Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.
Tokyo robot revue drawing crowds at cabaret
TOKYO (Reuters) – In a restaurant down an alley in one of
Tokyo’s best-known red light districts, four massive female
robots wink and wave as they lumber to the beat of traditional
Japanese drums and a Lady Gaga dance tune. It’s show time at
the “Robot Restaurant,” a new and high-tech take on the city’s
decades-old cabaret scene that puts a friendly, if unusual,
face on the robot technology in which Japan is a world leader.
Man apparently attempting Bigfoot hoax killed on Montana
highway
MISSOULA, Montana (Reuters) – A man wearing a bushy,
military-style camouflage suit in an apparent attempt to
impersonate the mythical creature Bigfoot has died after being
struck on a Montana highway by two cars, police said on
Tuesday. Randy Lee Tenley, 44, was dressed in a “ghillie” — an
outfit favored by military snipers and game hunters — and
standing in the middle of southbound lanes on U.S. Highway 93
near Kalispell on Sunday when he was struck twice in quick
succession, Montana Highway Patrol spokesman Sergeant Steve
Lavin said.
Wanted: Sri Lanka hangman. Very light work. Only males need
apply
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka on Tuesday began interviews
for the post of hangman a year after two positions fell vacant,
with at least 480 convicts on death row. But it was not quite
clear how the two successful candidates would fill their days –
the death penalty has not been used in Sri Lanka, a
predominantly Buddhist country, since 1976.
Italy health minister mulls France-style drinks tax
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s health minister is considering the
inclusion of a tax on drinks deemed unhealthy in a spending
bill due to go before the Italian cabinet later this week, a
health ministry official said on Monday. The official confirmed
Health Minister Renato Balduzzi may propose a drinks tax of 3
euro cents a bottle to raise revenues of 250 million euros
($312.9 million), but did not clarify which beverages would be
affected.
Mud runs draw the fit and their muck-caked friends
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mud runs, essentially military-style
obstacle races in muck, might appall the neat freak but for
some people mud is the medium for a challenging test of true
grit and fitness. Neal Pire, owner of Inspire Training Systems,
in Ridgewood, New Jersey, has trained several people for mud
runs, which come in varying lengths and levels of difficulty
and appeal to people who enjoy performing and withstanding the
elements.
