3 Weird but True Stories: Sick Leave Detective, a new kind of Artificial Heart, and a Man Fathering 100 Children

 

I love weird but true stories. Something is fascinating about discovering things happening in the world that sound almost too strange to be true. Sometimes they’re funny, sometimes they’re incredible, and sometimes they make you stop and think about how people live.

 

Today, I have three stories to share. We’re talking about German detectives investigating employees who might be faking sick days, an artificial heart powered by technology similar to that used in high-speed trains, and a man who is on track to father 100 children through sperm donation.

Let’s get into it!

 

Here's the video version 

 

1. Germany’s Sick Leave Detectives Are Having a Field Day

Imagine building a business around investigating people who call in sick. It might sound like something out of a comedy, but for German private investigator Marcus Lentz, it’s becoming a lucrative business.

According to an article published on MSN, Lentz’s detective agency has received as many as 1,200 requests annually from companies that suspect their employees take sick leave when they’re well enough to work. That’s reportedly around double the number from a few years earlier.

Why the sudden increase?

Germany has been dealing with rising sick leave rates while its economy faces challenges. Employers worry about how employee absences affect their businesses, and some are turning to private investigators to confirm whether workers are genuinely ill.

Lentz says some employees have reportedly been caught helping with a family business or renovating their homes while officially on extended sick leave. In other words, they’re supposedly too sick to work their regular jobs but well enough to take on other activities.

Of course, the situation isn’t necessarily that simple. The article also notes that experts believe multiple factors are driving the rise in reported sick leave, including mental health issues, greater workplace pressure, and changes in how sick leave is reported.

Still, I find the business side of this story fascinating.

Think about it: one company’s problem becomes another person’s business opportunity.

Imagine a new office building opening in your neighborhood. Once employees start arriving every day, someone realizes there’s an opportunity to park a food truck nearby and sell them lunch. The business exists because something else creates demand.

That’s essentially what’s happening here, although the circumstances are obviously very different. Employers have a problem, and a detective agency has found a service to address it.

It also makes me think about my own experience working in a hotel. 

Like many jobs, mine has rules about sick days. If someone occasionally needs extra time off because they’re genuinely ill or injured, that’s one thing. But repeated, extended absences can raise questions, particularly when an employer suspects something isn’t right.

I’m curious whether this kind of detective work is becoming more common in other countries, too. Germany might be the focus of this particular story, but I wouldn’t be surprised if similar situations were happening elsewhere.

Either way, it’s a strange reminder that almost any problem can create an opportunity for someone willing to provide a solution.

2. Scientists Implant an Artificial Heart Powered by Magnetic Levitation

The second story comes from IGN, a website I regularly visit for entertainment and video game news. Now and then, it also features fascinating stories with nothing to do with gaming.

In July 2024, a report described surgeons successfully implanting an artificial titanium heart in a human patient. What makes the device especially interesting is that it uses magnetic levitation technology similar to the technology used in high-speed trains.

Yes, the same general concept that helps trains glide above their tracks is being applied to an artificial heart.

Magnetic levitation, often shortened to maglev, uses magnetic forces to suspend an object without the usual physical contact between moving surfaces. In high-speed trains, this technology helps reduce friction. In the artificial heart described in the report, it helps power a pump designed to move blood through the body.

California-based company BiVACOR developed the device in partnership with the Texas Heart Institute. According to the report, the titanium artificial heart uses a rotary blood pump with a single moving part. It is designed to help patients whose hearts can no longer function adequately.

The initial goal is to provide a temporary solution for people waiting for a heart transplant. Researchers also hope that future versions of the technology could eventually serve as a long-term replacement for a failing human heart.

And that possibility is incredible.

The report highlighted the enormous gap between the number of people who need heart transplants and the number of donor hearts available. With so many patients facing serious heart problems, a successful artificial heart could potentially give people more time while they wait for a transplant. If the technology continues to develop, it could open up even more possibilities for the future of heart care.

Stories like this make me think about how far technology has come. Something that sounds like science fiction can become a real medical device through years of scientific research and engineering.

It also hits closer to home for me because I have high cholesterol and hypothyroidism.

I follow a vegan diet, but I’ve learned that my thyroid condition can affect my cholesterol levels. That has made me more aware of stories involving heart disease, cholesterol, and new developments in medical technology.

3. The Man Who Wants to Father 100 Children Through Sperm Donation

For the third and final story, we’re moving from medical technology to something that sounds like an entirely different kind of record-breaking achievement.

According to a January 2025 report from The Daily Star, Kyle Gordy, who was 32 at the time, was on track to father 100 children through sperm donation.

The article reported that Gordy had already fathered 87 children worldwide, with more expected in the coming months. He had also said that he had no plans to stop donating.

Let that sink in for a moment. We’re talking about a man who was approaching 100 biological children without necessarily having the traditional family life most people associate with fatherhood.

Gordy has described his work as helping women and couples start families, particularly those who have struggled to conceive. He has reportedly provided sperm donations for free through his website, Be Pregnant Now.

In interviews, he has said he is happy to help people become parents. He has also said his donations have helped women told their chances of getting pregnant were very low.

In one interview, Gordy described himself as having a regular day job while serving as a sperm donor outside of work. He compared himself to Superman, living an ordinary life before putting on his metaphorical cape to help people start families.

The article also described his international reach, with children and prospective parents connected to him across multiple countries. At the time of the report, he was expecting more children in parts of Europe and hoped to expand his reach even further.

What makes this story so unusual is its scale. Most people who become parents don’t expect to have anything close to 100 biological children. For Gordy, however, the number seems less important than continuing to help people who want to have children.

I have to admit, this story got me thinking about fatherhood and the different ways people approach it.

Personally, I don’t intend to have children. But the idea of having biological children around the world is something I find interesting to think about. If my genetic material could help someone who genuinely wanted a child but was struggling to have one, I wouldn’t automatically be opposed to the idea of sperm donation.

I’m not actively pursuing that, mind you. It’s just something I’ve thought about.

My mind even went to Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy, the character who spreads his influence across the universe through his offspring. Obviously, this real-life situation is very different from a fictional character’s plans, but the comparison popped into my head.

Whatever you think about Gordy’s choices, it’s certainly a different approach to helping people build families.

Final Thoughts: The World Never Runs Out of Weird Stories

These three stories couldn’t be more different.

'What connects them is how unexpected they are.

That’s why I enjoy weird-but-true stories. They introduce us to things we might never think about otherwise, whether it’s an unusual business, an incredible scientific development, or a person living life in a way most of us would never imagine.

Fascinating things are always happening around the world, and sometimes a headline is all it takes to send you down a rabbit hole.