News from a Weird World 20 April 2011 the Weekly Offbeat News

In this week's edition of News From A Weird World, you can read about Kiki being a bad word, how hundreds of dogs were saved from a Chinese menu, Polk County's Curtain Call is a big success, a boy who loses his dog burns the house down, and how a pensioner beat off a home intruder with a frying pan.

News From A Weird World is published every Wednesday and is a selection of offbeat news stories that have appeared during the past week, and that are the kind that make you sit up and wonder what on earth people were thinking to get into the news in this way.

If you do enjoy News From A Weird World, and I hope you do, please can you help spread the word by sharing this article with your friends. Whether emailing a link to this article to them or sharing it on Facebook, Twitter etc, every bit of help that you can give to make people aware that News From A Weird World exists will help to make the effort taken to create these weekly articles worthwhile. Thank you so much for reading this article, and for helping to spread the word.

========================================

Kiki License Plate Is A Rude Word

Lots of people like to have personalized license plates on their car, and Kristen Perry who lives in Newcastle in Australia is no exception.

She was most surprised to receive a letter in the mail to say that her personalized plate, "Kiki" was deemed to be offensive, and that a complaint had been filed.

It appears that in the Tagalong language that is used in the Philippines, the word "Kiki" means "vagina" and it's an offensive word.

Fortunately for the woman, the authorities realized that they had not exactly taken a "common sense" approach to the complaint, and have allowed her to keep her plates.

Different words mean different things in different languages, and it's impossible to please everybody, and indeed to not offend anyone either. Sometimes common sense is needed when it comes to matters like these.

Read the full story HERE .

.

What Daily Specials Do You Have?

Who doesn't love Chinese food, I think we all do, but over in China they do eat some really strange things.

Last week animal activists got together and intercepted a truck that was carrying dogs and was bound for restaurants in Beijing. One motorist got in front of the truck and forced it to stop, then alerted other animal activists, about 200 of who came to his assistance.

Many of the dogs had been stolen from their owners in Henan province, and the number rescued varies depending on source, but it's somewhere between 430 and 520 animals.

Fortunately for the owners, many dogs still had collars attached, and the owners were able to be identified from the tags. The other ones that were healthy have been put up for adoption, and those that were sick were sent to animal shelters.

The transporters are not able to be prosecuted however, since they were holding the required permits to transport the animals.

It makes you think twice when that piece of Chinese chicken looks and tastes a bit odd doesn't it.

Read the full story HERE .

.

It's Curtain Call Time In Polk Country

Every so often a new type of prostitution racket crops up, and detectives busted a good one last week in Polk County in Florida.

Following adverts that were placed on a web site, detectives arranged to meet with a number of people who were offering sexual services, and in total arrested 24 men and 36 women in the sting operation aptly named "Curtain Call".

Some of the suspects came alone, others even car pooled, as they arrived at a remote location to offer their services. Some even brought their children along, and not surprisingly, some brought STD's as well.

There were gang members, one of whom described himself as "every single woman's best friend and very married woman's best kept secret".

Then a school bus driver who specialized in body rubs, and a transsexual who offered pretty much everything.

One 15 year old girl turned up with her pimp and also her 2 month old baby.

I think we can congratulate the Sheriff's Department on a job well done. I just hope that those arrested get an appropriate sentence as a result.

Read the full story HERE.

.

Boy Loses Dog Burns Down House

This is another sad story out of S. Petersburg in Florida, and it proves yet again that parents should educate their children properly and from an early age too.

Imagine the scene... a 15 year old boy is looking for his dog in the middle of the night, and he can't see where it is, but he thinks that it might be under the bed.

So what would you do? Turn on the light maybe, but no, this boy decided to light a candle and look under the bed instead.

Next thing you know, the bed catches fire, followed by the rest of the house, including the missing dog.

Any parents who read this and don't understand the importance of teaching your kids about the dangers of playing with fire, this is a lesson to you maybe. And make sure they have a flashlight with batteries too.

Read the full story HERE.

.

Let's End This Week On A Happy Note

Enough of the stupidity, crime and violence, that usually accompanies News From A Weird World. I think it's time to finish this week's article on a happier note don't you.

Our story begins when 81 year old Bobby Smith of Jacksonville in Florida was out tending to his garden last Saturday afternoon.

His caretaker, who is a young 65 years old, rushed out to tell him that someone was inside his home.

Bobby Smith goes inside, and finds a man who is armed with a gun and with a bag containing his money. When the man saw him, he pushed the elderly man to the floor and grabbed his wallet.

So what does Bobby do? He grabs a skillet that is full of fried potatoes and whacks the man around the head. Meantime the caretaker has grabbed a pitchfork and also manages to give the guy a good prodding.

The intruder left - but minus some of his teeth and a pool of blood.

That's what I call a sweet victory.

Read the full story HERE.

========================================

I hope you enjoyed this edition of News From A Weird World as much as I enjoyed compiling all the stories.

You can now also find links to all of the News From A Weird World and Offbeat News editions at Squidoo , and if you do enjoy these weekly Offbeat News articles, please could you help share them with your friends etc. I am sure they could use a good laugh too.

News Reports Are Taken From The Following Sources:

ABC News Australia
Courthouse News
Demotix
Digital Spy
Football 365
Metro UK
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Bournemouth Echo
The Daily Mail
The Daily Telegraph
The London Evening Standard
The Sun

You Can Read Previous Editions Of News From A Weird World Here

For more fun at the expense of victims around the world, take a look at the previous editions of News From A Weird World:

6_Apr_2011 - 13_Apr_2011
2_Mar_2011 - 9_Mar_2011 - 16_Mar_2011 - 23_Mar_2011 - 30_Mar_2011
2_Feb_2011 - 9_Feb_2011 - 16_Feb_2011 - 23 Feb 2011
5_Jan_2011 - 12_Jan_2011 - 19_Jan_2011 - 26_Jan_2011
1_Dec_2010 - 8_Dec_2010 - 15_Dec_2010 - 22_Dec_2010 - 29_Dec_2010
3_Nov_2010 - 10_Nov_2010 - 17_Nov_2010 - 24_Nov_2010
6_Oct_2010 - 13_Oct_2010 - 20_Oct_2010 - 27_Oct_2010
1_Sep_2010 - 8_Sep_2010 - 15_Sep_2010 - 22_Sep_2010 - 29_Sep_2010
4_Aug_2010 - 11_Aug_2010 - 18_Aug_2010 - 25_Aug_2010
7_Jul_2010 - 14_Jul_2010 - 21_Jul_2010 - 28_Jul_2010
2_Jun_2010 - 9_Jun_2010 - 16_Jun_2010 - 23_Jun_2010 - 30_Jun_2010
5_May_2010 - 12_May_2010 - 19_May_2010 - 26_May_2010
21_Apr_2010 - 28_Apr_2010
3_Mar_2010 - 10_Mar_2010 - 17_Mar_2010 - 24_Mar_2010 - 31_Mar_2010
2_Feb_2010

As always, your comments on any of these news stories are appreciated, and if you enjoy News From A Weird World, please share this edition with your friends.