Wacky News ↓

Spotted Dick Renamed

“A council canteen in Wales offices has renamed Spotted Dick on its menu after sniggering by customers. Officials decided to change the name of the traditional dish to Spotted Richard because the original name was “offensive”. Klaus Armstrong-Braun, a county councillor, said: “I couldn’t believe it, it seemed ludicrous. Spotted Dick is part of our heritage. It just seemed political correctness gone mad. There was a sign in the dining room for things like rice pudding and then this Spotted Richard – I had to ask what it was.” w/ photo

99 Cent Store Wedding

“Sometimes a business is met with a kismet of promotional opportunity: in an paen to the concept of overdoing it, the 99 Cents Only Store in Hollywood went all out today in honor of the numerical wonder that is 09-09-09 and married nine engaged couples for the cost of 99 cents per couple. The first wedding started at 8:09 a.m. and the couples said “I do” in aisle 9.” w/ photos

Little Boy Held Ransom For Pizza Payment

“A Darwin mum is furious after a pizza delivery man allegedly grabbed her four-year-old son and tried to hold him as “ransom” for payment. Cindy Paardekooper, 30, claims the driver from Pizza King at the Hibiscus Shopping Centre was an hour late delivering her half-Hawaiian, half-supreme. When she refused to pay, the driver allegedly grabbed her four-year-old son Cain who was standing on the other side of the fence. ”He grabbed my son, four years old, by the arm through the fence as ransom for the pizza,” Ms Paardekooper claimed.” w/ photos

McDonald’s Loses Legal Battle Against McCurry

“U.S. fast food giant McDonald’s lost an eight-year trademark battle to prevent local restaurant McCurry from using the ‘Mc’ prefix in a precedent-setting judgment by Malaysia’s highest court. The Federal Court ruled Tuesday that McDonald’s cannot appeal against another court’s verdict that had allowed McCurry to use ‘Mc’ in its name. The owner says McCurry, which serves Indian food, is an abbreviation for Malaysian Chicken Curry. The ruling by a three-member panel of the Federal Court ends all legal avenues for McDonald’s to protect its name from what it said was a trademark infringement. “On the basis of unanimous decision, our view is that” McDonald’s plea to carry the case forward has no merit, said chief judge Arifin Zakaria. “It is unfortunate that we have to dismiss the application with costs,” he said. McDonald’s will have to pay 10,000 ringgit ($2,900) to McCurry, a popular eatery in Jalan Ipoh on the edge of Kuala Lumpur’s downtown. McDonald’s lawyers refused to comment, except to say the company will abide by the judgment.” w/ photos

Man Calls 911 Twice To Say He’s Hungry

“Authorities said a man was arrested after calling 911 twice for a ride and saying he was hungry. Police reports said Benjamin Dewer, 26, was charged early Wednesday with making false calls to 911. The report said Dewer was apparently drunk when police found him sitting on a sidewalk. He asked police for a ride to a park and told them he was hungry. When police refused, Dewer walked away and called 911 a second time for a ride.” w/ photo

Temporary Tattoos To Find Lost Children

“A concerned mother has come up with a novel solution to re-unite lost children with parents – temporary tattoos. Virginia Lu came up with the idea of ‘tottoos’, which can be tailor-made to include phone numbers or details of medical conditions, after finding a missing girl at a packed football stadium. They can be stuck on children before families head to busy venues and wash off with soap and water. It’s just enough information to contact the parent,’ said Mrs Lu, of Washington DC.” w/ photo

Man Tried To Pay For Gas With Pot

“Authorities in Frederick County, Maryland say a 52-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly tried to pay for gas with marijuana instead of cash. Frederick County Sheriff’s deputies say it happened at the Classic Fuels Store on Old National Pike in New Market, Maryland on Sunday afternoon around 3 p.m. They say 52-year-old James T. Hart of Frederick offered the store clerk marijuana in lieu of cash to pay for his gas. The store employee refused, and immediately called deputies to investigate. When they arrived, authorities found what they believed to be cocaine, marijuana, and Oxycodone in his possession.” w/ photos

Car Left High N’ Dry

“A Chinese family who refused to move for a government project have been left high and dry – after their car was left stranded on a 50ft column of earth. Officials had decided to level several hills in mountainous Hanjiagen village in northern China’s Shanxi province to make way for new homes, reports the Red Network. Qu Liming, 60, refused to move his family from their home on one of the hills – but workers started digging out the soil around his house.” w/ photo

Cursed Cow Tongue Found In Cornfield

“Farmers in Longmont have discovered what appears to be a cursed cow tongue hidden in a rural cornfield. Police believe it may be part of a Santeria spell or a voodoo ritual to force someone to stop talking. The farmers called police to County Road 28 and County Road 5 around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and police said they found a package wrapped securely in black plastic and tied with yellow nylon ropes. Police said someone dug a small hole and left the package inside. Since officers couldn’t tell what was inside the package, they called out the bomb squad. X-rays showed no mechanical devices inside, so police opened the package and found some kind of flesh that had sutures in it. An anthropologist, who is part of the investigative staff identified it as a cow’s tongue.” w/ photos

Huge Blue Feet Festival

“Bosses at the Bregenz Festival have announced record attendance for this summer thanks to a spectacular stage including two giant blue feet designed by a British duo. Officials said there were 259,084 visitors and that 98 per cent of tickets for all events this summer were sold for the festival which ended last night. The previous attendance record had been 230,000 in 2003. The setting for Aida included a stunning 15-metre high pair of blue feet and a giant golden floating elephant created by British theatre designers Paul Brown and Graham Vick.” w/ photo