Slideshow

Top 10 silliest stories of the month

07 September 2015 By Lauren Eads

Spreadable beer goes on sale

Can’t wait for a beer at the end of the day? Now you can spread beer on your toast in the morning, thanks to the Potlicker Kitchen in Vermont.

In August the company announced the launch of a beer jelly in a variety of different expressions including an Indian Pale Ale and an oatmeal stout. To make the jelly the beer is boiled with sugar and pectin then left to set in a jar.

According to Bloomberg, the dark brown stout jelly is “heady with roasted, yeasty flavours and a lot fruitier than you’d expect”, and pairs well with brie and figs. The IPA meanwhile, boasts notes of “grapefruit and tropical fruit” and works best with soft cheeses. Finally, the apricot ale has the most “zing” and marries well with dark chocolate.

Dog causes beer truck crash

A driver’s unfortunate run-in with a small dog caused a truck load of Bud Light to be spilled over the highway in Florida. Truck driver Malcolm Wilcox lost control of the vehicle after he was “distracted by his dog”, casting thousands of cans of Bud Light across the road.

The Florida Highway Patrol reported that, “he collided with the center median before overturning about 7:30 a.m. He had drifted to the shoulder of the roadway after his small dog distracted him, then turned too hard to his left to correct the drift.”

Neither the driver or the dog were injured but he was ticketed for careless driving according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Cheeky ad takes on “bland” wine sector

UK-based wine supplier Premier Estates Wine raised a few eyebrows with its attempts to channel “classic British humour” to bring a risqué edge to its first ever advertising campaign.

The supplier, which sources products from around the world to appear under its Collection and Discovery labels, invited consumers to #TasteTheBush, in what it described as a “provocative”, double entendre advertisement.

Appearing on websites including Fox News and Huffington Post, where it will target people who have recently bought wine online, the campaign features an “attractive brunette” at a party who offers a “sensuous” description of her glass of Shiraz. She ends the tasting note with the words “You can almost taste the bush,” before the camera reveals her “strategically placed” wine glass… You can view the advertisement here.

Whisky aftershave launched

Take your love of whisky to a whole other level by splashing it on as a cologne.

The Portland General Store in Maine has launched an “aftershave splash” scented with a hint of whiskey and fortified with “nourishing” sea minerals to hydrate the skin. Suitable for all skin types, the cologne features sea kelp extract, blue-green algae, aloe vera juice, tea tree essential oil and black willow bark.

According to its makers, the scent is “reminiscent of a yachtsman relaxing below deck at the end of a long day on the wild ocean, a favourite Scotch in hand”. Based on a recipe from the 1920s, the “distinctly masculine” scent boasts notes found in your favourite single malt like wood, amber and spice, with floral hints.

This isn’t the first whisky cologne to go on sale. In 2013 online fragrance company Commodity launched a range of 20 scents including “whiskey” and “gin” cologne and “Pinot” perfume funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Winery offers reward for stolen giant cork

A prankster left one winery scratching its head after seemingly spiriting away a 2.5m decorative cork adorning a roundabout near to its headquarters in the Czech Republic.

The cork, which belongs to the Bohemia Sekt winery in Starý Plzenec, was stolen at some time between 29 and 31 July. The winery was so distraught at its disappearance that it offered a reward of 100 bottles of sparkling wine to whoever can find and return the 8 foot cork.

Bohemia Sekt is one of the leading producers of sparkling wine in Central and Eastern Europe, made by secondary fermentation using the Charmat method.

In 2014 it sold 26 million bottles of wine with sparkling wine accounting for almost 10 million of that total, up 7% on the previous year. The producer’s still wine brands include Víno Mikulov, Habánské sklepy, Chateau Bzenec and Vinařství Pavlov.

Stolen wolf belongs to Rolling Stone relation

As far as “drunken japes” go, stealing a taxidermied wolf worth more than £30,000 belonging to the granddaughter of a Rolling Stone is a fairly epic effort.

This wolf was taken from the Chelsea home of Charlotte Watts, granddaughter of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, last month, apparently by three young men who had been partying at the house.

The stuffed animal, apparently known as “Frostbite”, was bought six years ago and is “one of a kind” as in the UK rare animals are only allowed to be stuffed if they can be proved to have died a natural death.

Champagne cork grounds plane

It’s not entirely comforting to know that a wayward Champagne cork can cause the necessary damage on board an aircraft that an emergency landing is required.

But that’s exactly what happened to an Easyjet Airbus A320 on its way from London to the Turkish holiday destination of Dalaman. A flight attendant who was opening a bottle of fizz accidentally fired the cork into the cabin’s ceiling panels, causing oxygen masks to drop and prompting a diversion to Milan. Passengers were forced to endure a seven-hour delay while repairs and refuelling were carried out.

Following the incident, a spokesman from the airline said: “easyJet can confirm that flight EZY8845 from London Gatwick to Dalaman on 7 August diverted to Milan Malpensa as a precautionary measure due to a technical issue with the cabin crew oxygen masks.

“In line with safety procedures the captain took the correct decision to divert so that the cabin crew oxygen masks could be reset.”

Church organist sees Jesus in cocktail cabinet

One of the most bizarre story of the month, and arguably the most tenuous, came from the UK coastal town of Plymouth, where a church organist reported seeing the face of Jesus in his cocktail cabinet.

As reported by the Plymouth Herald, 35-year-old Robert Burgess-Moon experienced the Christ-like apparition while watching TV.

“I thought ‘There’s a face looking at me through the cabinet’. It looked like the face of Jesus, the image everybody has of him,” he told the paper.

“We were quite shocked, it was just not something you expect, it’s like a Holy Spirit cabinet now,” he joked.

Bar slammed for serving food off naked women

A bar in Sydney caused a stir over its rather risqué use of scantily clad women as human fruit platters at an event hosted to mark its grand re-opening.

Guests to the Cruise Bar were invited to eat fruit off the bodies of naked females at its tropical-themed party, with the stunt widely condemned on social media for appearing to objectify women.

Reacting to the stunt Ulrike Zimmermann wrote on Facebook: “Are you out of your minds? Serving food on women’s bodies is not only tasteless but is also promoting a culture where women are objectified. This is the 21st century and it is NOT ok.”

NZ pub selling beer laced with deer semen

Likely to turn even the strongest of stomachs, a pub in New Zealand announced that it was to offer its patrons a “milked” stout laced with stag semen. Yes, really.

The Green Man’s brew includes a measure of “export-quality” deer semen, which pub owner Steve Drummond believes will prove popular. Providing the beers extra shot is a young stag called Lagoon. To achieve an “extra smooth and creamy” texture, the beer will be served on hand pump. In addition to its creaminess, the stout allegedly boasts chocolate notes.

The punchy pint isn’t the first exotic offering served at The Green Man. In 2011 it started selling apple-infused horse semen shots, which apparently proved a hit with the pub’s female clientele…