The 27 weirdest government stories of 2019

At Apolitical, we aim to highlight the good work government does — but we also like to find the humour in public service. In our Weekly Briefing, we always include a “joke” story: the zaniest, most surprising bit of government news that week. These are always among the most popular pieces in the newsletter.

Here, we’ve compiled the most outlandish public service stories we read over the last year.

New York is passing a law to stop birds crashing into buildings. New regulations could range from dots on transparent surfaces to dim lighting and cushioning for collisions.

Estonia's digital government suffered a rat attack. The country’s renowned digital services portal was out of action for hours — the hackers were a team of rats found chewing on a cable.

“Meth. We’re on it.” – South Dakota’s new ad slogan is getting attention, but not in the way it was intended. The ads were designed to draw attention to methamphetamine addiction ravaging the state, but are now being mocked on social media. The department of social services spent $449,000 on marketing including an informational website aptly named OnMeth.com.

A US city banned teenage trick-or-treaters. Perpetrators will face $250 fines. This March, following serious backlash, the city of Chesapeake in Virginia raised the age limit from 12 to 14, and lightened the penalty from a six-month jail sentence to a fine.

A Polish city is giving free rides on public transit for carrying a Nobel prize-winning book. Polish literary laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s Nobel Prize win for literature made city officials in Wroclaw – where Tokarczuk is an “honorary citizen” – extremely proud. Anyone carrying a copy of her book will get a free ride on public transport this weekend.

Moscow held a parade of garbage trucks, city buses and other municipal vehicles. The city transport parade starkly contrasted Russia’s military parades, which showcase tanks and missile launchers, and recent pro-democracy protests, inviting ridicule online.

British cities are banning swearing. Between 2017 and 2019, at least 15 councils started fining foul language, in hopes of curbing anti-social behaviour. Critics say the measures threaten freedom of expression and may unfairly target people with mental health issues.

Muncie, Indiana residents are paying off parking tickets with animal shelter donations. After learning that the local shelter was running low on supplies, police asked violators to pay in pet food. Donations from residents – even those without fines – poured in, and now the shelter is running smoothly.

NASA is spicing up space. The Española chile pepper will become the first fruit cultivated in space, it announced. The idea is to boost astronauts' nutrition and give their meals more variety: “Just like here on Earth, we can’t live on the same thing,” said one scientist.

A Kansas City man threw a birthday party for a three-month-old pothole. Frustrated with the city’s slow response, he held a celebration complete with cake and candles. The hole was filled shortly after.

The US paid for British social media stars to tour the country. The goal is to export American values through their followers on Instagram, Twitter and the like. The influencers visited the places where cult TV shows, from Parks and Recreation to Breaking Bad, were filmed.

A Norwegian island abolished time. Residents of Sommarøy, where the sun shines nonstop all summer, declared that they can now “do what we want, when we want” — including mowing their lawn at 4 am. The idea is that by freeing people from the strictures of time, they’ll be less stressed and depressed.

A Pakistani politician accidentally livestreamed a press conference with the cat filter on. Regional minister Shaukat Yousafzai delivered a Facebook Live address wearing pink ears, a black nose and furry whiskers. His party apologised and deleted the video within minutes.

The US wants to rebrand fossil fuels as 'freedom gas'. In a press release touting its plan to increase exports of natural gas shipped out of Texas, the Department of Energy referred to it as 'molecules of US freedom'.

The North Korean government is launching a whisky brand. Samilpo Whisky's marketing says it contains essential amino acids that “prevent liver damage and reduce the negative side effects of alcohol abuse”. The branding? Conspicuously similar to Johnnie Walker’s.

Japanese women are using an app to yell at train molesters. It allows victims to display a message reading ‘There is a groper here. Please help,’ to other passengers, and activate a voice that shouts ‘Stop it!’ loudly. Introduced by the Tokyo police, the app was downloaded over 237,000 times in three years.

Jacinda Ardern returned a $5 bribe from the dragon lobby. An 11-year-old aspiring dragon trainer wrote to New Zealand’s prime minister, hoping to persuade her to fund research on the mythical creatures. Ardern’s response included a subscript: “P.S. I’ll still keep an eye out for those dragons. Do they wear suits?”

A Danish politician took out ads on Pornhub. “Half the internet is porn and you need to be where the voters are,” explained Joachim B. Olsen of Denmark's Liberal Alliance.

A Philippines town banned gossip. Spreading rumours will earn residents a $4 fine and litter-picking duty in the town of Binalonan, where hearsay about scandals, affairs, bankruptcies and divorces has grown so severe that the council has had to step in. The ban has already curbed disputes, said the mayor.

Indian officials trekked into the jungle to set up a polling station for one man. Bharatdas Darshandas, a 69-year-old priest who lives in a remote temple, has not missed an election since 2002. "I would like to ask everyone to use their individual vote — there should be 100% voting," he said.

Arkansas has passed a law against ‘cauliflower rice’. The state has banned food companies from marketing shredded cauliflower as ‘rice’ or plant-based meats as ‘meat’. US sales of cauliflower-centric dishes rose 108% from 2016 to 2017.

China cloned the Sherlock Holmes of police dogs to cut training time and costs. Scientists produced the puppy after taking a DNA sample from decorated seven-year-old Huahuangma. Officers expect her to be a fully trained recruit by just 10 months old.

After 150 years, Cleveland's public library is going fine-free. Ending fines is a growing trend among libraries; officials believe they can be a barrier to use and undermine the mission to serve the community.

What does Brexit look like? A big, blue, fluffy monster, according to the Dutch. The Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs is using a furry mascot to educate citizens and businesses about the UK’s departure from the EU. The ‘Brexit monster’ has gone viral on social media.

Japan’s next big innovation: flushable adult diapers. In the world’s most aged society, elderly care products are a huge business — and Japan’s ministry of land and infrastructure wants in on the action. It’s currently working on a diaper prototype, which it says will reduce caregivers’ workload.

Germany has produced what some are calling ‘the world’s ugliest coin’. It celebrates the seventieth anniversary of Berlin’s favourite sausage-and-sauce combo: currywurst. The colourful commemorative coin can be yours for $15.

Selfie addict, binge gamer or phone zombie? The British army wants you. A tongue-in-cheek recruitment drive targets the ‘snowflake generation’ by playing on stereotypes about 16- to 25-year-olds: ‘Me-me-me millennials, the army needs your self-belief’, one ad says.

(Picture credit: Unsplash)