Does everything seem kind of upside down nowadays? Well, here in the USA, yeah. But Harper’s Weekly Review just handed us a slew of nutso items from around the world. (Maybe this is to help us Americans feel better about things. At least we’re not yet dealing with drinkable mayo!)
[I]n Japan, an eleventh-generation yakuza crime family issued a statement voicing concern about rising crime in their territory. “We will,” said the family, “take strict action.”
So madcap, this must be satire. If you don’t like satire, you will find this reassuring.
The Japanese convenience store Lawson began selling cans of drinkable mayonnaise across its 56,000 locations…
I’ve made my own mayonnaise. Which isn’t easy and can’t be accomplished if the weather is threatening rain. So I’m thinking Lawson just got stuck with tons of mayonnaise which wouldn’t thicken properly. Enterprising, but still who wants to drink mayonnaise?
Speaking of enterprising…
[A] South Korean observatory near the DMZ opened a Starbucks where customers can sip coffee while viewing a village in North Korea.
Very retro of Starbucks. Back in the olden days, socialites would travel to imminent battle sites with their elaborate picnic lunches. They would sit on a hill, sort of like sitting in a football arena tier, and would, like football fans, snack and sip as they watched the battle.
What an opportunity for Trump! He can (1) instigate some kind of battle somewhere and (2) sell Pay-per-View and merch in cybercurrency. This is what we’ve descended to, ladies and gentlemen. Do stand for our national anthem.
The Greek city of Thessaloniki opened its subway system after a decade of delays caused in part by the discovery of over 300,000 archeological objects during digging.
Such a problem for new civilizations built on top of ancient civilizations. This happens in Rome all the time, I was told by a Roman friend.
[T]he largest gold ore reservoir ever discovered was reportedly identified in central China.
Is a reservoir the same as a reserve except under water? Will this initiate a new gold rush?
And, finally, miscellany of the mad variety:
The chairman of tourism in the Malaysian state of Kelantan announced plans to promote the suitability for surfing of the area’s large waves during the monsoon season, an Irish politician advertised his campaign by projecting a laser display onto the exterior of a cancer ward, and it was reported that, this fall, Hawaii received more snowfall than New York City.