Persia on the go

The VAZ was already a quintessentially Soviet vehicle, and it raised a nostalgia factor for Russians. Pics Courtesy/Instagram

There are many Soviet-era remnants scattered all over the Russian Federation, but few as blatant as this old Zighuli car covered in Persian-style rugs that recently went viral on social media. The Zhiguli VAZ was a popular car model produced in Soviet Russia and exported all over the world. Outside of the Soviet Union, it was sold under the LADA brand, so it might look familiar even if you're not from Russia. It was always considered a reliable vehicle that could take some punishment and still run, but overall, it was one of the many symbols associated with the Soviet Union.

No model was ever as Soviet-ised as ‘Carpets', a unique VAZ 27011 that captures viewers' imagination with its unusual exterior - a layer of old Persian-style rugs that were once all the rage in communist countries

Still, no model was ever as Soviet-ised as ‘Carpets', a unique VAZ 27011 that captures viewers' imagination with its unusual exterior - a layer of old Persian-style rugs that were once all the rage in communist countries.

‘Carpets' is the creation of Georgy Makarov, an automobile enthusiast and student at the Moscow Automobile and Highway State Technical University, who wanted a car that was cheap, but that could also stand out. He inherited the love for old Russian cars from his father, who has been involved in vehicle restoration for 30 years and is one of Russia's vintage car experts.

Makarov inherited the love for old Russian cars from his father

"Carpets is my vision made real. It is made up of three concepts: the Soviet Union, the ‘Zhiguli' brand and carpets," Makarov said. "For me, these are inseparable things, so I connected them in one car. Now it is an art object, a historical monument, and just a means of transportation."

Tears from hell

A girl in rural India has been crying small stones out of her eyes every day

A 15-year-old from Gadiya Balidaspur, UP, has been crying stone tears for the last two months. According to the girl's family, small stones started falling from her eyes on July 17, and she has been crying between 10 and 15 stone tears every day since then. More than 70 so-called stone tears have been collected in over two months since the bizarre phenomenon was reported.

Apparently, 15-year-old Chandni starts eliminating small stones from her eyes from around six in the morning and continues to do so until evening. For some reason, the stones don't form in her eyes during the night. In a video that went viral, Chandni can be seen exhibiting a small lump on her left eyelid. After being massaged down by hand, the lump turns out to be one of the stones that have been giving the girl problems for over two months. Ophthalmologists have, however, claimed that such a phenomenon is impossible.

Will you eat this?

Japanese food artist Izumi's frosted cookies look too good to eat. He uses his talent to create incredible three-dimensional cookie decorations by hand and has developed the skill to recreate almost any anime character. Izumi, who posts on social media under the moniker kiri0izm, also creates icing out of fondant. Pics Courtesy/Instagram

Burned house sells for almost $400K

A home in Massachusetts seriously damaged by fire has been listed on the market with an asking price of $399,000. The online listing for the burned three-bedroom, 1,857-sqft home starts with a call out as, "House is in need of a complete renovation or potential tear down and rebuild. House being sold as is."

Missing drunk man joins own search party

A man who joined the search for a missing man was able to help track him down, when he realised it was him that they were looking for. Beyhan Mutlu, 50, was declared missing by his wife after going out for drinks with friends before wandering off into woods in Cayyaka, Turkey.

Chimp uses a plastic bottle as a sex toy

In what may be a first for the species, a chimpanzee from Uganda was observed masturbating with a man-made sex toy - a discarded plastic bottle. Much like humans, male apes masturbate during times of stress, or when they're unable to find a mate. It's also the first case of a wild ape using human refuse for sex. This indicates the animals are being increasingly exposed to plastic pollution.

Japan sells first genome-edited tomatoes

Tokyo-based start-up Sanatech Seed Co. teamed up with scientists at the University of Tsukuba to develop a new variety of tomatoes using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. Named Sicilian Rouge High GABA, this new type of tomato contains five to six times the normal level of a type of amino acid called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. According to Japanese media, the company removed an inhibitory domain within the tomato's genome to enable it to produce these high levels of GABA.

Artist flees with money for artwork

A Danish artist who was given a pile of money by a museum with which to create a piece of artwork, submitted two empty canvases - titled Take the Money and Run. Jens Haaning was given the equivalent of nearly $84,000 in Danish kroner and euro bank notes by the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg. "The artwork is that I have taken the money," Haaning told a radio show. His move immediately won fans on social media. "Brilliant. Clever guy," one user said.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever