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Weird and Wacky Reigned Supreme in 2003
Jan 1, 9:15 am ET
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - From the Polish undertaker caught smuggling cigarettes in a hearse to a pair of one-legged Brazilian prisoners skipping jail, the weird and wacky reigned supreme around the world in 2003.
Oddball tales abounded with Canadian prisoners being offered fruit-flavored condoms, Cambodians being urged to eat more dogs and China axing hemorrhoid TV ads during meal times.
Tales of love gone sour were plentiful. A Filipino housewife wreaked revenge on her hapless spouse by cutting off his penis while he slept, after she discovered text messages from another woman on his mobile phone.
Not to be outdone, an Italian pensioner beat her husband to death with a scrubbing brush because the couple had never had children.
Vasectomies caused some truly weird headlines.
In London, a vasectomy brought train services grinding to a halt. A trainee driver fell out of his cab after fainting over fellow workers' graphic descriptions of the operation.
A Brazilian man who went to a clinic to have an aching ear checked ended up having a vasectomy after mistakenly believing that the doctor had called his name.
In Tanzania, a man cut off his genitals in an attempt to win sympathy from friends and relatives after squandering the money they lent him on prostitutes and alcohol.
POSSUMS ON A POWER TRIP
The animal kingdom invariably raises a smile and 2003 was no exception.
Possums on a power trip in New Zealand sparked a blaze when they climbed a pole and short-circuited the electricity line.
Queen bees now have to slum it under new European Union rules which only allow a retinue of 20 bees to accompany the queen on her voyage.
A French hunter was shot by his dog after he left a loaded shotgun in the boot of his car with two dogs, and one accidentally stepped on the trigger.
Cambodian canines had to run for cover after people in Phnom Penh were urged to eat more dogs as part of a crackdown on stray mutts wandering around the capital.
A German man who taught his dog Adolf to give a Hitler salute by raising his right paw was charged with violating Germany's anti-Nazi laws.
German humor was once thought to be as scarce as tasty British food, charming French waiters and punctual Italian trains, but a new generation of Germans have developed a taste for the offbeat.
A priest in Duisburg used an old washing machine to brew beer, a stumbling bank robber in Giessen forgot to cut open eye slits in his mask and 937 Germans set a mass yodeling record.
But no corner of the earth was off-limits for the bizarre.
Fijians apologized to descendants of a British missionary killed and eaten by their ancestors more than 130 years ago.
Moscow's Bolshoi Theater sacked an ice-cream-loving prima ballerina, saying she was too heavy and too tall for most of her dance partners to lift.
Six British schoolboys were rushed to hospital after taking the erection-enhancing drug Viagra at lunchtime for a dare.
But at least they were spared the constant embarrassment of a British couple who were forced to change houses because of the shame caused by the name of their street -- Butt Hole Road.
Jan 1, 9:15 am ET
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - From the Polish undertaker caught smuggling cigarettes in a hearse to a pair of one-legged Brazilian prisoners skipping jail, the weird and wacky reigned supreme around the world in 2003.
Oddball tales abounded with Canadian prisoners being offered fruit-flavored condoms, Cambodians being urged to eat more dogs and China axing hemorrhoid TV ads during meal times.
Tales of love gone sour were plentiful. A Filipino housewife wreaked revenge on her hapless spouse by cutting off his penis while he slept, after she discovered text messages from another woman on his mobile phone.
Not to be outdone, an Italian pensioner beat her husband to death with a scrubbing brush because the couple had never had children.
Vasectomies caused some truly weird headlines.
In London, a vasectomy brought train services grinding to a halt. A trainee driver fell out of his cab after fainting over fellow workers' graphic descriptions of the operation.
A Brazilian man who went to a clinic to have an aching ear checked ended up having a vasectomy after mistakenly believing that the doctor had called his name.
In Tanzania, a man cut off his genitals in an attempt to win sympathy from friends and relatives after squandering the money they lent him on prostitutes and alcohol.
POSSUMS ON A POWER TRIP
The animal kingdom invariably raises a smile and 2003 was no exception.
Possums on a power trip in New Zealand sparked a blaze when they climbed a pole and short-circuited the electricity line.
Queen bees now have to slum it under new European Union rules which only allow a retinue of 20 bees to accompany the queen on her voyage.
A French hunter was shot by his dog after he left a loaded shotgun in the boot of his car with two dogs, and one accidentally stepped on the trigger.
Cambodian canines had to run for cover after people in Phnom Penh were urged to eat more dogs as part of a crackdown on stray mutts wandering around the capital.
A German man who taught his dog Adolf to give a Hitler salute by raising his right paw was charged with violating Germany's anti-Nazi laws.
German humor was once thought to be as scarce as tasty British food, charming French waiters and punctual Italian trains, but a new generation of Germans have developed a taste for the offbeat.
A priest in Duisburg used an old washing machine to brew beer, a stumbling bank robber in Giessen forgot to cut open eye slits in his mask and 937 Germans set a mass yodeling record.
But no corner of the earth was off-limits for the bizarre.
Fijians apologized to descendants of a British missionary killed and eaten by their ancestors more than 130 years ago.
Moscow's Bolshoi Theater sacked an ice-cream-loving prima ballerina, saying she was too heavy and too tall for most of her dance partners to lift.
Six British schoolboys were rushed to hospital after taking the erection-enhancing drug Viagra at lunchtime for a dare.
But at least they were spared the constant embarrassment of a British couple who were forced to change houses because of the shame caused by the name of their street -- Butt Hole Road.
