The tech industry moves at an unforgiving speed. One moment, AI companies are reshaping global power structures, tech executives are embedding themselves in U.S. policy discussions, and futuristic ideas like robotaxis and smart glasses are inching closer to everyday reality. These are the stories that will define the next decade.
But parallel to all that seriousness, the tech world is also overflowing with ego, chaos, and moments so ridiculous they barely survive a single news cycle. When the internet breaks, TikTok faces a sale, or a massive data breach hits, these stories get buried. So as the news cycle slows down, it’s worth revisiting the strangest, funniest, and most baffling tech moments of the year.
Only one of them involves a toilet.
Mark Zuckerberg Sues Mark Zuckerberg
Yes, this actually happened.
A bankruptcy lawyer from Indiana named Mark Zuckerberg filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. The reason? Facebook’s automated systems repeatedly suspended the lawyer’s account for “impersonation.”
The irony is brutal. Like millions of small business owners, the lawyer Mark Zuckerberg paid Meta for Facebook ads to promote his legal practice. Yet his account was repeatedly taken down, forcing him to continue paying for ads during suspensions he claims violated no rules.
The problem has followed him for years. He even created a website ΓÇö iammarkzuckerberg.com ΓÇö to explain to potential clients that he is, in fact, not that Mark Zuckerberg.
“I can’t use my name when making reservations or conducting business,” he wrote. “People assume I’m a prank caller and hang up.”
Meta’s legal team is likely buried under bigger battles, but this case perfectly illustrates the limitations of automated moderation systems and the absurd consequences of name-based identity conflicts in the age of Big Tech.
Soham Parekh Duped Silicon Valley
This saga began with a warning.
Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi posted publicly that he had fired engineer Soham Parekh within a week of hiring him after discovering Parekh was secretly working for multiple startups at the same time.
Soon after, multiple founders reached out to Doshi to say they were currently employing the same engineer.
Reactions split sharply:
- Some saw Parekh as unethical, exploiting startups for money.
- Others viewed him as oddly impressive, given how competitive tech hiring has become.
One founder joked that Parekh should start an interview prep company because his ability to pass hiring processes was elite-tier.
Parekh admitted guilt but left behind unanswered questions. Despite claiming he was motivated by money, he often chose equity-heavy compensation ΓÇö equity that would never vest because he was fired so quickly. What was the real plan? No one knows.
Sam Altman Used Olive Oil Wrong
Tech CEOs are criticized constantly ΓÇö but rarely for cooking.
During a Financial Times “Lunch with the FT” video, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made pasta using Drizzle, a premium olive oil designed for finishing dishes, not cooking. The internet noticed.
Food writers pointed out that heating high-end olive oil destroys its flavor and wastes resources. What started as culinary nitpicking turned into a broader metaphor for AI companies’ energy consumption and environmental impact.
One writer summed it up brutally:
“His kitchen is a catalogue of inefficiency, incomprehension, and waste.”
Altman’s fans were furious. Somehow, olive oil sparked more controversy than many actual AI policy debates.
Mark Zuckerberg Hand-Delivered Soup to Recruit AI Talent
The AI talent war escalated in unexpected ways.
According to OpenAI’s chief research officer Mark Chen, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally hand-delivered soup to OpenAI employees he wanted to recruit.
Yes. Soup.
Meta has aggressively poached AI researchers, reportedly offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million. But soup diplomacy became the most memorable detail. Chen even joked that he retaliated by giving soup to Meta employees.
This is what an AI arms race looks like in 2025.
Sign an NDA to Build Legos (Pizza Provided)
Investor and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman posted a strange request:
“Need volunteers to come to my office to construct a 5000-piece Lego set. Will provide pizza. Have to sign NDA.”
Why the NDA? What was being built? Why the secrecy?
No answers ever came. Friedman later joined Meta as head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs, raising even more questions. Silicon Valley remains deeply weird.
Bryan Johnson Livestreams His Shrooms Trip
Bryan Johnson wants to live forever.
He documents plasma transfusions from his son, extreme supplement regimens, and experimental health protocols. This year, he livestreamed a psilocybin mushroom experience to test whether psychedelics could improve longevity.
Despite guest appearances from Grimes and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, the stream was painfully boring. Johnson spent most of it lying under a weighted blanket while others talked.
It was oddly human ΓÇö and deeply strange.
Gemini and Claude Play Pokémon and Fear Death
Developers streamed AI models Gemini and Claude playing Pokémon as a benchmark test.
Their reactions to in-game “death” fascinated viewers:
- Gemini panicked and showed degraded reasoning under stress.
- Claude intentionally “died” to escape a cave, misunderstanding game mechanics and failing.
Researchers noted that stress correlated with reasoning breakdowns. Watching AI struggle with anxiety felt uncomfortably relatable.
Elon Musk’s AI Anime Girlfriend
Elon Musk launched Ani, an AI anime girlfriend inside the Grok app for $30/month.
Her system prompt describes her as:
- Crazy in love
- Extremely jealous
- Emotionally dependent
- NSFW-capable
Ani bears a resemblance to Musk’s ex-partner Grimes, who criticized the project through a music video portraying AI obsession and surveillance.
The feature reignited debates about AI companionship, ethics, and emotional manipulation.
Help! My Toilet Isn’t End-to-End Encrypted
Kohler released the Dekoda, a $599 camera that sits inside your toilet to analyze stool for gut health.
The company claimed the data was protected by end-to-end encryption. A security researcher discovered it wasn’t. Kohler was using TLS encryption, meaning the company could theoretically access users’ images.
Yes, that includes photos of your poop.
The company also reserved the right to train AI on de-identified toilet images. The future is here, and it is uncomfortable.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the purpose of this article?
To highlight the most bizarre, ironic, and overlooked moments in tech that reveal the human side of an industry shaping the future.
Are these stories real?
Yes. Every story mentioned here was reported by reputable outlets and widely discussed within the tech community.
Why focus on humor instead of serious tech issues?
Humor helps expose cultural problems, power dynamics, and contradictions that serious reporting sometimes misses.
What do these stories say about the tech industry?
They show that despite massive influence and intelligence, tech leaders are still driven by ego, chaos, insecurity, and deeply human flaws.
Is this trend likely to continue?
Absolutely. As tech becomes more powerful, its absurd moments become more visible ΓÇö and more consequential.
