowed him to raise more than $700,000 for charity

The man is a champion rock climber who was paralyzed from the waist down following a car accident eight years ago. When he started climbing Hong Kong’s Nina Tower, there was just a gentle breeze. But ten hours later, when he had reached an altitude of about 800 feet, wind gusts were making his wheelchair spin. By then, his body temperature had dropped, his arms were failing him, and his fingers were full of blisters from operating the pulley that was lifting him up. He had to stop climbing because he feared for his life, but his courage won him plenty of praise online and allowed him to raise $735,000 to fund research into spinal cord injuries. (The New York Times)

The states where people are headed

Tennessee was the most popular state to head to in 2020, according to a new report. In a U-Haul study of more than 2 million one-way rental transactions, Tennessee claimed the top spot for the most one-way U-Haul arrivals versus departures for the first time ever. The pandemic and subsequent shift to working-from-home has pushed many Americans to relocate from major cities to smaller ones with more affordable housing space. Texas, Florida and Ohio were also popular states to head to, while California was the least popular. (UHaul)

Tyson settles price-fixing claims

Tyson Foods will pay $221.5 million to settle price-fixing claims over broiler chicken, the latest development in an ongoing legal battle over alleged collusion in the $65 billion chicken industry. The country’s largest meat producer did not admit liability as part of the settlement. Tyson was among the poultry producers accused of engaging in a years-long scheme to inflate and fix prices across much of the industry, then pass those higher costs to consumers, restaurants and supermarkets. Pilgrim’s Pride, the second-largest U.S. poultry producer by sales, has agreed to settle civil claims for $75 million. (The New York Post)

Retirement funds largely left intact

Despite a rocky economic climate, fewer Americans than expected withdrew money from their retirement accounts at the end of last year, new figures suggest. Congress allowed people to pull up to $100,000 from individual retirement accounts or 401(k)-type plans without the early-withdrawal penalty, but just 6.3% of those eligible took money out in 2020, according to various investment groups reporting similar figures. The crisis hit lower-income workers hardest, and many don’t have access to a retirement-savings plan, notes one economist. (The Wall Street Journal)

A new age for personal shopping

With more people at home and online during the pandemic, consumers are increasingly tapping into a luxury service that previously seemed out of reach: personal shopping. Customers have long resisted private retail consultations due to “misconceptions” over its price, but the pandemic has sparked newfound interest as people embrace services that help them with everyday purchases. Major retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Kay Jewelers are bulking up their staff to meet growing demand for personal shoppers, and executives anticipate such services “will become mainstays after the pandemic.” (Bloomberg)

SAT drops essay, subject tests

The College Board says it will discontinue the SAT subject tests and optional essay as the pandemic “accelerates a process already underway” to streamline standardized exams and pare down pressure on students. The testing firm will also revise the main SAT in efforts to make it “more flexible” and transition to a digital test-taking format. More information will be available in April. The health crisis has disrupted standardized testing, prompting many colleges to waive requirements amid an intensifying debate over the value of such assessments. (The Washington Post)

Woman makes gender-neutral playing card deck

A 23-year-old woman from Oegstgeest, Netherlands, has created a gender-neutral deck of playing cards to combat inequality. She was reportedly explaining a game to her cousins when she wondered why a king was worth more than a queen. She is a forensic psychology graduate who tried several options, but finally landed on using gold, silver, and bronze instead of kings, queens and jacks. She called her new cards a GSB deck, which stands for Gold, Silver, Bronze, with gold bars, silver coins and a bronze shield on each of them, respectively. After friends and family reportedly bought her first 50 GSB decks, she started selling them online. It only took a few months before she sold about 1,500 packs to people in Belgium, Germany, France and even the United States. (Fox News)

Catalytic converter thefts on the rise

Police in Conway, New Hampshire, are asking for the public’s help in investigating several catalytic converter thefts. Catalytic converters are emission control devices that contain rare and valuable metals that are also used in industrial applications and electronics. The suspects appear to be specifically targeting older vehicles and Ford trucks. Authorities believe this is due to the high scrap value. New catalytic converters can cost several thousand dollars and even scrap ones can fetch a couple hundred. Authorities said the value can vary depending on what state you are in. They are valuable in Maine because emissions standards are higher than New Hampshire. (The Conway Daily Sun)

Pizza Hut to test drone delivery to ‘landing zones’

Pizza Hut is reaching new heights with its latest delivery experiment. Tech company Dragontail Systems Limited announced this week that it has deployed drones for restaurants to carry meals to delivery drivers in remote landing zones. Those drones will be flying pizzas from a Pizza Hut location in northern Israel starting in June. Current weight limits will restrict deliveries to about 5.5 lbs., or two pizzas and a bottle of soda, but Pizza Hut is hoping to increase the weight limit by the time drone deliveries begin in June. The drones won’t deliver pizzas directly to customers’ homes. Instead, they will meet delivery drivers at government-approved landing zones like specific spaces in a parking lot within a 50-square-mile area, according to the report. The delivery drivers will still carry the pizza for the final leg of the trip. Dragontail said it has also worked with food chains like KFC and Domino’s to “optimize” ordering and delivery processes. The company’s drone dispatching system can deploy drones in an optimized manner to help orders reach customers while the food is still hot. And dispatchers can monitor the exact location of each drone. Flying the drones to meet delivery drivers takes fewer drones and requires less battery charging, the Journal reported. This will add about 7,000 households to the restaurant’s delivery area. (Fox News)

Oklahoma Rep. introduces bill to create Bigfoot ‘hunting season’

An Oklahoma lawmaker has pitched a bill to create a bona fide Bigfoot hunting season in the Sooner State. Representative Justin Humphrey (R) introduced House Bill 1648, urging the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission (OWCC) to establish a “big foot hunting season.”. “The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission shall promulgate rules establishing a big foot hunting season,” the bill states. “The Commission shall set annual season dates and create any necessary specific hunting licenses and fees.” The Assistant Chief of the Information and Education Division at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation confirmed that the bill is real, but there may be a lack of support from the Department of Wildlife Conservation. “Here at the department, we use science to make management decisions, and we do not recognize Bigfoot as a wildlife species in Oklahoma,” officials said. If it is indeed passed, the act would take effect on November 1, 2021. Before that can happen, however, the Oklahoma Legislature will meet on February 1. (State of Oklahoma)

Friday Responds With:

• Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day
• Blonde Brownie Day
• Celebration of Life Day
• Roe vs. Wade Day
• Sanctity of Life Day