Asylum

Rogue Batman in Fast-Food-Theft Shocker

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-20T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Food, Video, Vid of the Moment, Weird

Oh, how we all laughed during the woeful "Batman Forever" when Alfred offered our hero a sandwich and the Dark Knight insisted he'd get drive-thru. Remember? Happy times.

Turns out the uber-wealthy Caped Crusader did grab a burger or two, but by ill-gotten means. Footage emerging from one fast food outlet, presumably in Gotham City somewhere, shows the hungry hero carrying out a grab and run. Observe ...

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30 Injured As Bull Fights Back by Leaping Into Crowd

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-19T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Video, Weird News, Vid of the Moment, Animals

Amazing footage emerged of the moment when a bullfight was reduced to chaos. One of the animals jumped into the crowd and ran amok, injuring 30.

The amazing incident happened in Tafalla, Spain, where the 2,500-lb. bull jumped over a fence and stormed up the stairs of the stands, knocking people over. A 10-year-old boy suffered multiple stomach bruises while a man was gored in the back. All the other injuries were minor.

Officials later tied a rope around the bull to bring it under control. The animal was killed and removed by crane.

Spectators were watching a contest of "recortadores," where participants attempt to dodge the bull as it runs frantically around the arena. Mundotoro, a Spanish bullfighting website, said the animal was about to be removed from the arena, as it was under-performing, when it decided to enter the crowd.

The incident comes as the country is split over whether bullfighting should be completely outlawed. Last month Catalonia became the first major Spanish region to ban the deadly sport.

Keep reading for footage of the bull going berserk.

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50,000 Bees Trap Deputy in Patrol Car for Three Hours

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-19T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Animals

A sheriff's deputy was trapped in his car for three hours as tens of thousands of honeybees swarmed his vehicle.

North Carolina-based Brandon Jenkins answered a distress call of a disabled truck in the middle of the night. The vehicle was pulling a trailer of honeybee hives. As he helped load some of the broken boxes of bees back on the truck, they began to get irritable.

Jenkins, who took refuge in his squad car, could only watch as about 50,000 of the stingers swarmed over it. Wake County sheriff's spokeswoman Phyllis Stevens said: "They were confused, without their queen, they swarmed the police car probably because that was the biggest thing around that they could find."

The deputy even had to resort to deadly force when a few of the intruders got inside. "It was more or less self-defense," he said. " There were a couple of bees in my personal space, my comfort zone, and I just wanted to get them out."

Jennifer Keller, a beekeeping expert from North Carolina State University, was called to help and sprayed sugar water on the insects so they would lick each other and regroup, making it easier for the insects to be returned to their hives.

"I had never seen anything quite like that," Keller said. "The bees had nowhere to go. I guess they used the car as a resting spot ... I got one sting. I struck a bee, so it was my own fault."

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Parachute Saves Pilot and Plane As Stunt Goes Horribly Wrong

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-18T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, News

A scary scene unfolded in Argentina when a stunt pilot began falling to the earth after the wing came off his plane in the middle of an air show.

Amazing footage from the accident shows that not only did the pilot, Dino Moline, parachute to safety, so did his aircraft.

Dino's plane fell out of the sky during a flying display in Santa Fe, Argentina. While he was inverted, a wing suddenly popped off, sending the plane spiraling to the ground.

The 3,000 spectators thought that it was part of the display when Moline managed to activate the ballistic parachute system which is fitted to protect the pilot, the aircraft and, presumably, to give any poor fool below more time to run out of the path of the falling objects.

Fortunately the plane touched ground about 1,600 feet from the viewing public.

"I don't know what happened to me," said Moline. "I believe that it was metal fatigue, and I felt an explosion. I saw a shadow passing to the side of me and it was the wing. So, I listened to [the head of his acrobatic flying group], who yelled at me over the radio to deploy the parachute, which I did. I didn't think of anything. I saw fire inside the plane and I despaired a little. My foot got burned, but I'm fine."

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Pedestrian Survives Car Crash by a Whisker in Amazing Footage

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-18T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Vid of the Moment

From ejecting pilots to escalator-mountaineering toddlers, the world of close calls can be a convoluted place. But sometimes it's as simple as a mere skip.

Take this lady, for example, whose quick decision to break into a light jog was the difference between escaping a car crash unscathed and potentially disastrous injury.

Not much is known about the amazing footage, which we think originates from Russia, but what we do know is that the female pedestrian in question probably had the sweetest meal she'd ever tasted that night.

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Weatherman Flips Anchor the Bird on Live TV

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-17T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Humor, Video, Vid of the Moment, TV

There's nothing better than a old-fashioned news blooper, unless it's on the BBC. (Everything's funnier with British people.)

This one involves weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker giving the entire nation the middle finger on BBC News 24. The best part is Schafernaker's look of sheer horror when he realized his gesture was caught on camera.

This is not the first time that Schafernaker, 31, has found himself in hot water for live TV ball-drops. Last year a tongue-tied Schaf uttered the words "muddy sh*te" when talking about the conditions at the Glastonbury Festival (instead of a "muddy site"). He was also forced to make an apology after referring to the Outer Hebrides as "Nowheresville" in 2007.

A spokesman for the BBC said today, "Tomasz was not aware that he was on air, and whilst the gesture was only shown for a second, it was not acceptable. The news channel presenter live in the studio acknowledged a mistake had been made, and we apologize for any offense caused."

Keep reading for video of the blunder.

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Mass Pillow Fight Breaks Out in Plane Cabin

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-16T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Travel

Germans are sometimes accused of lacking a sense of humor. The following video would suggest otherwise.

Footage was captured of the moment a full-on pillow fight broke out of a Lufthansa flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt. As a stewardess handed out the pillows pre-flight, a number of cheeky travelers flung theirs back at her. The happy hostess lobbed the feather-filled missiles back at her assailants.

Cue a mass pillow fight throughout the economy class as German flyers and French tourists hurled their padded bombs from all corners of the cabin.

Keep reading for the video.

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Daredevil Rider Flung Into Crowd

Tom Cullen — 2010-08-16T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Video, Weird News

Watching the Red Bull X-Fighters is no doubt a thrill. Watching one of their daredevils flying over a barrier and heading right for you is probably less enjoyable.

Fortunately there were no serious injuries when this happened at London's Battersea Power Station this weekend. Motocross champ Andrè Villa hit a ramp awkwardly, was flung from his bike and ended up landing in the first few rows.

Fortunately, his bike did not cross the divide. An onlooker told The Sun: "It was very dramatic. Three people had minor injuries, and Andre just got up and walked away. It was amazing neither he or anyone else was killed."

Check out footage right after the jump.

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Russian News Anchor Flips Off Colleague on Live TV

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-26T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Vid of the Moment, News

Our desire to learn Russian is at an all-time high, thanks to a news anchor from the former Soviet Union dropping his guard on live TV.

When tossing to an on-the-scene reporter, something angers the anchor to the point where he feels the need to flip the rather attractive female reporter the bird. (The crass hand gesture appears at the 00:26 mark in this YouTube video.)

What we do know is that the fantastic display of ferocity occurs during a regional news program from Orel (about 200 miles south of Moscow) on the state-owned Rossiya-1 channel.

What we don't know is what caused the unfurling of the gesture. Those who speak Russian should consider carefully whether to tell us what happened in the comments. Our imaginations are doing a great job of inventing reasons ...

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Fighter Jet Pilot Escapes at Last Possible Second

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-26T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Photos

This is as close as close calls get. A Canadian pilot survived after ejecting from a fighter jet moments before it crashed during practice for an airshow.

The pilot was admitted to a hospital in Alberta but friends say he is doing very well and has no long-term injuries.

Captain Brian Bews was performing low-flying maneuvers in the CF-18 fighter jet when he ejected and parachuted to the ground. Witnesses said his plane appeared to stall while he was practicing a run for the airshow at Lethbridge County Airport.

Keep reading for amazing images and footage of the crash.

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Parasailing Donkey Stunt Prompts Animal Cruelty Inquiry

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-21T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Weird News, Animals

Some things in life were just not meant to fly. They include the Spruce Goose aircraft, the Russian space shuttle and travel victims of strike-happy French air traffic controllers.

Today we add to that list the noble Equus africanus asinus, as we learn to our horror that police are investigating an advertising stunt during which a donkey was made to parasail.

The donkey was sent up into the sky by entrepreneurs in southern Russia who were hoping to attract people to their private beach. Witnesses in the Krasnodar region said the animal had been braying in fear before it landed in the water and was pulled to shore.

"The donkey screamed and children cried," regional police spokeswoman Larisa Tuchkova told the AFP news agency. "No one had the brains to call police." Instead, she said, bystanders took photos and phoned newspapers.

"It was put up so high into the sky that the children on the beach cried and asked their parents, 'Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute?'" a local newspaper reported last week.

Police began to investigate after video of the incident, which occurred at the coastal village of Golubitskaya, was aired on national news on Tuesday. The businessmen responsible may face criminal charges for animal cruelty, and the general wrath of the Internet for being donkey-abusing morons.

Keep reading to see the shocking footage.

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Swedish Helicopter Heist Caught on CCTV

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-20T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News

Dramatic footage of a daring commando-style heist in Stockholm, Sweden, last year recently hit the Web.

In the Hollywood-esque raid, a helicopter delivers masked gunmen to the glass roof of a Swedish bank. The criminals smash their way in and use explosives and a mechanical saw to access the huge sums stored.

They then haul more than $5 million onto the chopper before the professional team of thieves escapes. They injured none of the bank's 21 staff members.

As the raid unfolded, Stockholm police were unable to use their own helicopters to chase down the fugitives because a fake bomb had been planted in their hangar. A SWAT team instead tried to break into the ground-floor cash depot with a battering ram, but they were too late.

The thieves abandoned the helicopter outside the Swedish capital following the pre-dawn raid.

In an amazing twist, police were in on the job anyway. Thanks to tip-offs from Serbian police, 10 people were charged in connection with the job, but only they know where the money is hidden and, as yet, they aren't telling the cops.

The trial is due to start next month. If found guilty, the men face prison terms of up to 10 years. Nine of the suspects are Swedes and one is Syrian. They all deny the charges.

Keep reading for footage.

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Spectators and Marshals Flee From Spectacular Crash

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-19T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Video, News

A horrific crash at Sunday's SEAT Leon Eurocup event at Britain's Brands Hatch race course amazingly resulted in no serious injuries.

The touring car-racing series was shaken when Francisco Carvalho made contact with an opponent, sending the Portuguese driver's car flying over the barrier.

Marshals and spectators alike had to flee the scene as his car shattered in a spiral of debris, before finally coming to a halt.

Surprisingly, only six people needed treatment, most for shock, and none of them, including the driver, sustained serious injuries.

Keep reading for the amazing footage. And note how the marshals, who have just run for their lives, turn round with out a moment's thought to assist the driver. Bravo, gentlemen ...

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Miguel Angel Jimenez's Off-the-Wall Shot Wows the Crowds at the British Open

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-19T11:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Entertainment, Sports, Video

The British Open was a riot, wasn't it? You can't beat watching some of the world's finest finding their balls buried in shrubbery much like yours typically are.

There was more brilliance on display than blunders, the highlight of which being a sensational 17th-hole chip onto the green from Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, on Saturday.

Stymied up against a stone wall, he turned his back to the hole and hit his ball directly into the stone, which it bounced off, then looped high in the air and came down behind him -- directly onto the green. Despite a disappointing double-bogey, he was heartily cheered by the gallery behind the green as he walked to the 18th tee. He birdied the last hole to finish the day 3-under-par.

Miguel's 17th-hole heroics couldn't prevent him from finishing way down the pecking order, however, tied for 27th at 2-under. It was South African Louis Oosthuizen who took home the Claret Jug thanks to a storming 16-under-par 272 over the weekend at the storied St. Andrews course in Scotland.

Keep reading to check out Jimenez's ball-to-the-wall shenanigans.

Fancy some more epic golf shots? You got it ...

What water hazard?

Michael Jordan doesn't just like his basketball...

This one's a little sad...

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MPs Treated in Hospital After Taiwanese Parliamentary Dust-Up

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-09T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Video, Weird News

When it comes to parliamentary ding-dongs, the MPs of Taiwan are kings of the ring. It seems that not a month goes by without their politicians resorting to fisticuffs and yesterday's battle is, arguably, the biggest of the bunch.

Two MPs were admitted to hospital as emotions ran high over a debate on how quickly to ratify a trade pact with China. The controversial deal is a key election battleground, but vocal debate doesn't seem to be enough for the punch-happy politicians.

Parliament had only been open for a matter of minutes before anti-Chinese MPs and Nationalist MPs came to blows, hurling trash cans at each other, splashing one another with water (the brutes!) and even exchanging kicks.

An MP from each side, one of whom fell from the podium, went to hospital after the fight. The parliament speaker called a recess until Friday. Apparently brawls are sometimes staged in Taiwan so politicians appear strong on TV. The giant grin spotted on one scrapper would support such a theory.

Keep reading to see the rumble.Yesterday's dust-up ...

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Pamplona Bull-Running Madness Commences -- Zero Fatalities So Far

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-08T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Weird News, Animals

"Literally, don't stop running. Ever." Those are the words that would be pounding through our head had we manned up and agreed to attend this year's running of the bulls in Pamplona.

The annual madcap dash, as if you didn't know, involves thousands of lunatics descending on the northern Spanish city of Pamplona, pinning something red to their bodies and sprinting away from dozens of extremely pissed-off bovines keen on goring anything that moves.

Two people have been hospitalized so far during the four-day event, which kicked off yesterday: a 20-year-old Spaniard and an 18-year-old Aussie. There have been no fatalities so far.

Last year Daniel Jimeno Romero, a 27-year-old from Alcala de Henares near Madrid, was gored to death, and nine others were injured in what was the bloodiest run in decades.

Keep reading for footage of the run.

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77-Year-Old Crossing Guard Makes Jujitsu History

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-07T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Weird News

Meet Ena Mallett, a 77-year-old British crossing guard. By day, she guides pupils of Fairhaven Primary School; by night (Thursdays mainly), she is an expert in martial arts and recently became the first lady to ever reach the seventh dan in Spirit Combat International jujitsu.

The award is so rare her new belt has to be made to order.

Spirit Combat is a form of self-defense based on jujitsu and incorporates other fighting styles such as boxing, judo and karate. To gain the highly valued belt from Spirit Combat International, she had to spend a day tossing hapless foes over her shoulder and applying tap-out-inducing holds.

Mrs. Mallett, a widow, has only had to put her martial arts skills into practice once. She was forced to grab a 14-year-old boy who had stolen some candy from a shop she used to work at.

When we suggested she ask to be introduced before any jujitsu fight as Ena "Hammer Time" Mallett, the lovely lady told us the name sounded fantastic and that she would consider it.

"Everyone keeps telling me I'm celebrity, but I don't feel like it," she told us. "When I started karate back in 1979, we had to train for six hours without any water."

Keep reading for video.

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Giant Jesus Spotted on Google Earth

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-06T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Weird News

The face of Jesus sure does show up in a lot of places. The big man has been spotted in a ceiling stain, a Kit-Kat and a Cheeto to name but few, but now he's shown up in jumbo-size.

Here he is, look, on a farm in Hungary. The look-alike was spotted by a 26-year-old man as he used the mapping website to look for vacation destinations.

Zach Evans, from the U.K., spotted the outline in satellite pictures of a field on farmland in Hungary.

He told the Sun: "I'm not a religious person looking for images of Mary or Jesus in everything, but this is obvious."

We're a little more concerned that Zach was scanning the farmlands of Hungary for his vacation. Nice this time of year?

Head here to see supersized JC.

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Replica World Cup Trophy Made of Cocaine Found in Colombian Airport

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-06T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Weird News, Weird Science

A replica of the World Cup trophy seized by airport officials during a routine check was found to be made of cocaine.

The life-size, gold statuette (pictured) was en route to an address in Madrid when it was intercepted in a warehouse at Bogota Airport in Colombia.

Anti-Drug Chief Jose Piedrahita said the replica was made from 11 kilograms of cocaine, which had been mixed with chemicals to make it moldable. Its street value is still only half that of the actual World Cup, which may or may not be made of solid gold.

As naughty as these criminals are, we're quite impressed with their DIY effort. Keep reading for video.

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Portrait of a Bearded Man Created Using iPad

Tom Cullen — 2010-07-02T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Gear, Weird News

Geekgasm! How perfect does this portrait look. Hand painted? Yes. With a paint brush? No. It's all done on iPad's Brushes application by New York artist David Kassan -- using his fingers.

An epic, three-hour paint session has been condensed into a seven-minute YouTube clip, which captures the extraordinary process. A recent tweet by British actor Stephen Fry helped the video to over 300,000 views.

Kassan sites the "sheer conceptual and executed realism" of Caravaggio as one of his influences. We're pretty confident Caravaggio didn't have this app.

Keep reading to see the video, then head here for more examples of his work.

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