Oddacity News
Mexico sends up the Bat Signal, grenade + peanut butter = trouble, stinky card games
Welcome to Oddacity News, your source for the weird, unusual and offbeat news of the world.
Sticky situation: A mysterious vigilante nicknamed the “Mexican Batman” is catching suspected thieves and duct-taping them to lamp posts, reports The Sun. Police in Lagos de Moreno say they have found five men taped to poles, unable to move. The vigilante wrote “ratero” — the Spanish word for thief — on the foreheads of the men, while also drawing moustaches and cat whiskers on their faces.
Was it smooth or chunky?: A TSA agent at Indianapolis International Airport found a smoke grenade concealed in a jar of peanut butter in a passenger’s bag. The x-ray scan actually showed two smoke grenades but upon opening the bag, the agent initially only found one. “After additional inspection of all the contents in the bag, it became obvious the second grenade was in the peanut butter jar,” said TSA’s Michael Dunphy. The passenger said a friend had told him that placing the grenade in the peanut butter would enable it to escape TSA detection.
Pinniped news, part I: Wildlife experts say that a purple elephant seal on the California coast got its unusual color from algae, reports SFGate. The seal at Ano Nuevo State Park, “looks like it took a bath in grape juice,” the park said on Instagram. In fact, the purple come from red algae the seal has been laying on on the beach. "This algae can temporarily dye the fur of the seals,” said a park official.
Pinniped news, part II: A 2,200-pound elephant seal nicknamed Neil is reeking havoc in Tasmania, breaking fences, bending steel bollards, and bashing into at least one parked car, reports The Guardian. Despite the damage, Neil is a popular sight on the island when he comes ashore once or twice a year. Road signs warn drivers: “Seal on road. Slow down.” One official said Neil is “the only bloke in Tasmania who can stop traffic, ignore everyone, and still be loved for it.”
Unwelcome: A 79-year-old great-grandmother in England has been banned for life nationwide by one of the largest grocery chains in the country, reports the Manchester Evening News. Rita Seymour says she was trying to buy a EuroMillions lottery ticket at a Sainsbury's store, but had to ask an employee four times before getting a response. The situation escalated and staff accused her of being rude and “pinching food.” Seymour said she did nothing wrong and would like the ban lifted, since the store is just five minutes from her home.
Ew: Something stinks — literally — in the world of trading card games. IGN.com reports that an Oregon game store suspended its Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments because of “issues with people mistreating the restrooms and multiple bad reviews because of poor hygiene.” The official Yu-Gi-Oh tournament rules state: “Neglecting to wash or put on clean clothes contributes to an unpleasant atmosphere at the event.” Meanwhile, in Pokemon card competitions, official rules remind players to “maintain a socially acceptable level of hygiene.”
Neil is so cute! I wish I could see him coming down the street.