Wacky news that makes you go "wtf?"

[MooMoo2]

Originally Posted by The Carnivore

Giuliani "also agrees...to eat a bat with his interviewer".

Finally something he and I can agree on!

If it tastes good and isn't poisonous, why not? I've never had bat (yet!), but it seems like one of those meats that can vary from delicious to disgusting, depending on the person eating it and how it's prepared: http://taysbucketlist.com/2014/03/th...sgusting-dish/

We are unfortunately sold out of coconut crabs, informed Aflor. But we have another local delicacy, which the locals eat every holiday. We have bats, said Aflor smiling. After some thinking, I manned up and ordered fruit bat pie and a Budweiser. I had eaten bats before and it was surprisingly good.

However, when that meal actually arrives -

Bat itself can evoke particular associations, but the way it was cooked and served made the ordeal macabre. Despite having pursued good, bad and bizarre dishes in approximately 100 countries so far, the judgment was crystal clear: It is the least appetizing dish I’ve ever seen or eaten. My strongest candidate as the world’s most disgusting dish and that says a lot.

Then again,

At the petrol station I got into conversation with a local. He was a young boy of 15-16 years and I described my dinner. "Ah, that’s so incredibly good and the skin is best," he said with dreamy eyes and despite the darkness, I’m sure he got water in his mouth.

So, like most things in life, YMMV. But he does mention something that was raised earlier:

Originally Posted by Batalov

When in Australia, we ate a meal of roos and gators (with my friend we ordered one of each and shared. Both tasted like chicken!)

Originally Posted by retina

Why pay more for things that taste like chicken when you can just eat chicken for much less?

...to which he says...

Culinary amateurs claim that all strange meat taste like chicken, like alligator, frogs, guinea pigs and…….bats. I don’t want to know where they buy their chicken."

Anyone feeling hungry yet?

[masser]

Originally Posted by MooMoo2

Anyone feeling hungry yet?

That's my secret... I'm always hungry.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by MooMoo2

If it tastes good and isn't poisonous, why not? I've never had bat (yet!), but it seems like one of those meats that can vary from delicious to disgusting, depending on the person eating it and how it's prepared: http://taysbucketlist.com/2014/03/th...sgusting-dish/
<snip>
However, when that meal actually arrives -

<snip>

Perhaps he hasn't tried fermented Greenland shark, Kæster Hákarl

The national dish of Iceland, Kæster Hákarl or hakarl for short, is one that is not for the faint of heart. Anthony Bourdain once described it as "the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing" that he had ever eaten, and Gordon Ramsay couldn't even swallow it

This delicacy was brought to my attention by a cook book I received as a gift, Unmentionable Cuisine by Calvin W. Schwabe, a book described here.

[PhilF]

I've been waiting my whole life for this.

Finally, there are cannabis-infused pumpkin spice muffins!

[Dr Sardonicus]

Black leopard mauls man who paid to have pictures taken (my emphasis)

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — A man was mauled by a captive black leopard in a backyard zoo in South Florida, wildlife officials said.

The man paid $150 for a "full contact experience" with the black leopard, which allowed him to play with it and take pictures, WPLG reported.

A report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the incident happened Aug. 31 in Davie, which is near Fort Lauderdale.

The agency charged the owner with allowing full contact with an extremely dangerous animal and was cited for maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe condition.
<snip>
The man was attacked as soon as he entered the leopard’s enclosure. The injuries were so severe that his scalp was "hanging from his head and his right ear was torn in half," the report said.

He required multiple surgeries, according to the TV station.

Huh, wonder why it took two months to report this.

The relevant statute may be found here. "F.A.C." stands for "Florida Administrative Code." The leopard is in Class I, and there are rules:

68A-6.0023. General Regulations Governing Possession of Captive Wildlife; Public Contact; Transfer of Wildlife and Record Keeping Requirements.

(1) No person shall maintain captive wildlife in any unsafe or unsanitary condition, or in a manner which results in threats to the public safety, or the maltreatment or neglect of such wildlife.
[...]
2. Class I wildlife shall only be permitted to come into physical contact with the public in accordance with the following:

a. Full contact: For the purpose of this section, full contact is defined as situations in which an exhibitor or employee handler maintains proximate control and supervision, while temporarily surrendering physical possession or custody of the animal to another. Full contact with Class I wildlife is authorized only as follows:

I. Class I cats (Felidae only) that weigh not more than twenty-five (25) pounds;
[...]

I suspect that that leopard might have weighed a bit more than 25 pounds. The other citation is due to another provision:

(4) Any condition which results in wildlife escaping from its enclosure, cage, leash, or other constraint, or which results in injury to any person, shall be considered a violation of subsection 68A-6.0023(1), F.A.C., hereof.

[MooMoo2]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Black leopard mauls man who paid to have pictures taken

Why settle for pictures with leopards when you can have pictures with lions?
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article...me-petting-zoo

Originally Posted by The Carnivore

perhaps that place was shut down by pissed off vegans who didn't like seeing Bambi and Bugs Bunny on the menu.

I went to a friend's house and had both. Deer tastes like beef, while rabbit tastes like chicken.

edit: The rabbit meat was lean and quite tasty. But probably not tasty enough to make it worth the $43 that was paid for it...

[Uncwilly]

A relative of mine had a neighbor that was a veterinarian. The good doctor had a lion that was free to roam around the hallways of the practice. Once my relative was waiting in an exam to see the Dr. on a personal matter. The lion strolled in. Being alone with the lion and having an adult African lion between them and the exit was unsettling, even though my relative had met the lion several times. One of the staff members would take the lion home on the weekends and it would run around her back yard with her dogs.

[kladner]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...rats-man-falls

A New York City man has fallen through a sinkhole in a sidewalk, landing directly on to a pack of rats and leaving him unable to scream for help out of a fear that they might crawl into his mouth, local media have reported.

In a city long used to tall tales of urban horror, like crocodiles in the sewers, the real-life terror experienced by Leonard Shoulders, 33, appeared to strike an appalled chord with denizens of the Big Apple.

Shoulders was waiting for a bus in the Bronx when suddenly the concrete beneath his feet cracked open and he plummeted into a hole, breaking his arm and leg, according to his brother, Greg White.

[Nick]

A light suburban rail train ran through the blocks at the end of the line last night in Rotterdam. The track runs high above the roads on pillars, and the train would have crashed down on to the ground - except that there is a sculpture consisting of 2 enormous whale tails there. The driver's cab came to rest on one of the tails and the driver was able to get out (there were no passengers in the train).

Picture: https://assets.nos.nl/data/image/202.../1280x720a.jpg


Edit: story now in the English press: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54780430

[firejuggler]

WTF indeed

[tServo]

It was a match between Inverness and Ayr United

https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2020...bald-head-ball