Weird News from Around the Planet

If one thing is for sure it is that news happens every minute of every day, and if we are lucky enough, there is someone right there to catch it at the very moment it happens. Sometimes this news is considered strange in that it can at times come off as thoroughly unbelievable, but the fact remains that some misprints, comments, events and circumstances are just too far fetched to make up. Lucky for us newshounds, cameras were invented and put to use capturing these moments in time. So with so much to see and read, these strange, funny and weird headlines, news, advertisements and billboards across the world have been found and collected by truth seekers and eagle eyes around the planet to entertain your thoughts; making for some fantastic moments in time that may enhance a deep down belly laugh, or not, and I am here to make sure that it is passed onto you.

The Cheeky Chopstick Thieves

Just when you think that things have hit rock bottom with the economy, the cameras discover that thieves have found a new way to rip people off. Thieving bandits with marked audacity have been dubbed by the locals in China as the "Cheeky Pickpockets" who yield their prizes with a set of chopsticks. The gang of money grubbers sneakily dig into pockets and purses with their wooden eating implements, fish around a bit and comes out with the gold, or in one case, an expensive cell phone. This event is carried out in broad daylight in front of high-tech cameras, and mostly targets women. Unfortunately, no fingerprints are left behind to capture the group of saucy opportunists because the only item touching the evidence is eating utensils. The highly skilled gang of rip-off-artists appears to be unafraid of being captured, however the crowds of people that witness their crimes seem unmotivated to do anything to stop it.

Jell-O Made from Human Genes

I wonder if vegetarians would consider humans to be on the list of things o.k. to eat? If so then the newly developed recombinant human gelatin from FibroGen will be right up their alley. The Jell-O is not actually made from human beings per se, but it is made from human genes, and the gelatin that we are so familiar with is in virtually everything from candles to marshmallows. The current method for making gelatin consists of taking gelatin from the skin and bones of cows and pigs, but has numerous drawbacks from transmitting infectious diseases or the possibility of triggering immune system responses in humans. However it is felt that using human genes is a much safer method for making gelatin, and the company is looking at pharmaceutical companies in an effort to study the feasibility of using recombinant gelatin in their products for making medications in capsule form.

Strange Things from Nature that Rocks

From alligator and kitty cat cliffs to natures own set of praying hands. Some of the most unbelievable and amazing places in the world can be seen here: http://weird-funnythings.blogspot.com/2008/11/7-unbeliveable-places-in-world.html

What Do You Put in Your Mouth?

If you live in Hong Kong you may just be enticed to try some dried sea creatures, mystery animal parts, deer antlers, tiger penis or wine with whole king cobras, and they recommend dried lizards for some of the best soup on the planet, or so they say. Of course eating some foods is highly dangerous when you consider disease and improper cooking techniques, but some folks find some of these delicacies to actually be delicious. So if you have an iron gut and are void of a gag reflex, then go ahead and give these three culinary delights a go around:

1. Borewors: This culinary favorite from South Africa is made from sheep, pig or cattle intestines and is stuffed with meat and offcuts, spiced with herds and cooked on an open flame barbeque and served as a meal or snack.

2. Hungary brings us pig blood and eggs. As Rachel ray would say, Yum-O! The tradition is to catch the first pig of the season, slit its throat and collect the blood in a frying pan. Eggs are then scrambled into the mixture until fluffy. The rest is left up to your imagination.

3. Louisiana is famous for good eats, but I am just not sure about Nutria. These large semi-aquatic rodents indigenous to South America were imported into Louisiana in the early 1900's for the fur industry, and were then intentionally released, into the Louisiana coastal marshes. Due to extensive damage to coastal wetlands activity officials in Louisiana are now promoting Nutria as a food source, even posting recipes like "Crock Pot" nutria found here: http://www.nutria.com/site14.php

I would like to give a special thanks to Roy Barnes, fellow AC contributor for helping me to find these odd pieces of news. http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1501/roy_a_barnes.html

Sources:

http://weird-food.com/weird-food-mammal.html

http://www.gadling.com/2007/06/21/the-weird-things-people-eat-around-the-world-3

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3790821/Cheeky-chopstick-thief-snapped.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/1767744/coming-soon-human-derived-gelatin-in-your-marshmallows

http://amazingdata.com/top-ten-strangest-foods-from-around-the-world/