speedy servers
Waiters Race Each Other In Paris, And More Of The Week's Weirdest World News
Welcome to another entry in our new column: The Week's Weirdest World News. The world, you might have noticed, is a very strange place — so every seven days, we'll be rounding up the most bizarre things that have happened across the globe, purely for your enjoyment.
From Lego cracking down on California police to a waiter race in France's capital, these stories are sure to inspire wonder — or, at the very least, befuddlement — at the weird ol' world around us.
Lego asks California police to stop using their heads in mugshots
A California police department will have to find a new way to disguise suspects in photos after Lego asked them to stop using their intellectual property.
The Murrieta police department has been using Lego heads to cover up suspects' faces in mugshots and other images since January 2023.
It did so to comply with a bill that prohibits police departments from sharing people's booking photos on social media, and police lieutenant Jeremy Durrant told USA Today that the posts featuring Lego "seemed to get a lot of engagement."
The toy company's attorneys, however, weren't happy with Lego heads being used by Murrieta police, and asked them to stop.
"They were obviously flattered that we were using their product," Durrant said, "but they respectfully asked us to cease using their intellectual property on our social media."
Person rescues hat bobble they thought was a hedgehog
The story of the year https://t.co/KViNIif6PL
— Tim Dowling (@IAmTimDowling) March 26, 2024
Volunteers at a wildlife rescue in England recently found themselves caring for a fluffy hat bobble after a rescuer mistook it for a baby hedgehog.
A vet working at the rescue told the Independent that an older woman found the bobble on the roadside, and brought it in to Lower Moss Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital in Cheshire, England, thinking it was a hoglet in need.
"She was so concentrated on doing the right thing," Dr Janet Kotze said. "She was concerned it hadn't moved or even pooed. That would be spooky if it had."
North Korea censors British TV presenter's jeans
[Image credit: YouTube]
North Korea's state TV has censored the jeans worn by a British TV presenter in a gardening program.
In a 2010 episode of the Alan Titchmarsh show "Garden Secrets," recently aired by Korean Central Television, Titchmarsh's jeans are blurred out — an effort by the totalitarian state to censor what it perceives to be a symbol of western imperialism. Denim trousers have been banned in North Korea since the 1990s.
Titchmarsh himself took the news in good humor.
"It's taken me to reach the age of 74 to be regarded in the same sort of breath as Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart," he said.
"I've never seen myself as a dangerous, subversive imperialist — I'm generally regarded as rather cozy and pretty harmless — so actually, it's given me a bit of street cred really, hasn't it?"
Parisian servers compete in famed waiter race
Paris has revived its annual waiter race to find the fastest servers in the city. ☕🥐 pic.twitter.com/qFW3rGrBZZ
— DW News (@dwnews) March 26, 2024
Hundreds of waiters took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to compete in the city's century-old server race.
"Course des Cafés" dates all the way back to 1914, and was revived on March 24 after being on pause since 2011 due to a lack of sponsors.
The 200 waiters competing in the race traveled a loop measuring more than a mile long — all while wearing a white shirt, trousers and an apron, and carrying a croissant, glass of water and an empty coffee cup on a tray.
Competitors were not allowed to carry their tray with two hands, and points were deducted at the finish line for spilled water and broken dishes or glasses.
The men's winner, Samy Lamrous, completed the race in 13 minutes and 30 seconds, while the women's winner, Pauline Van Wymeersch, finished in 14 minutes and 12 seconds.
Not had your fill of weird news just yet? Check out last week's roundup.
[Image credit: YouTube]
