u/TheQuarantinian

I grew up in a family that owned a catering company. One year in the early 80s we tried an experiment: Thanksgiving in a Box. For this and other reasons we only did it one year then ran screaming in horror.

For whatever price it was - like $130 at the time - you got a box containing a cooked turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, salad, dressing, cranberry sauce, rolls, butter, gravy, pumpkin pie. Each box fed 8 people, buy as many as you wanted. Specify if you wanted to pick it up hot. Ready to eat, or cold and you'd reheat later.

Pre-orders were required. Not a suggestion, mandatory.

6am on t-day we were there. Car pulls up, gives us the name, Pack mule me would find the box with that name and load in into the car so they could drive away. Repeat hundreds of times.

Everybody get your boxes by 4pm so we can go gnaw on bits of dead bird ourselves. Kid me couldn't stay away from the stuffing we made from scratch and I had to smell it all day long. Kid me was not increasing in sympathy as the day dragged on.

Around noon a lady showed up and when asked for her name declared it to be "my neighbor got one of these boxes this morning and it looked so good I came to get one myself."

Kid me: these boxes were all pre-ordered, did you do that?

Lady: no, I just want one

Hungry, getting grouchy kid me with all of the tact 10 year old hungry grouchy kid me could muster: I only have boxes for people on the list. (And asked the next person in line for their name).

Lady: I need a box, go get me one

Kid me: I'll get the boss when I go in to find this customer's order, I don't know how to process new orders. He will come out to talk to you about it.

10 year old me, craving stuffing, was not terribly diplomatic.

Once in the kitchen I found the boss.

Me: hey dad, some lady isn't on the list but wants a box anyway.

I then gathered up a box, took it outside, told the lady somebody was coming amd got the next name.

My dad had been a drafted for Korea and spent the war doing administrative things for officers who were old and set in their ways since WWII and was good at dealing with mentally ill mothers of brides, so whatever he said eventually made her go away. I did get snippets of her crying and yelling about how this ruined Thanksgiving and we had so many there should be extras and could we sell her ours since she knew we must have some set aside for us.

Eventually I took a box out to another car and she was gone.

As the son if the owner I brazenly raided the freezer and grabbed a couple lumps of the frozen Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip cookie dough, wolfed them down and got back to loading cars.

As we wrapped up I snuck into the hot racks and picked a bowl of stuffing and hid in a back corner while I inhaled it.

And I didn't share any with her.

For the longest time, Air France lounge users could avail themselves of a really nice sauna for the well-heeled travellers at their Paris airport.

It is now closed forever.

Why?

As related by Matthew Klint on Live And Let's Fly:

> I went back to the entrance and asked one of the lounge managers whether the closure was temporary.

> No.

> He explained, as delicately as possible, that passengers had been “doing things in there that they should not have” and Air France ultimately decided to close the sauna permanently.

> I asked him to clarify and he gave me a look that made further clarification unnecessary.

> Oh.

> The shower suite and sauna were certainly large enough for all sorts of extracurricular activity, but apparently some guests forgot that this was an airport lounge rather than a private hotel room.

> I suppose the cleaning staff eventually grew tired of discovering exactly what had been going on in there. Or, to put it another way, apparently a few passengers could not keep their wood to themselves, and now the rest of us have lost the wood-paneled sauna.

> Thanks, guys.

Arnold was in Mexico City filming Conan the Barbarian with Wilt Chamberlain and Andre the Giant and the three went out to dinner. Andre had told them that he was paying, that is what he did, full stop. Arnold tried to ignore him and slip payment to the waitress, but was caught when the waiter showed up at the table with the receipt to sign.

Andre picked up Arnold by his belt and shirt collar, carried him outside and dropped him on the roof of a car and growled "I pay". Hopefully in his best Fezzik voice

When telling the story Later, Arnold said ​"It was the only time in my life where I felt like a little doll."

From CBS/AFP. Due to European privacy laws I couldn't find specifics.

A boat operator was cruising around Norway's Svalbard archipelago and spotted a polar bear sleeping on the ice. Not pining for the fjords, but definitely not going room.

Somebody on the boat decided sleeping bears were boring and wanted to see it walking around, but there was no glass to tap on. So what to do?

The foghorn!

One blast and the bear was awake and wandering around, much to the delight of those on board.

Under local laws, ,"it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear." Turns out waking one up to see it wal around checks all the boxes and somebody got a fine of about $5000.

Consequences, how sweet you are.

Mary May, 29, was driving her Volvo S60 in Kentucky at over 100 MPH. In the car with her was a 5 year old and two 4 year olds.

While asserting her right to be first, she attempted to pass three cars that were impeding her constitutional right to vroom vroom, crossed into the oncoming lane and hit 39 year old David Logan's 97 Ranger pickup head on, leaving him dead at the scene.

May and all three children were flown to various hospitals. The children with various brain traumas and broken backs, the driver with serious broken bones and whatever else.

In her first court experience she explained why it wasn't her fault: one of the kids unbuckled a seat belt, and because it was unsafe to not be buckled in while weaving through traffic at 100 she was distracted.

If only that kid had cared about safety.

There is a public door to door shuttle originally for seniors, medical, disabled or low income riders but word got out and they are now overflowing with riders. More than they can handle.

They work with government and have contracts saying where they are allowed to go. Their boundaries are either a county line or a city limit, but they also require stops be within however many miles of their yard. 20-30 miles or something like that.

There was one lady who, somehow, begged them to take her to/from a point that was not only way far out of the way from every other rider - adding 45 minutes to their rides but in a city outside of their range.

She didn't work at the store where she was being picked up, somebody was driving her there to meet the van from somewhere else, and she frequently held things up for 15 minutes or so, even though the rule was you have to on the r ide in 5 minutes or you are left behind.

Every driver complained about her to me on the way to pick her up and after they dropped her off because she had some leverage over the company and tyey refused to drop her.

A stunt she pulled a couple of times with new drivers was to beg to be dropped off even further out of bounds. She would ask to go "just two more blocks," then two more blocks after that, then "you've already taken me this far, you might as well take me downtown". The nice drivers would fall for it a few stops then kick her out.

One day a driver told me they were celebrating because she moved out of the country and was no longer their problem.

Awhile later a driver told me she had come back and wanted to start riding again but this time the company said sorry, she was out of the service area, goodbye.

There exists a public shuttle service I have used. You set an appointment, they pick you up at your door and drop you off where you need to go. It started out as sonething for elderly, disabled, and dialysis/chemo patients who couldn't afford other transportation, but the vendor who runs it wants more riders than he can handle (a driver told me one county pays $200 per trip for dialysis and chemo patients) so rides can have several people and take up to two hours fir a 20 minute ride.

I saw one rider fairly often. They don't run set routes so just luck of the draw who is on your ride. I swore this guy was young 20s at most, but it turned out he was a very young looking 32. Or so he said in one trip.

Every time he got on the van he would say "I'm probably going to be dropped off last as usual" - even though at least 90% of the times he was on my van he would be dropped off before me, with others still riding besides myself.

On one day there was a wheelchair bound passenger who had been picked up from a chemo/infusion/dialysis treatment of some kind. The trip was nuts, somebody had a van failure or didn't show up or something so our van was running over a much wider area than normal filling in the gaps.

After about an hour and a half he loudly said "I just texted my mom I'll be at least another hour and they are dropping me off last like always, and I told her to call the dispatchers in the morning to make sure this never happens again. They're supposed to drop me off first!"

I get it. Being in a van for 90+ minutes suck, but the patient is probably feeling horrible and they aren't complaining. If it is such a big deal then why don't you just have a family member drive the 15-20 minutes to pick you up in either of the $80,000 F series trucks in the driveway?

In what universe is this reasonable? They sit behind bulletproof glass (that they always keep open because the national brand and insurance demand it I guess) scan a barcode and ask for a default 30%?

In what universe is this reasonable? They sit behind bulletproof glass (that they always keep open because the national brand and insurance demand it I guess) scan a barcode and ask for a default 30%?

FIFA runs the world professional soccer organization, president and chief big shot is Gianni Infantino (GI)

GI had a secret, but brilliant but secret plan: sell FIFAs broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing and ticketing rights for $4 billion to the brother of Donald Trump's son in law's private equity firm. (Josh Kushner). GI who currently gets a salary of arpund $4.5 million would be the big boss of the subsidiary and draw a salary of $35 million.

The secret plan was leaked to the media and everybody was pissed

How pissed?

The European professional football organization UEFA voted unanimously to boycott the nezt world cup, which was being hosted by Spain and Portugal.

Executives in his own FIFA have started "Project Kill The Monster".

GI has been trying to call the US President and Secretary of State for support but they won't take his calls.

So far the only statement released in his defense was 'we never said his salary would be $35 million'.

He is shocked snd blindsided that his deal for the good of FIFA was opposed by anybody, and staunchly believes he deserves to keep his job.

From Clinton County, Michigan.

A 26 year old man-child was arraigned on July 23 in 65A district court over his hobby of driving around, shining deer, shooting them from his car, then driving away and leaving them to rot. Killing just for fun.

(Shining is the banned practice of shining a bright light in their eyes which makes them freeze. This is why a deer in the headlights will just stand still and stare at a car until they get hit. Why do they do that? Deer reasons. A deer biologist might know. Considered grossly unsportsmanlike, it is banned just about everywhere. Real hunters don't need to do this, immature losers who can't get a deer any other way...)

This prime specimen of "I is cool mighty killings hinter! You all er jealoz you not SUpEr KOOL BAMG BANG hunty guy lik me" was spotted by a passerby, sitting in his car, shining a deer out of season with a suppressed rifle in a semi-sibur b an/semi-rural area. Not lots of housing everywhere, but enough sprawl that there is always somebody else around. The passer by called the anti poaching tip line (which only outdoorsy people know about) and the kid was busted.

After an investigation he was hit with multiple counts including taking game without a license, improper method of take, game out of season, six counts each of shining with a weapon in possession and taking game from a vehicle, multiple counts of encased weapon in a vehicle, reckless firearm and the 5 felony weapons offenses the MSN article did not specify.

Recovered in the investigation were the videos of himself having his fun.

Banff National Park, Canada. Two Americans were hiking the Taylor Lake Trail with their unleashed dog, a clear violation of the Canada National Parks Act when the husband encountered a grizzly bear.

While the wife filmed, the husband slowly backed away, the dog ran back and forth, barking at the bear, then running back to the owners. At no time did they ever try to leash their dog.

For those unfamiliar, barking dogs is one of the most common provocations to get a bear to attack, and when the dog is frightened and runs back to the owners for protection that sometimes encourages the bear to charge the humans.

This particular bear, well known in the park as Bear 142 eventually left the trail and vanished into the woods.

The couple posted their cool nature video to TikTok where it went viral and soon appeared on Instgram which led park rangers to identify the couple and issue the citation.

They granted an interview to the media about their "terrifying" encounter before the citation but have said nothing since.

Third grade me always walked home from school every day, about 2/3 of a mile. The school was an elementary/jr high combo building, and while the big kids generally stuck to their side and ignored all of the elementary babies, once in awhile there would be some interaction, either through a sibling on each side or just a bigger kid enjoying tormenting smaller kids.

One day as I was walking home, a 7th grader was hiding behind a large bush on the corner, jumped out and attacked me for no reason other than he wanted to. I was the biggest 3rd grader by far, and I had just moved into the neighborhood from out of state, only kid in my class with glasses - I guess bullies are gonna bully.

I felt trapped and fought back as if my life depended on it (not knowing how to punch I didn't do any real damage) but did get 2 or 3 thwacks in with my umbrella (in a puppy swinging a stick kind of way) in under two minutes it was over, he scurried away, I walked home to rot my brain on whatever after school specials I could find.

That evening the 7th graders mom called my mom, complaining that I was picking on her son, endlessly bullying him, attacking him as he walked home from school. My mom said "I don't recognize your son's name, is he in the other 3rd grade class?"

The bully's mom said "your son is in the third grade? I'm sorry to have bothered you" and hung up.

Her son never approached me again.

2024. A German tourist visited New York City, and quickly filed three pro se lawsuits to compensate him for his miserable time.

2025. He visited Los Tacos No 1 in Times Square. Asking no questions, seeking no clarification and being well aware of his heat wimp certification slathered on some salsa and immediately regretted his decision. He sued for $100,000 on the grounds that the staff made bo effort to warn him of how spicy it was.

The US District court judge ruled against him saying that since he knew he couldn't handle spicy it was on him to ask the staff rather than just grab a salsa at random and digging in. The judge had a brief bit of fame over his observation "when it comes to salsa, the spice is often the point."

2. He visited a WalMart in New Jersey and wanted to connect to the store's WiFi. The authentication required a US telephone number, which as a German tourist he did not have. When they did not give him what he wanted he sued for $10,000,000 for severe emotional distress and discrimination against international phone numbers.

The judge said lol, no, Title VI / civil right laws do not define international phone numbers as a protected class.

3. While in Times Square he saw two men beating up a homeless guy and he called the police. By the time they arrived the thugs were gone and the cops declined to take a formal statement. He sued for $10,000,000 alleging flashbacks, ptsd, and insomnia.

The full weight of the NYPD/city legal minds responded to his complaint, and upon receiving it he immediately dropped his lawsuit and presumably returned to being a part time law student in Germany.

The Quiet Skies Act, H.R. 9530 introduced June 19, 2026 by Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), and Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA)

In 2018 legislation was passed telling the FAA to ban voice calls through portable electronics on planes, but they never got around to it. This bill requires them to enact the rule within 180 of the bill's enactment.

You can track the status at congress.gov

Call or write your reps and ask them to get this passed.

The Quiet Skies Act, H.R. 9530 introduced June 19, 2026 by Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), and Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA)

In 2018 legislation was passed telling the FAA to ban voice calls through portable electronics on planes, but they never got around to it. This bill requires them to enact the rule within 180 of the bill's enactment.

You can track the status at congress.gov

Call or write your reps and ask them to get this passed.

The Quiet Skies Act, H.R. 9530 introduced June 19, 2026 by Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), and Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA)

In 2018 legislation was passed telling the FAA to ban voice calls through portable electronics on planes, but they never got around to it. This bill requires them to enact the rule within 180 of the bill's enactment.

You can track the status at congress.gov

Call your reps and ask them to get this passed.

Germany's equivalent of the US Congress is made up of blocs of political party gangs. Each bloc elects its own leader, and the boss of the biggest bloc is as powerful as a House Speaker/Senate President Pro Temp, or possibly majority leader. Front and center in the media's eye, extremely influential and powerful. Everybody is watching with a microscope, ready to pounce.

Until the other day, this position was held by Jens Spahn.

There is a law that strictly prohibits surrogacy. Jens has supported and argued in favor of the bill his entire career. As Health Minister he actively enforced it. InnFebruary of this year he helped defeat an attempt to repeal the law, vigorously defending it

He forgot to mention that while he was fighting to keep surrogacy illegal in Germany he had a 6-7 month bun baking in an American oven

He recently announced his child to the world and was called out on his hypocrisy before the microphones were shut off.

The German Chancellor, a close personal friend and mostly ride or die polit8cal ally immediately asked him to resign the leadership post so the he didn't have to deal with that mess, which Jan's did.

On his way out the door he made the following statements

​"The gap between my personal decision to have a child through surrogacy and the understandable expectations placed on me as the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group turned out to be greater than I had anticipated."

​"Over the past few days, I have come to realize that my personal happiness — starting a family with my husband and becoming a father — is incompatible with my political office."

His allies are quick to assure people that he still supports the ban:

"Jens Spahn does not, as a matter of principle, derive [political demands from his private life]... Spahn is not seeking to change the legal situation in Germany." His disapproval of "rented wombs" still stands.

And, he argues that since he did everything in the US German laws do not apply.

(background on the law, the surrogate can't be punished, only the doctor and the agencies involved in arranging for the surrogate and payment)