Lifestyle
Cargo Ship Sinks with 2,000 Cars on Board, Including Lots of Luxury Vehicles
Carrying 365 container vans and 2,210 vehicles wherein 1,298 were brand new vehicles from major manufacturers, including 37 Porsche sports cars, the sinking of an Italian cargo ship off the coast of France could be one of the most expensive in history.
Italian merchant ship Grande America was on its way from Hamburg, Germany to Casablanca, Morocco when a fire hit on board as it was near the coast of France. The crew of 27 sailors struggled to put out the fire, but after many hours of trying their best, they had to make the tough decision of abandoning the ship.
Photo credit: @bossautocanada / Twitter
With the seas being rough at the time, the sailors boarded their lifeboat but struggled to keep afloat while being surrounded by waves 16 to 20 feet high! Then, the lifeboat’s engine got damaged, leaving the sailors terrified.
The Grande America was on fire just meters away, yet the sailors could not also move away because their lifeboat’s engine would not turn on. Lucky for the sailors, the HMS Argyll from the Royal Navy came to their rescue, traveling 150 miles in rough sea conditions to rescue the stricken seafarers.
Photo credit: @worldmaritimene / Twitter
While the Grande America sank to the bottom of the sea, along with its entire cargo, all the crew were safe and accounted for. All suffered from smoke inhalation and some minor scrapes but were out of danger.
It took the Royal Navy some 8 hours to rescue everyone in the ship but everyone was just so thankful to be alive.
The cause of fire is still unknown but is believed to have started on the car deck, spreading quickly to a container.
A lot of car manufacturers were affected by the incident, with Porsche among the hardest hit with 37 sports car, including four limited edition 911 GT2 RS models. The company had only built a limited number of these exclusive sports cars and has since discontinued building the line; however, due to the unfortunate circumstances, Porsche promised to build four more to replace the ones lost at sea.
Audi has also reported the loss of several brand-new vehicles, including A3, A5, Q7, RS4, and RS5 models.
Photo credit: @RoadandTrack / Twitter
But aside from the vehicles, the cargo ship was carrying 365 containers, 45 of which contained materials that are deemed hazardous. There are 70 tons of sulfuric acid and 10 tons of hydrochloric acid – and all that is at the bottom of the sea. With more than 2,200 tons of fuel also dumped into the water, a massive oil spill is feared to hit the coasts of France.
Lifestyle
Supermarket Goes Viral for Flag-Inspired Instant Noodle Display to Honor Independence Day
A supermarket recently went viral for its flag-inspired instant noodle display to honor the country’s upcoming Independence Day.
The creative display earned admiration from netizens – and was even noticed by the noodle brand, Lucky Me! Cool, isn’t it?
Supermarket’s Flag-Inspired Instant Noodle Display Goes Viral
There are people who are naturally creative – and they manage to make impressive artwork out of simple things that others might not even consider as artsy.
That’s what workers at a supermarket in Valencia City, Bukidnon, were able to achieve.
In a post that earned praise online and was reposted by several sites or groups, Bhen-j Agudera shared photos taken from the Lucky Me! noodle display at NVM Supermarket in the city.
What’s impressive is that the workers were able to create the patriotic display using the packs of Lucky Me! noodles arranged in the shape of the country’s flag.
This patriotic display is timely, considering that Independence Day on June 12th is just around the corner.
Of course, as pointed out by other netizens, this large flag will soon be broken by the customers who will be picking up their noodles from the display shelf.
Still, it also stirred patriotism among netizens who expressed admiration that the workers were able to think of a way to create the flag using their products. Brilliant, right?
Some people are calling for the brand to give the workers a raise or some sort of bonus for what they did here – after all, Lucky Me! certainly received a lot of free publicity from the viral photos.
However, some people also think that the company will probably lose some sales if the makeshift flag continues to be displayed on the shelves of this supermarket because customers might feel uneasy breaking the artwork.
How to Properly Display the Philippine Flag
During peacetime, the blue part of the Philippine flag should be placed on top. The red part is put on top if the country is at war.
Lifestyle
Guy Tries Viral “Inverter Hack”, Ends Up with 9k Bill
A guy tries the viral “inverter hack” but instead of saving money, he ended up with a ₱9k electric bill! Ouch.
Viral “Inverter Hack” Goes Wrong, Guy Gets ₱9k Bill
There are lots of viral “life hacks” on the internet, but not all of them actually work or are true.
Many of these “hacks” can cost you a lot of money or even end up getting you in trouble (like the teens who tried the viral “overbaggage” hack).
Recently, netizen Rheez Ramos tried out a supposed life hack using an inverter air conditioner.
According to this supposed life hack, you need to keep the air conditioning unit on, and only turn it off once a week. It’s supposed to make your electric bill go down.
Without checking the veracity of the viral hack or monitoring their electricity consumption, Ramoa blindly followed the “hack.”
Imagine his shock when the bill arrived — and it was for over ₱9,000!
He said that their usual bill was just around ₱3,000 but it has skyrocketed to 3x the amount because of the fake “life hack.”
He jokingly posted on social media to find the person who made the misleading hack — and I would probably try to actually find that person if I were in his shoes!
Paying 3x your regular bill is not a joke, though netizens also slammed him for not using science to realize that the “hack” was fake.
Have you also fallen for a fake life hack on social media?
How To Determine If A “Life Hack” Is Real Or Not
This is actually easier said than done because many of these supposed life hacks have very convincing photos, videos, or stories.
Here are some ways to avoid getting duped:
- Try to check the comments section of the post — usually, there are people who either tried the hack and knew it didn’t work or those who can explain the science of why the hack is fake
- Research on your own — often, there’s actually some scientific explanation why the hack will or will not work
- Don’t try the hack unless you’re 100% sure that it’s real and safe to try
- Ask a second opinion from a reliable person
Lifestyle
Husband Fails to Get Flowers for Wedding Anniversary, Buys Land for Wife
A husband failed to get flowers for their wedding anniversary but still went viral after choosing to buy land for his wife to grow flowers, instead.
Land versus flowers? We’ll also take the land, please. LOL
Husband Buys Land for Wife on Wedding Anniversary
It is every wife’s secret wish to receive a gift from her husband on their wedding anniversary or during other important moments of their lives together.
Not everyone gets to receive those gifts, of course.
While many husbands are unable to buy gifts out of poverty or because they have other, much more important priorities, there are also who do have the money but just don’t like giving gifts.
Some women might say that they wish their husbands would just get them flowers for their wedding anniversary.
Recently, a guy named Kael John Canoy made waves on social media after publicly admitting that he wasn’t able to give his wife flowers on their first anniversary! Uh-oh…
Is he going to be in big trouble?
Well, not really.
It turned out that he wasn’t being thoughtless or had forgotten the date. Instead, he had other plans for his family.
Canoy would soon go viral after explaining in his post that while he failed to get her flowers on their first wedding anniversary, he was making it up with an entire land where she can grow all the flowers she wants to have. Awwww.
Would you rather receive the land than flowers?
Well, considering that the land is going to last forever, and you can plant all the flowers you do want to have, then we’re all voting for land, too.
Buying Land and Other Real Estate in the Philippines
Buying real estate can be tricky in the Philippines, especially because many are still under a so-called “mother title” or a title still under the name of the seller’s ancestors.
To avoid issues, try to only buy land that already has a “clean title” (under the seller’s name or just one signatory).
Getting lots from a reputable real estate broker or under a property developer might also be a good idea.