Weird news - Woman falls into a ravine, develops genius like abilities in some areas

The brain is a strange and wonderful organ, not fully understood as yet, and highly complicated. When researchers feel that they have understood something, some new occurrence happens which makes everybody feel that there is a lot left to be understood. Why somebody is born a genius while others are of normal capabilities is not fully understood; in fact, why somebody is a genius in terms of chess vs. a gifted musician is also not understood. But what is being written here is even less understood. A fall into a ravine could cause severe injuries, or in some cases, depending on the height and the method of falling, even death could happen. But for the brain to be impacted in such a way that capability changes have happened while most of the life before the accident is forgotten is not totally unknown, but is extremely rare. In this case, this rancher fell into a ravine, and has forgotten most of the past life, but has developed what is called the Savant syndrome, and is extensively interested in the arts and in mathematics. Such an occurrence is very rare, and besides the impact on the person, the impact on others who were close to the lady would also be severe (link to article):

A former rancher has developed enhanced cognitive ability following a brain injury and is now an artist and poet who 'hears' colour and 'sees' sound. Leigh Erceq, form Northwestern Colorado, was diagnosed with Savant Syndrome after falling into a ravine and suffering spine and brain injuries. She remembers nothing of her life before the accident, not even the name of her mother, but since her fall she has developed new capabilities. The 47-year-old is alleged to have been a 'tomboy' NASCAR fan with no interest in the arts or mathematics, prior to the accident. She is now said to "see" sound and "hear" colours when she listens to music and enjoys tackling mathematical equations, according to ABC News Nightline.

Weird news - Toddler burned because her parents owed money

Sometimes you read news which makes you feel that people can be incredibly cruel, heartless. When you consider the case of toddlers and infants, they are essentially helpless to protect themselves or take care of themselves. In such a case, if there is news of somebody torturing a toddler for punishment of what their parent would have done, it seems something that only a heartless person could do, and the punishment for such an action needs to be accordingly harsh. One does know that people feel strongly when they see such mistreatment, and when you consider the parents, they can put whatever effort it takes to ensure that their children are safe. It is all the more problematic when the child has been tortured because of debt that their parents owed; however, no matter what the reason, it is not permissible to torture a small child who does not know what is happening and whose screams would surely be traumatic to hear (link to article):

According to police, Seema and her husband Ranith tortured a two year-old girl, Bhuvaneswari, daughter of Lakshmi and Ashwin Kumar of Bengaluru after they reportedly failed to repay a debt of Rs 3,000. Seema and Lakshmi worked together in a brick kiln near Bengaluru five months ago. “Lakshmi borrowed Rs 3,000 from Seema while they were working in the kiln. After the contract work in the kiln got over, Seema asked Lakshmi to come to Tirupattur and work here to repay the debt. She came along with her husband and two children and was living in rented house in Ambedkar Nagar in the town,” said the police official.

Weird news: Come naked to class to pass the exam

Seems very weird, right ? The background to a lawsuit for emotional damages, but this is apparently something that has been happening for some time. But this is part of a visual arts class, an elective that is not mandatory for graduating (as specified by the University when there was an uproar after this information became public and became viral). The course itself makes things somewhat clear in its description, referencing to an erotic self assignment. And the professor talked about the exam where the exam-takers are supposed to be naked, as conducted in candle-light (and hence low light) and with the professor also being without classes.
However, even though the students may know what is happening and what the course is about, the parents of students would certainly not be so familiar, and being parents, it would be expected that some of them would get very agitated about a school course expecting their children to get naked in order to pass, and the mother of one of the students made an uproar about this. However, the professor is standing his ground and seems unfazed by the uproar (and maybe the uproar would die down quickly) (link to article):

Professor Ricardo Dominguez of UC San Diego has taking an elective course on "performing the self" for 11 years now with the same drill and he says no one had ever complained - until this week when the mother of a student flipped when she heard about it and went public. She accused the professor of "perversity" and said the final test was "just wrong." "To blanketly say, 'You must be naked in order to pass my class' - it makes me sick to my stomach," she told a local television station while declining to reveal her identity or that of her daughter. But Prof Dominguez was least fazed by the resulting uproar on social media as the story went viral. He said the class would be dimly lit with candles and he too would be in the buff with the students as part of the assignment. "It's a standard canvas for performance art and body art," Dominguez said. "If they are uncomfortable with this gesture, they should not take the course."

Weird news - Baby born with abnormality, called 'plastic skin'

The joy of human birth, of the arrival of a new life, can sometimes be marred by some problem that has occurred during the development phase of the baby. Genetics and the chance mutation of one or more genes can cause weird conditions to happen; and sometimes these conditions are so rare that they are unknown to many doctors and reference to journals would be required. It can be very painful for parents who joy is suddenly marred due to fear and uncertainty, such as in this case.
Imagine a baby who is born with a condition where the skin looks like a yellow or shiny film which then peels off at regular intervals, which makes it painful.
The disease is relatively rare, happening only once in every six hundred thousand babies (link to article):

Ever heard about a "plastic baby" who looks like a rubber doll and sheds skin like that of reptile scales. A plastic baby born in Amritsar has become the centre of attraction in the region as birth of such babies is rare and occurs once among six lakh newborns. The plastic newborns are scientifically known as collodion babies. He said that plastic babies develop cracks in their skin after birth and baby's membrane gets peeled off automatically within a period of 15 to 30 days. In some cases, the plastic coating-like skin makes the life of the child miserable. The baby remains under constant threat of infection when the body sheds skin. This threat remains all life. Collodion babies, who are often premature, are also known as plastic babies. They are born encased in a skin that resembles a yellow, tight and shiny film or dried collodion (sausage skin). The collodion membrane undergoes desquamation or peeling, which is very painful.

Weird news:Girl student prevented from attending school because of long skirt

When a state gets into the business of defining a rule that is somewhat subjective in nature, there will be many cases which will act as a test of the law; there will be people having differing interpretations and hence there will be controversy. This is enhanced when this involves religions, such as is the case in France right now. For years, France struggled with how to reconcile religious practices with personal liberty. One of the biggest challenges was the restrictions imposed in Islamic society and culture balanced against the concept of personal liberty that France holds dear. So, the concept of veil or the full body cover worn by Muslim women was grating, and as a result, France mandated a law in 2004 due to which no obvious religious symbols could be worn - the yarmulke, the Christian cross, the Muslim veil, the Sikh Turban, all were banned under this law.
The law is clear in the most part, but there are cases when it comes upto the interpretation of the person who is in a position to decide, such as in this case. A muslim girl student wore a full length black skirt, which could be seen as a form of style, but it was seen as a religious symbol and she was sent home under this law. This has created a controversy, since the religious symbolism of a long black skirt is not so apparent (it could be argued that the girl was following fashion rather than a religious / cultural diktat) (link to article):

France is facing a fresh backlash against its strict secular policy after it emerged a 15-year-old Muslim girl was sent home from school because she was wearing a long black skirt. The student, named as Sarah, was twice blocked from classes because the principal said her skirt broke a ban on religious signs in schools. The girl removed her headscarf but said the skirt was not a religious symbol. Nicolas Cadene, an official advising the prime minister on secular issues, has said that wearing a long black skirt to school does not break the rules. A ban on Muslim headscarves and other "conspicuous" religious symbols at state schools was introduced in 2004, and widely welcomed in a country where the separation of state and religion is enshrined in law.

Weird news: A speeding ticket that cost 54,000 euros

That's right ? Don't fall off your chair, even when a speeding ticket in the US can cost around $400 plus, it seems a lot and is painful. However, in Finland, the fines are not on a fixed amount basis, but based on a formula that involves the person's income. So, the higher the income, the higher the pain involved. There has been a of principle about how a fixed amount as speeding ticket hardly matters to a rich person, after all, for a person who earns more than a million every year, a speeding fine of $400 hardly will send any message while it will be problematic for a person who earns less than $60,000 per year.
But when you see this principle in operation, the outcome seems very weird. For example, in this case, the person clocked an annual income of 6.5 million euros in the previous year, and hence when factoring that into the formula, the speeding fine was calculated to 54,000 euros. The person was so shocked at this fine that he posted the fine in disgust, although many people felt that the ticket amount was fine, that it was only an amount such as this which would impact somebody so rich (link to article):

Finland's speeding fines are linked to income, with penalties calculated on daily earnings, meaning high earners get hit with bigger penalties for breaking the law. So, when businessman Reima Kuisla was caught doing 103km/h (64mph) in an area where the speed limit is 80km/h (50mph), authorities turned to his 2013 tax return, the Iltalehti newspaper reports. He earned 6.5m euros (£4.72m) that year, so was told to hand over 54,000 euros. The scale of the fine hasn't gone down well with Mr Kuisla. "Ten years ago I wouldn't have believed that I would seriously consider moving abroad," he says on his Facebook page. "Finland is impossible to live in for certain kinds of people who have high incomes and wealth."

Weird news - Girl calls off wedding because groom did not know counting

In today's world, education and literacy is all important, and is the key to making your life and increasing ones position in life. However, there are many places where education remains a problem, especially in poorer parts of the world. Educational facilities are not in place, people do not place the same premium on getting educated as do people in more educated parts of the world. The Government in place also does not use all the instruments in its power to ensure that people get an education. However, people do realize the necessity of having an education, such as this would be bride who realized that her groom (in an arranged marriage) was illiterate, and she did not want to spend her life with an uneducated person; so she did a small test which the groom failed (I am sure it would have been different if she had selected the groom herself, but in an arranged marriage, she wanted to ensure that she got the best) (link to article)

His inability to count had cost a would-be-groom his marriage as the bride refused to tie the knot in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place on Friday when the groom, Manoj, was to get married in Maritar village in Ballia. However, after initial rituals, the bride, who is a graduate, suspected the groom to be illiterate, the girl's family said. The girl then asked him to count currency notes in which he failed after which she refused to marry him.