This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we look at a Russian dissident who foiled his own poisoner. Then, we find a surprising inclusion in the USA’s 5,000-page Covid-relief bill. Finally, the Iranian government throws the book at an Instagrammer for her ‘Zombie Angeline Jolie’ photos.
Follow the jump to learn more about this week’s weirdest and wackiest goings on from around the World.
From Russia With Underpants
Florida doesn’t feature in this week’s Weird and Wacky Wednesday. Instead, I bring you a story from a place equally as crazy: Russia.
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny survived an attempt on his life with a lethal nerve agent in August. While recovering in Germany, Navalny worked with CNN reporters to trick a Russian spy into revealing how he was poisoned.
Posing as a Russian official, Navalny called Konstantin Kudryavtsev who thought he was in a debriefing. He got him to reveal how he had followed him for three years and that the nerve agent had been placed in his underpants.
The story is crazy and to read the full thing, click here.
Read the terms and conditions
A big story this week was the passing of a long-awaited Covid-19 stimululs bill. The legislation would give most Americans $600. US lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, claimed they were held ransom by the fact they were given access to the near-6,000-page proposal just two hours before the vote.
Even the most talented speed-readers would have been at a loss to read the mammoth legislation in such a tight timeframe. So it was very easy to overlook some of the finer details.
It came to light that the legislation, remember it was supposed to be about Covid-19 relief, contained a passage outlining the reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama. We’ve all been there, right? You’re struggling to make up the word count in an essay so you add some padding.
Zombie Angelina Jolie
Do you guys remember the Iranian Instagrammer who posted pictures of herself with what appeared to be some extreme plastic surgery? Sahar Tabar, who was dubbed Zombie Angelina Jolie, actually used Photoshop and some creative application of makeup to achieve the effect.
Well, her post did not go down well with the Iranian authorities. She faces 10 years in prison after she was sentenced for “corruption of young people and disrespecting the Islamic Republic”. What a crazy world we live in, eh? If Ms. Tabar was from Hollywood she probably would have her own reality TV show by now.
