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Japan Is Running Out Of Surnames, And More Of The Week's Weirdest World News
Welcome to another entry in our new column, The Week's Weirdest World News. The world, you might have noticed, is a very strange place — so every seven days, we'll be rounding up the most bizarre things that have happened across the globe, purely for your enjoyment.
From bugs with wild peeing capabilities to Japan facing a one-surname future, these stories are sure to inspire wonder — or, at the very least, befuddlement — at the weird ol' world around us.
The US to be invaded by the animal kingdom's strongest urinators
In the spring of 2024, the United States will witness a rare natural event: two broods of cicadas, Brood XIX and XIII, will emerge together for the first time in over two centuries. https://t.co/Ubultq0x6P pic.twitter.com/UkhijjNJq5
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) March 30, 2024
Two parts of the US are about to become infested with a particularly unusual bug in what's been dubbed the "cicada-geddon."
Periodical cicadas emerge from underground every 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood — but from May, they're going to storm the Southeast and Midwest in numbers that could break decade- and even century-long records.
The idea of 16 states being invaded by up to a trillion insects is strange enough, but these bugs have some pretty bizarre behaviors to boot.
Not only do cicadas have the strongest pee jets of any creature — two to three times stronger and faster than elephants and humans — but they're also affected by a sexually transmitted disease that turns them into zombies and makes their private parts fall off. Ouch.
"They're completely at the mercy of the fungus," University of Connecticut entomologist John Cooley told AP. "They're walking dead."
Italian island overrun by goats is giving them away
[Image credit: Bailey Mahon]
A tiny Italian island overwhelmed by its goat population has begun giving the animals away to whoever wants them.
Alicudi, a remote island near Sicily, has a human population of just 100 — but the number of goats has ballooned to 600, and they're wreaking havoc on locals' homes and gardens.
Local mayor Riccardo Gullo told Sky News that a few escaped goats had reproduced to numbers that the small island can no longer manage, so they are now being donated to people looking to breed them.
"It's a random delivery without conditions, a special gift," Gullo said.
Anyone is free to apply for the wild animals, and can request as many of them as they want — but the offer ends on April 10, so act quickly if you're in the market for a goat.
Texas city wants to host the world's biggest gathering of Kyles
The city of Kyle in Texas is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest same-name gathering — for the second time.
The "Gathering of the Kyles" will be held on May 18 as part of the Kyle Fair, and the city hopes to attract a larger group of people named Kyle than the 1,490 that attended last year.
"Last year, nearly 1,500 Kyles showed up in honor of their namesake," the city wrote on Instagram. "But we need even more to break the record in 2024, and bring the Guinness World Records for largest same-name gathering, first-name only, to American soil and firmly in the hands of Kyles worldwide."
Everyone in Japan will end up with the same surname if outdated law isn't changed
Everyone in Japan will have the same surname by 2531 if the country's outdated marriage law isn't overturned, a professor has warned.
According to a study led by Tohoku University professor Hiroshi Yoshida, every single Japanese person will have the family name "Sato" in 500 years time, unless a law forcing married couples to choose a single surname is changed.
The civil code, which dates back to the 19th century, allows married couples to pick either partner's name, but women take the husband's name in 95 percent of cases.
"If everyone becomes Sato, we may have to be addressed by our first names or by numbers," Yoshida told a Japanese newspaper. "I don't think that would be a good world to live in."
Sato is already Japan's most common family name, currently accounting for 1.5 percent of all surnames in the country.
Not had your fill of weird news just yet? Check out last week's roundup.
[Image credit: Alex Block]