A scorpion invasion in Egypt, a waterslide-riding cow in Brazil, and a voracious eater who was banned from a buffet in China were among the strange and unusual stories to cross our desk this past week.
While the idea of being banned from a buffet for eating too much food may sound like a plot from sitcom, a ravenous man in China found himself in just such a scenario this past week. The livestreamer known as 'Mr. Kang' ran afoul of the Handadi Seafood BBQ Buffet in the city of Changsha following a pair of visits to the restaurant wherein he scarfed down a staggering three pounds of pork and eight pounds of prawns. Claiming that the man's seemingly bottomless stomach was causing him to lose money, the owner of the establishment promptly banished the voracious eater, who is now enjoying his proverbial 15 minutes of fame in China as the strange story has gone viral in the country.
One of the more unnerving stories we've seen in a while unfolded this past week in Egypt when a massive storm swept over the southern part of the country which led to widespread flooding that caused the region's scorpion population to abandon their underground burrows in favor of drier conditions inside people's homes. A staggering 503 individuals were stung by the creatures in just one night and the country's Ministry of Health was forced to issue a warning to residents to be on their guard against the invading scorpions, which included one worrisome species which possesses venom that can kill a person in under an hour.
By far the weirdest story of the week came by way of Brazil, where a cow managed to escape a slaughterhouse where it was set to be harvested for its meat and somehow wound up on a waterslide at a nearby amusement park. The bizarre bovine adventure captured the imagination of people online after footage of the animal clumsily descending the slide popped up on social media and subsequently went viral. The cow's unexpected stardom resulted in its owner having a change of heart as he decided to spare the animal's life and turn the creature into an attraction rather than a burger.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.