Thai durians trigger evacuation of post office in German town

[webfact]

Thai durians trigger evacuation of post office in German town

 

Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels

 

Thai durians caused pandemonium at a post office in a German town in Bavaria, sending six postal workers to hospital and causing the complete evacuation of the facility, according to a CNN report.

 

The incident took place last Saturday at a post office in Schweinfurt, after staff noticed a pungent smell emanating from a package.

 

A statement from Schweinfurt police said that, due to the unknown content of the package, it was initially unclear whether the suspect contents posed a risk, adding that 12 postal workers, who complained of nausea, had to be taken care of on site and six were sent to hospital as a precaution. Six ambulances and seven other emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-durians-trigger-evacuation-of-post-office-in-german-town/

 

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[daveAustin]

Nice one. Well done Thighland 

[Justgrazing]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

 

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The incident took place last Saturday at a post office in Schweinfurt, after staff noticed a pungent smell emanating from a package

I'd have called the bomb squad to blow it up .. 

[wobblyjohn]

Gave me and the missus a good laugh we love the stuff taste and smell even when it repeats on me 555p

[CLS]

You should read the story in the original German version.

They call durian “Stinkfrucht” or “Kotzfrucht” along with a description of the smell.

 

Cannot translate, because most words would be marked here as <deleted>.

 

 

 

 

[Grumpy John]

555!  Why spend a small fortune every year on army, air force and navy when all you need to do is send thousands of durian via the PO!

[ezzra]

I wonder how they could tell the difference between the stinky fart of a hearty meal of sauerkraut and pork sausages to the durian smell?...

[bodga]

The  stuff  makes  my Wife evacuate  alright????

[Deli]

Prohited in my household, awfull smell is indeed sickening.

[connda]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

sending six postal workers to hospital

The power of the mind and social conditioning in the 21st century.
Odd smell = deadly chemical/biological weapon "We're all going to die for sure!!!"

Death by Durian.  <gag>  Lol

[ChakaKhan]

Recall a LONG train ride from BKK to CM with one of those someone snuck on board.......blah

[phkauf]

I wonder who the intended recipient of that lovely fruit was? Not many Thais in that neck of the woods, haha. 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

A statement from Schweinfurt police said that, due to the unknown content of the package, it was initially unclear whether the suspect contents posed a risk, adding that 12 postal workers, who complained of nausea, had to be taken care of on site and six were sent to hospital as a precaution. Six ambulances and seven other emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.

I know the feeling.. 

[robblok]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

I wonder how they could tell the difference between the stinky fart of a hearty meal of sauerkraut and pork sausages to the durian smell?...

Give me sauerkraut and pork sausages over the Brit meals of green peas anyway. I think the Brit cuisine is even worse then the Dutch cuisine (that is saying a lot)

[sweatalot]

4 hours ago, CLS said:

Stinkfrucht” or “Kotzfrucht”

hits the nail on its head

[TooBigToFit]

Surface mail seems to be stopped at least in Thailand. If they came from Thailand, they would have traveled via a different method, maybe the most expensive EMS service. Who knows. I wonder who wanted them mailed to Germany? Someone is tossing around a lot of money there.

[Misterwhisper]

This is outrageous! I'd immediately retaliate and send a huge package of very mature Limburger cheese to Thailand.

[thequietman]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

I wonder how they could tell the difference between the stinky fart of a hearty meal of sauerkraut and pork sausages to the durian smell?...

Tastes different. ????

[Paiman]

I always buy a watermelon. Taste is the same and much easier to handle.

[Sumarianson]

So, plenty of ambulance's available during the so-called Pandemic for this grave situation? Is it not the smell of Durian that is in British piped gas?

[Kerryd]

There are companies that import Durian to Germany.

The g/f is in Berlin. She wanted me to send her some (long before "Covid") but it can't be sent by normal post and DHL wouldn't accept it either. (It's mostly to do with regulations on shipping produce. Many countries ban the importation of various fresh fruits/vegetables to prevent the spread of insects and plant diseases.)
(Of course people can still lie about the contents of a package and hope it makes it to the destination.)

Some places won't ship fresh produce as they know it can go bad in transit and could violate certain regulations. Commercial shippers who export/import the exact same things have a number of guidelines they have to follow, which may include spraying insecticides and/or irradiating the items.

According the the American FDA (Food and Drug Administration):
"Irradiation can serve many purposes.
Control of Insects – to destroy insects in or on tropical fruits imported into the United States. Irradiation also decreases the need for other pest-control practices that may harm the fruit."
https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-irradiation-what-you-need-know

The g/f was able to buy some Durian from a "Thai" shop in the city though. Naturally it was very expensive.

And it doesn't smell that bad. I've smelled some pretty bad **** in my days, stuff that will literally cause you to involuntarily puke instantly (like putrid flesh).

Durian smells like Jasmine flowers compared to some things I've encountered over the years.

And the people going to the hospital ? Fakers. Any excuse to take time off. Probably went to their union rep first to ask for hazard pay then went to the hospital.

Back in the early 90s, BC had a problem with an infestation of Gypsy Moths around Vancouver. An insect they think came off a ship that arrived from another country. They did a spraying program to try and eradicate it on the mainland.
Naturally, the "hippies" were up in arms about it, perhaps thinking that if they just gave the moths some THC everything would be fine.

Then one day the Navy was doing some Sono-buoy training near Vancouver Island, which consisted of helicopters lowering buoys into the water, listening for subs, lifting the buoys and moving to a different location.

Dozens of residents of some nearby islands all suddenly came down with all manner of symptoms consistent with "insecticide poisoning" (as confirmed by their "doctors" supposedly) and they claimed the military helicopters had sprayed them.

However, all their symptoms mysteriously vanished when it came out in the news that not only were they not sprayed with anything, the military didn't even have the equipment to do such a thing.
(I was in Logistics at the time and actually posted to that helicopter squadron and it was hilarious. They even offered to let those "affected" people come tour the facilities to see for themselves. For some funny reason, none of them came.)

I'm betting that those people in Germany that went to the hospital will be quite embarrassed when they go back to work (and find out they aren't getting any extra pay or time off).
 

[Kerryd]

Also note - apparently the Durian in this case wasn't sent from Thailand. According the article (the part they didn't copy/paste in the OP) the Durian was shipped from Nurmenburg to Schweinfurt. 
(Shipped by someone who was sending it to a friend. So not even a commercial shipment. Just one person sending some to someone else, maybe as a gag.)
 

[Kasset Tak]

It's like when they sent a shipment of surstromming to the Swedish embassy in in Washington DC... ????

[Paiman]

In 2018 a flight with 2 tons of durian cargo scheduled to take off in Indonesia had to offload the cargo. Passengers left the plane after boarding because of the smell.

 

I try to visit the South of Thailand once a year for some time during Durian season. More types of durian available down there. 

[CraigInBangkok]

1 hour ago, Deli said:

Prohited in my household, awfull smell is indeed sickening.

Illegal in my house too, but the wife openly breaks all my laws.

[Meat Pie 47]

2 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

This is outrageous! I'd immediately retaliate and send a huge package of very mature Limburger cheese to Thailand.

Nah try Esrom

[sawadee1947]

Similar reaction could happen if someone would send Haggis to Thailand ????

[ROGER DUNN]

A Bit Over the Top  !! What about their Smelly Cabbage???

[Jane Dough]

I adore durian, I think it is the best taste (of food) in the world.

 

Worryingly though, from a bank balance perspective, my seven year old daughter agrees.

 

Rooster

[bert bloggs]

love durian and no problem with the smell ,cant believe 6 people went to hospital ,bloody snowflakes.