Mad World: And you thought yakuza was bad

Three bodies dating thousands of years ago indicate marks of potential human sacrifice, according to research. Pic Courtesy/Science Advances

Three skeletons, mostly female, were unearthed from an archeological site in 1985 in the southwest town of Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux, France.Today, researchers suspect that these women could have been part of a ritualistic killing in conjunction with the solstice due to the location of the burial pit, which study authors say resembled a silo. According to CNN, an investigation of the remains reveals a style of torture often associated with the Italian Mafias, called "incaprettamento," where a person's ankles and throat are tied resulting in strangulation and death. Two of the three women were also believed to be bound together and buried alive, while the latter was buried in the same grave but distinctly separate.

Study Authors of Science Advances, state that the tomb could have served as a gathering place to celebrate the changing seasons, revealing the possibility of sacrificial rituals."There is always this idea that somebody is dying and that the crops will grow," lead author Éric Crubézy, a biological anthropologist at Paul Sabatier University, told CNN.

Although authors and researchers have not reached a concrete conclusion as to when, where, and how they died, the archaeological evidence suggests that they perished in the pit. "If their placement in the grave occurred postmortem and the sole objective was concealment, then a simple act of pushing them under the overhang would have sufficed," they wrote.

"However, the specific arrangement - stacked atop each other and entwined with fragments of grindstones implies a more forceful and deliberate placement, strongly suggesting that their demise likely occurred within the burial context." The researchers also hypothesise that the woman who was found lying on her stomach likely died due to a cardiac arrest and the woman on her back might have perished as a result of asphyxiation, due to the weight of the other person on top of her.

"In different parts of Europe, it was the same type of sacrifice," Crubézy told CNN. "And this sacrifice is very particular because it's a cruel one … and you have no blood and no people who killed another, the people killed themselves."

Weekend at Bernie's Recreated

This culprit's accomplice happens to be a corpse

In trying times, it's only your family who sticks by you. Apparently, they should do it even if they're dead. Érika de Souza Vieira, accompanied by her seemingly unwell uncle, Paulo Roberto Braga, entered a Rio bank on Tuesday to cash in on a 2.7 lakh loan. Everything was perfectly in order, except the fact that Braga had already left the earthly plane.

Pic Courtesy/Daily Mail UK

If you see a dead man, you'd know it. And the staff did. The employees at the bank expressed their concern for the man multiple times: he looked too pale, and something definitely smelled. Soon, they began filming the incident, and the now viral footage showed Vieira reassuring the staff, "That's just what he's like," she said as she placed a pen in his limp hands to sign the paperwork.

Shortly after, the police arrested Vieira for violating a corpse and attempted theft by fraud. The police on the other hand, are sceptical of whether the two are even related. "She knew he was dead … he had been dead for at least two hours," the investigating officer, Fábio Luiz Souza, told agencies. Her attorney, insists the alleged criminal is innocent.

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It's all about the rhythm
Hell bent on ridding Chechen culture of western ‘pollution',The Russian Republic of Chechnya has banned dance music deemed too fast or too slow. All music should have a tempo of 80-116 beats per minute, that suits the Chechen sense of rhythm. Artists have been given the deadline of June 1 to rewrite any music that does not fit the guidelines.

What a bunch of beardos
In yet another bizarre occurrence in Florida, at the National Beard and Moustache Championships, team Beard Team USA set two new world records, breaking one of their own.The team tied their beards together to create a 195 ft 3in (over 59 metres) long chain.

Moving heaven and earth
Scotland's Loch Ness Centre are trying to enlist an unlikely ally for their never ending search for the Loch Ness monster: NASA. They believe NASA surely houses some advanced imaging technology that would help them locate their beloved Nessie, and hope to get their attention through social media.

Pic Courtesy/Cameron Clifford

Why stop at goldfish?
Oklahoma's nine year old, Cal Clifford has an unusual pet: an octopus called Terrace. In a TikTok saga narrated by his father Cameron Clifford, Cal burst into tears when the local aquarium said adopting an octopus was a possibility. From wanting the animal as a pet ever since he was toddler, to naming Terrace's (which theu later discovered was female) kids Jay-Sea and Sea-Yoncé, Cal has only found his love for marine biology growing.

Pic Courtesy/iStock Representational Image

Nailed it!
Netizens all over the world are disgusted after this horrified bride's Facebook post. In a nausea-inducing stunt, a groomsman gifted the newlywed a paperweight made out of the groom's clipped nails collected over the period of eight years as a revenge plot. The man expressed his delight after finally getting back at his untidy friend. "I wish this was a joke. This is the grossest wedding ‘gift' I could even fathom and it's on my kitchen table," wrote the bride.