An artist who famously let the public do anything to her for six hours opened up about a moment that left her emotional in another performance.
Marina Abramović, one of the world’s most influential performance artists, is renowned for her boundary-defying work.
Among her most controversial pieces is Rhythm 0, a 1974 performance in which she stood motionless beside a table holding 72 objects, inviting spectators to use them on her in any way they wished without intervention.
The Serbian artist, whose career has often explored themes of pain, vulnerability, and endurance, staged the performance at a gallery in Naples, Italy.
She presented herself as a passive object, announcing: “I am an object. You can do whatever you want with me, and I will take full responsibility for the 6 hours,” according to the Marina Abramović Institute.
“At the beginning, nothing really happened,” Abramović explained. “The public were calm. They would play with me. They would give me a rose, they would kiss me, look at me.”
Another of Abramović’s landmark works was The Artist Is Present, held at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in 2010.
In this performance, she spent two and a half months seated at a table, with an empty chair across from her.
Visitors were invited to sit silently with her, creating what she described as a “silent conversation.”
The experience was deeply moving for many attendees, and one reunion in particular broke her usual strict rules.
Abramović’s former partner and longtime collaborator, Frank Uwe Laysiepen, better know as Ulay, arrived unannounced to participate in The Artist Is Present.
The pair had met in 1975, performing and living together for more than a decade. Their relationship famously ended after a performance called The Lovers, where they walked from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China to meet in the middle, per CNN.
The plan was to marry at that meeting, but their union ended after Ulay revealed he had fathered a child with his Chinese translator during the project.
When Ulay sat across from Abramović at MoMA, the emotional intensity of their reunion was palpable.
Despite her usual rule against breaking character, Abramović reached for Ulay’s hands, breaking into tears.
In a heartfelt conversation that followed, Abramović reflected: “It’s been great, it’s been difficult, it’s been hell, it’s been love, it’s been hate, it’s been everything.”
Ulay thanked her, to which she responded: “Wait, don’t go away.” She continued: “I never forget that moment in MoMA when I broke my rules, and I never break my rules ever, ever, ever, ever. But this is the moment I break all my rules because you were not just another visitor, you were my life.”
Reflecting on their reunion, Ulay said it was raw and unprepared: “No preparation, no rehearsal.”
Abramović hoped the footage of their meeting could help others find healing, saying: “It’s so human, everybody has love, separation and everything was there reflected.”
Featured image credit: Marina Abramović Institute
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NASA technician’s simple error during satellite maintenance ended up costing $135,000,000 to fix
By James Kay
One NASA technician presumably had to have a meeting with HR after an error ended up costing $135,000,000 to fix.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve made some mistakes at work before – though luckily none have ever cost $135,000,000 to fix.
If that was the case I don’t think you’d be reading my words right now and I’d be having a hard time finding a new job.
Luckily I don’t work for NASA, and there’s probably a good reason for that. But one technician cost the agency a lot of money.
In 2003 a costly accident derailed the NOAA N-Prime weather satellite project, a $233 million endeavor by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA, per Space.com.
NOAA and NASA contracted aerospace company Lockheed Martin to build the N-Prime satellite, which was being assembled at Lockheed Martin’s California-based manufacturing facility.
During a routine transport maneuver, the satellite suffered extensive damage after it unexpectedly fell from a cart.
According to reports, the incident occurred as workers were moving the satellite from a vertical to a horizontal position, resulting in a one-meter fall onto a concrete floor.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the mishap, but the satellite itself was left severely damaged, with an investigation revealing the cause to be a minor yet critical oversight.
The investigation later determined that the accident stemmed from the satellite missing 24 bolts required to secure it to a Turn-Over Cart (TOC) used in transport.
A NASA report disclosed: “The bolts were removed from the TOC by another project while the cart was in a common staging area, an activity which was not communicated to the NOAA project team.”
The missing bolts went unnoticed during the satellite’s transfer, resulting in its costly fall.
The damage required the replacement of at least 15 percent of the satellite’s components, according to NASA spokesperson Dave Steitz and Lockheed Martin’s Buddy Nelson.
“Lockheed Martin has voluntarily contributed to the rebuild effort all profit previously earned and paid on the contract,” said Nelson at the time.
“The company will undertake the completion of the N-Prime satellite bus on a cost-only basis, forgoing all profits that otherwise might have accrued to Lockheed Martin for this spacecraft bus.”
The U.S. government, however, still had to shoulder a significant part of the repair bill.
“And I hope George W. Bush was sitting down when he received the news as they had to pay a staggering $135 million,” Steitz told Space.com.
Despite efforts to complete the repairs swiftly, the launch of the N-Prime satellite, later renamed NOAA-19, faced significant delays.
Originally slated for launch in December 2007, the satellite was eventually launched in February 2009.
NOAA-19 went on to become the last in NOAA’s series of polar-orbiting weather satellites, closing out an era in American satellite meteorology.
Talk about a bad day at work.
Featured image credit: Paolo Nespoli – ESA/NASA/Getty
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British man who posed for photo with plane hijacker explains why he did it
By stefan armitage
A man who posed for a photo with a plane hijacker explained why he asked for the photo in the first place.
It is a photo that continues to go viral on social media, capturing a moment so bizarre it’s hard to believe.
In the image, British man Ben Innes stands next to a plane hijacker during a 2016 flight crisis. But what’s the real story behind this jaw-dropping photo?
The ordeal began on an Egyptair flight MS181 from Alexandria to Cairo, which took a terrifying turn when a man – later identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa – hijacked the plane while donning what appeared to be a suicide belt.
As reported by BBC News, the aircraft was forced to land at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, with most passengers being released except for a few crew members and three hostages, including Innes.
During the intense negotiations between officials and Mustafa, Innes saw an opportunity to snap a photograph with the hijacker – an image that would later be shared across the globe.
Speaking to The Sun, Innes revealed his peculiar mix of bravery and curiosity, saying, “After about half an hour at Larnaca, I asked for a photo with him as we were sitting around waiting. I thought, why not? I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity.
“I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it.”
Innes managed to get one of the cabin crew to translate his unusual request to Mustafa, who nonchalantly agreed to the selfie. “He just shrugged OK, so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap,” Innes recounts. “It has to be the best selfie ever.”
After realizing that the vest was most likely fake, Ben says he returned to his seat to “plot his next move”.
In another interview with ABC News, Innes explained that the photo was a “well-thought-through process”.
“I wanted to interact with the hijacker,” Innes further explained. “I wanted him to understand that I was a human. I was doing human things. That I wasn’t just a nameless, faceless victim.”
“I also wanted to get a better look at the device, at him. I needed to understand if he had any other weapons, if there were any other hijackers who I hadn’t seen,” he added.
In an emotional revelation, the Brit also explained that the photo was a way to show his mom that, if he did die, he would have died “unafraid”.
Innes added that he had “no regrets whatsoever”.
The standoff concluded five hours later when Mustafa surrendered to the authorities.
He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison by an Egyptian court in 2019, facing charges of intimidation and seizing a plane for a terrorist purpose.
BBC reported at the time that the alleged hijacker’s motives were unclear, but the Cypriot president did state that the incident was not terrorism-related.
The image has once again gone viral on the popular Instagram page TheArchbishopOfBanterbury, with people once again commenting on the bizarre situation.
“When you’re British and the thought of missing out on a story for the pub is scarier than a hijacking,” one person joked.
Another quipped: “Not the photobomb I was expecting.”
Per The Guardian, a friend of Innes described him as “very into his banter”, and that the photo was “totally in character for him”.
What is less known about this story is that even one of the flight attendants also posed for a photo with the hijacker:
This incident not only left a mark on global news but also on Innes, who inadvertently continues to be highlighted on social media for his audacious, if not risky, approach to a high-stress situation.
Featured image credit: Mirrorimage-NL / Getty
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Couple left terrified after spotting disturbing detail in photo taken on top of a mountain during hike
By James Kay
A couple who went on a hike might not be so quick to return after they spotted a creepy detail in a photo they took…
Going hiking can be a great way to spend the weekend because it gets you out and about enjoying nature.
It’s also pretty good for the body…
But if you were looking for something to put you off going for a hike, then look no further because I’ve got you covered.
Duffy Springfield, a Purdue University student, had gone hiking in Panther, West Virginia, with her boyfriend in March.
When she later developed the film, a peculiar image left the couple with chills.
“I like to do film photography, and my boyfriend and I were making a scrapbook of all the developed photos I took. I just kinda saw it—I’m not really sure how I even noticed it since it’s such a small detail,” Springfield explained to Newsweek.
The unsettling find resembled a “hand” near a structure in the background, a detail that Springfield and her boyfriend immediately agreed looked odd.
“We both agreed it was weird and thought it even looked a little like a hand. Honestly, we were pretty excited when we saw it because of all the cryptids said to lurk in the West Virginian mountains. Even if it’s not actually a hand, it’s a fun story to have,” she said.
In local folklore, cryptids – legendary creatures reported by locals but lacking scientific evidence – are woven into West Virginia’s rich history.
The state’s best-known cryptid is the Mothman, a winged creature with glowing red eyes, first reported in Point Pleasant in 1966.
Other mysterious creatures include the Flatwoods Monster, sighted in 1952 and described as a humanoid figure with a red face and green body, and the Snarly Yow, a ghostly dog-like creature reportedly haunting the Blue Ridge Mountains since the 1700s.
The lesser-known but equally bizarre Ogua, a turtle-like creature, and the plant-like Vegetable Man, rumored to have thorny fingers, are part of the state’s strange legacy as well.
Curious about what she might have captured, Springfield posted the image on Reddit, hoping for answers.
“My boyfriend and I aren’t really sure what to think,” she wrote.
Springfield continued: “We went to a state park in West Virginia during off-season. According to the park ranger (and the conditions of the hiking trails), we were the only ones there for the week and had been the first there in a while.
“I took this pic at the top of the mountain. Behind the pillar should have been nothing, a drop-off to the woods below. Are we bugging? That really looks like a hand.”
The eerie post quickly drew attention, with one Reddit user asking how big the structure was that the hand appeared to be gripping.
Springfield replied that it was about four feet tall. The comment section buzzed with theories, with one user suggesting the “hand” might just be an unusual fungus, but others seemed unsettled.
“Could be fungus, but yeah that really looks like a hand,” one person commented. Another user urged: “Go back, it’s the only way to be sure. It’d bother you for the rest of your life otherwise.”
Personally, I would never go back.
Featured image credit: steve-goacher/Getty
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Chilling new details emerge about ‘real-life vampire’ who was buried with a sickle at her neck 350 years ago
By James Kay
Could this prove that vampires exist…?
Vampires have long fascinated us and stories of what they are capable of have been told for centuries.
From Dracula to Edward Cullen, there are all sorts of vampires out there in the fictional world.
But these stories had to start somewhere, right?
Well, a “real-life vampire” may have been discovered in Poland.
The skeleton, discovered two years ago at a medieval cemetery in Pień, has drawn attention for its unusual burial methods, meant to prevent the deceased from “rising again.”
The remains belong to an elite young woman, believed to have been around 18 years old at the time of her death, who has been named “Zosia” by researchers.
Based on reconstructions, Zosia may have had fair skin, blue eyes, short hair, and a distinct protruding incisor tooth – features that could have contributed to suspicions of vampirism.
Zosia’s social rank was evident from a silk cap found on her head, a symbol of high status.
Despite her elite standing, Zosia was buried under circumstances suggesting fear rather than honor.
Archaeologists discovered that her body was secured with a sickle across her neck and a heavy padlock on her toe.
“It can be assumed that for some reason those burying the woman were afraid that she would rise from the grave. Perhaps they feared she was a vampire,” explained Professor Dariusz Polinski, who, along with his colleague Magda Zagrodzka, has led extensive research on the burial site, per the Daily Mail.
The sickle, according to Polinski, served as “double protection” against Zosia potentially rising from the grave.
Positioned just above her neck, it would have decapitated her if she attempted to sit up.
“The sickle was not laid flat, but placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up, most likely the head would have been cut off or injured,” Polinski explained.
Working alongside Polinski and Zagrodzka, forensic expert Oscar Nilsson created a facial reconstruction of Zosia.
Using a digital scan of her skull, Nilsson employed a 3D printer and clay modeling to recreate Zosia’s facial structure, and then used silicon to approximate her skin.
His work has provided a detailed glimpse into her appearance.
Further investigation into Zosia’s bones, conducted by medical investigator Dr. Heather Edgar of the University of New Mexico, revealed an abnormality in her breastbone, indicating a possible physical deformity.
“The abnormality suggests there might have been a physical deformity that caused her great pain and ‘marked this person [to others] in a negative way,’” Edgar explained to the Times, potentially leading to fears of vampirism among her contemporaries.
The graveyard, dubbed the “Field of Vampires,” contained approximately 100 other graves, of which around 30 showed signs of being restrained in some way.
These included individuals buried face down, others weighed down with stones, and some with coins placed in their mouths.
Among these graves were those of a partially exhumed child, a woman with advanced syphilis, a pregnant woman, and a man with a child’s remains at his feet.
According to Polinski, the cemetery likely served as a final resting place for individuals excluded from society, yet all graves were unmarked, and no historical records mention the identities of those buried there.
“Ways to protect against the return of the dead include cutting off the head or legs, placing the deceased face down to bite into the ground, burning them, and smashing them with a stone,” Polinski said, noting that Zosia’s sickle was an especially severe measure.
Spooky.
Featured image credit: ImagesbyTrista/Getty
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Skibidi Toilet trend explained as baffling phenomenon goes viral
By Asiya Ali
The internet is full of bizarre viral trends, but the Skibidi Toilet sensation might just be the most baffling of them all.
The strange phenomenon has intrigued millions of people – including North West and her mom Kim Kardashian.
What Is ‘Skibidi Toilet,’ And Why Is It So Popular?
The viral meme started from a YouTube short created by animator Alexey Gerasimov, who has a channel that goes by the handle DaFu*!?Boom!.
Gerasimov created a rather scary-looking animation of a man’s head emerging from a dirty toilet bowl while singing a remix of the Biser King track ‘Dom Dom Yes Yes,’ specifically the version posted by TikToker Paryss Bryann.
The hideous image was inspired by a recurring nightmare that once haunted Gerasimov, according to Forbes.
Watch the video below:
After watching the video, you might think that it was all just a hallucination or even a nightmare.
However, it doesn’t end there, as the YouTuber went on to create further episodes of the toilet heads, this time depicting a war between the Skibidi Toilets and an army of mechanical men with screens, cameras for heads, and speakers.
None of the clips have any dialogue, instead relying on special effects, bizarre animation, and a mix of horror and comedy visuals to entertain their viewers.
Why has the Skibidi Toilet trend become so popular?
Generation after generation has been entertained by odd viral videos since the dawn of the World Wide Web.
For some reason, Skibidi Toilet – which emerged in 2023 – has recently become a spectacle among young social media users.
But even Gen Z appears to be baffled by the trend, as the younger generation, Gen Alpha (people born since 2010), is leading the charge.
Since the series took off, Gerasimov has garnered more than 38 million subscribers on the social media platform, and his clips boast more than 100 million. His videos have also found success on TikTok as they have been viewed a million times.
But just like any phenomenon on the internet, it’s not always easy to understand the reasons behind its popularity.
The only explanation we could give is that the viewers are amazed by the outlandish imagery… I mean, it’s not every day you see someone serenading you with an annoyingly catchy song from the toilet bowl.
As aforementioned, Kim Kardashian’s 11-year-old daughter has also become obsessed with the meme, to the point that she gifted her mother a diamond necklace customized with an engraving that reads “Skibidi Toilet” on the front and “Love, North 10/21/24”.
“North got me this diamond necklace that says ‘Skibidi Toilet,’” the SKIMS founder revealed on her Instagram story. “Wow.”
“Because you love Skibidi Toilet,” her daughter, whom she shares with Kanye West, chimed in. “I do? I do?” Kardashian asked, laughing, to which North responded: “Yeah!“
It seems like the viral series has also caught the attention of Hollywood as Gerasimov is reportedly working with the independent entertainment studio Invisible Narratives to expand the YouTube shorts into a TV and movie franchise, according to The Washington Post.
So it looks like we’ll be drowning in the Skibidi Toilet meme for a few more years…
