Cat under car

Police in Vienna were called out after residents were woken with her desperate meowing.

This little kitty went home – but only after Vienna police and firefighters partially dismantled a police car to find it. The naughty feline first woke residents of a Vienna neighborhood with its desperate meowing.

Firefighters and police finally struck paydirt after jacking up a police cruiser, then following the sound and tracing the wayward kitty to a small space inside the vehicle’s floor panel. But it took half an hour of elbow grease before the critter was nabbed.

She was taken to an animal shelter. Firefighter Franz Zehetmeier said ‘It bit my finger’.

No Comments | In: Weird News | tags: car, cat, firefighters, kitten, kitty, odd, police, police car, Viena. | #

Marijuana

Have you ever got tired of getting those unwanted or unpleasant mails, such as bills, catalogs, junk mail and – marijuana?

Sounds funny, right? Indeed, police say a surprise 2-pound package of marijuana arrived in the mail last week at one elderly woman’s home in southern Michigan’s Blackman Township, which is about 75 miles west of Detroit.

The woman called police. Detectives don’t know who sent the weed. They learned that the Arizona return address on the package was bogus.

Police say the pot is worth about $2,400.

Deputy Director Jon Johnston told The Jackson Citizen Patriot that the marijuana either was sent to the woman’s home by mistake or someone planned to snatch it from the mailbox before she checked.

The marijuana will be destroyed. I bet someone is regretting paying for the postage stamps.

No Comments | In: Weird News | tags: crime, drugs, mail, marijuana, odd, police, post, pot. | #

The Flying Donkey... not quite!

It’s a bird. It’s a aeroplane. No. It’s… a donkey.

Authorities in Russia are opening an animal cruelty probe into a weekend stunt on a beach in southern Russia in which a donkey parasailed high over the surf.

Amateur video footage showed men attaching a parasail harness to the trembling mule. The English-language Kremlin news channel Russia Today reported that sunbathers were distressed at the sight of the flying donkey, which brayed in fear as it glided above the bay for half an hour.

Russia Today reported the donkey was shell-shocked but survived.

Reports said the donkey flight was a promotional stunt. Employees of a leisure firm in the village of Golubitskaya on the Azov Sea could face two years in prison if they are charged and convicted of animal cruelty.

No Comments | In: Weird News | tags: animal cruelty, crime, donkey, flying donkey, odd, russia, stunt. | #

Civet cat in coffee tree. Kopi Luwak is a coffee made drop drop coffee beans found in civet cat droppings

According to news reports, Indonesia’s top Islamic body declared Tuesday that Muslims can drink civet coffee – the world’s most expensive coffee, which is extracted from the dung of civet cats.

A preacher recently suggested the beverage might not be “halal” – or religiously approved – because its unusual provenance makes it unclean. But after a long discussion Tuesday, the influential Indonesian Ulema Council said that the coffee, known locally as Kopi Luwak, could be consumed as long as the beans were washed.

Kopi Luwak, which takes it name from the Indonesian word for civets, is made from hard beans that have been eaten by the nocturnal critters and then fermented in their stomachs before being pooped out and roasted. Civet cats are mongoose-like animals.

It’s highly prized for its smooth flavor and bitterless aftertaste, sometimes fetching well over $200 a pound ($440 per kilogram) online.

“Kopi Luwak can be declared ‘halal’ after passing through a washing process,” said Maruf Amien, acting head of the council. “Producing, selling and drinking it is allowed.”

In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Kopi Luwak is produced in the main Java island, Sumatra and Sulawesi. It is also found under different names elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Only 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) are said to be produced annually worldwide.

The Ulema Council has often issued fatwas, or edicts, including several controversial rulings against smoking and yoga. Its edicts are not legally binding, but many devout Muslims abide by them.

Thank goodness I’m not a big fan of coffee!

6 Comments | In: Weird News | tags: cat droppings, Civet cats, civet coffee, coffee, Indonesia, Kopi Luwak, muslim, odd, Ulema Council, weird. | #