Weird News

A competitive eater is breathing a (fiery) sigh of relief today ... 'cause officials just revealed the man's insane ghost pepper meal back in November has officially become a new watermark.

Gregory Foster gobbled down 17 of the world's spiciest ingredient in one minute roughly nine months ago in San Diego ... and Guinness World Records formally crowned him the new king of heat eating on Wednesday.

It's great news for the guy -- because his run at the record was excruciating.

Check out video of his snack ... the peppers were packed with so much fire, he actually had to wear gloves for the occasion. Yet, somehow, he nearly ate the full plate -- consuming a total of 3.98 ounces -- in 60 seconds, barely beating the old record of 3.42 ounces.

"This attempt was solely a personal endeavour to achieve another Guinness World Record alongside my currently standing [ones]," Foster said after the record was announced Monday. "I love chilli eating and pushing myself."

Of course, Foster is used to feasts like these -- the two other Guinness records he holds are the most Carolina Reaper chilies eaten in one minute, and the fastest time to eat three Carolina Reaper chilies.

He's also the founder of Inferno Farms -- where they make sauces in the hottest flavors -- so, yeah, he's a glutton for this kind of stuff.

A track meet in Colombia turned NSFW real quick on Thursday ... when Italian decathlete Alberto Nonino's junk popped out in the middle of a race.

The unfortunate moment happened in the 400-meter event at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali ... when Nonino was forced to lose his spot at the front of the pack and cover up his privates several times before crossing the finish line.

While the mishap will naturally have some folks giggling and blushing, Nonino went to social media to explain he wasn't in the laughing mood after the race.

"I just want to talk to you a little bit about the rumpus there’s been on blogs and social media in general," Nonino said on Instagram. "I'm conscious it was obviously an accident and I'd like to tell you I’m aware of the reaction and you don't need to send me the links to the blogs out there."

"I'm trying to laugh about it now but immediately afterwards I felt terrible and I'm thankful to my friends and family for helping me get over what happened a few hours later."

The wardrobe malfunction is similar to NFL star Chris Jones' experience at the 2016 NFL combine ... when his own manhood made an appearance during his 40-yard dash.

Colby Covington doesn't only win in the Octagon -- he wins at the card table, too -- recently competing in two high-level poker tourney's in Florida, winning over $70k!!

It all went down at the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open this week in Hollywood, FL. 34-year-old Colby entered a tournament -- the largest in the state's history with over 7,700 entrants -- and astonishingly, playing against many professional players, made the final table, finishing 7th!

For his troubles, CC won $48,298.

After the incredible performance, Covington said he "wanted to come back and prove that wasn’t just a fluke," saying he wanted to show he "could play with the best players in the world.”

That's exactly what the #1 ranked UFC welterweight did ... 'cause days later, Colby entered another tourney, Event 22, at the casino. There were 84 entrants. The game was pot limit Omaha 8.

And he won (!!) ... taking home $25,875 for first place. Altogether, with the prize money from both tournaments, Colby took how $74,143.

But, it clearly wasn't about the money for Colby, who described winning as a “surreal feeling.”

“It’s been a long journey to finally get a trophy here at Seminole Hard Rock. This is my home casino, and I love playing here,” Covington added.

Covington said his strategy in the tournament was to stay away from Phil Hui, a 3-time WSOP bracelet winner who has reportedly earned over $3.6 million during poker tournaments alone.

"He’s a great player, one of the greatest players in the game today," Covington said.

"I know he’s a specialist in high-low, so I wanted to navigate around him and wait to pick really good spots where I felt comfortable with getting the high and the low.”

A group of pigs were pronounced dead for hours as part of a study .... and then, incredibly, scientists got it beating again!

The implications here are staggering for humans ... being able, potentially, to regenerate what is essentially a dead heart and bring people back to life.

Researchers from Yale began pumping synthetic fluids through the bodies of dead pigs, finding their hearts began to faintly beat ...  according to a peer-reviewed study published by Nature.

The team used 2 systems for its test -- the first group of pigs got OrganEx, a device that resembles heart-lung machines ... they also got an experimental mixture of fluids that are supposed to reduce inflammation and provide cellular health.

Some motor function also returned -- the head and neck of some of the dead pigs began to move ... something that shocked everyone. The movements appeared involuntary.

Paraglider Kevin Philipp is lucky to be alive after his glider lines became badly entangled while plummeting to the ground -- before literally getting his rescue parachute open about one second before impact!

And, the entire death-defying ordeal was caught on video.

Philipp shared the terrifying clip Monday ... showing him paragliding thousands of feet in the air when suddenly his lines become tangled. Badly tangled.

KP -- who's an aerobatic paraglider (think crazy stunts under a large glider) -- desperately tried to straighten out the lines, but the attempt was futile.

It appears Philipp attempted to deploy his reserve chute, but that wouldn't open, either.

Then, about a second before the would-be impact, Kevin ripped the bag containing the rescue chute, which then opened ... in all likelihood, saving his life, and at the very least, averting serious injury.

"Oh my God!" Philipp yells after landing (hard) into a small tree.

Philipp posted the video on YouTube, explaining "strong turbulence" caused the lines to tangle.

As for how close he was to disaster, Kevin wrote ... "The falling speed increased a lot due to the twisting wing. Very last chance was to manually open the rescue package. Estimated time left about 1 second This was not the day to die!"

Despite the close call, Philipp says incidents like this are uncommon.

Aviation investigators are scratching their heads over a 10-person plane that took off with 2 pilots, but returned with just one ... after one of them fell to his death while they were midair.

An emergency landing went down at Raleigh Durham International Airport after 23-year-old co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks either fell or jumped to his death Friday while they were in the skies, according to federal authorities.

They were trying to get back to the ground as safe as possible after the plane lost its right wheel ... when Crooks exited the small 10-seater.

His body was found roughly 30 miles away, stuck in the trees of someone's backyard -- he had no parachute on him and authorities believe he fell 3,500 feet.

Both the Federal Aviation Authority and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating whether or not he died before the fall.

The other pilot was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, and released the same day.

Crooks' father, Hew Crooks, told WRAL he's unable to process the news ... saying his son "wouldn’t trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was.”

A NYT piece has Twitter buzzing about a question regarding cannibalism, and why it's so trendy now ... ominously reminding people of an old movie touching on just this topic.

The story published by the paper Saturday is titled, "A Taste for Cannibalism?" ... and the Times' tweet promoting it reads ... 'Cannibalism has a time and a place. Some recent books, films and shows suggest that the time is now. Can you stomach it?"

The whole premise explores why eating people has appeared so prevalently in our pop culture these past few years -- whether it's in newer movies like "Raw" or "Fresh," shows like "Santa Clarita Diet" and "Yellowjackets" ... or even novels of late that delve into the subject.

It's an interesting read -- different theories are mulled, like cannibalism being embraced anew in fiction as a response to angst over the pandemic, climate change, food shortages, capitalism, eating disorders, politics or just old-fashioned thrills from societal taboos.

But as the Times also notes, cannibalism in media is nothing new ... with depictions of it dating back to olden times -- but more recently in films like 'Silence of the Lambs,' or perhaps more prominently in 1973's 'Soylent Green' ... which is trending right now over this.

Naturally, the memes are flying ... with some jokingly pointing out 'SG' actually takes place in the year 2022, and that all this cannibal content might be a forecast of what's to come.

Felice Herrig has turned her tootsies into cash cows -- the combat sports star tells TMZ Sports she's raking in the dough ... by selling her used socks and pics of her feet on OnlyFans!!

Yep, you read that correctly -- the newly-retired MMA fighter and current Bare Knuckle FC fighter tells us she's living very comfortably by snapping shots of her lil bulldogs ... and it's now given her the freedom to fight at her leisure.

Felice tells us all her fans with foot fetishes have asked for some up-close looks for a while now ... and she's more than happy to fulfill their requests.

But, some folks out there even want to possess some of her USED socks ... which she's shelling out for $150!!!

Pretty sweet gig, huh??

The money Herrig is making now has allowed her to fight whenever she wants ... unlike how things were previously in her long career.

As for her new transition over to BKFC, Felice tells us it's the perfect fit for what she's truly passionate about in fighting -- admitting her heart wasn't in MMA.

"Now, it's coming full-circle," Herrig tells us. "I get to go back to doing what I love. And actually, boxing has always been my number one."

Hard to tell who's "winning" the war on drugs in a Colombian town that's now completely shrouded in marijuana smoke, and it's all because the cops lit up a huge pile of pot at the wrong time.

Puff, puff, NO pass is in full effect for residents of Bello ... a suburb of Medellin, which of course is best known for a different drug, but we digress. This citywide hotboxing was set in motion 2 weeks ago, when cops and soldiers started to seize weed from local dealers ... eventually snatching up 1.5 tons of sticky icky from the streets.

Score one for law enforcement, right? Well, on Tuesday some genius decided to torch the confiscated ganja without doing a weather check. Big mistake. Huge.

When the winds shifted the pot cloud started drifting over Bello, and not shockingly residents started reporting a tremendous smell of marijuana. Sounds funny, but officials reportedly had to evacuate several towers in the area, while reassuring citizens there was no danger from fire.

Forget cheering or crying ... Maveric Lamoureux's folks straight up swapped tongues to celebrate their son's selection in Thursday's NHL draft -- and it was such a wet kiss, the broadcast's commentators even noticed it!!!

Just seconds after the Arizona Coyotes drafted Lamoureux -- a Canadian defenseman -- with the 29th pick of the first round ... the 18-year-old's parents got in a little tonsil hockey.

ESPN's cameras managed to catch the PDA -- and, of course, its analysts couldn't help but remark on it.

The guys giggled on-air, with the show's host, John Buccigross, saying, "Get after it, Mom and Dad!"

But, the TV guys weren't the only ones who seemed to notice the makeout sesh ... Lamoureux also appeared to see it, and looked sheepish on stage about it all!

After the kiss, Lamoreux's dad said during an interview that he's very proud of his son, calling it "the best day of my life."

A personal trainer is inspiring the latest exercise fad ... by mimicking what dogs do.

Nathaniel Nolan faced a dilemma ... he wanted to stay fit, but high-intensity workouts caused intense joint pain. So, what's a 31-year-old personal trainer to do ... run like a dog on all 4's.

That's what the Indianapolis dude calls it ... "all fours training." He scurries around on his hands and legs for hours a day ... and it's done wonders for him. Turns out its really good strength training and it made him super flexible. And, you know what flexible dogs can do, so congrats!!!

Nathaniel acknowledges he gets scoffed at by folks who think he's crazy, but he doesn't give a damn. In fact, it's catching on like wildfire ... millions have viewed his doggy-style workouts on TikTok.

He's been doing it for a year and swears by it.

Nathaniel also does exercises of the human variety ... breakdancing, handstands, push-ups, and martial arts ... so exercise doggy-style is not the only game in Indianapolis.

Ciara has Russell Wilson's back -- and also, clearly, his face -- 'cause while the two were on vacation in Italy this week ... she popped some of the pimples on the NFL star's cheeks!

The "Level Up" singer went to town on her hubby's mug on a boat in Lake Como on Tuesday -- after the Denver Broncos quarterback was seen complaining of some pimple pain.

Initially, Russ looked to try to handle the situation himself ... but seconds later, Ciara was spotted jumpin' into the mix for him.

No word if she got the goods out of the pores -- but it's clear even with the possibility of a few blemishes on his face, Russ still looks good as hell heading into his 11th NFL season.

The 33-year-old, rockin' a pair of red swim trunks and sunglasses, looked jacked ... with his pecs, biceps and abs on full display while he was topless near the water.

Ciara, meanwhile, also stunned in a pair of bathing suits.

Joey Chestnut's inner dog wasn't going to be deterred by a would-be human torpedo, who tried derailing his wiener gobbling mid-competition ... but failed, 'cause the guy won anyway.

The reigning Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champ successfully defended his title Monday in Coney Island, where year after year he comes back to devour dozens of dogs in a matter of 10 minutes. This year, he did it again ... downing 63 franks, far ahead of the competition.

But something nuts happened about midway through ... a dude in a Darth Vader mask made his way onstage and made contact with JC -- and the King didn't take too kindly to that!

Check it out ... rather than let security haul the poser away (which they eventually did), Joey took care of this punk himself -- putting the whipper-snapper in a headlock and yanking him around a bit, before getting back to stuffing his face. He didn't even think twice about it.

We got video of the aftermath ... namely, this poor sap being dragged away to be dealt with -- but it's insane that Joey still won the race even with this major interruption.

Ya gotta wonder if it actually affected the number of sausages he was ultimately able to inhale. While 63 is nothing to sneeze at -- and way more than anyone else got to -- it doesn't compare to his record 76 hot dogs from last year.

Maybe the dark side did actually get to Joey after all. Oh well ... congrats, man!

The days of MLB players and managers arguing ball and strikes calls with behind-the-plate umps appear to be numbered ... 'cause the league's commish, Rob Manfred, says he's expecting a transition to robot umps to take place in just a few years.

Manfred made the proclamation as part of a lengthy interview with ESPN this week ... saying a move to replace umps with an automated strike zone is likely to happen by 2024.

The idea, according to Manfred, is that taking arguments over subjective calls out of the game would speed up the duration of contests fairly significantly, and perhaps attract more fans.

Of course, the system is currently being tested out in the minor leagues ... and Manfred said this week he and other MLB officials are pleased with how that's gone.

"We have an automated strike zone system that works," Manfred said.

No word yet on how the robot umps would look -- Manfred said balls and strikes could be called down to a human working behind home plate, or managers could have the ability to check umps' calls with the system.

UFO expert Jeremy Corbell says at least 100 crafts from out of this world swarmed a fleet of Navy warships ... pushing back against a Naval chief who told Congress it was just drones.

Corbell -- who's long been calling on the U.S. government to take UFOs seriously -- says a dozen crewmembers on the warships told him the unknown objects showed otherworldly capability and definitely weren't drones.

The documentary filmmaker told the Daily Mail the UFOs present a serious national security issue and should not be dismissed out of hand ... in response to Deputy Director for Naval Intelligence Scott Bray, who told Congress he's reasonably confident the objects captured on video back in July 2019 off the Southern California coast are drones.

Corbell says the videos, which have been verified by the Pentagon, show UFOs hovering above Navy warships for hours on end, with at least one disappearing into the ocean without a trace.

While the Navy told Congress during last month's historic UFO hearing the objects were likely battery-powered drones, Corbell says the flight maneuvers would rule out drones ... he says witnesses in the Navy told him the objects moved from air to sea and even darted up into the upper atmosphere. He also says the objects were in the air for at least 4 hours, with flashing lights the entire time, which would drain man-made batteries in way less time.

Former President Bill Clinton made a pretty stunning and important revelation ... he said during his time in office he sent federal agents to Area 51 in Nevada to find if aliens were among us.

Clinton told James Corden on 'Late Late Show' ... he and Chief of Staff John Podesta "sent people to Area 51 to make sure there were no aliens." He also said he wanted a full briefing on Roswell.

Among the folks, Clinton sent to the Nevada site which has been shrouded in mystery for decades ... National Security Advisor Sandy Berger.

The ex-Prez said, "I said we got to find out how we're going to deal with this because that's where we do a lot of our invisibility research in terms of technology, like how we fly airplanes that aren't picked up by radar and all that. So that's why they're so secretive."

And, then he gave his conclusion, with an asterisk ... "But there's no aliens that I know [of]."

But, there's this ... he says he's been told by credible astronomers there's up to a 95% chance there's life outside our solar system.

Here's the thing ... the Pentagon has finally cracked open the door and admitted there are more than 140 sightings they've analyzed and cannot explain, and some of them defy human technology. Congress has held hearings, although the effort was anemic and lots of people still believe our government is hiding vital information that, at the very least, could be a national security risk to our military planes and warships.