Dateline: ChinaRather than let an expensive bottle of cognac go to waste at customs, an airline passenger chugged the entire contents before boarding a Chinese plane. The event took place at the Beijing Capital International Airport where security workers spotted a bottle of Rémy Martin XO Excellence cognac in the carry-on luggage of a woman identified by the surname Zhao. Airport workers told the woman, who was transferring from an international flight to a local flight, the liquor would not be allowed on the plane. Rather than throw out the $200 bottle, purchased during a trip to the United States, the woman opted to down the entire thing. Police officers reportedly found the woman at her boarding gate “shouting and screaming on the floor.” The captain of the Wenzhou-bound flight refused to let her on board. Since she was unable to stand on her own, she was placed in a wheelchair and taken to a room in the airport to recover. Zhao woke up a few hours later and thanked police for taking care of her. According to Chinese news sites, she was not charged with any crime and her family was called to come pick her up.Dateline: IsraelHeinz Tomato Ketchup has been ordered to remove the word “ketchup” from its label by the Israeli Health Ministry. The move follows lobbying by Israel’s leading ketchup manufacturer, Osem. Osem accused Heinz of only having 21 percent tomato concentrate in its ketchup. The Health Ministry requires food labeled “ketchup” to contain at least 41 percent tomato. Heinz has been ordered to relabel it’s product “tomato seasoning.” Diplomat, the Israeli distributor of Heinz, is appealing the ruling.Dateline: IdahoYou’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to track down the person who spray-painted a giant sign on a cliff side in rural Idaho asking a girl named Destiny to prom. But sheriff’s deputies in Ada County are having a hard time finding the right Destiny. In May someone spray-painted the words “Destiny, Prom?” in large, blue and pink letters on the Black Cliffs climbing area outside Boise. “Whoever did this did a lot of damage aesthetically and culturally,” Patrick Orr, a spokesperson for Ada Country Sheriff’s Office said back in May when the graffiti first appeared. KBOI 2News recently followed up on the investigation and found Ada Country sheriffs have been unable to track down a suspect. “Our deputies interviewed over a dozen girls named Destiny and checked out other leads but weren’t able to track it down.” Orr told the TV station. The Sheriff’s Office is hoping now that school is back in session, more leads will show up—perhaps in the form of more teenage girls named Destiny.Dateline: PennsylvaniaAuthorities in Allentown say a man died late last month from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident—in 1965. The Lehigh County coroner’s office reported 58-year-old Richard Albright was pronounced dead on the night of Aug. 24 at the Good Shepherd Home-Raker Center. According to records, Albright was one of two boys who was hit by a moving vehicle back in July 1965. He was 8 years old at the time of the accident. According to The Morning Call newspaper, Albright suffered head injuries and two broken legs. He was reported in critical condition a day after the accident, but was eventually released from the hospital. First Deputy Coroner Eric Minnich said Albright was left a quadriplegic from his injuries and “never achieved a full recovery.” The deputy coroner said at the time of his death Albright, “was still receiving treatment for injuries received 50 years earlier.”Dateline: PennsylvaniaA couple of homeowners in western Pennsylvania who wanted to buy up a vacant house next door because they feared it was a fire hazard turned out to have very good instincts—the house caught fire as they were at the county courthouse signing the deed. According to the Daily American in Somerset, Bradley and Penny Mason purchased the abandoned house intending to tear it down. The house is located just feet from their home in Meyersdale, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. A neighbor called 911 to report a fire at about 3pm on Wednesday, Aug. 26, while the Masons were at the courthouse. The first-floor fire was quickly extinguished. The local fire marshal is investigating.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
