weirdnews

Green tea provides self-defense for your body—in more ways than one. A quick-thinking Tokyo woman thwarted a violent robber by fixing him a cup of tea after he forced his way into her home. The cash-seeking criminal was armed with a knife, but the young woman, seeking to protect herself and her six-month-old child, hoped the tea would defuse the situation, said authorities. Apparently the gesture worked, because the robber drank his tea, set down his weapon, and even monologued about himself for twenty minutes, a classic villain move ripped right from the Pixar movie The Incredibles. Afterward, the brave supermom gave the thief 10,000 yen, which amounts to approximately $100, and escaped out of the apartment to a nearby pay phone. The calmed hoodlum was gone by the time police arrived, and is still on the loose. Maybe Tokyo’s finest should set out a few tea-baited traps along the street, or we could send Dr. Phil to help the troubled robber sort out his problems.

Call it ‘Cheech and Chong Hanging Out With the Grateful Dead.’

Two caretakers at a Vietnam cemetery were busted by the fuzz before they could harvest their cannabis crop, planted in an 82-foot green spot unoccupied by any deceased residents. The forty-something stoners took advantage of the cemetery’s location, and grew their illegal yield in the only quiet corner of Hanoi, the country’s bustling capital city. While the main article doesn’t state how the authorities discovered the men’s little patch of heaven, one has to wonder if someone noticed roving packs of red-eyed mourners smuggling in Cheetos and Pop Tarts. Duuuuuude.

An Amsterdam circus had a small problem under the big top last week; dozens of animals escaped from their enclosures in a daring escape attempt, according to a Reuters news report. Police believe that the instigator of the breakout was extremely tall with a blotchy complexion, and known to be a strict vegetarian. Although the giraffe refused to talk about the event, it is possible that the pot-bellied pigs squealed after their capture, and authorities have surmised that the suspect kicked the pen open. Also apprehended were more than two dozen camels, a couple of zebras, and several llamas. Since this is Amsterdam, not Mexico, none of the animals were charged, although rumors abound regarding the giraffe signing an animated movie deal about the incident.