Scary Clown (Sandhurst, UK) – Clock Tower Cow (West Virginia University) – Malay Pricing (Singapore)

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/terrifying-clown-emerges-woodland-sandhurst-17131276

Surrey Live [UK]

23 October 2019

Terrifying clown emerges from woodland in Sandhurst and sends children running

A man has described the "surreal" moment he saw a clown emerge from a woodland in Sandhurst after children had run screaming away from it. Jonathan Wood, who lives in Sandhurst, was cycling through Thibet Woods on Sunday afternoon (October 20) when a group of "terrified" children ran up to him. […] "I announced that I was calling the police," he said. "Then he proceeded to take his mask off, and one of the kids recognised him and was like: 'You scared the hell out of me'.” […]

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https://www.insider.com/west-virginia-university-haunted-woodburn-clock-tower-cow-legend-2019-10

Insider

25 October 2019

Inside West Virginia University's haunted clock tower, where students say they hear the tortured moos of a cow slaughtered in a prank gone wrong

[…] Legend has it that some of the school’s first students took a cow from a farm owned by the university and lead [sic] it up to the top of the tower for the whole student body to see. The students, not knowing that cows can't walk down stairs, didn't plan how to get it down. According to the legend, they were then forced to kill the cow, chops [sic] up its body, and walk down the pieces from the tower one by one. The clock tower is boarded up and off-limits [to] the public. But rumor has it that students walking by can still hear the cow's haunted mooing. Insider reached out to a West Virginia University student to find out just what's going on in the school's haunted tower. Armed with a camera and a fair dose of courage, […] Casey Johnson gained access to the tower and scavenged for clues. […]

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https://sg.news.yahoo.com/debunking-myth-malay-non-malay-033140922.html

Yahoo! News [Singapore]

25 October 2019

Debunking the Myth of ‘Malay’ and ‘Non-Malay’ Pricing

[…] Known to Singaporeans as a racially-motivated form of price discrimination, Malay pricing, as you would expect, commonly refers to those who look, or are Malay being charged a cheaper price for the same item than your Chinese Singaporean. Little has been said about this curious phenomenon, yet it seems like everyone agrees it’s “a thing”. We’ve all heard about a friend of a friend who was charged “more” for his meal as compared to his Malay pal. Maybe it’s even happened to you. But this is where it gets tricky: much of the evidence behind Malay pricing is anecdotal. […]

"The Disposal of the Body" (The Fabulous Fargos' Prank)

“The Disposal of the Body” is a dubious 5-page story included in Brandon Easton (writer) & Denis Medri (art), Jim Cornette Presents: Behind the Curtain – Real Pro Wrestling Stories (San Diego: IDW, 2019). According to wrestling expert Jim Cornette, the tag-team duo known as the Fabulous Fargos – Jackie Fargo (real name Henry Faggart) and brother Don (real name Don Kalt) – played a cruel prank on a hitchhiker they had picked up one night in 1957. As the two men pretended to argue over a woman, Jackie, who was driving, pulled out a gun and shot his brother. Blank cartridges were used, but the hitchhiker believed that Don had been killed. Jackie then stopped the car on the side of the road and forced his frightened passenger to help him dump the body in a field. “You know, you’re the only witness,” Jackie said to him. “But since you been a kind fella, I’m giving you a 10-count before I start shooting.” The man fled for his life as Jackie fired a few shots into the air. After Don got back on his feet, the Fabulous Fargos, chuckling over the success of their little joke, drove off, but “several miles down the road, they spied a tavern and decided to stop for a drink.” A little later, the hitchhiker burst through the door of the tavern, shouting that he’d just witnessed a murder. “Who got killed?” someone asked. The hitchhiker, pointing at Don, said, “That guy!” According to Cornette, the Fargos “started a tradition among the wrestlers [of] shooting someone with a blank gun in front of a witness and then having said person help dispose of the body.”

Concrete-Filled Ball / Brick Under Hat (Pranks)

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/football-filled-concrete-left-middle-3070340

Bristol Post [UK]

9 July 2019

Anger after someone filled a ball with concrete and left it in the middle of a field with menacing messages on

People in east Bristol have been left shocked after a football was filled with concrete, covered in taunts, and left in the middle of a playing field. […] Although the ball has not yet been put on the scales, it is believed to weigh between 15kg and 20kg and had the potential to inflict a serious injury upon anyone who tried to kick it forcefully. […]

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https://www.dw.com/en/two-arrested-for-concrete-soccer-ball-art-project/a-2081498

Deutsche Welle [Germany]

7 July 2006

Two Arrested for Concrete Soccer Ball Art Project

Two Austrian art students were taken into custody and later released after at least three people were injured while trying to kick soccer balls filled with concrete set up by the two in Berlin as part of an art project. The two, aged 26 and 29, had posted a sign saying "Can you kick it?" near the 15-kilogram (33-pound) balls, all 16 of which were also attached to utility poles, trees or street lights. The duo could now face charges of causing dangerous bodily harm and dangerous interference with traffic. […]

 

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These reports remind me of the old April Fool’s prank of placing a brick underneath a hat on the ground, with the expectation that someone would kick the hat and hurt their foot.

Frank King, Gasoline Alley, 1 April 1927.

 

Ernie Bushmiller, Nancy, 1 April 1944.