ODDS AND DUCKS: World Cup viewers actually watched FIFA video games and other offbeat offerings

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The World Cup only comes around every four years, so perhaps some sports fans have forgotten what real football actually looks like.

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Or maybe video game graphics have really come a long way in recent years!

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How else to explain reports that thousands of people thought they were watching the iconic sporting event but were actually watching replays of the soccer video game FIFA 23.

Or maybe they were just desperate to find a way, any way, to tune in for free. Looks like that’s the real reason.

A report by VNExpress said that over 40,000 people in France alone watched the video game broadcasts on YouTube channels, believing it to be the real thing. They were lured in by promises to offer live broadcasts.

One report even said that some of the streams had commentary on the action. A Vietnamese language stream was particularly mentioned.

According to VNExpress, a Vietnamese outlet, YouTubers can earn thousands of dollars by luring in viewers with this trick. They use low quality images so viewers think they are only getting low quality streams.

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WHAT A DAY

A North Carolina woman had an incredibly lucky day recently.

Brenda Gomez Hernandez, a 28-year-old mother in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, won $100,000 through the state lottery the same day she gave birth to a baby girl, according to the North Carolina Lottery.

The report said she found out later that evening that her Powerball ticket had won her the prize.

The housekeeper had bought a ticket for $3. She originally won $50,000, but the 2S Power Play multiplier doubled her winnings.

“I feel like she brought me happiness,” Hernandez said. “I am so grateful.”

A STRANGE MIXTURE

Pepsi can be mixed well with many other drinks, but this is not one of them.

The soda maker’s new holiday campaign aims to get people to mix Pepsi with milk.

Yes, milk. And they call it Pilk, as in, Pilk and Cookies.

If the hashtag #pilkandcookies is used on social media between now and December 25, users can win a cash prize.

“Combining Pepsi and milk has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans,” Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, said in a release.

Apparently, there’s also a trend on TikTok called “Dirty Soda.”

Pepsi uses Lindsay Lohan as part of its campaign.

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Recipes advertised included mixing the drink with milk, heavy cream and vanilla cream. Another is the cherry version with milk, heavy cream, caramel cream.

A healthier alternative could be one with Pepsi Zero, oat milk and caramel cream.

BAD ROOM CAMERA

There are many ways a roommate can be bad. That can include being extremely smelly.

Body odor became so much of a problem for one woman that she had her roommate kicked out for not bathing in months, according to a Reddit thread.

The woman said the woman said her partner showed “zero respect for personal hygiene” when she lived together.

“We’ve been living together for four months and I can’t bear to live with her anymore. She doesn’t shower. In four months, she hasn’t showered once. She does, however, go for a two-hour run every morning. I can’t stand the smell anymore. My stomach hurts, she says.

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The woman said her roommate repeatedly promised she would shower but never did. So she contacted the homeowner and explained the situation, according to the thread. When the landlord came to see if the story was true, he reportedly nearly threw up at the smell and gave his roommate 30 days to move out.

“My roommate is furious and hasn’t stopped calling me names. I don’t think I’m wrong here, but a couple of people told me that I’m being inconsiderate by throwing her out so close to Christmas and that she’s in her first year of college and I might disrupt her studies. So, am I a——-?” she asked.

Most of the commenters said she was right.