Funny old world: The week's offbeat news

From viral German tongue twisters to the American hero with a hot dog-sized lump in his throat... your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

- Could hardly be wurst -

The world's fastest hot dog eater Joey Chestnut is "gutted" after being banned from the legendary New York eating contest where he set his record.

Chestnut's endorsement of a vegetarian rival was too much to swallow for fast food company Nathan's, who sponsor the Fourth of July gluttony fest on Coney Island.

"We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand," said Major League Eating, which organises the event.

Chestnut, who was hailed "an American hero" after downing 76 hot dogs and their buns in 10 minutes, said he had been in training to defend his title next month.

"I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America," he said on Instagram.

"Rest assured you'll see me eat again soon," he told his fans. "STAY HUNGRY!"

- Banksy burns thief -

You have to admire the cheek of the French musician who stole a Banksy mural from outside a Paris art museum and then claimed that the artist -- who keeps his identity secret -- told him to do it when he was caught.

The 38-year-old used an angle grinder to cut the stencil of a masked rat from a sign outside the Pompidou Centre in 2019.

He claimed the British artist sent a team to help him steal it to "denounce the hypocrisy of a capitalist system that says which art has value and which does not".

Unfortunately for the musician, Banksy let the court know that this was utter bunkum.

The man was slapped with a two-year suspended prison sentence and a 30,000-euro ($32,000) fine.

The mural -- which could be worth hundreds of thousands of euros -- is still missing.

- Rhubarb rap -

The Germans have ways of making you laugh... A tongue-twisting Teutonic rap about a woman's exceedingly good rhubarb tarts is besting Beyonce in the TikTok music charts.

"Barbaras Rhabarberbar" (Barbara's Rhubarb Bar) has become a social media phenomenon, inspiring viral dance routines as far away as Australia.

Beyond the 47 million views, creator Bodo Wartke is chuffed because he believes it gives the lie to dual myths that Germans are not funny and that their language is hard on the ear.

"Lots of people think that Germans don't know how to have fun and that German is an aggressive language," said the songwriter, who is also the author of "Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische" ("Fisherman Fritz catches fresh fish").

Such has been the success of the rhubarb song that it is being talked of as Germany's next Eurovision entry.

Given that the country came last in the song contest in 2022 and 2023, it can only raise the bar.

- Total recall fail -

Donald Trump was so proud of his mental powers in a cognitive test that he gave a shout out to the doctor who assessed him.

The only problem was that he flubbed the name of the doctor, his former White House physician Ronny Jackson, calling him "Doc Ronny Johnson".

He went on to lampoon President Joe Biden's mental acuity while vaunting his own, saying his doctor had declared him "the healthiest president in history".

"Slow Joe" had his revenge, however, wishing Trump a happy 78th birthday, "from one old guy to another".

"Age is just a number," Biden added on X, reminding the world that his rival is only three years younger than him.

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