In the spirit of normal people acting awfully, here's a compendium of the ten worst restaurant freak-outs.
Honorable Mention: Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants This is an honorable mention, and while no video exists of this $2.86 million coffee spill, here are the facts of the case. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)
On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, ordered a 49¢ cup of coffee from the drive-through window of a local McDonald's restaurant. Liebeck was in the passenger's seat of her Ford Probe, and her grandson Chris parked the car so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee. She placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap.[9] Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin as she sat in the puddle of hot liquid for over 90 seconds, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin.We'll stop there, but her burns were no joke -- third-degree, in fact. So while this isn't quite an unnecessary freak-out, it still counts. Liebeck died on August 4, 2004, at the age of 91.
10. New Year's Day McNugget Rage This one is fairly recent and this incident occurred in Toledo, Ohio. From WUPW: "Surveillance video from Jan. 1, 2010, of Toledoan Melodi Dushane, who, in a fit of rage, complains and threatens McDonald's employees after she was denied an order of Chicken McNuggets. She ordered the McNuggets at around 6 a.m., when the fast food restaurant was serving breakfast."
9. Woman Flips Out over Wait for a Table
East Hampton Village police are on the lookout for Amy Paul, 57, of Rye, NY. She had a reservation for 9:30 p.m. Saturday at The Palm restaurant on Main Street, according to cops, but showed up at 9:55 p.m. with four extra people. When the maitre d' told them they'd have to wait for a table to be set up, Paul "became irate and ripped pages out of the reservation book and then removed her shoes (heels) and went outside and began breaking the land scape lighting with her shoes until family/party members stopped her and removed her from the property," according to the police report. Read more in the New York Post.
8. Beef About a Burger Sends Woman Into Rage From the AP: "Police in Kansas City say a woman is facing criminal damage charges after she got upset over her hamburger at McDonalds and threw a bucket of water, cookies, a sign and three cash registers over the counter." Is this a sign of the downfall of our society, or just a hungry, misbehaving lady?
7. Cops Eject Starbucks Customer Who Wouldn't Use Their Lingo
But after ordering her multigrain bagel, she was peppered with the irksome question, "Do you want butter or cheese?" And that's when she snapped. "I just wanted a multigrain bagel," Rosenthal tells The Post. "I refused to say 'without butter or cheese.' When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want. Linguistically, it's stupid, and I'm a stickler for correct English. I yelled, 'I want my multigrain bagel!' The barista said, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!' "Read more in Gothamist.
6. Denver Cop Who Threatened an Aurora McDonald's Employee with His Gun
Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker's account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21. But once at the drive-thru window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker's account. The male clerk then said one of the officer's flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive-thru window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying. Read more at CBS 4 Denver.5. The Naked Detroit Lions Assistant Coach from a Few Years Ago
Joe Cullen, the man best known for going to a Wendy's drive-thru while completely naked during his time as an assistant coach with the Lions, has resurfaced in Jacksonville this year as an assistant with the Jaguars. But while the drive-thru nudity is the reason most football fans remember Cullen's name, Cullen says he doesn't remember it at all. "Well, it's simple; it's called a blackout, so I don't know," Cullen said in an interview with the Florida Times-Union. "When you have a blackout, bang. You realize through being educated [about alcohol consumption] that you drink too much. I'm sure there's a lot of incidents out there where people don't remember a thing they did the night when they were drinking. That's basically what happened." Read more at NBC Sports.
4. Lady Calls 911 Over Wrong Burger King Order This one really speaks for itself. Just listen.
3. The Fast-Food Freak-out of Cheeseburger Josh (NSFW!)
This incredible YouTube footage, which seems too surreal to have been staged, of one man named Josh and his anger at being denied a cheeseburger. It might have just been a random shouting match between a customer and a fast-food employee, but a customer who does have a cheeseburger helps take this to another level.Read more at Gut Check.
2. Man Fired Gun in Crowded Mexican Restaurant, Police Say
Instead of leaving a tip, 29-year-old Marco Alaniz-Chavez left Sinaloa Cafe in Morgan Hill on Saturday after shooting a bullet into the floor, police said today. No one was hurt. But Alaniz-Chavez may have to pay a price a lot more expensive than the check. Alaniz-Chavez was booked for discharging a firearm in a public place, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of a controlled substance and under the influence of a controlled substance, police said. The Mercury News in the Silicon Vally has the rest of the story.
1. Oklahoma Broom-Swinger
Just before midnight, officers were dispatched to the Waffle House, 2210 N. Aspen Ave. in Broken Arrow, in reference to a disturbance, officers reported. Callers told dispatchers a man was swinging a broom, striking two people and had left as officers arrived. Wayne A. Herl, 49, was booked into Tulsa Jail at 5:50 a.m. Monday on two complaints of assault with a dangerous weapon, first offense driving under the influence and speeding. The rest of this story is in the Tulsa World.
