Toddler fails to recognise dad after he shaved his beard
By Leo Black This is the hilarious moment a toddler failed to recognise his dad - after seeing him without his beard for the first time.
Dad Aditya Aggarwal, 36, had had a beard since 2020 so when he shaved it off Arivan Aggarwal, two, didn't recognise him.
A funny video shows the pair playing peekaboo and Arivan confused to see his dad clean-shaven.
Aditya, a regional operations manager from Surrey, B.C., Canada, said: "I did it just to see my kid's reaction.
"He was just amazed for a couple of hours then all was OK when mom explained.
"He accepted me after couple of hours due to my voice."
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Hero ‘gorilla’ helps direct traffic
By Fintan McGuinness
Perplexed drivers couldn't believe their eyes when a "gorilla" began directing traffic.
Lee Chapman donned the costume of the large ape in an attempt to ease traffic on gridlocked roads in Watford, Herts, and cheer up frustrated drivers stuck in their cars.
Roadworks in the area meant temporary traffic lights had to be set up in the area, but motorists began getting aggravated as they caused 'havoc' on local roads.
However, what the angry motorists hadn't been expecting once they'd freed themselves from the traffic was a man in a full-body gorilla costume directing them around the lane closures.
Temporary lights on Hagden Lane in the town were said to have been poorly synchronised - with other lights nearby causing long queues to back up past a nearby junction during the multi-week works.
Although he's now revealed his identity as the mystery ape, 55-year-old Mr Chapman had initially asked to remain anonymous, quipping that there are so many roadworks in the area that his services would be in such high demand that 'everyone would want a gorilla'.
Puzzled but sufficiently amused drivers responded to the stunt by cheering as they passed and honking their horns - with some even turning back to get a second view.
Electrician Lee's wife, full-time carer Sally Chapman, said her husband had donned the gorilla suit to bring some cheer to the miserable drivers stuck in traffic.
The 47-year-old mum-of-two said: "Lee put it on because the traffic was bad and everyone kept beeping at each other and getting angry.
"So he thought he would make it a little more fun and put the gorilla outfit on - everyone loved it.
"Cars where honking their horns and people were turning around to come through the lights again to video him.
"People walking were taking videos and selfies with him… It definitely cheered up the day."
One local who witnessed the bizarre scene commented that it's 'not every day you get a gorilla in Watford'.
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“I’ve found $2m worth of treasure dumpster diving”
By Amy Reast
A dumpster diver says she’s found $2MILLION worth of thrown-away goods – including a $500 Dyson hairdryer, a $400 Le Creuset cookware and a $500 robot vacuum.
Jennifer Lleras, 40, started digging around in the dumpsters 20 years ago at college.
And while she’s now a full time marketing agency owner with enough money to live on, she enjoys “rescuing” goods thrown away by stores so they don’t go to waste.
She sorts and donates most of what she finds to charities, schools, women’s shelters and libraries, but sometimes keeps “treasures”.
Jennifer said she once found a $500 Dyson air wrap hairdryer, complete with all the attachments – in perfect condition – as well as a $500 Roomba vacuum cleaner.
She’s also saved a $400 Le Creuset Dutch oven, designer handbags and pricey jewellery.
Jennifer’s home is now kitted out with a full home security system, robot vacuums on every floor, a voice-activated bin and high-end cookware – all sourced from dumpsters.
She often finds giant bags full of unworn clothes, beauty supplies, non-perishable food packages, books and school supplies.
Jennifer said “nothing makes me happier than when I’m finding things I can donate” – but loves to find the odd luxury item that she’d never buy for herself, too.
She sometimes ends up in tears at how wasteful big retail suppliers can be.
Mum-of-two Jennifer, from Baltimore, Maryland, US, said: “I find it fun – it’s like treasure hunting.
“I go maybe once a week – I just go whenever I’m out running an errand, I’ll go check out the dumpsters.
“I have even gifted dumpster finds to family before – my sister loves when I find decorations and kitchenware to go in her home.
“I don’t think it saves me a ton of money because I keep things I like, not things I need.
“But thinking of everything I’ve found, it works out about $100k a year.”
Jennifer first started the hobby after an art professor suggested she have a hunt through a dumpster for materials.
Now married with a house, two teenage children and a successful marketing business, she still likes to have a rummage when she sees a dumpster.
When she finds a haul of goods, she loads them into her truck before taking them back to her home to sort through.
Even if items have sustained a bit of damage in the dumpster, she’ll do DIY to make them useable again before she distributes them.
Jennifer said: “I do keep a bit for myself but I’m not a hoarder.
“My house isn’t cluttered but if I find things I need or can use, I will hold onto them.
“You can’t dumpster dive anywhere – Maryland has quite relaxed laws around this so it’s OK for me to do here.
“I do get asked if I’m poor and that’s why I do it – but it’s just a hobby for me.
“I do it more because I can help others than myself.”
Jennifer said: “It is really fun but sometimes it does make me sad – once I found a dumpster full of kids art supplies. That really affected me.
“I get a lot of feedback from the places I donate to. They’re very thankful.”
While she has often benefitted from her finds, she wishes she didn’t have to.
She said: “I wish I had the capacity to make legislation that would change things.
“It’s really sad that the stores could take this stuff and donate them somewhere they will be used but they don’t.
“Sometimes the stores even destroy things before they dump then, with paint or bleach, and it breaks my heart.
“I find that even worse than throwing it away.”
Grandparents drive 86 miles to bring snow to their great-grandbaby – who had never seen it before
By Leo Black
A couple drove 86 miles with snow in the back for their truck to show it to their great-grandchild for the first time.
Russ Furse and Carol Nelson filled their pickup truck and drove almost two hours so the tot could see snow.
Russ and Carol had recently become great-grandparents for the third time after their grandson Alex Chavers, 31, and his fiancé Jesse Rood, 25, had their third child.
They had planned to visit their grandson and his family so when it snowed they decided to bring it to them.
Russ, a retired police lieutenant, drove from Lake Arrowhead in California, USA, to Huntington Beach in California with their pickup truck full of snow.
Jesse, a stay-at-home mum, said: : "It filled about 75% of the bed of the pickup truck, so we guess about 600-700lbs of snow.
"The baby had never seen the snow before and they were coming to visit us anyways so they brought it down for all the kids to play."
Carter, then one, and his siblings Jacob and Adam Chavers, then 10 and 9, had a blast.
Jesse added: "All the kids absolutely loved it.
"They all were playing snowball fight, running around we even built a mini snowman. Carter was feeling the snow and was amazed by it.
"He was laughing and ended up even throwing a little snowball at his big brothers."
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Dog lodged inside car engine after chasing a cat
By Samuel Wightwick
A dog was rescued after getting lodged inside a car engine.
Nova, a two-year-old weimaraner, had wedged herself deep into the engine area of a ’67 Chevy Nova after chasing a cat into the cramped space.
The American Humane Society (AHS) were called to the scene near 67th Ave. and Camelback Rd. in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
After about 15 minutes of working to ensure her limbs were free, the rescuers were able to gently pull the 49-pound dog to safety.
AHS Field Operations Manager Ruthie Jesus said that during her 10 years working in the field, only one other dog had been stuck in a car engine but never a full-sized dog like Nova.
Straight after being released, the initially scared dog instantly became happy, wagging her tail in appreciation of her rescuers.
After a few days of medical observation, Nova received her spay surgery and is now up for adoption.
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Tourists in Peru caught Alpaca heading home from work in a TAXI!
By Leo Black
This is the bizarre moment tourists in Peru caught an Alpaca commuting home from work in a taxi.
Panchita the alpaca goes to and from the Cuzco's Mariott Hotel in a taxi every day to greet guests and take pictures with them.
Frank Sheldon, 50, was in Cuzco for his 50th birthday when he met Panchita and its owner Kelly.
After a day at work, Kelly stands outside the hotel with Panchita and waves down cabs.
Frank, a tourist from Torrance, California, USA, said: "They live on a farm 30 minutes from downtown.
"She just waves down the driver from the street so the driver does know what he is signing up for.
"I kept asking Kelly how she got to work and she told me a taxi.
"I thought: 'I must be wrong and it's just a lost-in-translation moment or maybe she meant like a pickup truck that is a taxi.'"
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Moment couple found out they were expecting twins – for the second time!
By Samuel Wightwick
A couple did a double take after an ultrasound revealed they were expecting twins - for the second time.
Jessica, 34, and Victor Ortega, 36, are already parents to fraternal twin girls and they are now expecting another pair - a boy and a girl.
As she went into her ultrasound appointment Jessica decided she wanted to record the moment.
Jessica, an HR manager in Houston, Texas, USA, said: "I took the video to have as a memory but I actually felt a bit bad when I saw mine and my husband's reaction.
"It was more shock than overjoyed, but I think that was more natural than anything else. We were just so surprised."
According to Multiples of America, a non-profit organization supporting families of multiple birth children, once you have had fraternal twins, the chances of having another set are three to four times higher.
Jessica always wanted a third child and knew the risks of a second set of twins whilst trying.
She said: "I wanted one more baby after we had our first set of twins.
"Victor used to joke around and say that knowing our luck we would end up having twins again!
"Sure enough he was right and we did!"
Jessica didn't find the news easy to come to terms with at first, and her feelings were mixed about the situation.
She said: "When we found out I just cried a lot. I went through every emotion.
"I called my mum and sister on facetime and basically said 'why would god send me more twins?'
"They were, of course, super excited and they said to me that I'm such a great mum and did such a great job with first twins that God decided to send me two more."
Despite her initial fears and trepidation about going through the twins experience again, Jessica said that her family reminded her of just how lucky she is.
She said: "Shortly after we got the news, my brother-in-law and sister came over and said 'lets go and have dinner to celebrate'
"I didn't feel like celebrating at all. They were saying how lucky I was but I didn't feel lucky.
"But they reminded me that there were so many people out there that can't have kids at all and I'd been blessed with four.
"Thinking about that completely got me over being scared and made me realise I have what so many people want. It really is a blessing.
"I had so many comments on TikTok too saying 'you're so lucky I wanted twins this whole time."
The couple's four-year-old twin girls Camilla and Victoria are both very excited and they even seemed to know about the pregnancy before their parents.
Jessica said: "So we found out on labour day that I was pregnant.
"When I dropped the girls off at daycare, the teacher came to me and said 'Congrats! I heard you’re having a baby'.
"So I said 'Thanks we only found out yesterday' and the teacher said 'Yesterday? The girls have been telling me for two weeks straight that you're pregnant!"
Jessica says that the girls even managed to guess the gender of the babies.
She explained: "We asked them do they think the babies will be two girls, two boys or a boy and a girl and they constantly said a boy and a girl and never changed their minds."
The twins, who are going to be named Vincent and Carolina, are due on May 13 but Jessica has a c-section booked for 29th April.
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“I’m a blind dad – I add braille to books so I can read to my daughter”
By Amy Reast
A blind dad puts braille on his baby's story books so he can read them to her - because he promised not to let his blindness "get in the way of being a good parent".
Anthony Ferraro, 28, was born blind but grew up being told he could still do anything he wanted to.
So when he and his wife, Kelly, 35, had their first child, NAME, five months ago, Anthony was determined to bond with his little girl as any other parent would.
One thing he wanted to be able to do was read his daughter bedtime stories - so he and Kelly found a way to make that happen.
Now, whenever their little girl is bought a new book, they use a special machine to add a braille overlay.
It means Anthony is able to have the same bonding experience with his daughter as any other new dad would.
He feels "the only disability in life is a bad attitude" and says he'll "never let excuses get in the way of things" when it comes to his parenting.
Anthony, a content creator and motivational speaker, from Spring Lake, New Jersey, US, said: "Being a dad has been incredible, the whole journey.
"Being a blind dad, finding ways to bond with my daughter aren't so obvious.
"But if I can braille things, I can read it just like normal.
"I feel it's a really important bonding moment between us and I feel so grateful I can have that with her.
"I always told myself that no matter what, I won't let my blindness get in the way of being the best dad I can be."
Anthony is the only person in his family to be born blind, due to him having a rare degenerative eye condition.
But he said his parents didn't "coddle" him and encouraged him to have a get-up-and-go attitude.
Anthony began learning braille in his first years of school - while his classmates learnt to read and write, he learnt the equivalent in braille.
Growing up, he went to a school for the blind and decided to go for his goals, no matter what they were.
He spent years of his life playing judo to an international level and was even training for the Paralympics before an injury last year put his gold medal goals on hold.
But he always wanted to be a dad - and in WHAT MONTH of 2023, wife Kelly gave birth to their daughter.
Anthony said: "I always told myself no matter what, I want to be a dad and have a family."
Alongside adding braille to her reading books so they can bond during story time, Anthony says he's taught his daughter to communicate with noises to attract his attention.
He said: "She knows she has to make noise for me to look at her.
"She has learnt to use more 'coos' with me than with my wife, and she is very vocal.
"But even when she is quiet, I can't see the smile on her face, but I can feel it."
Anthony said he has learnt to change his little girl's nappies even without being able to see them - it just takes "a few more wipes" than for someone with full vision.
He says once his daughter starts to walk, he'll put little bells on her ankles so he can still play with her.
He also plans to put bells inside of her toys and balls so they can play together in the garden.
Anthony added: "I have blind friends that are scared to have kids in case their kid is blind.
"But I always told myself that's not a reason not to have children.
"Anything could always happen to any child, but if my kid ends up blind who would be a better teacher for them than me?"
"I told myself if my child wasn't born blind then they can drive me around when they turn 17 - and my daughter isn't blind."
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People – from around the world – queue for THREE HOURS to buy humble cheese and bean jacket potato
By Ed Chatterton
A jacket potato seller has been dubbed the new 'Binley Mega Chippy' after becoming a global TikTok sensation attracting visitors from across the world.
Ben Newman - aka Spudman - has seen customers queuing for up to three hours to get their hands on his famous spuds in the quaint market town of Tamworth, Staffs.
People have been flocking from as far as the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia to his humble jacket potato van after his videos took the internet by storm.
The 39-year-old now sells up to 1,500 jackets a day priced between £4 to £5 each after racking up 2.6 million followers and 41.6 million likes on TikTok.
Dad-of-nine Ben says he has no idea how he became an unlikely tourist attraction for young people after originally joining TikTok to keep an eye on his children.
Since then, his simple videos of him sharing culinary tips and daily life as a jacket potato vendor on his trailer have exploded in popularity.
Ben has even earned his own personal fanbase in Hawaii and admits he is still baffled by his newfound fame and becoming a millennial craze.
Ben, of Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs., said: "I still can't quite get my head around what's happening. It's just been crazy and absolutely mind-blowing.
"I have no social media training or experience. When my son, who is now 16, put TikTok in front of me I just thought 'I need to keep an eye on you on this'.
"But I soon realised it wasn't just for dancing girls, so I uploaded a few videos of me making a potato using just a Go-Pro and a decent camera.
"When they began hitting a few thousand views each I thought I could use this to promote the business. But I never expected what happened next.
"It was October and we had around 400,000 followers, which I was chuffed with to be honest, then all of a sudden it started to explode.
"For no real reason that I'm aware of, some videos were getting millions of views. One has had almost 100 million views.
"We worked out if you sat down to watch that video 100 million times, you'd be watching it for 60 years.
"All of a sudden people from across the world were turning up - from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and USA.
"The most surreal moment was this couple from Malaysia, who hadn't come to the UK for a holiday - they came just solely to see me.
"They caught a flight to Gatwick and then hired a car to drive to little old Tamworth solely for a jacket potato.
"The amount of people I've been able to connect with and meet from all over the world is just crazy and incredibly humbling.
"Every single customer has been awesome. Its not just millennials, we have middle-aged families here too.
"We've become a tourist attraction. Our best seller is probably the classic cheese and beans."
Ben says he can't even walk through his home town anymore without being stopped in the street due to his new local celebrity status.
His fame has spawned Spud Man merchandise sold online in the form of keyrings, tote bags, aprons and clothing,
He added: "It has opened up some incredible opportunities for me. I honestly can't walk through town anymore without being stopped.
"I never sought celebrity status, I just wanted my little jacket potato van to do well. I won't tour or open my own shop - I love my trailer too much.
"I just try to be authentic and honest and I think that's what people like. I don't really know, you'd need to ask them."
Ben has been at the same location for more than 20 years after setting up his own business called Newman's Catering at the age of 18.
He became Spudman around two years ago and believes his late father, who was a jacket potato merchant, would be proud of his recent success.
In the wake of the pandemic he started using his @spudarmy account to promote his business but said he "never believed" this would be the outcome.
Ben, who lives with partner Sarah Simpson,37, AKA Spudwife, said: "It's all been beyond my wildest dreams.
"I just try and have fun with the videos. People seem to enjoy the livestreams but I enjoy filming people's responses when I give them a free spud.
"I've seen the Binley Mega Chippy comparison but I like to feel we've worked a little harder than that.
"They were a meme and it happened by chance. We know it will drop off but we want to keep going for as long as we can and to put Tamworth firmly back on the map.
"If we do well, so does the town. Its all about promoting local businesses and also every jacket potato seller out there.
"There is one in your own town, go and support them.
"My grandad was a farmer and my dad was a jacket potato merchant, I think they would be proud."
Ben sports a trademark pink mohawk, which he got to raise money for kidney research, after suffering his own health battles.
He suffered three failed kidney transplants - in 2014, 2016 and 2019 - and will be on dialysis for the rest of his life.
Last weekend he raised over £11,000 for Kidney Research UK by giving away 2,200 free jacket potatoes to people in the town.
He said: "There's not a lot of dialysis patients who are as active as me and I want to try and show a positive side of it and help support the charity where I can.
"I'm trying to put out a positive message to them and that they can be normal whilst having kidney failure."
Customer April Hall, 38, a support worker, travelled an hour from Telford, Shrops., to try a Spudman jacket potato with cheese and tuna yesterday (Tue).
She said: "Some of the guys I support have been going on about him for weeks after watching all of his stuff online.
"I'm not really into social media that much so it all seemed a bit bizarre to me but I promised them we would go and see him.
"We came early to avoid the queues and he is such a nice man. The jacket potato was lovely too.
"It's amazing to see normal, down to earth people making it in life so credit to him. He has done really well to get this following and we were happy to support him."
Another customer, McDonald's manager Lewis Rochelle, 18, of Cannock Staffs., said: "I just wanted to see what the fuss was about.
"I paid £5 for a jacket with cheese and beans and it was really good, so it was well worth the trip.
"I saw his videos before Christmas when he had about a hundred thousand followers - but its just exploded.
"Every one in two videos is about him at the moment. It's mad. I've not had to travel far but it was great to meet him and get a photo with him."
Regular Lee Vickers, 29, of Tamworth, added: "Spud man has put Tamworth well and truly on the map - it's unreal what he's doing for himself.
"He deserves all the success in the world. He always puts the graft in, he's a top guy and above all he sells top-quality hearty spuds."
Spudman Menu:
Cheese and Beans | £4.00
Chili Con Carne & Cheese | £4.00
Cheese, Beans & Coleslaw | £5.00
Cheese, Beans & Bacon | £5.00
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Humpback whale sets up home near harbour in Iceland for three weeks
By George Mathias
A humpback whale has been spotted frolicking around a harbour in Iceland for the last three weeks.
Locals in Hafnarfjörður - which lies 10km south of Reykjavík - have been "lining up on the harbour" to see the spectacle.
Asa captured close up videos of the whale as it sprayed air out of its blow hole - just metres from the onlookers standing at the edge of the harbour.
The whale - thought to be a young male - is estimated to be 20 feet long and locals have been deciding what to call him.
They have suggested Humpy and Juno - but a name hasn't been agreed on yet.
Asa Steinars, 33, a photographer who also runs campervan trips, said: "It's quite unique.
"You can go whale watching in Iceland and sightings out at sea are common, but I have never seen one this close before."
According to Asa, locals are loving having the whale around.
"There haven't been any talks of getting rid of him," she said.
"Some days he goes out to the ocean but he always comes back."
Asa says this particular whale is "behaving uniquely".
She said: "He's not shy at all, He swims right up to the end of the harbour. It's amazing."
However, residing in a busy harbour is not without its risks.
"We are hoping he doesn't get hit by a boat or anything," Asa said.
"I noticed a few scratches on his back - it looked like at some point he had been hit by something.
"But he seems to love it here."
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