The James Weird Awards

The James Weird Awards: Exploding Pig Poo and Antifreeze Smoothies

Sour Patch-packaged weed is a real thing, which we learned about this week. Also real: McBaguettes, a Bon Rappetite cookbook, and a few other odd occurrences of note, which we’ve helpfully compiled in the James Weird awards, straight ahead.

• The most expensive Starbucks drink, allegedly, is made up of sixteen shots of espresso, a shot of soy milk, and other additives including caramel flavoring, vanilla beans, fruit purées, and Matcha powder, then served in the coffee chain’s enormous Trenta cup for good measure. Try-anything adventurers, take note: If you downed the entire beverage, it would probably kill you. [Eater NY]

• Firefighters in Pennsylvania saved 200 pounds of Polish sausage after a small smokehouse belonging to a retired meat cutter caught fire in the man’s backyard. “This is definitely the best-smelling fire we’ve seen in a long time,” the assistant fire chief said, awesomely. [HuffPo]

• A Utah woman found guilty of spiking a 79-year-old man’s peach smoothie with antifreeze was sentenced to three consecutive prison terms for the crime. The woman also took control of the man’s bank accounts, stole $10,000 from him, and named herself the beneficiary of his life insurance policies; the poisoning was really just the cherry on a sundae of horribleness. [HuffPo]

• A dangerous trend is sweeping factory-scale hog farms in the Midwest: exploding pig poop. Researchers have figured out that the layer of surface foam that forms on some manure pits effectively seals in gases from the excrement, like methane, but that one tiny agitation of this seal could release the gas and cause a fire or explosion if set aflame. If the visuals aren’t enough, just imagine the smell. [Mother Jones]

The James Weird Awards: Exploding Pig Poo and Antifreeze Smoothies