Day: February 23, 2025

Scary Japanese Urban Legend : The Inunaki Village

- Roshan

Inunaki Village is a 1990s Japanese urban legend about a fictional village-sized micronation that rejects the Constitution of Japan. The legend locates the village near the Inunaki mountain pass in Fukuoka Prefecture. A real Inunaki Village, not connected to the legend, did exist from 1691 to 1889. Described as “small and easy to miss” in a forest located in Fukuoka Prefecture, the residents of the village refused to accept the Constitution of Japan and the legitimacy of the extant Japanese government. Near the village entrance is a handwritten sign reading: “The Japanese constitution is not in effect past here.” A small side road past Old Inunaki Tunnel leads toward the village.

According to the legend, “sometime in the early 1970s” a young couple on their way to Hisayama by car went into the forest seeking help when their car’s engine broke down. They entered the seemingly-abandoned Inunaki Village, where a “crazy old man” greeted them and then murdered them with a sickle. In another story, a telephone booth near the Inunaki bridge receives a call from Inunaki Village every night. People answering the call are transported to the village, and die from a curse that causes them to first lose control of their body and mind.

In reality, the area of the Old Inunaki Tunnel has been considered to be haunted due to nearby murders. On 6 December 1988, five young men abducted and tortured a factory worker whose car they wanted to steal, burning him to death with gasoline inside the old tunnel. The perpetrators were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. The entrances to the old tunnel were sealed. However in2000, a dead body was found in a nearby dam. Nippon TV received a letter from an anonymous person, which described the legend of the couple murdered in the village and urged the Nippon TV crew to visit the place.

Werther’s Original Butter Candies

- Roshan

Werther’s Original (from the original German: Werthers Echte) is a brand of caramel and butter confectionery owned by the German company August Storck, based in Berlin, Germany. The candy is popular in Europe and North America. 

The sweet brand is named after the town of Werther  in Westphalia, where the company was founded in 1903. In 1969, the sweet began marketing under the brand name Werthers Echte. The brand name Werther’s Original was adopted in the 1990s for the international market. They are now manufactured nearby, in the town of Halle. 

The original Werthers Echte was a caramel hard candy. Werther’s Original is one of the best-selling caramel candies in the world. Werther’s Original offers hard candies, soft caramels, chewy caramels, and sugar-free caramels.  

Around the world ‘Werther’s Original‘ sweets became synonymous with Grandads, Grandfathers, Grandpas and worldly older gents due to a series of 80’s and 90’s TV advertisements. These ads frequently pictured the elder generation passing on these delicious golden treats to the younger ones. These somewhat sickly trailers would show also show Grandfathers reminiscing about their own childhoods being defined by the ‘uncommonly good’ taste of Werther’s candies, before giving their chubby-cheeked grandkids a kiss and a Werther’s sweetie of their own.

Arsenal Bottle Jobs And Lose To West Ham United 0-1

- Roshan

Arsenal missed the chance to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool as West Ham ended a four-match winless run with a stunning victory at Emirates Stadium.

Jarrod Bowen got the winner against a Gunners side who later had Myles Lewis-Skelly sent off. Victory would have moved Arsenal to within five points of Arne Slot’s team, who visit champions Manchester City on Sunday, but they struggled badly against a Hammers side who defended magnificently and created the better openings over the 90 minutes. Bowen started and finished the move that led to the winner late in the first half, collecting a loose ball on the edge of his own box and feeding Aaron Wan-Bissaka before stooping low to nod the full-back’s cross into the net for his 50th Premier League goal.

It was the first time Arsenal had trailed in a home Premier league game at half-time this season, but they showed no discernible improvement after the interval – despite pinning West Ham back for much of the second period. Leandro Trossard had a low shot saved by the feet of Alphonse Areola, but the Gunners’ hopes of a route back into the contest were dealt a major blow when Lewis-Skelly was sent off for a professional foul on Mohammed Kudus near the halfway line. Referee Craig Pawson initially cautioned the 18-year-old for dragging Kudus to the floor, but the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled that Lewis-Skelly had denied the Ghanaian a clear goalscoring opportunity and the yellow card was upgraded to a red.

West Ham held on comfortably in the end to move 13 points clear of the bottom three and level with Manchester United in 15th – although they stay 16th because of their inferior goal difference. Mikel Merino was handed a starting berth in the hosts’ attack alongside Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri. The Spain international was lively in the early stages but unable to get on the end of an outswinging Thomas Partey cross towards the back post, before sending a left-footed effort high over the bar from a tight angle. Riccardo Calafiori registered Arsenal’s only shot on target before the interval, sending a fierce effort straight at goalkeeper Areola from the edge of the area, before Bowen displayed the ruthless edge the home side were lacking all afternoon.