German man mistakes large aubergine for World War II bomb
'It really did look very like a bomb'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A worried resident in Germany alerted police to what he thought was a World War II bomb in his garden. Officers rushed over -- and found a particularly large aubergine .
Police were summoned to the scene in Bretten, near the southwestern city of Karlsruhe, on Thursday morning by an 81-year-old man.
They said in a statement Friday that officers determined "the object, which really did look very like a bomb" was actually a 40-centimeter (nearly 16-inch) aubergine.
The offending vegetable, which was very dark in colour, weighed about five kilograms (11 pounds). Police believe someone threw it over a hedge into the garden.
Unexploded wartime bombs are unearthed frequently during construction work in Germany, often forcing authorities to evacuate tens of thousands of residents while they are defused.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments