Silly news from all over

[Buzz]

This truly is silly if not completely insane!

Sold: Tiny Shed-Like House Sells for 800K Over Asking

300 Euclid Avenue is a detached 1-bedroom, 2-bathroom bungalow, originally priced at $999,999. It was just sold for $800,000 over asking.

torontostoreys.com

 

[MacMadame]

It's similar to when a condemned house sold for $1M in my town. The person buying it will demolish the house and put up a McMansion and sell it for $2M.

 

[Vagabond]

America Has Two Feet. It’s About to Lose One of Them.

 

[Vagabond]

Books seen behind Boris Johnson tell their own story

TES writer spots carefully chosen titles lined up behind PM as he gives speech at school

www.theguardian.com

“Has a savvy school librarian or English teacher snatched a golden opportunity to have a pop at the PM in front of the nation?” asked a reporter from the TES.

“Whichever librarian managed to get not just the “The Twits” but also “Betrayed”; “Resistance” and “Fahrenheit 451” in the shot behind Johnson has my admiration,” tweeted Sam Freedman, a former senior policy advisor at the DfE.

 

[Vagabond]

Update to the previous post:

Librarian who put books behind Boris Johnson says message was for school

Late twist in tale as former librarian claims titles including The Twits and The Subtle Knife were intended for management

www.theguardian.com

“I actually feel a little bit sorry for the prime minister because it wasn’t ever intended for him – I did it as a message for the school management before I left in February,” she told the Huffington Post. “It just became untenable to carry on working there because of the lack of support I had, and I was left with no choice but to resign. I decided to leave them a big message during my last week. They obviously never actually noticed, and it went untouched for six months.”

 

[CaliSteve]

Lordy!

Becki Falwell Blew Her Son's Friend After Band Practice: Liberty University Student - Towleroad Gay News

A former Liberty University student and friend of Jerry Falwell Jr. and Becki Falwell’s son Trey told Politico that Mrs. Falwell performed oral sex on him after band practice in 2008 when he spent the night at the Falwell residence. Politico reports: “The student was 22 at the time of the...

www.towleroad.com

 

[ballettmaus]

This is from May but, apparently, there is a Facebook group where everyone pretends to be ants. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social...tending-be-ants-facebook-it-could-be-n1204701

 

[DORISPULASKI]

This Elite Boarding School Gave the Most Bizarre Punishment to a Sexual Assault Perpetrator

It had to do with ... baking bread.

www.teenvogue.com

This article qualifies as exceptionally stupid. It is a couple years old, but geezum.

Phillips Exeter Academy Criticized After Asking Sexual Assault Perpetrator to Bake Bread for His Victim as “Penance”
Not surprisingly, the weekly encounters where he gave her the bread caused her to have panic attacks.

The school had urged her not to go to the police.

However, to end the weekly bread presentation, the woman reported the man to police, who arrested and charged him.

 

[Buzz]

Ewww....

Vietnam police seize more than 320,000 used condoms

The condoms were washed and reshaped with wooden dildos before being resold as new, local media say.

www.bbc.com

 

[aliceanne]

This is an old Onion clip - but it made me laugh as nothing has changed. The subtitles at the bottom are apropos also.

Congress Forgets How To Pass A Law

After years of gridlock, Democrats and Republicans have realized no one remembers how to actually enact legislation. Subscribe to The Onion on YouTube: http:...

m.youtube.com

 

[MacMadame]

Influencers: Exploiters or Exploited?

‘Influencers are being taken advantage of’: the social media stars turning to unions

The influencer industry is worth billions – but Instagram and YouTube content creators are often exploited. What happens when a personal brand joins a union?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Hooboy, if this doesn't take the cake! https://cnn.com/2020/10/19/media/jeffrey-toobin-suspended/index.html Q: Why didn't Mr. Toobin hire a lawyer to take up his case? A: He thought he could get off by himself!

 

[Cachoo]

Hooboy, if this doesn't take the cake! https://cnn.com/2020/10/19/media/jeffrey-toobin-suspended/index.html Q: Why didn't Mr. Toobin hire a lawyer to take up his case? A: He thought he could get off by himself!

Apologies if this offends but jeez I needed a laugh today and I LOVE this. Poor Jeffrey.
https://twitter.com/rysimmons/status/1318266346610765829?s=21

 

[Buzz]

Whale sculpture catches crashed Dutch metro train

A metro train that crashed through a barrier near Rotterdam is left suspended thanks to a sculpture.

www.bbc.com

 

[ballettmaus]

I thought this was fake at first but it's not. Someone botched the restauration of a sculpture in Spain. https://apnews.com/article/spain-sculpture-restoration-draws-laughs-2a56379d94c9b7fc863717a49bdb2158

 

[Vagabond]

A New Front Opens in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Borscht

“A lot of things were taken away from Ukraine, but they will not take our borscht,” said a chef who is leading a drive to recognize the soup as a Ukrainian cultural heritage.

www.nytimes.com

Now a Ukrainian chef supported by the Ministry of Culture and Parliament is trying to set the record straight with an application to the United Nations’ cultural body, UNESCO, to list borscht as an intangible part of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

A year ago, the Russian government posted in English on its Twitter account a recipe proclaiming that “borscht is one of Russia’s most famous and beloved dishes.”

Last month Russia seemed to back down — a rarity these days — on any claim of a direct sphere of influence over the soup. “Borscht is a national food of many countries, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova and Lithuania,” the Russian Embassy in Washington posted on Twitter. “Choose your favorite.”

That Tweet, however, has been taken down. It's a KONSPIRACY, I tell you!

 

[allezfred]

Have had borscht in Poland, Russia and Belarus and have always wondered what the fuss is about it every time.

 

[Vagabond]

Have had borscht in Poland, Russia and Belarus and have always wondered what the fuss is about it every time.

Try it in Ukraine.

 

[DFJ]

Try it in Ukraine.

I have a Ukrainian restaurant up the street. On a cold winter night, the best!

 

[allezfred]

Try it in Ukraine.

It might be a while before I can.

 

[Vagabond]

Why Were Canadians Warned Not to Let Moose Lick Their Cars?

Let us explain.

www.nytimes.com

The sign caught the imagination of the internet and led to questions like:

“What happens if a moose licks your car?”

“Is it really that big of a problem?”

And, perhaps most salient: “Exactly how would you stop them?”

As for the moose, motorists can stop them from licking their cars by staying out of licking range, according to a tweet by Jasper National Park: “Moose licks usually happen on cars stopped to view moose. Keep beyond moose-tongue distance by moving on before a moose approaches.”

How does Mr. Young define “moose-tongue distance”?

 

[Vagabond]

Austrian village changes name.

Unfortunately, this article is NSFW.

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Oh dear, I had so much wanted to get my picture taken alongside that sign. Oh well, there's still this NSFW named street in Germany. https://imgur.com/a/06AkgJD

 

[Buzz]

Utah monolith: Has the mysterious metal object disappeared?

Utah officials and images on social media suggest the shiny desert structure has been taken down.

www.bbc.com

 

[Vagabond]

Utah monolith: Has the mysterious metal object disappeared?

Utah officials and images on social media suggest the shiny desert structure has been taken down.

www.bbc.com

Update:

How a Mysterious Monolith Vanished Overnight (It Wasn’t Aliens)

A photographer said four men dismantled the mysterious shiny object that has captivated the country. Two Utah residents said they took part in the removal.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Vagabond]

Ministerial aide sacked after leaking of letter warning MPs not to leak to media

Home Office PPS Andrew Lewer fired after ‘canary trap’ operation by Tory chief whip

www.theguardian.com

A ministerial aide was sacked on Thursday night after the Conservative chief whip sent out a letter with varied wording in a “canary trap” designed to catch whoever leaked it....

Ministers could not claim not to have been warned of the possibility of such a method being used to identify possible leakers. Last month, No 10 briefed that it could use a “canary trap” strategy in an attempt to identify the source of leaks. That ploy was viewed by some Westminster observers as unlikely to succeed given it had been announced to the press.

Lewer, PPS to the policing minister Kit Malthouse, denied he had leaked the letter when confronted by Conservative whips, but suggested it could have come from a member of his staff.

Yeah, right! I'm sure he gave one of his aides the letter and expressly said, "Whatever you do, don't leak this!"

 

[DORISPULASKI]

In case you wondered whether there was any crime so heinous that it could get a US cop swiftly fired, there is. In Rockland, ME, 2 cops were fired for jacklighting porcupines and beating them to death with their batons while on duty.

Two former Rockland police officers charged with felony animal cruelty to appear in January court

ROCKLAND – The two Rockland Police Officers who were terminated from the department in September 22 for allegedly beating to death several porcupines on more than one occasion with a baton and while on duty, will make their initial court appearance...

www.penbaypilot.com

 

[ballettmaus]

A racing pigeon from the US was found in Australia. They were going to euthanize him as they consider him a biosecurity risk but it turns out, that the blue band around his leg is fake and that another bird is wearing a band with the ID number in the US. They're now investigating. The pigeon was also named Joe after Biden https://apnews.com/article/australia-to-kill-pigeon-from-oregon-faae5a66c336c8b2dc902b1ed4270345