News of the Weird - this just in!

[PeteC]

Whenever you may think this place and population is advancing, just remember this article and so many others like it.

Fortune telling tarantula predicts lottery numbers in central Thailand

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/fo ... l-thailand (Photos)

A man from Ang Thong province in central Thailand believes that a tarantula in the forest can predict the future. So far, the tarantula has made two lottery predictions. The man reportedly waits day and night for the furry fortune teller to come out of its hole to see what it might predict next.

When the man wants “Phaya Bung” – or “Lord of the Tarantulas” – to make a lottery prediction, he conducts a ceremony for it outside of its hole in the forest behind Wat Bot Racha Sattha temple in Pho Thong district. He lights candles and incense and prays to the spider.

Then, he carefully places the numbers 0 – 9, written on pieces of paper, into the hole and pokes them down with an incense stick. He patiently waits for Phaya Bung to emerge from the hole, and when the spider comes out, it brings its lottery predictions out too.

The first time, Phaya Bung crawled out the whole clutching 3 pieces of paper: numbers 3, 1 and 9. The second time, the spider emerged with two digits: 8 and 3.

The lottery in Thailand has categories for both 3 digits and 2 digits so people are taking it as a sure fire sign that the spider knows its stuff.

Hopefully Phaya Bung enjoys the man’s company, because certain species of Thai spiders are venomous and can leave a nasty bite if provoked.

[dtaai-maai]

Bit harsh, Pete, what about Paul the Octopus?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Octopus

Paul the Octopus (26 January 2008[1] – 26 October 2010) was a common octopus used to predict the results of international association football matches. Accurate predictions in the 2010 World Cup brought him worldwide attention as an animal oracle.

During divinations, Paul's keepers would present him with two food-containing boxes decorated with the flags of the teams in an upcoming match. Whichever box Paul ate from first was considered his prediction for which team would win the match.

His keepers at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, mainly tasked him with predicting the outcomes of international matches in which the German team was playing. Paul correctly chose the winning team in four of Germany's six Euro 2008 matches, and all seven of their matches in the 2010 World Cup—including Germany's third place play-off win over Uruguay on 10 July. He also correctly chose Spain as the winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.[2] In all, Paul amassed an overall record of 12 correct predictions out of 14: a success rate of approximately 85.7%.

The main difference is, I suppose, that Paul the Octopus was a true predictor and not just silly superstition.

[Nereus]

Calling someone bald deemed 'sexual harassment'

https://au.news.yahoo.com/calling-someo ... 47277.html

Simply calling a man "bald" can now be considered sexual harassment, a tribunal ruled after one man was called a "bald c***" at work.

The arguments were heard at the Employment Tribunal in the UK, after 64-year-old Tony Finn and his factory supervisor, Jamie King, got into an altercation in July 2019.

Mr Finn said he was working on a machine that was awaiting repairs and the altercation happened when he brought up an issue with Mr King.

In Mr Finn's witness statement, he alleged Mr King called him a "bald c***" and said he threatened to "deck" him.

Mr Finn was "fearful" for his safety and he retreated to an office. Mr King continued to threaten Mr Finn through the office door and the abuse was witnessed by another supervisor.

The decision found Mr King's comments were "unwelcome and uninvited and therefore was unwanted".

Eventually, Mr Finn was fired and that's how the case ended up in front of the tribunal.

"It is difficult to conclude other than that Mr King uttered those words with the purpose of violating the claimant’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him," the decision says.

The judge on the case, Jonathan Brain, said while women can also go bald, baldness is more prevalent in men, therefore the comment is inherently related to sex.

The decision drew comparisons between remarks made about women's breasts and referring to a man as "bald".

"In our judgment, there is a connection between the word “bald” on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other," the decision says.

As the judges ruled in Mr Finn's favour he will be compensated for losing his job and now, calling someone bald is considered to be sexual harassment.

[Dannie Boy]

What is the world coming to!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GroveHillWanderer]

calling someone bald is considered to be sexual harassment.

That's not an accurate statement though. All this verdict means is that calling someone bald could potentially be considered sexual harassment, depending on the exact circumstances of the specific incident in question.

[handdrummer]

calling someone bald is considered to be sexual harassment.

That's not an accurate statement though. All this verdict means is that calling someone bald could potentially be considered sexual harassment, depending on the exact circumstances of the specific incident in question.

Would "hairless" or "skinhead" have the same sexual connotation and would one female, referring to another female's breasts be considered sexual harrassment?

Would calling someone a "dog" be defamation of character and, if so, what about the potential harm to the dog? One could go on and on. Stupidity is on the rise.

[handdrummer]

calling someone bald is considered to be sexual harassment.

That's not an accurate statement though. All this verdict means is that calling someone bald could potentially be considered sexual harassment, depending on the exact circumstances of the specific incident in question.

Would "hairless" or "skinhead" have the same sexual connotation and would one female, referring to another female's breasts be considered sexual harrassment?

Would calling someone a "dog" be defamation of character and, if so, what about the potential harm to the dog? One could go on and on. Stupidity is on the rise.

The judge's name is Brain. Really?

[Nereus]

Careful where you park your helicopter!
These machines are used extensively for cattle mustering in Australia. The first one that I owned had a serial number under 150, not long ago the constuction number hit 12,000. (not all in Australia). I think that there may be more to this story than is being reported, as it is not quite the same as stealing a car!
...............................................................................................................
Man charged after 'stealing helicopter from airfield'

https://au.news.yahoo.com/man-charged-a ... 39264.html

A man has been charged after he allegedly stole a helicopter near Darwin before it was taken to a property 300km away.

Police in the Northern Territory have finally managed to track down the alleged perpetrator after the Robinson Helicopter R22 was taken from an airfield in Weddell in June last year.

The man, 50, paid a deposit on the aircraft but never returned, police say.

Detectives from the Northern Investigations Section attended a property in Bradshaw on Tuesday and seized the stolen helicopter.

The man was arrested and charged with one count of stealing, and is expected to face court at a later date.

It is further alleged the man refused to pay the outstanding amount on the aircraft.

“Police would like to thank Livestock Biosecurity for their assistance in this investigation, along with the members of the public who provided vital information in regards to the location of the helicopter," Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Lawson said.

The alleged theft stunned many when police shared the update on Facebook.

"Only in the Territory," one person said.

Police retrieved the helicopter 11 months after it was allegedly stolen. Source: NT Police

R22.jpg (182.56 KiB) Viewed 530 times

[HHTel]

A man who drunkenly stole a double decker bus says he is ‘unable to remember’ the late-night joyride.

Stephen McCartan, 52, had become separated from his drinking buddy in Poole, Dorset on December 27.

He was later caught on camera ‘staggering’ into the town’s bus station at 1am.

The former soldier had been searching for a way home, to his house three miles away in the village of Hamworthy.

His answer came in the form of a red and blue Morebus decker bus.

A court heard that McCartan stumbled inside the bus, before settling down on a seat on the top deck for a quick nap.

Once the veteran awoke, around an hour later, he relocated to the driver’s seat and managed to start the vehicle.

McCartan then reversed the 12-tonne bus out of the station, crashing into railings and a parked Fiat Panda car in the process.

The court heard the damage to the bus and railings totalled £4,646 and the Fiat was ‘written off’ as a result of the smash.

McCartan then drove towards his home at Hamworthy, where he then abandoned the bus with its engine still running.

Appearing at court this week, McCartan claimed he had no memory of the incident.

https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/20/soldier- ... -16680117/

Reminds me of an incident from my navy days. A friend of mine went on a bender in Harrogate which led him to jump into the driver's seat of a cop car with a view to 'getting a ride'. Fortunately (or unfortunately) he didn't notice the two cops sat in the back seat!
He got his free ride.

[handdrummer]

Detectives from the Northern Investigations Section attended a property in Bradshaw on Tuesday and seized the stolen helicopter.

That must be quite a feat; seizing a helicopter.

[Nereus]

Detectives from the Northern Investigations Section attended a property in Bradshaw on Tuesday and seized the stolen helicopter.

That must be quite a feat; seizing a helicopter.

Yeah, you have to wait until the rotor blades stop turning.

[handdrummer]

Detectives from the Northern Investigations Section attended a property in Bradshaw on Tuesday and seized the stolen helicopter.

That must be quite a feat; seizing a helicopter.

Yeah, you have to wait until the rotor blades stop turning.

Thanks, first good laugh I"ve had today.

[Nereus]

Don't poke your finger at me:

Man has finger bitten off by lion after teasing it through cage

https://au.news.yahoo.com/man-finger-bi ... 02265.html

The horrifying moment a zookeeper had his right ring finger ripped off by a lion has been captured on video by stunned witnesses.

Footage shows the man dressed in red poking his fingers through the cage at Jamaica Zoo in an effort to pat the animal as it growls and bares its teeth.

He removes them before sticking his fingers into the cage again, prompting the lion to bite down.

The girls with their phone cameras up keep recording as he tries to wrestle his hand away, propping his foot up on the fence for stability, as does the lion.

Eventually, the man yanks on his hand and falls backwards, seemingly severing his finger.

The lion then appears to retreat into its cage with the appendage in its mouth.

A witness told the Jamaica Observer the incident unfolded in front of a crowd of about 15 people.

She said the zookeeper was trying to impress visitors as their tour came to an end.

video at link

lion.jpg (156.12 KiB) Viewed 482 times

[GroveHillWanderer]

Reminds me of a famous poem from my youth - "The Lion and Albert."

It goes, in part, like this:

Now Albert had heard about lions,
How they was ferocious and wild.
To see Wallace lying so peaceful,
Well... it didn’t seem right to the child.

So straight ‘way the brave little feller,
Not showing a morsel of fear,
Took ‘is stick with the ‘orse’s ‘ead ‘andle
And shoved it in Wallace’s ear!

You could see that the lion didn’t like it,
For giving a kind of a roll,
He pulled Albert inside the cage with ‘im
And swallowed the little lad... whole!

Then Pa, who had seen the occurrence,
And didn’t know what to do next,
Said, “Mother! Yon lions ‘et Albert.”
And Mother said “Eeh, I am vexed!”

(Best recited in a thick Yorkshire accent).

[handdrummer]

From the book Jim, Who Ran Away from His Nurse, and Was Eaten by a Lion

Jim

There was a Boy whose name was Jim;
His Friends were very good to him.
They gave him Tea, and Cakes, and Jam,
And slices of delicious Ham,
And Chocolate with pink inside,
And little Tricycles to ride,
And read him Stories through and through,
And even took him to the Zoo—
But there it was the dreadful Fate
Befell him, which I now relate.

You know—at least you ought to know.
For I have often told you so—
That Children never are allowed
To leave their Nurses in a Crowd;

Now this was Jim’s especial Foible,
He ran away when he was able,
And on this inauspicious day
He slipped his hand and ran away!
He hadn’t gone a yard when—Bang!
With open Jaws, a Lion sprang,
And hungrily began to eat
The Boy: beginning at his feet.

Now just imagine how it feels
When first your toes and then your heels,
And then by gradual degrees,
Your shins and ankles, calves and knees,
Are slowly eaten, bit by bit.

No wonder Jim detested it!
No wonder that he shouted “Hi!”
The Honest Keeper heard his cry,
Though very fat he almost ran
To help the little gentleman.
“Ponto!” he ordered as he came
(For Ponto was the Lion’s name),
“Ponto!” he cried, with angry Frown.
“Let go, Sir! Down, Sir! Put it down!”

The Lion made a sudden Stop,
He let the Dainty Morsel drop,
And slunk reluctant to his Cage,
Snarling with Disappointed Rage
But when he bent him over Jim,
The Honest Keeper’s eyes were dim.
The Lion having reached his Head,
The Miserable Boy was dead!

When Nurse informed his Parents, they
Were more Concerned than I can say:—
His Mother, as She dried her eyes,
Said, “Well—it gives me no surprise,
He would not do as he was told!”
His Father, who was self-controlled,
Bade all the children round attend
To James’ miserable end,
And always keep a-hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse.

— Hillaire Belloc