Distance technology is associated with strange news but sometimes it still happens due to misuse, out-of-the-box ideas and unexpected situations. Below are the 10 strangest tech news of 2025.
1. UK Man Wants to Buy Landfill Containing 8000 Bitcoins
What would you do to get rich quick? For James Howells, he is willing to buy a landfill believed to be the grave of 8000 Bitcoins worth around RM3 billion today. Since 2013, Howell who lives in the United Kindgom has asked permission from Newport City Council in Wales to search for the hard drive containing his Bitcoin digital wallet after it was accidentally thrown away.
The hard drive was placed in a black plastic bag which was then thrown away by his partner who thought it was rubbish. He tried to get permission to search for this hard drive but was denied by the city council and the court on security grounds. Howells once promised to give 25% of Bitcoin to the municipality if they were allowed to search for the lost hard drive but were refused.
After more than a decade, the landfill will close this year and Howell with the help of several investors is interested in buying the landfill when it closes. Attempts to find the hard drive are quite impossible as it is buried in 25,000 cubic meters of garbage and soil.
2. Nokia Smartphone Production Stopped
HMD Global has been the licensee of producing smartphones under the Nokia brand since 2016. But the era of Nokia smartphones seems to have ended with the HMD Global website stating that the production of smartphones such as the Nokia XR21 has been discontinued in January.
For the past two years, HMD Global has been marketing its own brand of smartphones with the HMD Fusion model going on sale in Malaysia in October. The era of Nokia smartphones is over but regular Nokia cellular phones are still being released at an unspecified date. HMD Global has released their own smartphones a few months ago.
In July, Nokia was said to be looking for a new smartphone partner, but there is still no news on whether the company's smartphones will return to the market.
3. President Trump Presented with a Golden Pager to Commemorate Israeli Bomb Attack
In September last year, 12 people were killed and 2,750 others were injured in Lebanon when a pager containing a bomb was detonated by Israel. The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was the mastermind behind the massive attack on Hezbollah members, followed by a horse attack using walkie-talkies that claimed another 30 lives.
In February, President Donald Trump was presented with a golden pager by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to commemorate the attack. The gift was given as a sign of appreciation for Trump, who is a good friend and close ally of Israel.
During his first term as president, Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which was seen as a sanctification of Israel's theft of Palestinian land. During Netanyahu's recent visit to the United States this year, Trump said Palestinians should leave Gaza to allow the United States to redevelop it into a resort area.
4. Human Washing Machine Can Be Bought in Japan for RM1.59 Million
The Mirai Ningen Sentakki, which means human washing machine, was shown at Expo 2025 Osaka and was developed by the firm Science to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the prototype human washing machine shown at Expo 1970 Osaka. At the expo site, visitors can try out this human washing machine if they dare.
Originally just a prototype, Science is now offering the Mirai Ningen Sentakki for 60 million Yen (~RM 1.59 million) to interested customers with only 60 units to be produced.
It washes the human body in just 5 minutes with the user sitting in a lying position. In the initial stage, the human body will be immersed before a shower system and soapy water spray will clean the dirt on the body.
While sitting in the cleaning pod, the user will be shown videos and soothing music. The Mirai Ningen Sentakki will track your pulse to see your stress levels. After the cleaning cycle is complete, the water will be drained from the chamber and you can exit to dry off.
5. Nepal Appoints Acting Prime Minister Using Discord
Last August, Nepal was in turmoil after the people rioted against corruption in the government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The Nepalese government tried to prevent the people's opposition by banning social media platforms and it only resulted in the riots labeled as the Gen-Z Revolution becoming more and more serious and the KP Sharma Oli government was overthrown.
With the country's leadership vacancy, Sushila Karki has been appointed as the acting Prime Minister of Nepal with a vote conducted using Discord. Karki (73 years old) is the former Chief Justice of Nepal and she is also the first woman to become the country's PM and the first head of state appointed using Discord.
The Nepalese Parliament has been dissolved with a general election to be held on March 5, 2026 to appoint a permanent PM. Karki was chosen because while serving as the Chief Justice, he was involved in several anti-corruption cases and also overthrew the monarchy in 1990 under the People's Revolution movement.
Sushila Karki's election as the acting Prime Minister of Nepal is the second time that modern technology has changed the political landscape of the world. Earlier this week, Albania appointed an AI chatbot as its minister to fight corruption because it awards government contracts fairly without the worry of bribes or threats from humans.
6. Elon Musk First $500 Billion Person
Elon Musk became the world's first individual to be worth $500 billion (~RM 2.1 trillion). His worldly fortune reached half a trillion in October after Tesla shares jumped more than 3% even as the company's EV sales continued to fall in Europe and China and the United States ended EV purchase credits.
Musk is now on a positive trajectory to become the first trillionaire, with Tesla's board of directors looking to give him more stock and a $1 trillion bonus over 10 years if he remains CEO. His status as the world's richest person was only challenged for a few hours by Oracle founder Larry Ellison in September.
7. David Woodard Is Wikipedia's Self-Employed Basket Champion
Wikipedia was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a free, open encyclopedia. There are currently over 65 million articles on Wikipedia in 343 languages. In theory, Wikipedia articles with multiple language versions are a yardstick for the importance of knowledge about it for human civilization.
But in a report published by The Signpost, they found the efforts of an individual who tried to promote himself by having articles about himself published in 335 languages on Wikipedia. David Woodard is an artist from the United States, The Signpost found it strange that a relatively unknown person has articles in many languages. He has more articles on Wikipedia than the country of Turkey (332 articles) and Michael Jackson (279).
Based on the investigation, the first article about Woodward appeared in 2015. Through more than 200 accounts with various different IPs, articles about him began to be written gradually until they reached 343 articles. On average, an article about Woodward in a new language is created every 6 days. It is believed that Woodward, or people close to him, used Wikipedia to promote and benefit themselves.
After this decade-long effort was detected, Wikipedia editors for various languages began deleting articles about Woodward. At this point, only 20 articles about him still exist on Wikipedia.
8. Starbucks Korea Bans Customers from Bringing Desktop Computers and Printers
Coffee shops have become very comfortable office spaces because they have drinks that can be ordered, as well as power sources and free WiFi. When I first started working , Starbucks was the location of choice for an office outside the home.
In South Korea, the “cagongjok” culture that turns cafes into offices has existed for decades. But last August, Starbucks South Korea began banning customers from bringing certain equipment into their cafes.
Notices warning that bringing desktop computers, printers, power cords and personal barriers are now banned in Starbucks South Korea cafes. This is to combat the extreme culture of cagongjok that leaves other customers without a seat.
Customers who leave the cafe for a long time are also asked to bring their belongings. In South Korea, if items are left in cafes or public spaces, they usually won't be stolen.
9. Argentine Man Receives RM50,000 Compensation After Google Street View Captured His Butt
You can now travel back in time using Google Street View via Google Maps and Google Earth. There are various stories of users accessing Street View to see family members who have passed away. This is a story that can make a ninja chop onions when reading. But in Argentina, the photos taken by Google Street View caused such a stir that they became the subject of jokes.
In 2017, a Google Street View camera captured a photo of a man's butt relaxing in the courtyard of his house. Despite the 6.5-foot high fence being built, the Street View camera was able to see into his yard.
This photo was later published on Street View without this sensitive anatomy being obscured. According to the man, whose identity is being withheld, he became the laughing stock because his identity could be guessed based on the location of his house on the map. After being dragged to court, Google now has to pay $12,500 (~RM 51,000) in compensation for violating his privacy in the courtyard of his house.
10.Special Umbrella Developed for Hajj Pilgrims
The 2025 Hajj season will begin on June 4 and among the challenges of being a guest of Allah is enduring the heat of the Saudi Arabian earth. In the 2024 Hajj season, 1301 pilgrims died due to extreme heat according to data from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health. The solution is to use an umbrella but for the elderly, they may not have the strength to hold it all day.
Therefore, a special umbrella for Hajj and Umrah has been developed by a Saudi Arabian firm. This Shadow Umbrella is worn on the shoulder of the pilgrim without touching the back to provide airflow. It is designed to have a lightweight design so that it is not burdensome and can be folded small to be put in a storage bag when not in use.
Originally, this umbrella was launched in 2023 for the use of laborers and security personnel working under the hot Saudi Arabian sun with the production process taking four years. A version for pilgrims was later developed with a smaller design to make it easier to use even while praying so as not to disturb other worshippers in the row and not to cover the forehead when prostrating.
Each Shadow Umbrella is sold at SAR 26.45 (~RM 29) each.
