Your weekly round up of world eccentricity.

Note: Do not throw in bin. Photo credit: Tilo Hauke

‘Moggie mauler’ Mary, the unmarried bank clerk
By far, the craziest story this week was the tale of Mary Bale, the “unmarried bank clerk”, as The Daily Mail took pains to describe her, who threw her neighbour’s cat into a wheelie bin. The cat, Lola, was stuck in the bin for 15 hours before being found, covered in her own feces, and rescued by her owners. The incident was caught on CCTV, and earned Bale the nickname “Moggie Mauler” from The Sun and death threats from the general public. Bale, who has apologized copiously for what she called a “split second of misjudgment” and had earlier explained was a “joke”, is now under police protection.

The reason she is now under police protection, aside from the overwhelming number of idle threats against her posted on Facebook and the comments pages of papers’ reporting on the story, is because of the kind folks at 4chan’s /b/ board. According to Gawker.com, shortly after the incident happened earlier this month, the CCTV footage of Cat-Binning Bale was posted to YouTube. It soon went viral, then catching the attention of the “anarchic” /b/ board on Saturday. Within a few hours of the footage landing on the boards, vigilante 4chan users had managed to indentify Bale. And then, perhaps in the hopes of unleashing some lynching-style retribution, plastered her phone number, address, her boss’s name and phone number, and her Facebook profile all over the place. Is there anything these Internet Robin Hoods can’t do?

Vladimir Putin cannot stop being hardcore
 Russian President Vladimir Putin shot a grey whale with a crossbow from a rubber raft in choppy waters. Said Gawker, “This is getting ridiculous. How will he ever outdo himself now?” Even though it was his fourth try, Gawker was still impressed: “But now that Putin has done the most badass thing imaginable, what else could he do? The only possible way Putin could top this would be to attack increasingly-more impressive animals with increasingly-dinkier weapons. Putin must travel back in time and kill a T. Rex using nothing but a Waterpik electronic toothbrush.”

Shoplift with a cop?
Two bright sparks were arrested in Portland, Ore. Wednesday after shoplifting from a local department store – during the store’s annual Shop-with-a-Cop back-to-school event. More than 60 officers were patrolling the aisles, helping schoolchildren pick out back-to-school supplies, while mounted police officers and the canine units milled around out front. The two men, Shane Alexander, 20, and Jason Vantress, 30, said they were initially concerned about the high presence of police activity, but then thought the cops would all be distracted. This, of course, would be the ideal time to shove a blender in one’s backpack. As the police spokesman said, “Common sense didn’t play into their decision-making today.”

America’s drunkest mayor
John Brady, mayor of Mankato, Minnesota (population 32,427), hit the hat trick of boozy driving: He was arrested for drinking and driving after leaving the scene of an accident with an open container of vodka and blood alcohol level of three times the legal limit. And this is in Minnesota. According to Gawker.com, Mayor Brady was so drunk, the arresting officer “thought he was speaking a foreign language”. Brady is up for reelection this autumn – good luck!