As Misha and Jerry sliced into the cake at their gender reveal party, expecting to see a telltale blue or pink sponge, they were shocked to find the cake was black inside. As they recovered from the surprise, they finally understood why Jerry’s mother, Nancy, had made such an odd choice—though the reason was even more absurd than they could have imagined.
This was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of our lives. After two years of trying, endless doctor visits, and more tears than I could count, we were finally pregnant. It felt like everything was falling into place, like the universe had finally decided to give us our happily ever after.
“This is it, Misha,” Jerry said to me the night before the party. “We’re finally going to complete our family.”
“I know,” I said, smiling. “I can’t wait for our little one to come and turn our world upside down.”
We wanted to make the gender reveal special, so we decided on a big party. We invited family from both sides, hired a bakery for the cake, and handed the ultrasound results to Jerry’s mom, Nancy. She was thrilled to be in charge.
“I’ve got everything under control, Misha,” Nancy promised. “I’ll take care of the cake and get a special gift for my grandbaby. I just know it’s going to be a girl—I’m ready to spoil her rotten!”
Nancy had been eager to be involved ever since we announced the pregnancy, so it felt good to let her handle the cake. I was grateful she felt included.
As my mom and I set up for the party, the house was transformed into a Pinterest-perfect setting—pink and blue balloons tied to every chair, platters of food arranged on the table, and a banner that read, “He or She? Let’s See!” It was everything I had ever dreamed of.
The final touch was the beautiful white cake at the center of the room, ready for the big reveal. Jerry’s whole family was there—his cousins, brother, aunt—filling the house with excitement and chatter.
When Nancy arrived, I noticed she was dressed all in black. It struck me as strange, but I didn’t think much of it. Maybe she thought black was slimming or elegant. Who knew?
As everyone gathered around the cake, the energy in the room buzzed with anticipation. Phones were out, cameras ready to capture the big moment.
Jerry put his arm around me. “Ready?” he whispered.
“Let’s do this,” I grinned.
The countdown began.
“Three… two… one!”
We cut into the cake, expecting to see pink or blue inside. But when we pulled out the first slice, the room went silent. The cake was pitch black.
Not a hint of pink. Not a touch of blue. Just black.
My heart sank. Was this some kind of joke? No one was laughing. Everyone stood frozen, unsure whether to keep recording or put their phones down.
I glanced at Jerry, who looked just as confused as I felt. Then my eyes landed on Nancy, standing off to the side. She was dressed head to toe in black—black dress, black scarf, black shoes—and now she looked like she was… crying?
“Nancy?” I called out, frowning.
She wiped her eyes with a tissue, her makeup smudging. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice rising. “Why would you order a black cake?”
Jerry stepped in, his confusion turning to frustration. “Mom, what’s going on?”
Nancy dabbed at her eyes, trembling. “It’s not about the cake. It’s what I was told… I couldn’t risk it.”
“What are you talking about?” Jerry asked, his patience wearing thin.
Nancy took a deep breath. “Ten years ago, I visited a fortune teller with my sister. She told me something terrifying—that if my first grandchild was a boy, it would destroy your family, Jerry. And I’d be struck with a terrible illness.”
The room gasped. Jerry’s jaw dropped. “You’ve believed that nonsense for ten years?”
Nancy nodded, wringing her hands. “I know it sounds crazy, but I couldn’t ignore it. She was famous in our town—everyone said her predictions were always right.”
I stared at her, stunned. “So you sabotaged our gender reveal because of a fortune teller?”
Nancy hung her head. “I thought if it was a boy, maybe the black cake would… stop the curse. I even put bay leaves in it, hoping it would change something.”
I pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to process the absurdity. I knew Nancy could be a bit eccentric, but this? This was beyond anything I’d imagined.
Jerry let out a sharp breath. “Mom, you let a con artist control your decisions for ten years?”
Nancy’s lip quivered as she crumbled under the weight of her fear. “I was terrified of losing you. I couldn’t bear the thought that something bad would happen to your family because of me.”
Before anyone could respond, Jerry’s cousin Megan, who had been scrolling through her phone, chimed in.
“Wait, was it J. Morris? That fortune teller?”
Horrifying moment Eddie Hall passed out doing brutal strongman challenge that most people wouldn’t dare to attempt
When it comes to Strongmen, Eddie Hall just has to be one of the most famous in Britain.
The bloke’s a legend and has delivered us with all sorts of memorable moments from knocking out two brothers in one round during his MMA debut to that time he leg pressed 1,000kg.
But the former UK’s Strongest Man doesn’t half put himself through it, that’s for sure. Like during a previous competition, when footage captured the horrifying moment Hall passed out during a brutal Strongman challenge that most people wouldn’t dare to even attempt.
The now 36-year-old was participating in the Conan’s Wheel event, titled after the famed character of ‘muscle and might’ – Conan the Barbarian.
Conan’s Wheel is tipped by Strongman as a ‘test of unrivalled endurance and strength’ that demands ‘not just muscle power but mental stamina’.
Basically, it’s a yards-long bar, fitted onto a pivot and at the end of ‘Conan’s Bar’ are typically weights that the athlete must then lift and carry around.
The dreaded challenge is now a vital component in premier strength competitions around the world but certainly isn’t for the faint hearted.
And when Hall was competing to become Britain’s Strongest Man in 2014, the video shows just what it put him through.
The commentator can be heard saying: “This is mind over matter and his mind says the pain does not matter,” as The Beast carries the bar.
As he completes full circles of the wheel, it’s noted that Hall is going slower than his competitor as they explain that with ‘his body shape, you wouldn’t expect him to do particularly well here’.
He appears to be starting to struggle as his arms start to ‘sink down to his waist’ and he’s ‘barely able to move’.
As he gets slower, Hall then drops the bar, falling to his knees and onto his back as he appears to pass out after doing 720 degrees of ‘Conan’s Circle’.
Hall collapsed to the floor. ( Giants Live STRONGMAN/YouTube)
Crew then rush over to the Strongman as he soon comes round and gets back to his feet ‘covered in paint and covered in glory’.
You certainly can’t knock Hall’s determination, it still worked out for him, as he ended up winning his first Britain’s Strongest Man title that year.
That started off an impressive run for him, as he won his fifth straight Britain’s Strongest Man competition in 2018 before retiring from the competitions shortly after. What a legend.
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