Quick Takes

Your evening propaganda

In an ostensible show of generosity, the government of North Korea is now offering a Hermit Kingdom version of Netflix. According to the United States–based NK News, North Korean propagandists began operating a video-on-demand service on Aug. 16. To install it, North Korean users would need both a television set and a connection to the xenophobic state’s intranet system. Both are rare in North Korea. But for politically privileged residents with access, the “Manbang” service promises constant access to sadly propagandistic videos with themes ranging from nature to politics to the superiority of North Korean life.

Charity for credit

A Baptist charity in Muskogee, Okla., is locked in an unusual struggle with a local atheist organization. On Aug. 22, Matt Wilbourn, co-founder of the Muskogee Atheist Community, tried donating $100 to the Murrow Indian Children’s Home on the condition the Baptist organization would print a small advertisement honoring the atheist group and its donation. When the children’s home rejected the offer, Wilbourn opened a GoFundMe page to raise enough money to entice the charity to budge. By the time website donations had topped $20,000, the Christian charity released a statement thanking Wilbourn for his generosity, but saying, “to accept money for [this] advertisement … would be contrary to those Biblical principles upon which we at Murrow stand.” By Aug. 25, with the funds topping $26,000, Wilbourn announced he would donate all but $5,000 to an atheistic summer camp. The remaining $5,000, he promised, would be laundered anonymously or through less scrupulous churches into the children’s home’s coffers.

Lyle fly away?

A lawyer for the fugitive polygamist leader Lyle Jeffs has floated an unlikely excuse to explain her client’s escape from home confinement. Perhaps, lawyer Kathryn Nester suggested in a new court filing, the Fundamentalist LDS leader didn’t head out on the lam, but rather “experienced the miracle of rapture.” Jeffs faces charges related to a food stamp fraud investigation but absconded from home confinement in June. That is, unless he was kidnapped or raptured away.

Top dog in town

Citizens of a Minnesota town have voted to reelect a Great Pyrenees named Duke as mayor. The reelection occurred during a festival in Cormorant, Minn., on Aug. 20. First elected in 2014, Duke the dog’s political career started by accident: Local businessman Richard Sherbrook ran unopposed in the 2014 race for mayor, a ceremonial position, but Duke surprisingly garnered enough write-in votes out of the 12 cast to trounce Sherbrook. Reelected to a one-year term in 2015, Duke and his owner David Rick canvassed this year’s festival and managed to win a third term nearly unanimously. “I don’t know who would run against him, because he’s done such great things for the community,” Karen Nelson told WDAY. The sole opposition vote went to another dog.

Stomach of steel

Doctors in India have surgically removed 40 knives from a man’s stomach after the 42-year-old father of two spent two months secretly ingesting them. The surgeons told reporters it took them two days to plan the dangerous Aug. 19 operation: The largest of the knives removed from the unnamed patient’s stomach was 7 inches long. The patient had explained that he developed an irresistible desire to swallow metal over the course of the summer. “Even for us, the experienced surgeons, it was frightening,” Dr. Jatinder Malhotra told CNN.

Crocodile gang

Four shirtless burglars in Australia brought some curious accomplices on their Aug. 21 caper: three saltwater crocodiles. Surveillance footage showed the men hurling the crocodiles—the largest 6 feet long—through a smashed window at Taminmin College in Humpty Doo, Australia. After quickly grabbing a computer and some office supplies, the four thieves rushed out of the building, but left behind the animals, whose mouths were taped shut. Police said the crocs were probably either intended to scare off bystanders, or simply meant as a calling card.

Politer police

New directives from leaders of a Filipino police force have instructed officers to stop taking selfies. A memo issued by the National Capital Region Police Office in Manila, Philippines, encouraged officers to avoid a host of impolite but apparently routine behaviors. Among them: taking selfies while on duty, nose picking, chewing gum, and adopting an “unseemly posture” such as standing on one leg.

Skin like chicken

Hailing the benefits of healthy, chicken-scented skin, KFC announced Aug. 22 it would offer sunscreen imbued with fried chicken fragrance. “The sun gives us life. But if we’re not careful it also gives us painful sunburns. That’s why we made KFC’s Extra Crispy Sunscreen,” the fast-food giant wrote on its new product website. Curious customers quickly snatched up the 3,000 free bottles that were part of the apparent marketing ploy. In May, KFC released Hot & Spicy and Original Recipe versions of edible nail polish in Hong Kong. News site Business Insider, which obtained a sample of the sunscreen, described some users as “at a loss for words” after smelling it.

Psst, got any ramen?

New research from a University of Arizona doctoral student suggests the day of cigarette currency in prisons may be waning. According to Michael Gibson-Light, ramen noodles have surpassed tobacco as the most prized of jailhouse currencies. The researcher’s interviews with inmates suggest the ease of procuring instant soup as well as the declining food quality in prisons are factors responsible for the switch. At one prison, Gibson-Light reported, two packs of ramen can purchase one sweatshirt and one pack of ramen can purchase five hand-rolled cigarettes. On the free market, the instant noodle packs sell for about 25 cents.