Worldcrunch
PARIS — April Fools’ Day is an international celebration of silliness, with roots in ancient Rome, India and the first written reference in The Canterbury Tales. In France and Italy, the poisson d’avril and pesce d’aprile respectively, is a traditional call to spend the day trying to tape a paper cut-out of a fish on […]
While busy delivering the best international journalism, the Worldcrunch team also stumbles on a fair deal of downright strange stuff happening around the world, reported in every language.
Tales of odds and ends from deep inside the world’s newspapers…. Starsky And Hutch Busted In France For Driving Under Influence Yes, they are both French. Yes, those are their real names. No, they weren’t driving a Ford Gran Torino. — WORLDCRUNCH Skiing Across Sweden-Norway Border To Slip Past COVID Lockdown There was only one problem: the […]
Close your eyes. You’ve arrived in the lush and peaceful microstate of Andorra, known around the world for its natural spas. Flanked by majestic mountains, you take in the deep valleys and glistening lakes of this landlocked nation nestled between Spain and France as you settle in at one of the largest spas in Europe. […]
There’s a waterfall on the French island of Réunion that flows directly from the mountainside onto the road. Hence its, well, original name. And it looks like this tourist took it quite literally.
LlanfairÂpwllgwyngyllÂgogeryÂchwyrnÂdrobwllÂllanÂtysilioÂgogoÂgoch — or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, for “short.” What looks like an authentic Welsh name (it means “Saint Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the Church of Saint Tysilio of the red cave”) is actually a 1860s publicity stunt meant to attract tourists to this village on the island […]
The road to El Oued is paved with good intentions! We’ve seen our share of strange road signs over the years, but being told to beware of sand while you’re driving in the middle of the Algerian desert definitely takes the cake.
NEW YORK TIMES (US), O GLOBO (Brazil) Worldcrunch In a country famous for its carnival imbued spirit, it is only appropriate that Brazil’s municipal elections, often a dreary affair elsewhere in the world, are somewhat… colorful, to say the least. Inspired by superheroes, cartoon characters and American presidents, take a look at the candidates screaming […]