The weekly weird

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Motorway passes over apartments

The Shuikousi Bridge in Guiyang passes directly over more than a dozen apartment buildings, creating one of the city’s most unusual residential areas.

Built in 1997, the bridge was later surrounded by low-cost housing to make use of limited land near the city centre. While residents experience constant traffic noise, vibrations and dust, many accept the trade-off for affordable homes in a convenient location.

Authorities later banned heavy trucks from using the bridge to reduce noise and shaking. Today, the community is seen as an innovative solution to housing shortages in the growing city.

AI glasses raise cheating concerns

Chinese universities are facing a rise in exam cheating using AI-powered smart glasses that can photograph questions and display answers. One student was caught after the lenses of his glasses briefly glowed green during an exam.

The glasses use AI models to solve questions without voice commands, and reports say some are even being rented to students with tutorials on how to avoid detection. Experts warn that future versions will look almost identical to ordinary glasses, making them much harder to spot.

Bear trapped in SUV honks for help

Residents of a neighbourhood in Colorado, US, were annoyed by a car horn blaring through the night and were surprised to discover a bear trapped inside an SUV.

The bear, stuck in the front seat, repeatedly leaned on the horn until a resident used a rope to open the vehicle’s door from a safe distance. It then climbed out and ran away.

The unexpected visitor damaged the SUV’s side panel and also triggered the driver’s side airbag.

New trend sees men smashing iPhones

A bizarre TikTok trend has Russian men deliberately scratching, cracking and smashing their iPhones to make the expensive phones look more worn and ‘manly’.

The trend reportedly began after viral posts praised old, battered iPhones over brand-new ones. Some users have damaged their devices so badly that they stopped working, yet the trend continues to spread.

Experts warn that breaking the back glass can ruin the phone’s water resistance and, in some cases, accidentally damage the battery, creating a safety risk.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 22nd, 2026

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