Man denied passport because his name is too rude
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A British man is unable to go abroad because his surname has been judged too rude to be printed on a passport. Former soldier Kenny Kennard, 33, amused himself by changing his surname by deed poll to “Fu-Kennard” but has since been denied a passport three times by the Home Office because it “may cause offence”.
Pensioner circumcised by accident
A pensioner who went for a routine operation ended up being circumcised following a hospital blunder. Terry Brazier, 70, says he was so busy chatting to nurses at Leicester Royal Infirmary that he didn’t realise he wasn’t being given the cystoscopy he was expecting. He has been given £20,000 compensation.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Prisoner dresses as daughter in escape bid
A prisoner in Brazil tried to escape from prison by disguising himself as his teenage daughter. Drug trafficker Clauvino da Silva put on a silicon mask, wig and women’s clothes in a plot to swap places with his 19-year-old daughter when she visited, but was spotted by guards as he tried to leave the jail, in Rio de Janeiro. He was transferred to a unit of a maximum-security prison and will face disciplinary sanctions.
-----------------------------
For more outlandish tales in ‘It must be true… I read it in the tabloids’ - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on what really matters - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues free
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-----------------------------
-
‘The worry is far from fanciful’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are Americans bracing for the end of SNAP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Millions depend on supplemental federal food funds that are set to expire this month, as the government shutdown begins to be acutely felt
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Zoos offer cockroach naming and hippo poo candlesTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
NHS tells Scots to walk like penguinsTall Tales Walk like penguins in the snow, says NHS
-
Experts discover why dogs wag their tailsTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Peruvian 'aliens' aren't really aliensTall Tales And other stories from stranger side of life
-
Woman accidentally puts nan in washing machineTall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Couple sues after ‘farting dog’ ruins flightfeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Experts suggest the real-life Dracula was veganfeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Pedants forgive Waterstones over apostrophefeature And other stories from the stranger side of life