InfoAnda - World keeps humor in 2008 despite economic woes

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My Profile Top News Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day. Subscribe You are here: Home > News > International > Article Home Business & Finance News U.S. Politics International Technology Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Oddly Enough Environment Health Science Special Coverage Video Pictures The Great Debate Blogs Weather Reader Feedback Do More With Reuters RSS Widgets Mobile Podcasts Newsletters You Witness News Make Reuters My Homepage Partner Services CareerBuilder Affiliate Network Professional Products Support (Customer Zone) Reuters Media Financial Products About Thomson Reuters World keeps humor in 2008 despite economic woes Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:52pm EST Email | Print | Share | Reprints | Single Page [-] Text [+] By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Whether smashing plates in San Diego to relieve frustration or drinking "Bailout Bitter" beer in Canada sold as a "bitter ale for bitter times," people the world over kept a sense of humor in 2008 despite financial woes. Some of the year's top off-beat tales included a Canada brewery that created a special tough times bitter and "Sarah's Smash Shack" in California, which charges patrons $10 for 15 minutes of pleasure pulverizing dinnerware against a wall. "It was the best $50 we've spent in the last two years," said insurance broker Adam DeWitt, who smashed plates in San Diego with his wife after his home mortgage loan was rejected. A glance back at 2008 shows a world full of wonderful, weird and whacky stories both before and after the financial upheaval. In May, a Wall Street restaurant boasted it was selling the costliest burger in New York, with the $175 patty made of Kobe beef, black truffles, seared foie gras and flecks of gold leaf. "Wall Street has good days and bad days," said Heather Tierney at her Wall Street Burger Shoppe. "We wanted to have something special if you really have a good day on Wall Street." One bank in Kazakhstan offered a diamond-encrusted credit card for well-heeled clients with incomes over $300,000. A jeweler in Tokyo kept busy selling 13-piece tableware sets made of gold for $1 million -- aimed at newly rich Chinese customers. Yet there was no need for any plates at all in Bihar, one of India's poorest states where authorities encouraged people to eat rats to fight rising food prices and save grain stocks. They praised rat meat a healthy alternative to rice. In Germany, the crisis sparked an unlikely revival of interest in Karl Marx, the founding father of communism whose heavy analysis of capitalism "Das Kapital" became a top seller. "Bailout" was crowned as the U.S. word of the year, and the financial crisis also had implications in Russia where vodka consumption fell sharply and the National Alcohol Association lobby group in Moscow said vodka stockpiles were six times higher than usual. A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees, making some extra money on the side. After 14 years, the couple are divorcing. GREAT ESCAPES But away from the financial turmoil, the world had its usual slew of whacky news as well in 2008. In China, the world's tallest man, Bao Xishun, became the world's tallest father with the birth of his first child. In Italy, a man accused of being a Mafioso got out of prison after a court ruled he was too fat for jail. Guards said the 210-kg (462-pound) man could not fit through the bathroom door. In Germany, dozens of lobsters destined to be boiled alive made a successful getaway from a supermarket, crawling out of a poorly secured wire mesh one night and squeezing past an unlocked metal door to freedom. Continued... View article on single page Share: Del.icio.us Digg Mixx My Web Facebook LinkedIn Next Article: UPDATE 1-China Eastern seeking more govt aid - executive Also on Reuters Video Video: The rich and famous offer their season's greetings Seductive singer Eartha Kitt dies at 81 World keeps humor in 2008 despite economic woes More International News Israel sends out "last-minute" warning to Hamas Guinea junta leader says will not cling to power Chinese ships head to Somalia Suicide bomber hits foreign forces in Afghanistan S.Korea says economy faces unprecedented crisis More International News... Editor's Choice Slideshow A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow Most Popular on Reuters Articles Video Six killed as Santa-clad gunman opens fire at L.A. party U.S. retailers' holiday sales plummet: Spending Pulse Oil looks cheap, but investors are wary "What are you doing here?": man asks wife at brothel Olmert issues "last-minute" warning to Hamas Warner Bros blacks out "Dark Knight" from China Ancient water source vital for Australia Let it snow: China builds "world's largest" ice Santa Seductive singer Eartha Kitt dies at 81 China naval ships to head for Somali waters Most Popular Articles RSS Feed Video Playboy goes digital New Delhi protests Tracking Santa's travels Burger scented cologne is sold out US troops enjoy festive feast British Royals pray for troops Beauty queen busted in Mexico Ukraine blast Bush effigy pelted with shoes Talk of the Town Most Popular Videos RSS Feed Reuters Deals The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators Knowledge to Act Reuters.com: Help and Contact Us | Advertise With Us | Mobile | Newsletters | RSS | Interactive TV | Labs | Reuters in Second Life | Archive | Site Index | Video Index Thomson Reuters Corporate: Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | Professional Products | Professional Products Support | About Thomson Reuters | Careers International Editions: Africa | Arabic | Argentina | Brazil | Canada | China | France | Germany | India | Italy | Japan | Latin America | Mexico | Russia | Spain | United Kingdom | United States Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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