Parents: McDonald’s Minions toy utters profane phrase
McDonald’s Corp is standing by its latest Happy Meal toy, denying that its Minions are the foul-mouthed playthings that some of its fast-food customers say they are. In videos posted online, some customers said they heard a curse when, by tapping one of the tiny plastic caveman characters against a hard surface, they activated its voice. Some commenters wrote they heard the words: “What the f**k.”
The restaurant chain on July 3 introduced a Happy Meal line of the toys inspired by the animated film Minions. In a statement, McDonald’s denied the toy used bad language, and a company spokeswoman said there was no plan to pull the toy from distribution. “We’re aware of a very small number of customers who have been in touch regarding this toy, and we regret any confusion or offense to those who may have misinterpreted its sounds,” McDonald’s said in the statement. “The allegation that this toy is saying anything offensive or profane is not true.”
(Reuters)
memorial for a dead raccoon
A dead raccoon that waited for hours at the side of a Toronto street became a Twitter star when local residents turned his resting place into a memorial. Jason Wagar tweeted to the city’s @311Toronto account, which allows residents to use the microblogging site to contact city services, and the account responded saying animal services had been notified. A second tweet from Wagar said the raccoon still had not been picked up by animal services, and someone was “having some fun” with the raccoon by placing a rose on the animal’s body and accompanying it with a sympathy card and a framed photo of a raccoon in a mock memorial.
Subsequent tweets from other residents revealed the memorial had expanded to include candles, more cards, more flowers and other tributes. Twitter users nicknamed the fallen raccoon Conrad. He was later picked up by an animal services worker.
(UPI)
After days of pain, woman finds she was hit by bullet
A Deland, Fla, woman said she thought she had been hit by an errant firecracker while dining with her friends on July 4, but days later she visited a doctor who found a bullet embedded in her leg. Heather Charlebois was just sitting down at a cafe when she felt a sting on her leg. She and her boyfriend cleaned up her wound in the restaurant’s bathroom, but not seeing any blood, they figured she must have been burnt by a firecracker.
“My first thought was somebody hit me, slapped me open handed really hard on my leg and pinched me, but it did not make any sense because I didn’t see anyone,” said Charlebois.
Four days later, when the pain still hadn’t gone away, she visited a doctor, who ordered an X-ray and found a .38-caliber bullet embedded about 4 cm into her thigh. Deland police are now trying to figure out who shot the bullet.
“Well, it’s safe to say that at the moment we don’t know where it came from,” said Deland police Sgt Chris Estes. “There is no indication a gun was fired in close proximity to where she was sitting at this point so, another theory is that it was fired into the air from a distance.”
(UPI)
Man breaks law by letting dog steer motor scooter
Vietnamese police said a man seen in a viral video allowing his dog to steer a motor scooter would be fined if he is identified by authorities.
The video, which went viral on social media and YouTube, shows the man propping his dog’s front paws on the handlebars of the scooter before taking his hands away and allowing the dog to do the steering.
Police said they are trying to identify the man in the video and he would face a fine of $230 to $320 on a citation for releasing both hands from the handlebars of a motorbike. Traffic Officer Nguyen Van Quy said the man would also have his license suspended for two months and his scooter would be taken away for a week. The man could also face an additional $10 fine for not wearing a helmet, the officer said. “The act deserves harsh criticism and punishment,” Quy told Thanh Nien News.
(UPI)
inspired by Forrest Gump, man tries to cross US in 100 days
Barclay Oudersluys had competed in triathlons and ultramarathons but he wanted to do something bigger, so the Michigan native took a cue from his favourite movie. Inspired by Forrest Gump, Oudersluys decided to run across the US in 100 days. “I decided if Forrest Gump could run across the country, I could do it too,” he said after he had completed his 61st day of running in Mount Pulaski, Illinois.
Rising around 6 am daily, the 23-year-old has kept a daily pace of 48-53 km, a distance greater than a marathon. like Gump, he is running from the Santa Monica Pier in California to the Marshall Point lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine, a route already taken by an undocumented number of runners.
(UPI)