Wow, there's a headline I never thought I'd write.

Actor Hugh Grant was arrested in London yesterday for allegedly throwing a plastic tub filled with baked beans at photographer Ian Whittaker. Whittaker says that Grant also kicked him and yelled at him before he threw the beans at him.

A plastic container filled with baked beans? This could have been much worse. He could have thrown cans filled with beans at the photographer, or glass jars filled with tomato sauces or pickles, or maybe even cling peaches...in heavy syrup.

Grant was released on bail and no charges have been filed.

It looks like Hansel and Gretel aren't the only ones who tried to advantage of crumbs to lead them to where they wanted to go. The police in Sylva, North Carolina were able to use a very literal - not just literary - trail of cake crumbs to track down two thieves who attempted to break in to the police station last week.

The two suspects damaged the door of the station in their attempt to gain entry and, when they couldn't force the door, instead stole a sign, some flags and flagpoles before making their getaway. The door to the station was "smeared with cake and frosting" and a trail of the same sweets led along the main street, leading away from the station. It didn't take long before the detectives found their way to the two suspects, who "had cake all over them."

As you might expect from two people who smear themselves with cake and try to break into a police station, the pair had been drinking (heavily) at a birthday party in a nearby restaurant. Witnesses identified the suspects as having been serving the cake to partygoers, and then later also spotted them with the stolen goods.

Champagne is a term that applies to sparkling wines that are from the Champagne region of France. This name is protected, in Europe, by Protected Designation of Origin status and in France by Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, both of which state that to use the name "champagne," the wine must be produced in France, in the Champagne region and in a traditional manner to produce a specific product. Everything else is just a sparkling wine, not champagne.

This standard is followed throughout Europe and many other countries, although the US, for example, does not follow it and any sparkling wine can use the word champagne, which is considered to be a generic term. In France, the word carries a premium image and a premium price, so there is an incentive for sellers to use it instead of other descriptors. Just last week, the police arrested a number of people for passing off "tens of thousands of bottles of low-priced bubbly wine" as champagne, selling it for 5 to 10 times the original price after replacing the bottles' labels with false champagne labels. Most of these wines were sold "via associations or in door-to-door sales," which goes to show that if you want a premium product, you are better off going to a reputable source.

The idea of police sometimes getting a free meal or a cup of coffee is one with which we're all familiar. Apparently it's a bit of a hot button issue in the township of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

A local Wendy's franchisee encourages the practice and has officers simply sign a receipt for their purchases. His logic: giving food to local and state police encourages them to keep coming back and creates a feeling of security for customers and employees alike.

Not everyone is happy with the practice of police officers getting free grub, though. Wilkes-Barre Township Police Chief Robert Brozowski couldn't stand seeing his officers entering the station house bearing bags of food from nearby eateries. So he revised the department's rules. Officers are now forbidden to accept anything from businesses. Brozowski says he feels that the boys in blue make a decent enough buck that they don't need a free lunch.

What do you think? Should John Law be entitled to the occasional cheeseburger or donut?

As a general rule, when participating in some sort of illicit activity, it is best to do it in secret. This is why binge eaters keep boxes of cookies stashed in their cars and bedside tables, and drug users don't usually walk down the street offing to share with passers-by. Similarly, it is not a good idea to, say, put those drugs into burgers at the restaurant where you work - especially not if you are going to serve those burgers to police officers.

This was the lapse in judgment suffered by three Burger King employees in New Mexico. The officers noticed that something was amiss after a few bites of burger and used a field testing kit to determine the source of the problem. The trio was arrested for aggravated battery on an officer (a felony) and possession of marijuana.

There is also a video available that corresponds with the story, if you want to see more.

How many times does a journalist get to use "Blame it on Tony the Tiger" as their lede? A Florida man, distracted by the bowl of Frosted Flakes he was eating, recently drove his 1999 Toyota Tacoma into the car of a local police officer. Luckily, no one was injured. The accident did cause a reported $5,000 worth of damage to both vehicles, according to the St. Pete Times. "They were in a bowl, but they were dry," a spokesman for the local sheriff's department told the Times, adding "I think the fortunate thing is nobody was really hurt so we can talk about the Frosted Flakes.''

All you Ween fans should get a kick out of this one. A supermarket employee in Munich recently stumbled upon 44 pounds of cocaine while unpacking cases of bananas shipped to Germany from Colombia, according to Reuters. Local police then searched through another 4,600 cases of produce, but failed to turn up any more contraband. Apparently the case in question had cocaine packed under a single top layer of bananas.

[Via FreshPlaza]