Weird News

Carols to keep gangs away

Dutch authorities are playing loud and annoying Christmas carols in public areas to keep teenage gangs off the streets.

Charlois Council in Rotterdam has started blasting out the Dutch children’s carols from a barrel organ at a local underground station.

It follows complaints from commuters about gangs hanging around at night.

A council spokesperson said all the unruly teenagers had disappeared within a few minutes of the carols blaring out.

Church group sells nude calendar

A German church group has caused controversy by releasing a calendar using nude models to portray Bible scenes.

The calendar, on sale for $14 in Katzwanger Church in Nuremburg, contains photos such as a naked Eve holding an apple between her breasts for Adam.

Another month shows a topless Delilah cutting the hair of a sleeping Sampson.

Other pictures portray the baptism of Jesus, Lot’s daughters, and the sacrifice of Isaac – many involving nudity.

Stefan Wiest, 32, spokesperson for the Katzwang Evangelical Youth group, said, “We wanted to bring old religious paintings to today’s people by translating them in a contemporary context.

“We did not intend to cause any provocation and have received more positive responses than negative.”

Wiest added that most of the criticism has come from the USA, but said it has not slowed sales since the release.

“Our first 200 have already sold out and we are printing another 300 today to meet demand.”

But the feedback page on the group’s Web site has been taken down due to the number of comments the calendar has caused.

Winfried Roehmel, a spokesman for the region’s Catholic archdiocese, said, “It is not acceptable to pose naked in a church. The right way to approach the Holy Scriptures is not by pulling your pants down.”

Remote-controlled toilets

A U.S. company has come up with the perfect gift for people who have everything – a $5,200 remote-controlled toilet.

The state-of-the-art Neorest toilet, from Toto, is sleek, compact and automated, reports the Arizona Republic.

Approach it and the lid lifts up, stand in front of it and the seat rises. The Neorest automatically flushes and lowers the lid upon completion.

The remote controls the temperature of the seat. It also activates the gentle cleansing process.

A wand extends from the back of the rim and sprays water upward. Water aim and temperature can be controlled by the seated occupant. Then comes the air dryer.

Leslie Shirey, a salesperson at the Central Arizona Supply showroom, admitted sales had been slow because of the price.

But the Neorest has found some converts among Hollywood celebrities, including Will Smith, who gushed about it during an interview on “Access Hollywood.”

The toilets are also installed in the main headquarters of Google.

Brothel offers discounts for jobless men

Business is booming at a German brothel next to an unemployment office that is offering a special discount rate for the unemployed.

The owners of Berlin’s Schulz & Co. brothel have introduced special rates of just $17 for the country’s growing number of jobless men.

Jobless Bernd Gramm, 48, said, “Before I could only have my fun once every couple of months, if that. But now I can go twice a month for a rock-bottom price, and the quality of the service still remains the same.”

Gina, one of the brothel’s employees, said, “Monday was always a slow day and we never used to have more than three clients. But this Monday we have already had 20.

She added, “The (unemployment) office is right next door, and people are literally bursting in. We give them the same service, just without the long talks that we usually do to get a client going. At that price we can’t afford to waste that much time.”