ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-March2018

March• 2018 | 69

That’s Outrageous!

OUT OF PLACE

BY NATHANIEL BASEN

he beast he was stung

hand.

llow passengers leaped

nto action: one crushed

he attacker and

another, a nurse, gave

Bell anti-inflammatory

medication. Scorpions

are rarely dangerous

to humans, but Bell

received medical

ention upon landing

just in case. It seems that

any poison carried must have been

within security guidelines.

GROSS GARNISH

Earlier this year, one Florida couple

discovered an unappetising bonus in

their newly purchased pre-packaged

salad: a tiny dead bat. Although North

American bats are insectivores, the

furry surprise was discovered nestled

among the young leaves of a cos,

rocket and radicchio spring mix.

The horrified customers sought

treatment for rabies, but thankfully

neither showed signs of infection.

It was not clear how the creature

wound up in what should be

mammal-free fare.

CATTLE POWER

A quiet stretch

of British countryside

turned chaotic when

cows took over Hever

station, an hour south

London. The horde –

marched across from

farm – mobbed the p

shocking onlookers a

train traffic by nearly

Tensions rose as at

bovid tumbled from the platform

back onto the tracks, but the entire

herd was eventually persuaded to

return to their pasture.

CREEPY CARRY-ON
On a United Airlines flight from
Houston to Calgary in April
2017, an eight-legged stowaway
made a grand entrance. Despite
United’s strict passenger manifest,
a scorpion – around six centimetres
of undocumented legs, pincers
and stinger – bided its time in the
overhead compartment before
plunging into passenger Richard
Bell’s hair. Bell plucked the arachnid
from his head and placed it on his
ILLUSTRATION: PIERRE LORANGERseat-back tray, but when he tried

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