Weird News ε' - The fifth column

[Samson]

Poppadoms are crisps now

It’s crunch time for Walkers after a ruling that the company must pay VAT on its mini poppadoms because they are really more like crisps.

Under the complex tax rules, foods on that list attract 20% VAT, which can mean a multimillion-pound bill for sellers. Traditional poppadoms are zero-rated as they are deemed to be a restaurant food or one that requires further preparation rather than a packaged snack.

Previous VAT debates have involved McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, which tax authorities in the 1990s unsuccessfully argued were biscuits; Pringles, a win for HM Revenue and Customs when they were found to be a crisp; and flapjacks, which were found to be too chewy to be a cake and therefore subject to VAT.

In 2008, Marks & Spencer claimed back £3.5m in overpaid VAT on its chocolate teacakes after a 12-year battle that ended in Europe’s highest court ruling they were cakes and not a biscuit.

Walkers argued its mini poppadoms should not be classed as a crisp as they were not made from potato and required preparation before consumption, as they were designed for dipping in sauces or to have alongside a curry.

However, a tax tribunal found that the “small, generally round, bite-sized objects”, which were “somewhat wavy, with small bubbles on the surface”, were crisps in all but name as 40% of the ingredients were “potato-derived” including potato granules and potato starch.

 

[Kyriakos]

^From that same page:

 

[Arakhor]

Thanks for that bucket of cold water, Kyriakos. It's a cold enough day as it is!

 

[Bamspeedy]

Poppadoms are crisps now

It’s crunch time for Walkers after a ruling that the company must pay VAT on its mini poppadoms because they are really more like crisps.

Under the complex tax rules, foods on that list attract 20% VAT, which can mean a multimillion-pound bill for sellers. Traditional poppadoms are zero-rated as they are deemed to be a restaurant food or one that requires further preparation rather than a packaged snack.

Previous VAT debates have involved McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, which tax authorities in the 1990s unsuccessfully argued were biscuits; Pringles, a win for HM Revenue and Customs when they were found to be a crisp; and flapjacks, which were found to be too chewy to be a cake and therefore subject to VAT.

In 2008, Marks & Spencer claimed back £3.5m in overpaid VAT on its chocolate teacakes after a 12-year battle that ended in Europe’s highest court ruling they were cakes and not a biscuit.

Walkers argued its mini poppadoms should not be classed as a crisp as they were not made from potato and required preparation before consumption, as they were designed for dipping in sauces or to have alongside a curry.

However, a tax tribunal found that the “small, generally round, bite-sized objects”, which were “somewhat wavy, with small bubbles on the surface”, were crisps in all but name as 40% of the ingredients were “potato-derived” including potato granules and potato starch.

Classifications for tax purposes is just that, for tax purposes only, dont need to hear about how one court in one country declared subway bread 'cake'. Because it had 2% too much sugar (and many cakes have 5x the sugar).

 

[r16]

uh , another one of told you sos , like in a year or so .

 

[Samson]

Thai police to charge two over pet lion spotted cruising in Bentley

Police in Thailand have arrested a woman whose pet lion was pictured going on a joyride in the streets of Pattaya.

A video that has now gone viral shows the chained lion cub seated in the back of a white, open-top Bentley.

The lion was being driven about by a Sri Lankan man who has since left the country, and is believed to be a friend of the woman, Sawangjit Kosoongnern.

While it is not illegal to own a lion in Thailand, it needs to be officially registered.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7327613806325140779

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

India’s courts to rule on who invented butter chicken

According to the Gujral family, the dish was the creation of their grandfather Kundan Lal Gujral who founded the restaurant in Peshawar, in what is now Pakistan. After India was split during partition in 1947, they moved the restaurant to Delhi.

They say the recipe, an indulgent curry that involves tender pieces of chicken cooked in a tandoor oven mixed into a rich tomato gravy laden with butter and cream, was invented by Gujral in the 1930s to use up leftover tandoor chicken.

“You cannot take away somebody’s legacy … The dish was invented when our grandfather was in Pakistan,” Monish Gujral, the managing director at Moti Mahal, told Reuters.

But rival restaurant Daryaganj has also staked its claim to butter chicken’s origins. The restaurant owners say that their relative, Kundan Lal Jaggi, had worked with Gujral when he moved his restaurant to Delhi in 1947 and it was there that butter chicken was created. This, they say, gives them the right to call themselves home to the first serving of the dish, a claim they say they trademarked in 2018.

As well as seeking rights to the title of butter chicken inventor, the Gujral family is seeking $240,000 in damages.

 

[Broken_Erika]

The Right To Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed

Inert nuclear missile found in US man's garage​

Police in Washington state say an old rusted rocket found in a local man's garage is an inert nuclear missile.

On Wednesday, a military museum in Ohio called police in the city of Bellevue to report an offer of a rather unusual donation.

The police then sent a bomb squad to the potential donor's home.

"And we think it's gonna be a long, long time before we get another call like this again," police said referring to Elton John's iconic song Rocket Man.

In a press release, police say the device is "in fact a Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1), an unguided air-to-air rocket that is designed to carry a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead".

However, there was no warhead attached, meaning there was never any danger to the community.

Bellevue Police Department spokesman Seth Tyler, told BBC News on Friday that the device was "just basically a gas tank for rocket fuel".

He called the event "not serious at all".

"In fact, our bomb squad member asked me why we were releasing a news release on a rusted piece of metal," he said.

The call to police came from the National Museum of the US Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

The man, who does not wish to be identified and is "extremely irritated" by the media coverage, "was not expecting a call from us", Mr Tyler said, saying it seems the museum did not warn him they would be reporting his donation offer.

"He was gracious enough to let us have a look at it and we determined that it was safe," he said.

Officials never suspected that a nuclear warhead might be present, meaning there was no need for mass evacuations in the city of 150,000 people 10 miles (16km) east of Seattle.

The man told police that the rocket belonged to a neighbour who had died, and was originally purchased from an estate sale.

Police ultimately deemed the item an "artefact with no explosive hazard".

"Because the item was inert and the military did not request it back, police left the item with the neighbour to be restored for display in a museum."

According to the Seattle Times, the rocket was used by the US and Canada during the Cold War.

The first and only live firing of the Genie rocket was in 1957, according to the newspaper, and production of it ended in 1962.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68189568

 

[Samson]

The Right To Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed

Inert nuclear missile found in US man's garage​

Police in Washington state say an old rusted rocket found in a local man's garage is an inert nuclear missile.

On Wednesday, a military museum in Ohio called police in the city of Bellevue to report an offer of a rather unusual donation.

The police then sent a bomb squad to the potential donor's home.

"And we think it's gonna be a long, long time before we get another call like this again," police said referring to Elton John's iconic song Rocket Man.

In a press release, police say the device is "in fact a Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1), an unguided air-to-air rocket that is designed to carry a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead".

However, there was no warhead attached, meaning there was never any danger to the community.

Bellevue Police Department spokesman Seth Tyler, told BBC News on Friday that the device was "just basically a gas tank for rocket fuel".

He called the event "not serious at all".

"In fact, our bomb squad member asked me why we were releasing a news release on a rusted piece of metal," he said.

The call to police came from the National Museum of the US Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

The man, who does not wish to be identified and is "extremely irritated" by the media coverage, "was not expecting a call from us", Mr Tyler said, saying it seems the museum did not warn him they would be reporting his donation offer.

"He was gracious enough to let us have a look at it and we determined that it was safe," he said.

Officials never suspected that a nuclear warhead might be present, meaning there was no need for mass evacuations in the city of 150,000 people 10 miles (16km) east of Seattle.

The man told police that the rocket belonged to a neighbour who had died, and was originally purchased from an estate sale.

Police ultimately deemed the item an "artefact with no explosive hazard".

"Because the item was inert and the military did not request it back, police left the item with the neighbour to be restored for display in a museum."

According to the Seattle Times, the rocket was used by the US and Canada during the Cold War.

The first and only live firing of the Genie rocket was in 1957, according to the newspaper, and production of it ended in 1962.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68189568

That does sound like bordering on SWATing the guy, this really could have gone differently. Did the museum think there was a risk of harm? If they did, how did police figure out it was not a risk but not museum experts? If not, what were they trying to achieve calling men with guns to turn up at someones house for a gas tank for rocket fuel?

 

[r16]

there was a risk of harm . Not a nuclear explosion but it might have other sorts of explosive or rocket fuel residues and whatnot . The owner would be offended because the people might think he would be a fool to have things that might go off at home . The museum would have brought an USAF team that would have tried to confiscate the lot because inner politics so they contacted the Police to keep the thing down .

the CFC fusion bomb expert at post # 11000 . Usual caveats , to be said later .

 

[Broken_Erika]

Sexy Oompa Loompa and AI-generated 'gibberish' turn Wonka experience into viral joke​

What was meant to be a magical experience left children in tears and internet in stitches​

It was meant to be a magical, chocolate-filled, immersive journey into "pure imagination."

Instead, the much-hyped Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, last weekend left children in tears, parents demanding refunds and social media in stitches, as photos, videos and memes from the event went viral.

In a series of TikTok videos, Paul Connell, the actor hired to play Willy Wonka at the event organized by the London-based House of Illuminati, said he felt for anyone who bought tickets to the "fiasco." His job had been to recite from a 15-page script sent to him that he called "AI-generated gibberish."

"People were expecting a magical chocolate experience, and got me in a top hat in a dirty warehouse in Glasgow," Connell said in a video posted Wednesday.

"We were told to hand out one jelly bean per child," he said of the event, which promised to be an "adventure in every bite," featuring "sweet delicacies to chocolatey wonders."

Photos, videos and accounts from the event posted online show a very different experience from what was advertised.

British news agency SWNS shared pictures of a sparsely decorated warehouse, featuring a few mushrooms and a rainbow arch. A TikTok user claiming to be an actor hired to be an Oompa Loompa at the event shared a video of the warehouse, writing in the description that "there's very little chocolate in the chocolate factory."

Jenny Fogarty, the actor behind that TikTok video, told the Daily Mail she and two other female actors were given "sexy" Oompa Loompa costumes to wear for the children's event.

"It was horrendously embarrassing. We didn't want to walk out, just because I feel like that would make it even worse," Fogarty said.

• LISTEN
  Meet the actor-turned-psychotherapist who played the bratty Veruca Salt in the original Willy Wonka movie
• Commotion
  What do we make of Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa in Wonka?

"There were supposed to be bubble machines, there were supposed to be projectors, there was supposed to be so much more that was promised."

Another video posted to X shows an actor popping up from behind a mirror dressed all in black, face covered in a lifeless silver mask, as Connell says, "it's the Unknown!" In the background, a child can be heard whining "no!"

Police were eventually called to the event, as angry parents demanded refunds for the 35 pound ($60 Cdn) tickets and children cried with disappointment, the BBC reported.

In a post on Facebook Wednesday, House of Illuminati said it wouldn't be holding "any other event in the foreseeable future."

"This was an event gone wrong."

A Facebook group set up for people seeking refunds has more than 3,000 members.

#WheresKate?​

The Wonka experience played out over the weekend but picked up speed online on Wednesday as it twinned with another trending social media topic: conspiracy theories about the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales, who has been recovering from abdominal surgery and has not been seen publicly since Christmas Day.

As the hashtag #WheresKate and the terms "Kate Middleton," "Willy Wonka" and "Wonka experience" all took off on X at once, many users joked they were, somehow, connected.

Catherine is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter, and Buckingham Palace has been tight-lipped about her condition. In late January, the palace said in a statement that she was making "good progress" and was back at home in Windsor.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the princess made a statement to several media outlets to dispel the rumours, saying she's "doing well."

"We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant," the spokesperson told People magazine.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/willy-wonka-experience-glasgow-1.7129217

 

[Samson]

Sexy Oompa Loompa and AI-generated 'gibberish' turn Wonka experience into viral joke​

What was meant to be a magical experience left children in tears and internet in stitches​

It was meant to be a magical, chocolate-filled, immersive journey into "pure imagination."

Instead, the much-hyped Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, last weekend left children in tears, parents demanding refunds and social media in stitches, as photos, videos and memes from the event went viral.

What I wonder is if there exists such things that are not scams? Is it possible to charge people £35 and kit out a warehouse in a way that they do not feel ripped off? I am not sure what such a thing would look like.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

The entire fiasco sounds like something out of the Onion. 'The House of Illuminati', seriously?

 

[Kyriakos]

There's no knowing where we're going.

 

[Broken_Erika]

The entire fiasco sounds like something out of the Onion. 'The House of Illuminati', seriously?

Seems to be named that 'cause it sounds cool
https://houseofilluminati.com/

 

[Takhisis]

Seems to be named that 'cause it sounds cool
https://houseofilluminati.com/

Of course, Mulder, what else could it be? You don't seriously expect them to be real now, don't you? Mulder? Mulder!?

 

[Kyriakos]

Some people take sausage recipes seriously, especially when you mention ingredients that are haram.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Sexy Oompa Loompa and AI-generated 'gibberish' turn Wonka experience into viral joke​

What was meant to be a magical experience left children in tears and internet in stitches​

It was meant to be a magical, chocolate-filled, immersive journey into "pure imagination."

Instead, the much-hyped Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, last weekend left children in tears, parents demanding refunds and social media in stitches, as photos, videos and memes from the event went viral.

In a series of TikTok videos, Paul Connell, the actor hired to play Willy Wonka at the event organized by the London-based House of Illuminati, said he felt for anyone who bought tickets to the "fiasco." His job had been to recite from a 15-page script sent to him that he called "AI-generated gibberish."

"People were expecting a magical chocolate experience, and got me in a top hat in a dirty warehouse in Glasgow," Connell said in a video posted Wednesday.

"We were told to hand out one jelly bean per child," he said of the event, which promised to be an "adventure in every bite," featuring "sweet delicacies to chocolatey wonders."

Photos, videos and accounts from the event posted online show a very different experience from what was advertised.

British news agency SWNS shared pictures of a sparsely decorated warehouse, featuring a few mushrooms and a rainbow arch. A TikTok user claiming to be an actor hired to be an Oompa Loompa at the event shared a video of the warehouse, writing in the description that "there's very little chocolate in the chocolate factory."

Jenny Fogarty, the actor behind that TikTok video, told the Daily Mail she and two other female actors were given "sexy" Oompa Loompa costumes to wear for the children's event.

"It was horrendously embarrassing. We didn't want to walk out, just because I feel like that would make it even worse," Fogarty said.

• LISTEN
  Meet the actor-turned-psychotherapist who played the bratty Veruca Salt in the original Willy Wonka movie
• Commotion
  What do we make of Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa in Wonka?

"There were supposed to be bubble machines, there were supposed to be projectors, there was supposed to be so much more that was promised."

Another video posted to X shows an actor popping up from behind a mirror dressed all in black, face covered in a lifeless silver mask, as Connell says, "it's the Unknown!" In the background, a child can be heard whining "no!"

Police were eventually called to the event, as angry parents demanded refunds for the 35 pound ($60 Cdn) tickets and children cried with disappointment, the BBC reported.

In a post on Facebook Wednesday, House of Illuminati said it wouldn't be holding "any other event in the foreseeable future."

"This was an event gone wrong."

A Facebook group set up for people seeking refunds has more than 3,000 members.

#WheresKate?​

The Wonka experience played out over the weekend but picked up speed online on Wednesday as it twinned with another trending social media topic: conspiracy theories about the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales, who has been recovering from abdominal surgery and has not been seen publicly since Christmas Day.

As the hashtag #WheresKate and the terms "Kate Middleton," "Willy Wonka" and "Wonka experience" all took off on X at once, many users joked they were, somehow, connected.

Catherine is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter, and Buckingham Palace has been tight-lipped about her condition. In late January, the palace said in a statement that she was making "good progress" and was back at home in Windsor.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the princess made a statement to several media outlets to dispel the rumours, saying she's "doing well."

"We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant," the spokesperson told People magazine.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/willy-wonka-experience-glasgow-1.7129217

 

[Kyriakos]

Didn't they call themselves illuminati exactly hoping they will be web-reference-bait?
Besides, who is going to sue them for using the name? ^^

 

[Comrade Ceasefire]

Call that a bunny boiler? THIS is a bunny boiler!
(Seems like the work experience kid is the sub-editor today.)

Canned rabbit, once a dinnertime delicacy, now consigned to the burrows of history
Exploded cans of rotting rabbit meat blanketing a scarred jetty is where the tale of the canned cottontail cuisine culminated for the port of Kingston in South Australia.

But despite the local industry's grisly end, tinned rabbit was once in demand on the dinner plates of London's diners.

The stench of the 1906 explosion in Kingston made the local newspaper and helped bring rabbit canning in the town to a standstill.

But in its four years of operation, Kingston's cannery produced some 800,000 tins of rabbit meat for the export market.

Boom and bust

Between 1870 and 1970, more than 20 billion rabbits were trapped or poisoned in South Australia and Victoria for commercial purposes.

How canned rabbit, once a dinnertime delicacy, was consigned to the burrows of history

Long since vanished from dinner plates, Australia's canned rabbit was once popular fare as far away as London.

www.abc.net.au