Whale of a letdown

The robotic whale shark in the zoo

What was supposed to be the grand reopening of Xiaomeisha Sea World, quickly turned into a whale-sized disappointment. After a five-year renovation, the aquarium in Shenzhen, China drew in about one lakh visitors with promises of a spectacular new attraction: a 60-foot whale shark, the world's largest fish. Anticipation was high, but what guests found wasn't quite what they had in mind.

A closer look at the faux shark. PICS/NYPOST

Instead of a majestic sea creature, visitors were greeted by a robotic whale shark with noticeable gaps between its mechanical segments. The disappointment was palpable, it wasn't long before visitors started demanding refunds, and the Internet was flooded with complaints.

In response to the backlash, the aquarium explained that the mechanical whale shark was meant to emulate real ones. The real sharks are protected under law and are banned from trading. While their intentions may have been good, the explanation did little to soothe the outrage. Interestingly, two other China zoos have recently come under fire - one for dyeing Chow Chow dogs and presenting them as pandas, and the other, where people started speculating that the sun bears were just human beings in costume.

Fake judge gets in real trouble

This man was running a fake court, pronouncing ‘judgments' on land cases

Morris Samuel Christian thick in the act of running a fake court

A man in Gujarat was detained for running a fake court. Named Morris Samuel Christian, the man had been running this fraud for the last five years. Things came to a stop when a police complaint was received and the matter went into the hands of the Ahmedabad Civic Court. Christian acted as a judge in these fake courts, dealing mostly with land cases and delivering judgments in favour of his clients. His associates posed as court personnel to fool their clients into believing they were in a real court.

The sham was finally apprehended after Hardik Desai, Registrar of the City Civil Court in Bhadra, filed a complaint against Christian at the Karanj Police Station in Ahmedabad. The police reported that a case has been registered against the accused under sections 170, 419, 420, 465, 467, and 471 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), leading to his arrest.

Optimus will help you optimise

As Tesla unveiled its newest innovation - the Optimus, a humanoid robot - the Internet had a field day making memes out of it. The robot, which will retail anywhere between $20,000 and $30,000, can do anything you'd like it to do, be it walking a dog or mowing your lawn.

Monkey's boozy binge

A cheeky capuchin monkey in Brazil is going viral after chugging a beer it scavenged from a trash can, proving that happy hour knows no species. While the tipsy tree-swinger enjoyed its drink, experts warn that giving wildlife human food can lead to health issues and aggressive behaviour. Remember, even monkeys shouldn't monkey around with booze!

Scam Branch of India

In Chhattisgarh's Chhapora, a seemingly legit SBI branch turned out to be an elaborate scam, complete with a fake manager, bogus staff, and a convincing office setup. After ten days of no real work, six "real" cashiers went to the cops, which revealed that they had been conned.

‘Sole searching'

A 28-year-old man in Greece was sentenced to probation for sneaking into neighbours' homes to sniff their shoes. Admitting his foot fetish, he told the court he was embarrassed but meant no harm. Despite several complaints, his nocturnal shoe-sniffing spree continued, landing him in court.

Digging deep

The Nano Tracks N320 may be 1/64 the size of a real excavator, but it's fully functional! With six motors, precise RC controls, and a R2,25,33,449 kickstarter success, it's a tiny triumph for construction enthusiasts. Maker Jonathan Abbott built it from scratch after finding no options online.