The James Weird Awards

The James Weird Awards: 100-Year-Old Cakes, Norwegian Butter Threats, and Randy Oyster Behavior

The holidays are an excellent time for foodies, and an equally excellent time for weird food news. Some proof: Guy Fieri made a jewelry line; the chance to cook alongside Todd English costs as much as a year of culinary school; and two Dutch TV-show hosts ate fried bits of each other’s muscle. Really! For a look at the rest of the week’s oddities, check out the James Weird Awards.

• A jury acquitted a London man of sexual-harassment charges based on the defense’s claims that the man’s behavior was a side effect of toxins ingested during his dinner of oysters and smoked salmon. [HuffPo]

• A man in Minnesota celebrated the 100th birthday of a cake, originally baked in December 1911, that was found intact on a closet shelf during an estate sale. The presumed spice cake was discovered in a box with a handwritten inscription of the date on top. Its icing has long since disintegrated, but the 7-inch, double-layer cake is still decorated with mints and now-petrified nuts. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

• Kraft Foods recently introduced a vending machine programmed to dispense the brand’s mousse-y Jell-O Temptations desserts. In a fun but kind of ridiculous extension of the brand’s aggressive adult-focused marketing campaign, the machine has also been programmed with facial-recognition software to deny the treats to children. [USAT]

• A popular Norwegian video blogger has a message for those who think his nation’s butter shortage is funny, and it involves a threat to steal all our butter and eat it “in front of you and your family’s eyes and force you to watch me while I eat all your butter you were gonna have on Christmas eve-ning.” [Eater]

The James Weird Awards: 100-Year-Old Cakes, Norwegian Butter Threats, and Randy