Turtle laying her eggs? Privacy, please!

Curiosity is not always good. Sometimes it causes annoyance for those you are curious about.

This is so true for creatures that need privacy, like sea turtles.

A sea turtle was seen crawling onto Mũi Cồn Beach in central Quy Nhơn City’s Nhơn Hải Commune late one night. It travelled nearly 200 metres from the water to find a safe place to lay eggs.  

Sea turtles usually come ashore to lay eggs only after dark and after the tide has risen. They find empty and tranquil beaches without lights or noise to work in privacy.

Unluckily, the mother-to-be had a very bad experience that night.

Local residents followed her footprints in the sand, armed with curiousity, excitement and smart phones. They had rarely seen any turtles on the beach in recent years, and watching an endangered species laying eggs was such an amazing experience.

They quickly approached the place where the large turtle was digging a hole in which to lay her eggs.

Poor turtle! She was surrounded by the lights of many cameras and by the noise of cheering human beings. The mother turtle seemed quite ashamed or annoyed, and she just filled up the hole and returned to the sea without laying any eggs.   

Meanwhile, the crowd got nothing but images of a sea turtle laying motionless for nearly three hours before returning to the sea, leaving no eggs.

Just boycott ’cussing noodle’ shops

A noodle shop in Hà Nội is famous for yelling and cursing its customers.

A recent episode of a CNN food show showed the shop owner, a middle-aged lady, as being very free and frank in the way she communicates with her customers.  

The so-called ‘cussing noodles’, named by world-renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, captured public curiosity after being aired. Many locals and foreigners rushed to try the dish, doubling the owner’s income.

Although the woman promised local media she would try to control her hot temper, she could not keep her promise. On Facebook and social networks, many asked to be paid a fee by those who insult and curse others.

A lawyer from the Hà Nội Lawyers Association assessed that the shop owner could be fined between VNĐ100,000-300,000 for insulting and humiliating others’ dignity - and said she should be strictly fined for such acts.

Come on! It’s not worth spending time and human resources for such cases. Just stop entering the shop, stop eating the ‘cussing noodles’, and stop talking about them. That’s the heaviest penalty she could possibly pay.

Gotcha, iPhone 6s Plus stone packer!

Last month, A Twist in the Tale featured a story about a short video recorded at a mobile phone shop in northern Yên Bái Province.

A customer opened a new iPhone 6S Plus and discovered the box was full of stones carefully wrapped in nylon bags instead of containing a smart phone. The shop was owned by Thế Giới Di Động (World of Mobile Phones) — a major retailer of mobile phones, laptops, tablets and spare parts.

According to a Thế Giới Di Động representative, the shop had four unopened iPhone 6S Plus models that contained only stones. They reported the cases to the police

After a short investigation, the police found the culprit – a man who worked at the shop’s storage facility.

Nguyễn Văn Ngọc, 25, was recruited to work for the shop in April. He allegedly admitted that he managed to steal 13 smart phones worth VNĐ20 million (US$896) each, refilling the empty boxes with stones and sealing them again after work hours.

A big notice should be installed in front of the shop: ‘The culprit was caught! Our iPhones are safe to buy now’. — VNS