News of the Weird: Fortune cookies sent wrong message

A manufacturer of fortune cookies contacted the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney, Australia, to announce they no longer will fill her orders for custom messages that are offensive or contain expletives. 9News reported that Nahji Chu, owner of Lady Chu, ordered profanity-laced cookies for Valentine’s Day. But after the manufacturer mistakenly sent some of Chu’s cookies to another customer, causing distress with that customer, they changed their policy. Some of Chu’s more PG-rated cookie messages include, “You are capable of great things. But all you do is look at your phone all day.” “You won’t be that great, sorry!” and “Your divorce is coming soon.” Chu said she’ll “take out the profanities and be creative” with her next order.

The sheriff’s office in Lee County, Fla., is investigating after a Feb. 7 incident involving an allegedly intoxicated man riding on a lawnmower, WESH-TV reported. A video camera caught the mower plowing into a mailbox along the street; the man drove off, apparently hitting multiple other mailboxes along the way. Matt Clardy, whose mailbox was among the victims, called it “absolutely disgusting” but admitted, “It’s so funny. I can watch it 100 times.” Police are still trying to identify the man.

Domino’s Pizza UK has launched Eau de Passion, which is inspired by its Pepperoni Passion pizza and features notes of spice, pepper and a woody, warm base, the New York Post reported. The scent’s bottle is shaped like a slice of pizza, and the cologne is free from Domino’s website if you’re lucky enough to be chosen to receive one. British celebrity Luke Debono, who’s promoting the scent, said it is “the perfect gift for passionate pizza-loving couples looking to spice things up.”

A high school teacher in Queensland, Australia, has taken to identifying as a cat, 7News-TV reported on Feb. 10. “Miss Purr,” as she prefers to be known, teaches at Marsden State High School, where she “screeches and growls when [her students] don’t listen,” one person posted on Facebook. She also hisses and licks the backs of her hands during class and wears a headband with cat ears. The school principal is speaking with the teacher.

On Feb. 10 in Inazawa, Japan, more than 7,000 men wearing only loincloths participated in the Konomiya Naked Festival at a Shinto shrine, The Mainichi reported. The event, which has been held for more than 1,200 years on the 13th day of the first lunar month, features a “god-man” who is thought to carry away misfortune if you touch him. This year’s “god-man” was 26-year-old Ryota Kato, who threw himself into the crowd as the men chanted and fought to touch him. About an hour later, he emerged from the crowd and entered the shrine.

Law enforcement officers in South Holland, England, are stumped by a rash of pet cats returning to their homes with patches of missing fur, the Spalding and South Holland Voice reported on Feb. 12. The cats apparently have been shaved. “This behavior is completely unacceptable,” said inspector Matt Dickinson. “The cats in question are someone’s pet, part of their family.”

Officials in the Czech Republic had been planning to build a dam on the Klabava River for more than six years, Yahoo! News reported on Feb. 11, but were stymied by negotiations over land use. Instead, some industrious beavers solved the problem for them and saved taxpayers $1.2 million. “They built a wetland with pools and canals,” said Bohumil Fiser of the Czech Nature Conservation Agency. “They do a brilliant job.”

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