WEIRD NEWS

All-You-Can-Eat Promotion Puts Restaurant Out of Business

Jiamener was the name of a new hotpot restaurant in Chengdu, China, but it wasn't doing so well. In hopes of drawing in and keeping new customers, the owners decided to try a month-long all-you-can-eat promotion. It was very successful. So successful it rand the place out of business in under two weeks. On June 1st, patrons were offered the chance to fill their bellies for just 120 yuan ($19) per day, for a whole month. The two owners had anticipated that they would suffer a financial loss during this period, but they hoped that the promotion would pay off in the long run, with some visitors becoming loyal customers. They couldn't have been more wrong. The soon found themselves serving 500 customers per day with many lining up at the door several hours before the restaurant opened, and refusing to leave until midnight. Su Zhe, one of the owners, told reporters that in the 11 days that the offer remained active, he only got 2-3 hours of sleep per night, and the staff had to work 10-hour shifts to keep up with demand. It seems management didn't put a lot of thought into how the promotion. They just issued simple membership cards that featured no photo and no way of limiting people's access into the restaurant. And it didn't take long for patrons to figure out that they could exploit these faults to the extreme. Some of them visited Jiamener several times per day and even took food to go, and others just passed the card to their family and friends. As Su Zhe eloquently puts it, "it was insane." (Oddity Central)

This Ain't No Ordinary 12-Year-Old

Up in Canada, Oliver Rioux is only 12-years-old, but he already stands at 6-foot-11 which makes him one heck of an asset for his basketball team. Not only can he shoot the ball without any of his opponents even coming close to a block, but he can literally slam dunk on the 8-foot-tall basket without his feet leaving the ground. So yeah, he's pretty dominant on the courts, thanks in part to his skill, but mostly to the fact that all of the other players' heads only come up to his bellybutton. Videos of Olivier completely obliterating the competition and leading his team, the Frenchy Phenoms, to victory have recently gone viral on YouTube and Facebook, and the unusually tall 12-year-old has been getting a lot of negative feedback. A lot of people seem to think that his impressive height is an unfair advantage as all the other kids, regardless of talent, are pretty much powerless against him. Some publications have gone as far as to mock Rioux and the Frenchy Phenoms supporters for celebrating after he scores, as if it were some great achievement. Others are less judgmental like Pete Blackburn of CBS Sports who wrote: "Things might not come as easy for Rioux when he graduates to taller rims and taller, more skilled competition, but that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that we have these highlights for our entertainment, and that Rioux is living the dream - or at least my dream - for the time being." Interestingly, Olivier has an older brother, Emile, who also plays basketball. He was just 6-foot-4 at age 12, and now, at 15-years-old, he is only 6-foot-9, which makes him shorter than his kid brother, but still considerably taller than most teens his age. (Oddity Central)

Pants Definitely On Fire!

Howard "Gordy" Clewell would often about his experiences serving in Vietnam with the U.S. Special Forces. He wore a Special Forces pin, a Ranger tab, Combat Infantryman Badge and a Special Forces unit patch along with Master Parachutist Wings. Too bad it was all a lie. Clewell has resigned from his position as historian of the Wisconsin American Legion after his ruse was discovered. He was married to Laurel Clewell, the state commander of the Legion, who said she is devastated. She added, "He has dishonored so many veterans. To me, that's just despicable." She's also filed a formal complaint to the FBI, which is investigating her estranged husband for falsely claiming military honors. A 2015 law passed in Wisconsin, called the Stolen Valor Act, makes it a misdemeanor to claim military service or honors for personal gain. The federal Stolen Valor Act, which passed in 2013, makes it a federal crime to fraudulently claim receiving a valor award. Laurel Clewell said her husband moved out of their home and she plans to initiate divorce proceedings. (JS Online)

Worst Store Greeter Ever?

In Mokena, Illinois, 40-year-old Zachary Monahan was working as the store greeter at Meijer on Lincoln Highway. Suddenly, a 35-year-old man leaving the store was allegedly attacked by Monahan who punched the customer in the head a few times. Monahan was arrested and charged with battery after the incident. Mokena Police Chief Steve Vaccaro said Monahan "believed he recognized" the victim as someone who previously battered him in an incident that occurred two years ago in New Lenox. In that incident, Monahan was slashed several times in a knife attack by someone described as a white man in a ponytail in an apparent case of road rage. (Patch.com)

Meth. Just Meth.

In DeFuniak Springs, Florida, 39-year-old Michelle Brock called 911 and claimed her two children had been kidnapped from her car and she believed they were in a semi-truck that had just departed the area. The call triggered a response from multiple law enforcement units including FHP, Cottondale Police, the Bay County Sheriff's Office and Houston County Sheriff's Office as a BOLO (Be on the Lookout) was issued for the semi-truck. However, during the course of the investigation, deputies noted that Brock displayed several signs of being under the influence of an illegal substance and she was unable to provide consistent information about her travel itinerary or even what her children were wearing. The children were later found safe at their father's home, where they had been all day. When deputies tried to relay this information to Miss Brock she stated those children were impostors. During the investigation, several items of paraphernalia were allegedly found in Brock's purse, along with five grams of "high grade" methamphetamine. As she was being transported to the jail, Brock reportedly claimed to see her children under vehicles. (NWF Daily News)

Almost Another Selfie Death

Just in case you're curious, the country that has racked up the most death-by-selfie deaths is India. And they almost had another in the city of Jalpaiguri where forest ranger Sanjoy Duttawas showing a crowd the 18-foot python he had just rescued, wrapping it around his neck and letting admirers take pictures of him and the animal. Except the snake wasn't really into the photo session and became agitated and started to writhe, getting to the point where it actually started to strangle Dutta. A video shows Dutta repeatedly pushing the snake's body away from his throat, but at one point, as he walks away from the crowd, the snake gets even more serious about its efforts and starts to wrap around Dutta's torso. Among screams from bystanders, others quickly helped unravel the snake from around Dutta and frankly, saved his life. Video of the incident hasn't been well received online where one person wrote: "What a stupid show off. His job is to safeguard wild animals including snakes." (Gulf News)

What the What?

In Racine, Wisconsin, 25-year-old Daniel Blair has been arrested after climbing a balcony and telling a 12-year-old girl he was looking for a party. According to the criminal complaint, the girl's mother saw the suspect pulling himself up over the balcony and yelled for him to leave which allegedly caused him to fall. The mother told police that she's never seen the suspect before and that she feared for her family's safety. Officers made contact with Blair who said he was looking to "party" in the area and that a lady made him fall off of a balcony. Blair also allegedly told police that he would not be pressing charges against the woman for making him fall. How very nice of him. (CBS 58)

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