The more the merrier

Arthur says working out gave him the confidence to suggest a polyamorous relationship

Brazil-based Arthur and Luana are happily married while the husband is in a polyamorous relationship with seven other women. It all started when Arthur started working out and underwent a significant body transformation, which he says gave him the confidence to ask his partner if they could introduce other women into their relationship. Luana agreed.

"My goal in the marriage is to make Arthur happy, and as long as he's happy, so am I," says Luana, who also loves the girls. In fact, they all "date" each other when Arthur is not around. The couple says that the addition of other women has made their relationship stronger. "We've always had trust, but it's so much more now," says Luana. "This made us stronger as individuals and as husband and wife."

The women - Tania, Lorena, Kyara, Melina, Emelly, Cyntia, and Thayanne - say Arthur gives all of them equal attention and makes sure that all their needs are met.

All the women, who seem to fawn over Arthur, agree that he is intelligent, attractive, kind, and an incredible person overall. However, jealousy can flare up if Arthur starts spending even a little more time with any specific person. Arthur admitted that it was hard remembering all the names when the new relationships started.

Interestingly, the group has tied the knot with a ceremony to seal the deal. The couple recently introduced Arthur's grandmother to all his girlfriends, who doesn't approve of it because of their culture and religion, but says that she respects his feelings.

This dog looks like her owner

Harriet Harper gets told by strangers that she looks like her dog. Boo, her toy poodle, has beautiful red-haired curls, just like her. However, 28-year-old Harriet says she didn't realise the resemblance when she bought her home. "It didn't go through my mind even once, I am in shock myself. When I got home and looked at us both in the mirror, I realised, we're the same," says Harriet. Family, friends, as well as her fans on the Internet think the two have similar personalities. They both enjoy their separate space and time together. The dog groomer and actress says: "We are naturally very identical."

The tortilla fight fiesta

There's a new bizarre social media trend in town - the #tortillachallenge, which has over 173 million views on video-sharing site TikTok. It involves social media users standing in a circle while holding water in their bulging cheeks, and slapping each other with a tortilla, a circular flatbread commonly used in Mexican cuisine. The first to spit out their water loses. The tortilla slaps can get pretty intense too, as one video with over 13 million views testifies. Ouch!

Lazy Sugar doesn't like horsing around

A mare named Sugar has gone viral for pretending to be asleep when she doesn't feel like working. In the original tweet by user Jim Rose, a photo shows Sugar asleep with the caption, "Meet Sugar, she doesn't like to be ridden. If Sugar is approached with a saddle, she lies down and pretends to be asleep. Sugar refuses to open her eyes until the riders leave." The tweet has over 433,000 likes and nearly 40,000 retweets.

Urine trouble

In an effort to curb the issue of public urination, Boston is launching a pilot programme in which urine detection sensors will be placed in four train station lifts. The sensors, placed on the ceiling of the lifts, will "smell" the urine with the aid of fans and then alert transit ambassadors, who can then dispatch a cleaning crew.

Crouching in the clouds

Air travel just got a lot more uncomfortable. A prototype at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, showcases a new seating arrangement. In lieu of overhead luggage storage, a second row of seats sits upon the other. This leaves those on the top row with only 4.92 feet of space between the seats and the top of the plane, which means passengers won't be able to stand up to get out.

Leave your cats alone

Cats have a reputation as cold and distant animals, yet many owners still form close emotional bonds with their pets. Researchers from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul have warned that cats are more likely to scratch the sofa if they have a close emotional bond with their owner. "Unexpectedly, in our study, cats with the behaviour of scratching furniture or destroying objects were associated with a higher emotional closeness level with the owner," write the researchers. The reason for this link remains unclear.

Money for roaches

A company is paying homeowners $2,000 if they let it release 100 cockroaches in their home

A north Carolina pest control company is offering to pay homeowners $2,000 (Rs 1,56,154) if they agree to let it release 100 cockroaches into their households so it can test a new extermination technique.

Upon receiving the written approval of home-owners, the company will film their trial and hope to have the houses roach-free within 30 days. If cockroaches are still present in your home after the agreed-upon 30 days, the company will still pay you the money, and use tried-and-trusted methods to clear your home.

Company founder David Floyd said they had already received over 2,200 applications for the offer via a dedicated sign-up form on its website. It is to note that this is not the first trial, Floyd had previously released cockroaches into the houses of friends and family of company employees. However, there is no word on whether they've had roach problems after the experiments ended.