Mardi Gras beads block New Orleans drains
And other stories from the stranger side of life
Officials in New Orleans have discovered the hidden cost of the city’s annual Mardi Gras celebrations after drains in the city became blocked. Workers have reportedly removed more than 42 tons of the festival’s signature plastic beads from storm drains around five blocks of the city centre.
Escaped inmate caught sneaking food into prison
An inmate who escaped from a prison in Texas has reportedly been caught sneaking alcohol, tobacco and home-cooked food back into the facility. Officials say the prisoner was spotted after a vehicle drove onto a neighbouring rural property and dropped off a large bag containing the contraband.
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.
Ten arrested for ‘pornographic dancing’ in Cambodia
Ten tourists, including five Britons, have been arrested in Cambodia for “singing and dancing pornographically”. They face up to a year in prison following a raid on a party in Siem Reap, and could spend six months in detention before the case makes it to court.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
West Africa’s ‘coup cascade’The Explainer Guinea-Bissau takeover is the latest in the Sahel region, which has quietly become global epicentre of terrorism
-
Daddy Pig: an unlikely flashpoint in the gender warsTalking Point David Gandy calls out Peppa Pig’s dad as an example of how TV portrays men as ‘useless’ fools
-
Codeword: December 3, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
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