Mikes Rant Christmas Edition – Craziest News From 2020

There is something of a tradition here at eTeknix that if a completely bizarre piece of news pings up on our radar, it’s usually me that writes about it. Not that I’m complaining, incidentally, as while I love writing about technology and gaming, it’s nice to have a brief break from reality every now and then.

Despite the various limitations that 2020 and, more specifically, COVID-19 has given the world though, that hasn’t put a stop on some of the more weird and wonderful news stories emerging from the tech world. In fact, I think compared to last year, there was a lot more of it this time around!

So, in something of a round-up, we’ll cover below some of the weirdest, wackiest, and bizarre news stories of the year!

Husband Gets Forced to Sell PS5

Starting off with one of the more recent articles I have covered this year, we have here the story of a man who purchased a PS5. Nothing strange about that, right? – Well, expect perhaps the fact that he was actually able to get hold of one.

For this purchase to have his wifes blessing, however, he lied to her that rather than a gaming system, it was actually an air purifier.

To find out what happened next, click the link here!

Cooler Master Changes Thermal Paste Tube Design!

Earlier this year, Cooler Master announced that it would be changing its thermal paste tube design. Why I hear you ask? – Well, apparently (and this is the official line the company gave) because they were tired of having to explain to parents that it wasn’t some kind of new and bizarre drug their kids had gotten into.

Winners don’t do drugs, but losers definitely shouldn’t do thermal paste ingestion either!

Click here to check out the full story!

Death Stranding – A Literal Walking Simulator

Having played the PC port of Death Stranding, it was undoubtedly one of my most favorite games of 2020. That being said, however, I’ll freely admit that there was more than a little walking involved in the process. One man, however, decided to try and make the experience more immersive by making his tredmill replicate every step Norman Reedus took!

Click here to check out the full story!

Automated Racing Car Plows Straight Into a Wall

Taking inspiration from a number of ‘virtual’ online sporting events this year, automated car racing has seen a pretty significant boom in popularity. Without a doubt, however, one of the key reasons this sport may have come to your attention this year is when a software glitch forced a car to pile straight into a wall from the starting line.

Click here to check out the full story!

Boeing 747 – Please Insert Disk #3,291

While the Boeing 747 is starting to be pushed out of commission as newer and more energy efficient crafts are designed, if you have flown on one recently (specifically, the 747-400) would it disturb you to learn that the flight computer is updated by floppy disk?…

If so, don’t click on this link here!

John McAfee Fought the Law and the Law (Maybe) Won!

John McAfee is undoubtedly one of the most interesting creatures in the tech world. If you’ve never heard of him, thick of Elon Musk but with his nose perpetually buried in a bag of cocaine (not that I’m accusing anyone of anything – It’s simply a hypothetical metaphor).

Having spent years on the run from US authorities, however, it seems that the law may have finally caught up with him. – If you want to learn more (about this and his other many wacky adventures) click on the link here!

Manchester United Sues Football Manager

After something close to a 20-year association of providing various members of their footballing staff with free copies of the game, it seems that Sports Interactive might stop doing that now after Manchester United officially issued legal action against the company. Not for ripping their logo off, however, but rather (and exceptionally bizarrely) for not using it!

Confused? – Then click here to learn more!

Vinyl Outsells CD!

It’s not exactly a secret that over the last 5 years, people have been moving away from buying new albums on CD and are instead choosing to go with subscription music services (or digital purchases). – Put simply, CD is dying and in a surprising resurgence vinyl might be set to take its place.

Yes, for the first time since 1986, vinyl sales are actually higher than CD and if you want to learn more, you can click on the link here!

Henry Cavill Builds a Gaming PC

It’s well known that Superman actor Henry Cavill is a bit of a geek. Having clocked up hundreds of hours in World of Warcraft, he loved gaming and particularly so on PC. – It was, therefore, a joy to see during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown that he decided to share a video of him building his brand new gaming rig.

To watch it, click on the link here!

Nintendo Switch Knock-Off

While there has been a general tech shortage throughout the year, with lockdown in place many people were looking to entertain themselves with the purchase of a Nintendo Switch. From around March right up until Christmas, however, stock levels have been ridiculously low. – It seems, however, that one Chinese manufacturer tried to tap into the hysteria by creating one of the most shameless rip-offs ever seen!

For more information, click on the link here!

Bald Linesman Confuses AI Camera

With many sporting events having to be cancelled or held behind closed doors, there has been something of a growth in AI technology and specifically cameras that can automatically track the play. A Scottish football match, however, turned into hilarity as the AI camera, rather than concentrating on the football, decided to continually zone in on the bald linesman.

If you want to check this out, click on the link here!

PS5 Scalper has Stash Stolen at Gunpoint

Ok, so this isn’t funny so much as a ‘feel good story’. Not, incidentally, that we’re condoning armed robbery. Following a number of scalpers completely decimating PS5 stock levels, however, one such person got more than they bargained for. After they bragged about how many systems they had, they very promptly had them all stolen by an armed robber!

You can click here if you want to learn more about this story!

Fake PUBG Cheating Software

PUBG is a long way from its heyday back in 2018 and a significant reason for its decline was when cheaters started infesting the game. One person, however, decided to come up with a rather unique solution to this problem. Creating their own ‘cheat engine’ software, and even paying to advertise it on Google, while it would appear to work correctly, players who downloaded it would find themselves ejected from moving vehicles, dropping live grenades at their feet and all manner of hilariously mannered fails. – Oh, and the creator of this cheating software also built in a means of having the footage of these deaths sent to him which he made public.

Some would call this mean, I’d call it justice! – You can click here to learn more about it!

Playing Games on an Airport Monitor

Waiting at an airport is rarely fun. Well, not unless you have access to the VIP bar. One man, however, decided to kill a little bit of time by unplugging one of the flight display monitors and plugging in his gaming console (which for reasons unclear he was carrying around with him).

‘Hijack’ is never a word you want to casually throw around regarding airports, but at least this was a mildly amusing version of it!

Click here if you want to learn more about it!

Microsoft Flight Simulator – 212 Story Typo!

Sticking with a flying theme, gamers playing Microsoft Flight Simulator found a rather amusing error while flying over Melbourne. Namely, that a typographical error in one of the building descriptions accidentally led to the creation of a 212-story monilith!

To my knowledge, this error hasn’t yet been corrected. In fact, I think they’re keeping it in just for the luls. – So if you want to learn more about it, click on the link here!

Fiancé Blows Wedding Money on a Gaming PC

Building a high-end gaming PC can be an expensive process. Particularly if you’re in the market for the cutting edge of hardware. It seems, however, that one many in Australia (yes, I know, but I’m not deliberately building in segways here!) decided that in order to get his dream machine, he’d spend some money he and his wife had been saving for their wedding. Namely, all of it!

After writing the article, we haven’t been able to determine if the wedding did still go ahead. Or, for that matter, if the man is still alive. If you do, however, want to check it out, click on the link here!

Iconic Simpson’s Golf Game is Re-Created!

“Welcome to Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge. I am Carvallo. Now, choose a club. (Beep) You have chosen a three wood. May I suggest a putter? (Beep) Three wood. Now enter the force of your swing. I suggest feather touch. (Beep, beep, beep) You have entered “power drive”. Now, push seven eight seven to swing.” (Beep beep beep) – Ball is in…parking lot. Would you like to play again? (Beep) You have selected, “No.”

If these words mean nothing to you, keep scrolling down. If they do, however, click on the link here!

The Online Toilet Paper Calculator

Following the initial COVID-19 outbreak, for reasons I have still yet to clearly establish, one of many peoples initial reactions was to go out and buy as much toilet paper as they could fit in their shopping trolley. Hopefully, those same people are now feeling more than a little foolish as they still struggle to fit into their bathroom with 282 rolls piled up.

In something that looked to bring a bright side to the news, however, one person decided to create an online toilet paper calculator to help you figure out exactly how many rolls you really needed!

If you want to check that out, and maybe take the test yourself, click on the link here!

Modern Warfare Player Sees Himself Die 4 Times in POTM

If you play Call of Duty Modern Warfare, then you’ll undoubtedly be aware that at the end of the game you’re unusually given around a 10-15 video clip highlighting the best ‘play of the round’. – For one unlucky person, however, within this clip they had to witness themselves being killed FOUR times!

If you want to check that out, click on the link here!

Old TV Found to Keep Killing Villages Internet!

Ending here with what was undoubtedly one of my favourite stories of the year. Having a bad internet connection is always frustrating. Particularly in this modern age where we’re practically reliant on it. For one Welsh village, however, every morning, at around 7am, they’d find that their broadband would like clockwork cut out.

The cause? – One man and his exceptionally old (and dodgy) TV set!

If you want to check this out, click on the link here!

Mikes Rant Christmas Edition – What Do You Think?

Well, as much as it was something of a chore to put that list together for you, I must admit to taking more than a little pleasure in recapping some of the most amusing or bizarre stories I covered over 2020. – If you too enjoyed this trip down memory lane, be sure to keep checking in on our website and social media portals as I fully intend to keep bringing you all the madness we’ll undoubtedly see from 2021!

If you enjoyed Mikes Rant, you can check out more via the link here – Alternatively, for more of his Christmas-related rantiness, check out the link here! They’ll be a new rant (nearly) every day between Christmas and New Year!