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animals

400 Chickens Killed in Road Accident

1,400 hundred chickens escaped captivity and 400 were killed in a tragic road accident in Scotland early this morning. The tractor-trailer carrying them jack-knifed on the A40 near Haggs, releasing the birds and causing chaos on area roads. It took Specialist Chicken Handlers 9-hours to clear the road of the fowl, which had been destined for an area abattoir. [Via BBC News]
Photo credit: E. E. Piphanie

3:15 PM on Thu Oct 11 2007
By Wes Siler
876 views, 42 comments

fine, be that way

British Tycoon Abandons $150K Maserati In London Car Pound After Racking Up Almost $10K In Fines

Bertrand Des Pallieres, millionaire UK businessman and manager of the SPQR hedge fund, racked up 65 congestion charge penalties and dozens of parking fines on his limited edition £80,000 ($158,600) Maserati GranSport without tax. His car was towed away from a square in Knightsbridge, West London, in late May and taken to a pound by a London towing company in a bid to get him pay up. But the 39-year-old chap failed for three months to get down to the tow lot to claim it - increasing the money he owed by £25 a day - until he found out the car was about to be auctioned due to an estimated £5,000 ($9,900) bill. So, what did Mr. Des Pallieres have to say about the incident? Well, he blames it on being "too busy." No, seriously — he really does:
"The truth is I was so busy I did not have time to deal with sorting the congestion charges, paying my road tax and getting my car out of the pound.
More »

8:30 AM on Wed Aug 22 2007
By Ray Wert
37,291 views, 21 comments

Latest by Daga: I love how the telegraph refers to him as "the Frenchman". Looks like my afternoon is shot. I'll have to dig around the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency website for that auction now... more »

Don't go anywhere near the old Packard plant unless you're looking to be a gay pr 0n extra. [xceedspeed]

6 comments

Only in Michigan do we worry about Zamboni fires. Well, maybe in Canada and up-state New York too. [Detroit News]

4 comments

bdsm in oregon

Phallic Traffic Posts Under Scrutiny

An Oregon town is considering fitting its bollards with chains, piercings and prophylactics after residents complained of their phallic nature. The plan was cooked up by Keizer officials in an attempt to save money, replacing the controversial cement posts would cost an additional $20,000. No word yet on whether Tobias "Leather Daddy" Fünke is the town's Traffic Consultant. More »

5:13 PM on Mon Jul 9 2007
By Wes Siler
2,465 views, 24 comments

Driving A Submarine Through The British Empire Well, now we know what that looks like. – Ray Wert Driving a Nuclear Submarine Through Britain's Roads [Gizmodo] Related:
Kaiten, A Kamikaze Submarine [internal]

25 comments

taken for a ride

Be Careful Of Wheelchair-Bound Hitchhikers When Driving Your Semi In Paw Paw

I'll be traveling through the lovely little southwestern Michigan town of Paw Paw on Saturday, and you can bet I'll be happy I won't be driving a semi-truck. We've heard the town's home to a roving gang of wheelchair-rolling hitchhikers employing a unique brand of thumbing it. They'll just roll right out in front of semi trucks and hitch themselves a push-start ride strapped onto the grille. That's what a 21-year-old wheelchair-bound resident of the double baby bear hand-named town did yesterday afternoon. The man became lodged in a semi truck grille after rolling in front of a truck leaving a gas station. The truck driver, not noticing the man lodged in front of his cab, proceeded to hit the highway for about five miles before police, alerted to the scofflaw, pointed it out to the truck driver. The unharmed man was taken to the hospital for a check-up, and then we're assuming right to jail. Didn't he know hitchhiking is illegal in Michigan? Wait, what's that you say — he didn't mean to be taken for a semi-ride?!? Oh man, then that's just terrible. – Ray Wert More »

10:45 AM on Thu Jun 7 2007
By Ray Wert
2,177 views, 27 comments

Latest by racebeer: OK .... I'm torn on what category this fits into. Definitely a hoon-of-the-month candidate, but also a finalist for a Darwin award. I'm betting libations were involved ...... more »

news

This Is Why You Always Finish Your Meals

In our quest for hilarious car news we often come across stories of people getting popped for stealing cars because of GPS devices. This is the first time we can remember someone getting busted because of breakfast. Norman O. Wheeler of Detroit decided to boost a car way back in 2004 and probably thought he'd gotten away with it. Unfortunately for him, he left a partially eaten cinnamon bun in the car and the Michigan State Police crime lab apparently has nothing better to do than analyze the DNA of pastries. Since he was already in jail for another auto theft, they had is data in the computer and matched him up. If he'd only watched Double Indemnity, maybe he'd know there's no such thing as a perfect crime. – Matt Hardigree More »

4:30 PM on Wed Apr 25 2007
By Matt Hardigree
273 views, 5 comments

Latest by Tomsk: @Ted Striker: *arm falls off* And that's why you always finish your cinammon buns. Haaa-ha-haaa! more »

news

Happy Boss's Day, Walt: The Post-It Note Jaguar

We know from tipster Sean's e-mail that this was the boss's car, and other sources tell us it was a car parked at the wireless company InPhonic. Other than that we've no idea what "Walt" did to deserve the post-it treatment, but he's probably glad the office got an extra box from 3M rather than a few more shipments of white-out. Just sayin'... – Ray Wert More »

9:20 AM on Thu Apr 19 2007
By Ray Wert
1,873 views, 9 comments

Latest by FЯeeMan: that looks like a great way to spend a boring Friday afternoon. I think Walt's the kind of guy I wouldn't mind working for. more »

news

Woman Run Over Saving Duck In Poorly Planned Escape

A Seattle man is in jail, a Petco employee is in a cast but Mr. Peepers the duck is going to be okay. The man, Kenneth Quinlan, dropped his girlfriend off at Petco and decided to kill time by lifting an iPod speaker system from an adjacent store. A guard intervened and Quinlan, who apparently needed the speakers badly, beat him up and ran out of the store to his car. Just then, his girlfriend, Mr. Peepers in hand, approached the car. The car hit the girlfriend and Mr. Peepers went flying. Seeing the endangered duck, an exceptionally committed Petco employee rescued Mr. Peepers from the path of the car but was run over. The employee is going to be fine, but Quinlan hit another car on the road and is now in police custody. Though, in his defense, he'd apparently just gotten a methadone dose at the clinic. So, no harm no fowl.– Matt Hardigree More »

2:00 PM on Wed Apr 18 2007
By Matt Hardigree
327 views, 3 comments

Latest by dculberson: Okay, nobody's asked so I might as well: Why would you risk your life for a duck? I sure as shit wouldn't, and I'm a vegetarian. After it's been hit, just drop it off at the Chinese place more »

news

Some People Just Hate Taking The Bus...

You know what sucks? Not being able to ride your bike. You know what's awesome? When an idiot leaves his Monte Carlo idling while he runs into Subway to grab a meatball sub. Because that way you've got yourself a free car. That's at least what we think must have been the thought process of Kathleen Mary Pedemonti of Palm Bay, who stole a car after having difficulty riding her bike. Thanks to the the GPS locator in the man's car, Ms. Pedemonti got a free ride in the back of Brevard County Sheriff's cruiser. We're sure this will soon be an OnStar commercial with some guy ecstatic that he won't have to go through the effort of festooning another Monte Carlo with "#3" tribute stickers and Playboy bunny decals.– Matt Hardigree More »

4:00 PM on Mon Apr 16 2007
By Matt Hardigree
345 views, 1 comment

Latest by superbmtsub: They should legalize "borrowing" idling cars with unlocked doors and the owner nowhere near em. more »

news

Macedonian Politician Driving Beckham's Stolen Bimmer?

Remember that time a bumbling parking attendant let soccer superstar David Beckham's $200K armored BMW X5 get stolen? As you might have expected if you're on mushrooms and kind of psychic, it has turned up in the driveway of Gordana Jankulovska, Macedonia's interior minister. More »

4:40 PM on Fri Apr 13 2007
By Matt Hardigree
479 views, 4 comments

news

Woman Uses Floor Jack to Free Drunk Kid From Car

In yet another example of a car pinning someone ejected from their own car (and not wearing a seatbelt again), a drunk Wisconsin teenager was freed from underneath his girlfriend's Mercury Cougar by a local woman and her brother-in-law with a floor jack. The best part of this story, other than the kid surviving, is the quote from the nice woman who saved the kid: "We just kind of eased him out of there. He was really alert. He was determined... he wanted that car off his legs." Now that's what we call an understatement. Let this be a wake-up call for some of you, if you're going to drive without a seatbelt make sure you get launched at least 100 yards from the car for your own safety. – Matt Hardigree More »

6:00 PM on Thu Apr 5 2007
By Matt Hardigree
536 views, 8 comments

Latest by CafeRacer1200: *I reeeeeally want this Guinness in my belly.....* My God! It works!!!! more »

news

Surprisingly Sober Dad Locks Kids In Car Trunk For Vacation

Not content to let the Australians beat us in the category of "worst parents," an Oregon man was arrested yesterday for locking two of his kids in his car's trunk for the family vacation. The small car he was driving didn't have room for himself, his fiancee and his four kids so he did the reasonable thing and stowed two away in the back. We say reasonable because taking two cars would be horrible for the environment and letting them ride in their siblings' laps would be uncomfortable. Of course, if dad had just rented a Family Truckster he could have avoided being charged with two counts of reckless endangerment. "Spring Break 2007, WHOOO!" – Matt Hardigree

5:00 PM on Mon Apr 2 2007
By Matt Hardigree
720 views, 6 comments

Latest by Placebo: Wait, this is illegal? BRB, I gotta hit the parking lot for a sec... more »

news

Frankie Muniz Graduates to Champ Car Atlantic, Will Never Graduate From College

Honestly, if you were 21 and had millions of dollars and nothing better to do you'd propose to your 27 year-old hairdresser girlfriend and start racing cars, too. Frankie Muniz, star of Malcolm in the Middle, has graduated from the Formula BMW USA series to the Champ Car Atlantic Series and will be racing for Jensen MotorSport at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Apparently, he's sporting a mohawk in order to "be taken seriously as a member of the Jensen MotorSport team." Which is completely logical... as everyone knows, Fangio, Moss and Gurney all wore mohawks as young drivers. – Matt Hardigree More »

3:08 PM on Fri Mar 30 2007
By Matt Hardigree
5,037 views, 25 comments

Latest by Trai_Dep: Nah, I know he'll win it... Once Reese finishes pouring sand in the other racers' gas tanks. more »

news

Don't Be A Dummy: Woman Run Over By Own Car

Safety belts might make your woman seem so far away from you, but they may also save your woman's life. According to reports, a woman driving in Anaheim late Wednesday was hit by a truck and ejected from her car (we assume she wasn't wearing a safety belt). That's not exactly news since it happens something like ten times a day. What makes this accident worse was that she was then apparently flattened by the car as it spun out of control. As you might imagine, said woman isn't in great shape. Take a lesson from the dummies in the picture, buckle up! – Matt Hardigree More »

2:30 PM on Fri Mar 30 2007
By Matt Hardigree
611 views, 7 comments

Latest by dculberson: Her estate will probably sue the auto maker for not having the car automatically buckle her in. more »

news

No Men Allowed! Swiss Create Pink Parking Spaces

Some European countries, including Switzerland, have reserved parking spaces for women that are near the exists and under video surveillance. This is done to protect women from assault when getting into and out of their cars. Unfortunately, the unchivalrous men of Bern have been parking in these reserved spots. Since they can't legally stop men from using these spots, local garages are going to paint the spots in a way that discourages men from parking there. Above is our expert artist rendering of what these spots might look like. – Matt Hardigree More »

3:45 PM on Thu Mar 29 2007
By Matt Hardigree
1,736 views, 10 comments

Latest by dculberson: Yeah, what is going on in the eskalaparty one? Did Top Gear show up with their car launcher?? more »

news

Who Is Driving Car? OMG, No One Driving Car? How Can That Be?

Everyone loves a good April Fools Joke (remember the ESPN aluminum bat hoax?), especially the guys and gals over at SEAT Sport UK. The racing team that operates the SEAT Leon in the BTCC has a story on their website that is "strictly embargoed until April 1" about a remote controlled SEAT possibly competing in the series as early as next week. More »

3:30 PM on Wed Mar 28 2007
By Matt Hardigree
3,032 views, 12 comments

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