New Weekly Item – The News of the Weird

Every Friday, in order to start the weekend off with a smile (or maybe a groan), I plan to post an amusing item I’ve come across. It may be related to the law, or not. But hopefully it will make you crack a smile. This week, we have two items, both from the Netherlands.

Sore Loser

Seven people from the small Dutch town of Heusden are extremely happy to have purchased a $10 ticket in the national postal lottery. In the Dutch lottery, prizes are given out based on a random drawing of zip codes. When their zip code was chosen, the seven neighbors each won 14 million Euros ($19 million). Their neighbor Helene de Gier was none too happy, however; she failed to purchase a ticket.

When the news came that her friends and neighbors were richer than Queen Beatrix, she sued the government for emotional distress. She claimed her neighbor was taunting her by parking his new Porsche in front of his house. She was also traumatized every time she addressed a letter and wrote her zip code down, which reminded her of the fact that she did not win.

Thankfully, the Dutch court threw out her claim, noting that “In the daily life of society, things happen that have unpleasant consequences for someone, but that doesn’t automatically mean the one causing them can be held liable.” Every once in a while common sense prevails.

One Careful Driver

In an unrelated story from the Netherlands, an 84 year old man shocked police officers at a random checkpoint when he revealed that not only had he driven for 67 years without a driver’s license, he never once received a traffic ticket, and had never registered a car or had a safety inspection. Thumbs up to this guy for beating the system!

Thanks to my friend Cliff for this news item.

Have a great weekend.