The James Weird Awards

The James Weird Awards: Reagan Robbery and a No-Fun Food Fight

Between product recalls and trans-fat wars, it can be easy to forget that food is fun. Luckily, this week was dominated by lighthearted food-related headlines: Marilyn Hagerty’s adorable New York food tour, George Clooney-approved tequila, and the universal truth that “someday, somebody’s gonna make you want to gobble up a waffle fry.” But the weird stuff still found its way into the news, and we’ve gathered the best bits in the James Weird awards, straight ahead.

• Australia’s most-wanted man was finally captured by a police dragnet after spending seven years hiding in the country’s bushland, where he survived on a diet of kangaroos and other animals. Police described the man as “a master bushman,” which we suppose you’d have to be in order to routinely kill large marsupials to survive. [MSNBC]

• A Burger King restaurant in Florida was robbed by a man wearing a Ronald Reagan mask, earning creativity points from absolutely no one. He got away with an undisclosed sum and is still on the lam. Keep your eyes peeled for the Gipper! [HuffPo]

• A massive food fight at a middle school outside Cleveland turned violent last week, escalating into a brawl that resulted in over twenty injuries. Further proof that food fights are only awesome in the movies. [Buzzfeed]

• The next time you want to complain about your meal in a restaurant, consider the family in Calgary whose attempt to address their concerns with the manager was met with the chef himself waving a meat cleaver at them. [Calgary Herald]

• A urologists’ group in Cape Cod gave away free pizzas to vasectomy patients in an effort to drum up awareness and business. Definitely seems like a fair trade. [Grub Street Boston]

The James Weird Awards: Reagan Robbery and a No-Fun Food Fight