Man runs for office dressed as Joker
And other stories from the stranger side of life

A man is running for governor of Japan’s Chiba Prefecture with a campaign focused on him dressing up as the Batman’s arch nemesis Joker. Yuusuke Kawai wore face paint, a red suit and a yellow pocket square when he appeared on television to launch his bid for office. His mad manifesto includes banning the word “trash” and replacing it with “star fragments”, and renaming Makuhari Station as “Makuhari Messe Isn’t Here Station”.
Caller dials 911 after mum changes Xbox password
A caller rang emergency services in Canada because their mother had changed their Xbox password. Halton Regional Police revealed the call on Twitter, writing: “Never thought we’d have to say this, but here we are. Mom changing your Xbox password is NOT a reason to call 911. Yes, this happened.” The tweet was accompanied by a picture of Jim and Darryl, from the US version of The Office, playing on their Xbox.
Cocaine bear to hit big screen
A movie is being made about the true story of a bear that consumed a duffel bag full of cocaine in 1985. The 175-pound black bear was found next to a bag that had once been filled with more than 70 pounds of cocaine before it was hurled from a drug smuggler’s plane. “Its stomach was literally packed to the brim with cocaine. There isn’t a mammal on the planet that could survive that,” said a medical examiner.