The James Weird Awards

The James Weird Awards: Twinkie Crimes, Public Zit-Popping, and Ukrainian Bears

The world’s been up to its usual antics lately. In the U.K., consumers started drinking a new energy drink named Pussy; France saw its baguette culture got kind of weird (again); and here in the States, some guy was sentenced to a hundred years of solitude for stealing too much fast food. But those weren’t the week’s only tales of culinary intrigue. The rest are straight ahead.

• A McDonald’s customer in Florida was arrested for popping the zits on his back “for more than 10 minutes” while at the restaurant. He was chased and taken into police custody. [Gawker, News-Press]

• Government officials in the Ukraine are taking steps to legally ban the country’s restaurants from housing bears, which apparently many of them do. The new law would ensure that “owners of restaurants where bears were kept would be fined and the bears permanently confiscated.” [Telegraph UK]

• A teenager in Florida was accidentally shot while trying to steal Twinkies from an area convenient store. The store’s clerk grabbed his handgun and ran after the 18-year-old thief, leading to a physical struggle. [MSNBC]

• Perhaps no longer satisfied by his “Official Hip-Hop Chef,” rapper Rick Ross has decided to start his own Wingstop franchise, with the first location opening in Memphis this fall. Let’s hope it fares better than Flavor Flav’s recent venture. [ArtistDirect]

• Two teenagers in Connecticut were arrested and charged with breaching the peace after throwing a cup into a Burger King drive-through window, hitting an employee. Police were able to find the suspects after the teens had posted a video of the incident on Facebook. [CT Post]

• A Florida restaurant owner has announced a new ban on Larry Flynt after the pornographer offered Casey Anthony $500,000 to pose nude for Hustler. The strident restaurateur declared Flynt “OJayed,” a reference to the time he ejected O.J. Simpson from one of his businesses back in 2007. [WLWT]

The James Weird Awards: Twinkie Crimes, Public Zit-Popping, and Ukrainian Bears