Reuters Odd News Summary

Metallic monolith pops up outside Pittsburgh candy store Since mid-November, shining metal monoliths have suddenly appeared - and then vanished - in the strangest locations, from the Utah desert to a Romanian mountainside.

Following is a summary of current odd news briefs. Amid pandemic, orders soar for Brazil robot that feeds pigs playing classical music

Orders for a Brazilian pig-feeding robot, which plays classical music while dispensing meals, soared this year as farmers strove to cut costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Roboagro, the privately-owned company that sells the robot, said in a statement sent to Reuters on Thursday that orders rose by an average of 400% to 60 units per month. Metallic monolith pops up outside Pittsburgh candy store

Since mid-November, shining metal monoliths have suddenly appeared - and then vanished - in the strangest locations, from the Utah desert to a Romanian mountainside. Now one has popped up outside a Pittsburgh candy store. Sean Connery's 007 pistol from 'Dr.No' sells for $256,000

A handgun used by the late Sean Connery in the first James Bond film sold for $256,000 at auction in Beverly Hills on Thursday, topping earlier estimates for the piece of Hollywood history, Julien's Auctions said. The deactivated semi-automatic Walther PP pistol, which along with its smaller model the PPK became one of the film franchise's best-known images, was used by Connery in the movie "Dr. No" in 1962. Submarine Santa brings festive cheer to Tokyo aquarium

Dressed in a Santa Claus costume, a mask and flippers, a diver waved through a curtain of tropical fish in a Tokyo aquarium at socially distanced spectators watching from behind glass. Continuing a more-than 20-year-old tradition at the Sunshine Aquarium, she held a Christmas wreath aloft as banana fish and a stingray swam by unperturbed, and used a bazooka-shaped feeder to shoot out pellets for them to feast on. Cuddling in COVID: 'Hug bubble' lets seniors feel the magic of touch

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, French care home resident Colette Dupas's contact with her daughters has been limited to talking via video call, or through a window. Now the 97-year-old has been able to feel their touch, thanks to an inflatable tunnel and two plastic sleeves. Monolith monotony? Another mystery structure appears and vanishes in California

A 10-foot-tall metallic monolith appeared mysteriously atop a Central California mountain this week, then vanished just as suddenly early on Thursday in what seemed to be a copycat of one that appeared and then vanished in a Utah desert. "I can't say it's aliens, but it was here and now it's gone," said Terrie Banish, deputy city manager of Atascadero, California, a city of about 30,000 off U.S. Highway 101 near the central coast city of San Luis Obispo.