Special Aussie Edition
Usually we get most of our Weird and Wacky Wednesdays from Florida, but today we have all three stories from the land down under, Australia! Hemispheres don’t matter when it comes to unexpected and unbelievable. Their stories are just as weird and wacky if not more than the usual ones that we get on our weekly roundup. It’s good to see that we are all really just same, regardless of accents and distance. For this week, we have snakes on a surfboard, a post-post-post-partum lawsuit and a meth experiment gone wrong.
Snakes on a Surfboard
When Gold Coast local, Higor Fiuza, decided to catch some waves with Shiva, his pet python, he probably didn’t expect the stunt to make waves of its own. Videos of Fiuza and Shiva’s surfing adventures at Rainbow Bay splashed across the internet, turning the duo into viral sensations. Fiuza bragged to 9News about their bonding time, saying that Shiva would “cruise, waiting for the perfect wave,” and notably, wouldn’t hiss – her sign of annoyance – while out on the water.
But Queensland’s wildlife officials weren’t amused by his idea of pet playtime. Jonathan McDonald, a wildlife officer, voiced concerns about the cold-blooded reptile being in the chilly waters, noting that “the only snakes that should be in the ocean are sea snakes.” While Fiuza had the green light to own Shiva, he lacked the necessary permit to showcase her in public.
The outcome? Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science slapped Fiuza with a fine of 2,322 Australian dollars (roughly 2021 CAD). McDonald stressed the importance of animal welfare, public safety, and adherence to regulations, warning against exposing native pets to potential stressors outside their natural habitat.
Post-Post-Post-Partum Lawsuit
When Anil Koppula’s wife underwent a cesarean-section at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital in 2018, it should have been a joyous occasion celebrating the birth of their healthy baby. However, Koppula claimed the sight of the procedure triggered a “psychotic illness” leading to a mental breakdown and subsequent end of his marriage. He believed the hospital failed him by allowing, or even encouraging him, to witness the sight of his wife’s “internal organs and blood.”
Years later, Koppula, choosing to represent himself, lodged a massive lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Victoria, seeking a whopping $1 billion AU (approximately 870M CAD) for the alleged trauma. But Justice James Gorton was far from convinced. The lawsuit was dismissed, deemed an “abuse of process.” A crucial part of the judgement hinged on the legal stipulation that a person can’t claim damages for non-economic loss unless they’ve sustained a “significant injury.” In Koppula’s case, a medical panel concluded that his psychiatric impairment didn’t meet this threshold.
C-sections, a routine procedure where a baby is delivered through a cut in the mother’s tummy, account for about 1 in 4 births in the UK. Typically, partners are welcomed to support their significant others during the operation. It’s performed under spinal or epidural anaesthetic, numbing the body’s lower half but keeping the patient awake. Despite Koppula’s claims, adverse reactions from partners observing the surgery are uncommon. While there has been some discourse suggesting partners could experience trauma, the vast majority navigate the experience without severe psychological impact.
Justice Gorton’s concluding remarks encapsulated the case’s outcome: “The legal effect of the Medical Panel’s determination is that Mr Koppula is simply unable, as a matter of law, to recover damages for non-economic loss.”
“Meth” Experiment Gone Wrong
Naming a child is often a moment of creativity and sentimentality for parents. But ABC journalist Kirsten Drysdale took an entirely different approach when she christened her son ‘Methamphetamine Rules‘. The shocking name choice, understandably, raised many eyebrows and dominated headlines.
However, Drysdale’s peculiar naming choice had less to do with personal preference and more with a journalistic endeavor. She spilled the beans on A Current Affair, sharing that the name was part of a unique experiment for her upcoming TV show, “WTFAQ.”
Set in Newcastle, NSW, “WTFAQ” dives deep into peculiar queries from the audience. A particular question about the mechanisms behind birth registry’s name approvals piqued Drysdale’s interest. Being pregnant, she saw the perfect opportunity to dive deep into the matter, emphasizing that the show’s crew is committed to going above and beyond for their viewers.
Drysdale recalls, “While I acknowledged the minuscule risk of a system blunder, I never really anticipated my baby’s name getting approved.”
However, to her astonishment, ‘Methamphetamine Rules’ did get the nod from the birth registry in July. The decision left not just Drysdale, but also her partner and family, gobsmacked. While her loved ones initially called her out for taking the audacious step, they soon found humor in the unusual situation.
Drysdale was quick to reassure everyone that her son won’t have to live with the drug-referenced name for life. With plans to rectify this “journalistic slip-up” on the birth certificate, she emphasized, “There’s no real harm done. We assessed the risks beforehand. This whole fiasco highlights the need for stricter processes in naming. Think of it as a journalistic public service.”
In Drysdale’s words, “He won’t be baby Meth for long.”
Australia proves it’s not just shrimps on barbies and crocodiles. Stay tuned, because if this week’s any indication, there’s no telling where the next weird and wacky story is going to come from. See you next week for more!
