Wacky News ↓

Pink Taxis Cater To Fed-Up Females

“The new fleet of 35 cabs in Mexico’s colonial city of Puebla are driven exclusively by women and don’t stop for men. The cabs cater especially to those tired of leering male drivers. “Some of the woman who have been on board tell us how male taxi drivers cross the line and try to flirt with them and make inappropriate propositions,” said taxi driver Aida Santos, who drives one of the compact, four-door taxis with a tracking device and an alarm button that notifies emergency services. “In the Pink Taxi they won’t have that feeling of insecurity, and they feel more relaxed.” Women’s rights activists are aghast at the cars’ sugary presentation and said the service does not address the root of the harassment problem. “We are in the 21st century, and they are saying women have continued worrying about beauty and nothing more,” said Vianeth Rojas, of the Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Puebla. “They are absolutely not helping eradicate violence against women.” The new taxis, however, undeniably open up to Mexican women what has been an overwhelmingly male profession.” w/ photos

World’s Safest Driver

“After 84 years of driving he has never had a speeding ticket or caused an accident during nearly one million miles at the wheel. Mr Geeson got his licence at the age of 15 in 1925 driving a Model T Ford and bought his first car, a Wyllis-Overland Whippet, 10 years later for two pounds and ten shillings ($3.73). He has owned dozens of cars and motorbikes in 84 years of driving and has no trouble on the roads despite never having to sit a formal driving test. Mr Geeson, a grandfather-of-three, has only ever been involved in one accident – when another motorist shunted into the back of him in the pouring rain in 1958. Mr Geeson a former garage owner, of South Witham, near Grantham, Lincs., said his driving motto is safety first and he had always been careful to observe the law. He said: ”I have always said to myself if I stay on the right side of the law I’ve no reason to be scared of anyone or anything.” w/ photos

Man Gets Wife’s Goat In Divorce Settlement

“If it isn’t weird enough that Steve Killeen walks his pet goat through Sydney every day, it turns out the animal was part of a divorce settlement. The Foxtel salesman from Darlington, in Sydney’s inner suburbs, said his then wife chose the animal a year ago after she went looking on the internet for another odd pet, a hairless cat.” w/ photo + video

Police Force Quits After Lottery Win

“A town’s entire police force has quit in Hungary after winning more than $15 million in the lottery. The 15-strong squad in Budaors scooped the jackpot with their ticket on Tuesday and all resigned on the spot. Police chiefs have scrambled back-up units to the region until more full-time officers can be recruited.” w/ photo

Man Finds Rocket Launcher While Gardening

“Talk about an explosive discovery. A man cutting trees on his property found a rocket launcher lying on the ground. Bravely, and foolishly, he picked it up and took it home, where he displayed it on his dining room table. Jarrette Schule, from Comal County in the US, said: ‘I had never seen it before. I looked at it, and it kind of looked like a missile launcher.’ Well, it actually was a missile launcher. The clue being not just in its design, but by the words ‘Guided Missile and Launcher, Surface Attack’, which were written down the side. ‘I don’t know if it fell out of something or if somebody just dumped it,’ added Mr Schule. Fortunately for him, the anti-tank weapon was unarmed.” w/ photo

Ho White And The Seven Dwarves

“A beer advertisement featuring a ranchy version of Snow White has reportedly raised the ire of Disney. The x-rated advertisement, for Jamieson’s Raspberry Ale, depicts the fairytale heroine blowing smoke rings while lying in bed with seven semi-clad dwarves. In this Disney dystopia, Snow White has been renamed “Ho White”, while the lovable dwarfs Sleepy, Happy and Doc are rebranded Filthy, Smarmy and Randy – supposedly to represent different types of drinkers. Campaign creators The Foundry claimed the idea was to convince Australian drinkers that the fruit-flavored beer was “anything but sweet”. However, the advertisement has reportedly angered Disney, the entertainment giant which licenses Snow White.” w/ photos

Woman Chooses Croc Over Husband

“An Australian woman says she divorced her husband after he asked her to choose between him and her pet crocodile. Vicki Lowing said there was no way she could give up 5ft long Johnie which she says is “like a child” to her. Mrs Lowing, 52, who has hand-raised the croc for 13 years, gives it the run of the house and even lets it sleep with her son Andrew in his bed… Her husband Greg said she spent too much time with the pet and asked her to give it up in a bid to save their marriage, but she refused and the couple divorced in 2005. Mrs Lowing, a trained nurse, said: “Husbands can look after themselves but my crocodile can’t make his meals.” w/ photo

Stolen Bras Recovered, But No Bust Made

“Cumberland County detectives found a trailer full of stolen women’s lingerie Thursday and connected it to a 2005 theft. A shipping trailer filled with 287 cartons of Maidenform brassieres was stolen from the company’s Fayetteville plant four years ago. The merchandise was valued at about $400,000, authorities said. Maidenform officials recently notified Cumberland County authorities that someone was trying to sell the stolen undergarments on the Craigslist Web site. “Maidenform normally sells cartons to the retail stores, so when you have a private citizen that’s selling cartons of the bras, that’s going to send a red flag,” said Detective Bobby Jeffers of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators were able to track the merchandise to a trailer – not the Maidenform shipping trailer – parked along Mabe Road, an undeveloped area near Parkton. They recovered 176 cartons of bras, Jeffers said.” w/ photos

Woman Mistook Hearing Aid For Sweet

“A US pensioner nearly ate her own hearing aid when she mistook it for a chocolate sweet. Violet Bishop, 87, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was watching television when she fancied a snack, reports the Spokesman-Review. So she decided to make an early start on the stash of sweets she had bought in for Halloween trick or treaters. “I was lying there and decided that a sweet morsel of chocolate would be rather gratifying,” she said. “I reached for my Milk Duds box and poured a couple of morsels in my hand and threw them back and started to munch. “As I enjoyed the chocolate and caramel taste, it appeared that one of my Milk Duds was not as fresh as the others.” w/ photo

Stripes Painted On Donkeys To Make Zebras

“A zoo in Gaza has got around animal import restrictions by dyeing stripes on donkeys to make ‘zebras’. The owner of the Marah Land zoo in Gaza City said he had used masking tape and black hair dye, applied with a paint-brush, to disguise the white females. Mohammed Bargouthi said it would have cost him more than $36,000 to bring in a real zebra via smuggling tunnels. “The first time we used paint but it didn’t look good,” said Mr Bargouthi. “The children don’t know, so they call them zebras and they are happy to see something new.” w/ photo