Weird News ε' - The fifth column

[Kyriakos]

Mehran dies...

I haven't seen the Tom Hanks movie, but from its trailer it is obviously not very tied to the facts and more of a disney-d version of the actual (bleak and at times spurious) story of the person who got marooned in an airport for roughly two decades.
Fwiw, Mehran did leave the airport after needing hospitalization, but returned for the end.

 

[Narz]

Depressing. I hate getting to the airport even a few hours early.

 

[EgonSpengler]

A man SCUBA diving off Catalina Island, California, lost consciousness underwater and was rescued by... a trio of mermaids.

No, really.

A woman who performs professionally as a mermaid was teaching a class nearby when the SCUBA diver got into trouble and started to drown. One of her student-mermaids was a firefighter, another a free-diver, and all three women were certified dive instructors.

Fox News, 13 November 2022 - "Three mermaids in California save scuba diver from drowning"

The first pic is of the rescue, taken by an underwater photographer who was working with the class of mermaids.

 

[9gkj548hkm20vk79dj689bnj4]

Mehran dies...

View attachment 644834

I haven't seen the Tom Hanks movie, but from its trailer it is obviously not very tied to the facts and more of a disney-d version of the actual (bleak and at times spurious) story of the person who got marooned in an airport for roughly two decades.
Fwiw, Mehran did leave the airport after needing hospitalization, but returned for the end.

I heard about this and never bothered to look up the true story until now, which is apparently much more mundane, as the guy probably was not "stuck" and just wanted to live a vagrant lifestyle:

Mehran Karimi Nasseri - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Snowygerry]

KFC apologises after German Kristallnacht promotion​

KFC has apologised after sending a promotional message to customers in Germany, urging them to commemorate Kristallnacht with cheesy chicken.
The Nazi-led series of attacks in the country in 1938 left more than 90 people dead, and destroyed Jewish-owned businesses and places of worship.
It is widely seen as the beginning of the Holocaust.
The message, heavily criticised for its insensitivity, was later blamed on "an error in our system".

The fast food chain sent an app alert on Wednesday, saying: "It's memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!"
Around an hour later another message was sent with an apology, according to the Bild newspaper.

"We are very sorry, we will check our internal processes immediately so that this does not happen again. Please excuse this error," the message is reported to have said.
Germany takes the 9 November anniversary of Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) seriously, with numerous memorial events and discussions scheduled to reflect the Nazis' murder of more than six million Jewish people.
Daniel Sugarman, Director of Public Affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews described the original KFC message as "absolutely hideous".
Dalia Grinfeld, the associate director of European affairs at the Jewish NGO Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: "How wrong can you get on Kristallnacht KFC Germany. Shame on you!"
In a statement issued to Newsweek magazine, KFC Germany blamed the message on a bot.
The fast food chain said the "automated push notification" was "linked to calendars that include national observances".

It added that it "sincerely" apologised for the "unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message" and said app communications had been suspended while an examination of them takes place.
"We understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all," the company finished by saying.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63499057

"Kristalnacht" is also a student tradition I think predates the historical event - I suspect the Nazi affair just coincided with it in 1938, possibly intentionally so.

Here at least it is an occasion for students to get very drunk at the start of academic year, hence the broken glass.

 

[Kyriakos]

"Kristalnacht" is also a student tradition I think predates the historical event - I suspect the Nazi affair just coincided with it in 1938, possibly intentionally so.

Here at least it is an occasion for students to get very drunk at the start of academic year, hence the broken glass.

So nazi cultural appropriation of Kristalnacht, like they also appropriated the swastica.

 

[Snowygerry]

It may well be they picked that particular occasion because a bunch of drunken students are probably very handy if you want to go on a pogrom, and by '38 all student clubs still around would have been Nazi clubs I suspect...

Probably ties into the bierhalle culture of the early period idk.

 

[AmazonQueen]

Easy mistake to make

 

[Broken_Erika]

Kidderminster man catches giant goldfish​

Now here's something you don't see at the fair - a man using two hands to lift a goldfish nearly as big as he is.
Worcestershire angler Andy Hackett landed the orange beast while on a trip to France, in a region worthy of toasting such success - Champagne.
The giant, known as The Carrot, was introduced to Bluewater Lakes there 20 years ago, proving elusive since.
But then came along Mr Hackett and rod; using, you might say, a Carrot and stick approach.

The fish, he explained, was a hybrid of a leather carp and a koi carp and after a 25-minute battle, it was all over. The goldfish that had been a white whale to many was in Mr Hackett's net.
"You're gonna need a bigger bowl," was everyone's first thought, quickly followed by whether there were scales large enough to weigh scaly Carrot.

But a weigh-in was achieved, with this beauty's vital statistic being a whopping 30kg (67 pounds).
And yet there was no need for a mountain of potatoes for chips - The Carrot was released back from whence he came to leave another angler with a chance of a fishy tale.

The goldfish commonly kept as pets do not achieve more than a few inches in length, but they are part of the carp family which can reach impressive proportions, with colourful koi sometimes fetching small fortunes from hobbyists.
Mr Hackett's run-in with the special breed came during a visit to a fishery on one of his many French trips, and he said while The Carrot was often seen due to his striking hue, he was harder to land.

"With normal fish," Mr Hackett explained, "you struggle to see them if they're just under the surface, but The Carrot is obviously bright orange so you can't miss it.
"[But] it's a much sought-after fish, not many people have caught it, it's quite elusive."

Anglers, however, always have a chance.
"Just like a general big fish, they're heavy, they're slow, they plod around," Mr Hackett said.
Yet anyone fancying a crack themselves may face disappointment - the fishery has a waiting list of at least five years.

 

[Kyriakos]

How long is this fish's lifespan?
I'd expect it not to be hunted, if it is endangered; or are there more than one there? (and how can you trust fishermen to not kill it, even by accident?)

 

[Samson]

How long is this fish's lifespan?
I'd expect it not to be hunted, if it is endangered; or are there more than one there? (and how can you trust fishermen to not kill it, even by accident?)

The average lifespan of a carp is around 45 years. However, carp can reach ages of 65 years or more if water quality is high and food sources are plentiful.

Carp fishers are very into keeping them alive while catching and releasing them, so you can trust them quite a lot.

 

[Broken_Erika]

How long is this fish's lifespan?
I'd expect it not to be hunted, if it is endangered; or are there more than one there? (and how can you trust fishermen to not kill it, even by accident?)

Most Goldfish can grow into giant goldfish if the conditions are right. This one probably started out as one of those cheap little goldfish you find at any pet store.

 

[Kyriakos]

Wow... Gives perspective to how tragic it is to have goldfish die by accident/ignorance of what they need as pets.
(though google tells me those live up to a couple of decades at the most, and many varieties have much smaller lifespans - a few years)

 

[Kyriakos]

^^ Greater Hungary

 

[Broken_Erika]

Drugs: India police say rats ate 200kg of seized cannabis​

Police in India have blamed rats for destroying nearly 200kg (440lb) of cannabis seized from dealers and kept in police stations.
"Rats are tiny animals and they have no fear of the police. It's difficult to protect the drug from them," a court in Uttar Pradesh state has said.
The court had asked the police to produce the stash as evidence in cases of drug peddling.
The judge cited three cases in which marijuana was destroyed by rodents.

Judge Sanjay Chaudhary said in an order that when the court asked the police to produce the seized drug as evidence, it was told that 195kg of cannabis had been "destroyed" by rats.
In another case involving 386kg of the drug, the police filed a report saying "some" of the cannabis was "eaten up by the rats".

Judge Chaudhary said some 700kg of marijuana seized by the police was lying in police stations in Mathura district and that "all of it was under danger of infestation by rats".
He said the police had no expertise in dealing with the matter as the rats were "too small". The only way to protect the seized goods from "such fearless mice", he added, was to auction the drugs to research labs and medicine firms, with the proceeds going to the government.
MP Singh, a senior police official of Mathura district, told reporters that some of the marijuana stored in police stations under his vicinity had been "damaged due to heavy rains" and not destroyed by rats.
In 2018, eight Argentinian police officers were fired after they blamed mice for the disappearance of half a ton of cannabis from a police warehouse. But experts disputed the claim, saying that the animals were unlikely to confuse the drug for food and "if a large group of mice had eaten it, a lot of corpses would have been found in the warehouse".
A study published in 2019 found that when laboratory rats were given cannabis-laced dough, they "tended to become less active and their body temperature also was lowered".
In 2017, police in the eastern Indian state of Bihar had blamed rats for consuming thousands of litres of confiscated alcohol, a year after the state banned the sale and consumption of alcohol.

In 2018, technicians who arrived to fix a malfunctioning cash machine in the state of Assam found that currency notes worth more than 1.2m rupees ($14,691; £12,143) had been shredded - and the suspected culprits were rats.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-63739836

 

[Kyriakos]

So the rats were metaphorical? ^^

 

[Narz]

Drugs: India police say rats ate 200kg of seized cannabis​

Police in India have blamed rats for destroying nearly 200kg (440lb) of cannabis seized from dealers and kept in police stations.

Likely story... the same rats ate my homework as well

 

[Broken_Erika]

Florida woman sues mac and cheese maker over preparation time​

A Florida woman has sued the makers of Velveeta Shells and Cheese, claiming the dish takes too long to make.
The Kraft Company markets its microwaveable cups as "ready in 3.5 minutes" but Amanda Ramirez says it takes longer.
The $5m (£4.2m) lawsuit claims the time advertised does not include preparation time - opening the lid and sauce pouch, before adding water and stirring.
Kraft Heinz Foods Company described the lawsuit as "frivolous".

"We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint," a company spokesperson told the BBC.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in a Florida court last month, Ms Ramirez's lawyers claim she paid more than she would have had she known the truth.

The lawsuit also asks the company to "cease its deceptive advertising" and "be made to engage in a corrective advertising campaign".
It is not the first time a US customer has sued a company over false advertising.
Earlier this year, a New York man filed a lawsuit against McDonald's alleging their adverts made their burgers look much bigger than they actually were.
The lawsuit said the burgers in the marketing were at least 15% larger than they were in real life.
Rival Burger King was hit with a similar lawsuit in Florida in March.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63825860

 

[Kyriakos]

Company tries to re-brand swastika as ‘symbol of peace,’ fails miserably

Nothing evokes love and peace like a rainbow-colored swastika — at least that’s what a tone deaf T-shirt vendor thought. KA Design wanted to reclaim the reviled Nazi symbols by marketing tees…

nypost.com

 

[Takhisis]

Well, it did use to be a symbol of ancient Indian religions… nuclear Gandhi with atomic-powered war elephants for the win!