Funny old world: the week's offbeat news

From a feminist uprising at Miss Universe to a teddy bear children should not be getting this Christmas... Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

- Ms Universe revolts -

What a week it has been for Miss Universe, which has unwittingly created a crack brigade of unlikely feminist heroes.

Mexico's Fatima Bosch won the title -- and widespread acclaim -- after an extraordinary bust-up with contest's Thai director Nawat Itsaragrisil, who sparked a mass walk-out of contestants by allegedly yelling at her that she was a "dumbhead" for talking back to him.

But worse was to follow for the organisers. One of the judges resigned, claiming the voting was rigged, and during the pageant itself Miss Britain tripped on her dress and fell flat on her face on stage. 

Then farce turned to near-tragedy when Miss Jamaica Gabrielle Henry fell off the stage and ended up in hospital.

The omnishambles ended with Mexican prosecutors saying they are investigating Miss Universe supremo Raul Rocha Cantu over arms, drug, and fuel trafficking. 

- It will clean up -

It sounds like everyone needs some time in the "human washing machine", whose Japanese creators claim "not only washes your body but also your soul".

The "spa from the future", a pod in which you lie inside and are cleaned right to "your pores by tiny bubbles", was the hit of the World Expo in Osaka which ended last month, with long queues to see it.

Now the machine, which checks your heart and plays calming music while it washes and dries you in a 15-minute cycle, is now being produced commercially by shower makers Science.

But only in very small numbers, the company said, "because part of the appeal of this machine is rarity".

- Dog ban bites -

Consternation among lovers of canine cuisine in Indonesia after the capital Jakarta outlawed the consumption of dogs and cats.

They are widely eaten across the archipelago nation, though not by its Muslim majority.

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Alfindo Hutagaol told AFP the ban was hard to swallow as he gobbled down some hot dog with green chili sambal at a foodstall. He feared connoisseurs would be tempted to help themselves to strays if the ban is enforced.

- Wolf in chihuahua clothing -

They should be careful. For dogs have far more wolf in them than we thought. Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History found that even chihuahuas have some wolf DNA. "This completely makes sense to anyone who owns a chihuahua," joked study author Audrey Lin.

- Salty computer chips -

There's always chips. South Korea's tech giant SK hynix, which makes semiconductors fuelling the AI boom, has made a foray into snacks.

Its "HBM chips" now on sale in 7-Elevens are a nod to its top-selling High-Bandwidth Memory semiconductors.

The "semiconductor-shaped" corn chips are to help the "public feel more familiar" with the technology, a SK hynix official told AFP, though a beer to go with them might work even better.

- Bad teddy -

An AI-enabled children's teddy bear was pulled after it engaged in sexually explicit conversations and offered instructions on where to find knives.

But AFP found the "Kumma" bear from Singapore-based FoloToy is back on sale despite warnings from consumer groups. 

"For decades the biggest dangers with toys were choking hazards and lead," the US PIRG Education Fund said. But the rise of chatbot-powered gadgets for kids has opened an "unexpected frontier", it added. 

The Kumma bear "looks sweet and innocent. But what comes out of its mouth" is not, researchers warned.

The $99 teddy also gave potentially dangerous advice, telling researchers where to find "knives, pills, matches and plastic bags".

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