Sideswipe

Fragrances have the most try-hard marketing gimmicks of any product. A scent called Flowerbomb (see above) comes in a glass bottle shaped like a hand grenade with a grenade-like pull-tab and, says its maker Victor et Rolf (a division of cosmetics giant L'Oreal), it "explodes into a bouquet of sensations". But last week Flowerbomb was pulled from duty- free shops at the international airport in Oslo, Norway. "We told the duty-free operator that this kind of product was not wanted inside the airport," said airport spokesman Jo Kobro, according to a report in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper. "The current regulations prohibit products in the shape of weapons and we think this bottle could be used to scare passengers, just like a water gun could."

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Stuff of fairytales: A mother from Indiana, Elizabeth Bragg, 23, was convicted when her 4-year-old step-daughter suffered a car injury. According to the prosecutor, Bragg, intending to punish the girl for misbehaving, told her other kids to "hang on" but then unfastened the belt in the misbehaving girl's car seat and slammed on the brakes several times, causing the girl to bang her head. (Source: News of the Weird)

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The Kuwait Times reported last month that food inspectors shut down the Hawally bakery in Kuwait City after finding dough stored in a toilet. This was done, the owner explained, so that the humidity would keep it moist.