Judge: Cheese Restaurant Smell Not Too Bad

A judge has ruled that stinky-cheese smell isn't as bad as complaining about it in a rather mean way, the Guardian reports. Florian Kurz, the manager of a Swiss fondue restaurant, won't have to pay a $225 fine after two neighboring boutique clothing stores griped about the smell—but those stores must pay Kurz $4,300 in costs and $165 in damages. Why? They not only complained, but brought over "speciality smell fish from Norway" to drive customers away, Kurz said. "They also talked badly to the customers and told them that our fondue is not as good as that in other Swiss fondue restaurants."

Kurz refused to pay a fine, and now the judge has sided with him. "Sure, they are serving cheese fondue, but the smell is not excessive," said Kurz's lawyer. "They have the permission to serve what they want." In other cheese news, a photo of naked male workers bathing in milk used to make string cheese has gone viral in Russia, the Siberian Times reports. "Yeah, our job is really boring," the caption read. The photo may damage the nation's string-cheese business, a Moscow newspaper warned, and a federal consumer watchdog is investigating. Click to see the pic, or read about the discovery of the world's most ancient cheese. (More cheese stories.)