SINGAPORE – A politically inspired pineapple craze. Land-dwelling crustaceans creeping into people’s homes and hearts. One man who never let time and distance quell the search for his mother.
Each year, many amusing, heart-warming and fascinating stories find their way into The Straits Times. As we look forward to what adventures the new year has in store for us, here are some of 2023’s most unusual stories that captured the hearts and minds of our readers.
Happy New Year from all of us at The Straits Times.
1. Taiwanese man finally finds Singaporean former SIA stewardess mum
Mother and son had lost contact with each other since Ms Wang Wen Lian left Taiwan in the 1980s, when her child was just a toddler. She had to return to Singapore because of some family issues.
After previous fruitless efforts to look for his long-lost Singaporean mother via social media and her past employer, Singapore Airlines, where Ms Wang had worked as a stewardess in her younger days, Mr Hsu Hu-chin, 42, contacted The Straits Times in December for help.
The Dec 15 ST article, which had old photographs of mother and child, immediately caught the attention of Ms Wang’s nephew in Singapore, who went on to alert her.
What followed was an emotional reunion over a Zoom video call on Dec 21, where Mr Hsu called Ms Wang, now in her 60s, “Ma” for the first time in nearly 40 years.
2. ‘Tharmania’: Businesses cash in on pineapple offerings after presidential election
From cocktails to balloons to flowers, local businesses fell head over heels for pineapples and pineapple-themed products, following President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s landslide win in the presidential election in September.
President Tharman, whose presidential campaign lasted about a week in August, had adopted the pineapple as his campaign symbol, and was often presented with the fruit and greeted with chants of “ong lai” (pineapple in Hokkien) and “huat ah” (a Hokkien expression for prosperity) during hustings.
In the wake of his victory, businesses were inspired to find creative ways to feature the humble pineapple in their products, leading to online commentators dubbing the phenomenon “Tharmania”.
3. Bearly believable: ‘Human-like’ sun bear goes viral
It was a cute video of a sun bear at a zoo in eastern China that captured netizens’ attention. But the question on everyone’s lips was: Is that really a bear, or a man pretending to be a bear?
In the video that went viral, the black-coloured bear can be seen standing on its hind legs on the precipice of a rock feature, interacting with tourists by waving its paws.
The animal’s human-like behaviour prompted the netizen who posted the video to speculate that the “talented” bear was actually a human in a costume.
4. Isopods: Critters being kept as pets
They have two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of legs, and some even come in colours that rival a bouquet of flowers.
Isopods are part of nature’s “clean-up crew”. The land-dwelling variants of these crustaceans can be found in the detritus and soil of forests, fields and gardens all around the world, feeding on rotting leaf litter and dead plants.
These critters are a familiar sight to gardening enthusiasts, but there is a growing community here that keeps them as pets.
5. ‘Regardless of age’: Springfield student praised for holding umbrella for alighting bus passengers
A schoolboy sheltered alighting passengers of six buses at a bus stop from a heavy downpour despite being drenched in the rain himself.
The kind act was caught on camera and the video went viral. Tampines GRC MP Baey Yam Keng, who saw the video, praised the boy and helped track him down.
Mr Baey presented a commendation letter to the student, Soon Hwee Tze, at an event on Nov 4 which kicked off the annual Caring Commuter Week, launched to promote a more caring commuter culture.
6. Girl math: $3,950 earrings that are practically free
Ms Chloe Liem feels her $3,950 Cartier Trinity earrings are “practically free”.
The 20-year old rationalises her purchase like this: She initially wanted a pair that costs $5,250, so getting a cheaper set makes it feel like she is saving $1,300 from the get-go. She also has $1,000 in mall vouchers, meaning she has to fork out only $2,950.
And if she wears the earrings daily for the next four years, it will cost just about $1 apiece each time she wears them.
Justifying big-ticket spending like this is known as “girl math”, said the content creator, who made her video to entertain viewers and illustrate what she says are irrational spending habits, and how people think when they buy things.
It is a new viral TikTok trend, which began in New Zealand but has since gained popularity around the world.
7. How tooth gems are adding sparkle to Singaporeans’ smiles
Since Mr Fai Zainuddin started sporting tooth gems in January, he has gone about his days with a wider smile.
“It makes me feel good and different to wear something unique. It also goes well with my wardrobe,” said the operations manager, 34.
More Singaporeans like Mr Fai have started to attach tiny gems – each typically no more than 3mm in size – to their teeth.
His go-to technician, Ms Renny Zuraimi, said her appointments have doubled from three a week to six a week since she started her business, ToothGems SG, in June 2022.
8. Anything at the push of a button: Singapore’s most unique vending machines
Could Singapore get any more convenient?
Once just a device for canned drinks or snacks, a vending machine these days can store and sell almost anything, from fresh flowers to over-the-counter medicine and even luxury cars.
9. Woman in mid-delivery braves weekend congestion at Woodlands Checkpoint to give birth in JB
It was still two weeks before she was due to give birth.
But when her water broke, Ms Cheng Kai Ling, 29, a Malaysian who has worked and lived in Singapore for more than six years, was determined to stick to her plan to deliver her baby at a private hospital in Johor Bahru.
10. Using AI to ‘communicate’ with deceased loved ones
With just a photo, a voice recording and machine learning, undertakers in China are able to use artificial intelligence to generate life-like avatars of people who have died, allowing their loved ones to “communicate” with them.
The technologies are able to mimic the deceased’s personality, appearance, voice and even memories to allow people to relive moments with their loved ones who have departed the living world.
