Buzz
For a relaxing weekend, why not take a moment to explore the odd and funny side of the news? If you didn’t catch last week’s list, you can check it out right here.
This week’s news is filled with strange crime-related stories, including an angry walrus, a camel dealing with painful testicles, and a huge stash of 25,000 ecstasy pills. Sadly, these events are not connected. Additionally, a French woman makes an astonishing discovery of a priceless 700-year-old artwork in her kitchen, and we take a closer look at the underworld of prostitution in the infamous town of Deadwood.
10. Surprising Discoveries in Your Kitchen
A French woman was stunned to learn that the painting she had casually hung above her stove for years was actually a rare 13th-century masterpiece worth millions.
A few months ago, a woman in her 90s, who preferred to remain anonymous, lived in Compiègne, France. She decided to sell her house and move. Her family requested an auctioneer to evaluate her 1960s home to identify any valuable items. Philomène Wolf, the expert, mentioned in interviews that she almost didn’t make the visit due to her busy schedule, which would have resulted in everything being discarded.
Upon entering the house, the auctioneer’s attention was immediately drawn to a small painting situated between the open-plan kitchen and living room. It turned out to be "Christ Mocked" by the early Renaissance artist Cimabue, valued between €4m-€6m. Surprisingly, the painting was still in excellent condition, even though it had been placed above the hotplate the woman used for cooking.
How this elderly woman ended up with a 1280 painting remains a mystery. She had always believed it to be a typical Russian religious icon and doesn’t recall when or how she acquired it. However, art experts have confirmed its authenticity, and it will be auctioned next month.
9. The Walrus Counterattack
A protective walrus mother launched an attack, sinking a Russian boat that was attempting to explore the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
A team of scientists from the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) were onboard the Altai, a tugboat of the Russian Navy, manned by personnel from the Northern Fleet. The researchers were retracing famous expeditions from history while conducting biological surveys. Along the way, they unearthed artifacts dating back to the first mapping of the archipelago during an Austro-Hungarian expedition in 1874.
The scientists launched a rubber landing craft to access Cape Heller, but their presence angered a mother walrus protecting her young. The large animal charged the expedition boat, but the navy crew was able to steer the boat toward shore before it sank. Both the crew and the walrus emerged from the incident unscathed.
8. A Mild Case of Hangover
In a ruling just in time for Oktoberfest, a German court has officially recognized a hangover as a legitimate illness.
The decision was made by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt. Despite the apparent implications, the ruling was not designed to justify overindulgence and taking sick days. Instead, the court issued the decision in response to an unnamed company accused of making illegal health claims about its anti-hangover products.
The German court defined an illness as "even small or temporary disruptions to the normal state or normal activity of the body." A hangover, which typically involves headaches, nausea, and fatigue, fits this definition and, therefore, qualifies as an illness.
More importantly, the court ruled that food products, such as the drink powders sold by the company, cannot claim or imply that they can prevent or cure human illnesses. As a result, the company is no longer allowed to distribute anti-hangover beverages.
7. Prostitution in Deadwood
The notorious city of Deadwood, South Dakota, is set to open a new museum dedicated to the history of prostitution, spanning from its frontier origins to the 1980s. The museum, which will open in 2020, will be housed in a former brothel known as the Shasta Room.
Deadwood rose to fame during the Gold Rush of the late 19th century. The city was home to several legendary figures of the Old West, including Seth Bullock, Calamity Jane, and Wyatt Earp, or they passed through the area. It was also the place where “Wild Bill” Hickok was killed and buried. More recently, interest in Deadwood has been revived thanks to the TV show of the same name.
Prostitution was a prominent part of Deadwood for over a century, from its founding in 1876 until 1980, with only a brief pause during the 1950s. Deadwood History Inc., a non-profit organization, is keen to highlight this aspect through a new brothel museum, aiming to acknowledge its significant impact rather than ignore it due to its uncomfortable nature. The exhibits will showcase historical furniture, clothing, artifacts, and memorabilia to tell the story of one of the city's longest-standing and most successful industries.
6. Camel Suffers Sore Injury
A camel was prescribed antibiotics after being bitten on the testicles by a woman trying to escape from under the animal.
At the Tiger Truck Stop in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, there is a camel named Caspar who serves as a mascot and attraction. While visiting the stop, a Florida couple, Gloria and Edmond Lancaster, were playing with their unleashed dog. They tossed some treats into Caspar’s enclosure, and the dog followed. Gloria then crawled under the barbed wire to retrieve her pet, but before she could get up, the 600-pound camel sat on top of her.
In a desperate attempt to free herself, Gloria Lancaster bit Caspar’s testicles to make him get up. Following the incident, a veterinarian treated the camel with antibiotics to prevent any infections.
When the authorities arrived, the couple claimed they acted out of defense because the camel attacked their dog. However, after further investigation, the deputies concluded that the couple had provoked the animal by swatting and shoving it before it sat on Mrs. Lancaster. They were issued a citation for violating the leash law.
5. The Unintended Package
A couple from Linz, Austria, made an online order for dresses but accidentally received 25,000 ecstasy pills worth more than half a million dollars.
The 58-year-old woman received two packages, one of which contained the dresses she ordered, while the other had 24,800 pink pills. At first, she mistook the tablets for decorative stones, but her husband quickly identified them as drugs.
The couple returned the mysterious package to the Linz post office, where the employees were equally shocked and immediately contacted the Austrian police. A subsequent investigation revealed that the package was intended for Scotland. The case was handed over to the UK’s National Crime Agency and Police Scotland, who are now leading a joint investigation.
4. The Latest Member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club
Nick Griffiths from Bolton, England, made a special trip to Dawson City in Yukon, Canada, to partake in a cocktail that contained his very own amputated toe.
We've previously mentioned this unusual tradition. At the Downtown Hotel, patrons can order the famous 'sourtoe cocktail' which features a drink of their choice, typically whiskey, with a human toe floating in it. The house rules are clear: 'You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch the toe.'
This custom dates back nearly fifty years, and since then, more than 100,000 people have become members of the 'Sourtoe Cocktail Club.' The original toe is long gone, and the bar now depends on donations for new ones. Nick Griffiths, an endurance athlete, lost three toes to frostbite during the Yukon Arctic Race earlier this year. He kept one as a keepsake, while donating the other two to the Downtown Hotel.
Although this event occurred in June, Griffiths, due to his recovery, was unable to visit Dawson City with his toes until this week. On Monday night, the bar held a special ceremony where Nick officially joined the club by drinking a shot that contained his big toe.
3. A Black Hole's Feast
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which launched only a year and a half ago, has already captured one of the most extraordinary sights in the universe: a supermassive black hole tearing apart a star.
This phenomenon is known as a tidal disruption event (TDE). When a star ventures too close to a black hole, it falls prey to the black hole's immense gravity and is pulled apart. Some of the material is ejected into space, while the rest is consumed by the black hole, becoming part of its accretion disk. This particular event, named ASASSN-19bt, took place in a galaxy 375 million light-years away, in the Volans constellation. The black hole involved had a mass about six million times that of our Sun, while the star it devoured was roughly the size of our Sun.
Scientists first confirmed the observation of a TDE last year, based on an event that took place a decade and a half ago. However, they caught that episode near its conclusion, when the black hole was expelling the material it hadn’t consumed. In contrast, this new TDE was detected just days after it began to brighten and was directly in TESS's 'continuous viewing zone'. As a result, scientists were able to monitor the event every 30 minutes for almost 80 days, capturing all the crucial stages.
2. The Cheddar Dilemma
A renowned French chef is suing the Michelin Guide after his restaurant lost a Michelin star, allegedly due to the use of cheddar in his cheese soufflé.
Marc Veyrat, who operates 'La Maison des Bois' in Haute-Savoie, French Alps, earned the prestigious third Michelin star for his restaurant last year. However, when the latest Michelin Guide was released at the start of this year, he was shocked to see his restaurant had been downgraded to two stars.
The chef argues that the downgrade was made without any prior notice or clear explanation. When he reached out to Michelin officials, he received only vague replies, including an accusation that cheddar had been used in his soufflé.
Veyrat feels dishonored by the Michelin Guide’s actions, especially given that he insists the accusations were unfounded. He is known for using local products from the Savoyard region in France. According to him, he certainly used French cheeses like Reblochon or Beaufort in his soufflé. The addition of saffron, which turned the dish yellow, may have led the Michelin inspector to mistakenly believe cheddar was used.
The chef has requested Michelin’s receipts and records to verify that the inspector actually dined at his restaurant. As expected, his request was denied. The case is set to go to court in November.
1. A New Kind of Referee Attack
A referee was struck in the head by a cannon blast during a football game at Maine Maritime Academy.
To put your mind at ease, the official is expected to recover since, of course, the cannon was not loaded with an actual cannonball. He was promptly transported to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
At the academy’s homecoming football game last Saturday, an alumnus brought his personal cannon to fire. The school typically uses its own cannon, which is traditionally fired after the team scores, but this time they allowed the fan’s cannon to take a shot, as it is rare for fans to bring their own artillery. Normally, the cannon is loaded with a blank shotgun shell, but on this occasion, it was improperly loaded with black gunpowder and a 'wad'.
When the cannon fired, the referee in its line of fire instantly collapsed, clutching his head. The sheriff’s department is looking into the incident and may press charges with the district attorney.
