YeinJee's Asian Journal

Swedish women have launched a campaign called Just Breasts which fights for their right to go topless on beaches and in swimming pools.

Scandinavian feminists were outraged when two women were asked to cover up their breasts by a lifeguard at a public pool near Stockholm.

A spokeswoman for the group said: ‘We want our breasts to be as normal and desexualised as men’s, so that we too can pull off our shirts at football matches.’

So far, the campaign’s strategy has been devastatingly effective. Members of Just Breasts have been jumping into swimming pools across the country wearing nothing more than bikini bottoms. [Metro]

I bet Swedish men are happily supporting the cause as well.

Thousands of bananas washed up on two Dutch North Sea islands on Wednesday (Nov 7) after at least six containers fell off a cargo ship in a storm and at least one burst open, a local official said.

A one-kilometer (half-mile) stretch of beach on Terschelling island, 115 kilometers (70 miles) north of Amsterdam, was littered with bunches of unripe fruit from Cuba. Bananas also washed up on neighboring Ameland island.

Lots of bananas… (Image courtesy of Metro)

The world’s tallest dog Gibson meeting Boo Boo the world’s smallest dog in Sacramento, California for Guinness World Records Day 2007.

Gibson meets Boo Boo (Image courtesy of BBC, via Spluch)

A poll of 3,931 people, commissioned by UKTV Gold, asked the public to pick the most ludicrous British and foreign laws still in existence, from a shortlist. [Dailymail]

Most ridiculous British laws

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27%)

2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (7%)

3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (6%)

4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day (5%)

5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (4%)

6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman’s helmet (4%)

7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen (3.5%)

8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (3%)

9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour

10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (2%)
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Red Alert was a popular real-time strategy game about a decade ago; it was one of my favourite games and it could be one of the most popular PC games of all time.

Soviet’s Tesla coil is a fictional weapon in the game which could fire a lighting bolt to approaching enemies. It was cool (and cruel) and was a favourite among Red Alert gamers. Not all fans would go to the extend of creating the Tesla coil in real life though, but the folks from Tesla Down Under has just done that, with a bit of help from special effects…

Tesla coil in ‘real’ action (Image courtesy of Tesladownunder, via Neatorama)

Olympique Lyon’s Czech forward Milan Baros was caught speeding at 271 kph in his Ferrari, a club source confirmed on Friday (Nov 2).

Local newspaper Le Progres quoted police as saying the former Liverpool player had broken the record for speeding for that French region, set by a motorcyclist who reached 248 kph in 2000. [Soccernet]

It seems like Baros might have chose the wrong career… he should pick motor sports instead of soccer.

Female giant panda Taotao celebrates her 35th birthday at Jinan Zoo, in eastern China’s Shandong province on Sunday (Oct 28).

Taotao is the eldest giant panda bred in captivity in China. The average life span of giant panda is about 25 years old; zoologists say Taotao’s age is equal to that of a 100-year-old human being. [Cri]

Taotao enjoying her birthday cake

An octopus with nine arms was spotted at the Marusan Seafood Shop in Marugame, Japan (Kagawa prefecture) on October 26, one day after it was caught in the Seto Inland Sea.

Masa Koita, the 60-year-old shop manager, noticed the abnormal Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) after he had boiled it in preparation for market. [Pinktentacle]

Abnormal octopus with 9 arms in Japan

Octopus has 8 arms in case you don’t know… in fact the word Octopus is derived from Greek word which literally translate to ‘eight-legs’.

People often referred to the arms as tentacles, but it is not a biological correct term. Octopuses don’t have tenctacles, squids do.