Android waitress in China

An android waitress at a restaurant in Chongqing, China, went viral last month, mesmerising viewers with its precise robotic movements. Viewers were in awe of the android’s human-like appearance and its ability to interact with real people, greeting them as they entered the restaurant, taking their orders and bringing it to their tables.

In reality, it was the establishment owner, a 26-year-old entrepreneur with a background in dance, posing as an android. Ms Qin’s main passion was dance but ever since she opened the hotpot restaurant, she and her friends routinely put on performances as a way to attract new business.

But when she started posing as an android, using precise robot-like motions and makeup to make her performance so believable, that most new clients couldn’t tell that she was human. People come to Qin’s restaurant not only for the delicious hotpot, but to see her android routine as well. Her inventiveness is an example of how personal talents and hobbies can be leveraged to stand out in a competitive market.

Man seeks 1 million copies of Titanic on VHS

A Florida man has amassed a collection of 2,467 copies of 1997 film Titanicon VHS — and he is aiming to collect one million copies and earn an unsinkable world record for the largest collection of TitanicVHS tapes.

The Largo-area man, identified as JD, said he scours thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales for VHS copies of the James Cameron film, and social media followers have mailed him tapes from all over the world.

“You can’t escape this movie. Everyone had it, your grandma had it, your mum, your dad, whoever, someone in your family had this movie,” JD told.

DNA test reveals ‘Alien corpses’

In September, unexpected discovery was made in the form of two ‘non-human’ corpses believed to be 1,000 years old. The bodies were presented during a congressional hearing in Mexico City by journalist and ufologist Jaime Maussan, who claimed they had been analysed by the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM), where scientists established an age by extracting DNA and using radiocarbon dating.

Maussan said: “These specimens are not part of our terrestrial evolution… These aren’t beings that were found after a UFO wreckage. They were found in diatom [algae] mines, and were later fossilised. This is the first time extra-terrestrial life has been presented in this manner.

The two mummified corpses were displayed in windowed boxes, having been retrieved from Cusco in Peru.

Two-year-old becomes youngest Mensa member

A two-year-old Kentucky girl, with intelligence beyond her years, became the youngest-ever member of high-IQ society Mensa. Isla McNabb of Crestwood was accepted into Mensa after scoring in the 99th percentile of intelligence for her age group on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales.

Mensa is the largest high-IQ society in the world, and members must score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised IQ test to be eligible. Parents Jason and Amanda McNabb said Isla learned her alphabet at the age of 18 months and was soon reading. They enrolled Isla in Mensa in the hope of finding resources to nurture her talents.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 23rd, 2023