Drop Bear Prank – Plastic Egg Reward (India) – Sex Traffickers Mark Car’s Windshield Wiper (Ohio)

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/this-scottish-reporter-was-tricked-into-wearing-full-protective-gear-to-hold-a-fearsome-aussie-drop-bear

SBS [Australia]

12 January 2020

Amidst the devastation of the bushfires, Aussies still managed to pull a classic prank on an unsuspecting Scottish reporter.

It's a commonly known fact in Australia that drop bears are amongst the most fearsome creatures on this continent. Over the weekend, UK’s ITV News Asia correspondent Debi Edward discovered that for herself, when she donned full-body protective gear to hold one of the "vicious" beasts, more commonly known as a koala. Of course, Edward didn't know she was only holding a koala. The drop bear is a classic Australian hoax, typically used to scare unsuspecting foreigners while locals have a giggle. It's pretty rare that it's effective enough to get someone into full body armour, though -- and especially rare to capture the whole thing on film. […]

 =====

https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/necc-seeks-to-dispel-rumours-of-plastic-eggs-on-social-media-through-rs1-000-challenge/story-Atl0CslR5BdPzPrW6fysgM.html

Hindustan Times [India]

13 January 2020

NECC seeks to dispel rumours of plastic eggs on social media through Rs1,000 challenge

With rumours of plastic eggs being sold in the market running riot on social media, veterinary experts, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) hatched [a] plan to break the shell and dispel the rumours. Officials on Monday announced a reward of Rs1,000, if a person manages to bring to them - a plastic egg - which looks like a natural egg. The rumours, which came into circulation last week on social media feeds, has been hurting the poultry industry as it detests people from consuming eggs, according to the officials who conducted a press conference in the city along with experts. […]

=====

https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/01/13/akron-police-no-cause-concern-regarding-social-media-rumor-claiming-kidnapping-attempt-whole-foods/

WOIO-TV [Cleveland, OH]

13 January 2020

Akron police: ‘No cause for concern’ regarding social media rumor claiming kidnapping attempt at Whole Foods

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Akron police say the public should not be concerned about a rumor that has surfaced on social media describing a recent alleged kidnapping attempt. Detectives from the Akron Police Department investigated the reported incident from Jan. 9 at the Whole Foods store in the Wallhaven area. The alleged victim filed a police report and posted on social media, claiming beliefs that sex traffickers marked her car with a plastic sleeve on her windshield wiper and tried to box her vehicle in before she was able to escape. […]

Plastic Rice (Nepal) – Meth Gators (Tennessee) – Wishing Tree Collapse (Ireland)

https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/plastic-rice-rumours-no-truth-in-them/

The Himalayan Times [Nepal]

15 July 2019

Plastic rice rumours: No truth in them

Just when news about the entry of poisonous vegetables in Nepal is settling down, rumours of plastic rice are making the rounds of Kathmandu. Since the past few days, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have been flooded with rumours about the sale of plastic rice in Kathmandu. And without any proof, tips on distinguishing between real and plastic rice have earned thousands of shares on Facebook. […]

=====

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/us/police-warn-flushing-drugs-create-meth-gators-trnd/index.html

CNN

15 July 2019

If you flush drugs down the toilet, you could be creating 'meth gators,' police in Tennessee say

(CNN) A Tennessee police department is warning residents to stop flushing drugs down their toilet and sinks out of fear they could create "meth gators." "Now our sewer guys take great pride in releasing water that is cleaner than what is in the creek, but they are not really prepared for meth," according to a Loretto Police Department social media post. "Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do." […] Police warn that if the drugs make it far enough, they will end up being consumed by gators in Shoal Creek. […]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49039097

BBC

19 July 2019

Tennessee town dispels 'meth-gator' myth

[…] Loretto Mayor Jesse Turner says the post was clearly meant as a joke, but the humour may have been missed outside the region. "People pay more attention [to police news] when they know there is a little humour. I can't go anywhere without hearing something about meth gators," he says, adding that the town of 1,700 people about 90 miles (145km) south of Nashville are definitely in on the joke. […]

=====

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/wishing-trees-hill-tara-falling-18208638

Irish Mirror

14 July 2019

'Wishing trees' at Hill of Tara falling from weight of underwear, handcuffs and other items hung from branches

[…] The so-called “wishing trees” at the Co Meath heritage site are in danger of collapse and the Tara Skryne Preservation group is now appealing to visitors to the Hill of Tara to stop suffocating the trees after one of the hawthorns fell recently. Also called fairy trees, it has been a tradition to place strips of cotton to the trees in the hope of curing an ailment which would disappear as the cloth decayed. But in recent years, visitors have been tying hundreds of items including nappies, plastic cards, bras and even handcuffs to the branches of the trees, which stand near the legendary Lia Fail stone. Coins have also been hammered into the trees, causing fungal diseases to develop in its bark. […]

[See also Ceri Houlbrouk, The Magic of Coin-Trees from Religion to Recreation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).]