1The cab driver who surprises his passengers with a giant snake
A former cabbie and budding author released a "shock video" that shows him picking up passengers who are unaware there's a giant snake in the cab. Got ophidiophobia? Too late—the cab's already moving and you can't escape.
Jimmy Failla's publicist insists this is no hoax: "The snake was real, and nothing was scripted. Jimmy said they got releases from everyone afterward." Failla doesn't drive full time anymore, but "occasionally gets behind the wheel now and then 'for fun.'"
Watch below as he has "fun" surprising New Yorkers with a 14-foot Burmese python, which slinks into the backseat of the moving cab with his unsuspecting passengers. As the press release puts says, "screams and panic attacks ensue."
2The taxi driver who was arrested after drugging his female passengers so he could watch them pee
A taxi driver in Osaka has been taken into police custody after it was discovered that he had given snacks laced with a powerful diuretic to as many as 50 of his female passengers. He then refused to let them exit the vehicle so that he could watch them squirm, and in some cases urinate, in the back of his cab.
Toshihiko Nishi, 41, allegedly gave the women crackers containing furosemide and then intentionally chose long and congested routes so that they would find themselves in desperate need of a restroom.
A 20-year-old woman contacted authorities after she had ridden in Nishi's cab. She claimed that soon after eating a handful of snacks that he had provided she felt the sudden urge to urinate. She asked the driver to stop the car, but he refused. He instead passed her an absorbent sheet, saying, “If you can't hold it in, it's OK to do it in the cab.”
Police searched Nishi's home and uncovered a stash of 120 furosemide tablets along with a collection of videos taken inside the cab, which showed women in tremendous discomfort and, in some cases, wetting themselves.
“I got a thrill out of watching women trying to hold it in,” he told police. “I did it maybe 40 or 50 times.”
3The taxi driver who got a $1,000 tip for a 2-minute drive
Getting from point A to B was anything but routine for this cabbie. Oumar Maiga, a driver for Freedom Taxi in Philadelphia, picked up a passenger on December 2014, and took him to his destination. The trip lasted less than two minutes.
When it was time to pay the $4.31 fare, the passenger left a whopping $989.98 tip. Maiga was so stunned by the enormous gratuity, that he repeatedly asked the patron whether he had intended to pay that much. The passenger replied, "That's what I want to give you. I know what I did."
Moments after the incident, Maiga, still in disbelief, alerted the taxi company to the events that had just unfolded. In an effort to track down the do-gooder, Freedom Taxi reached out to the credit card company, which declined to release the name of the passenger due to privacy reasons.
While the charitable passenger remains a mystery, the credit card company processed the fare after it went undisputed for 30 days. Maiga is expected to be able to keep the tip.
4The cab driver who gave a stranded duck family a ride to safety
These passengers would be excused for causing a flap in the back of a cab. Thankfully, they were well behaved.
Checker Cab driver Urga Adunga is being heralded as a hero for saving a duck and her brood of nine ducklings stranded on a busy stretch of road in Calgary. He corralled them into the back of his cab and shepherded them to safety at the nearby Bow River.
“I jumped out of my cab, and I motioned for oncoming traffic to pull over so I could get the animals to safety,” he said in a statement. “The ducks had nowhere to go in the construction confusion, so I decided to scoop them up and put them in my cab.”
Adunga said the mother duck sat quietly during the short trip but wasn't too keen on getting out. After opening all the cab's doors, she remained on the seat, so Adunga clapped his hands to shoo her out.
The babies were too small to make the jump, despite their mother's insistent quacking, Adunga said, so he lifted them out, and they rejoined their mother before waddling off to the river.
5The cab drivers who posed for a racy calendar
You'll never view cab drivers the same way after taking a peek at the 2015 Chicago Taxi Calendar.
The calendar is filled with humorous and racy images of real cab drivers. Mr. January strips down to his underwear and dangles from a stop sign pole. Mr. February, sporting a blue turban, strikes a pose atop his yellow cab. Mr. August dons a white feather boa while driving through the city. Mr. September—well, you may just want to skip that month, as it features a cab driver baring his rear end.
This is the second year the Chicago cabbies have published a calendar, but the idea is not new. In the Big Apple, they have been striking a sexy pose for the NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar for many years. Proceeds benefit programs for immigrants and low-income families.
In Chicago, proceeds from calendar sales are going towards legal fees associated with the cab drivers' lawsuit against the city. They claim it is violating minimum-wage laws.
6The taxi driver who was propped up in his cab for his funeral
A taxi driver's last wish was fullfilled—he wanted to "drive" his cab at his funeral.
Mourners climbed into the back of the cab to pay their respects, as the deceased, Victor Perez Cardona, sat up front with his hands attached to the wheel. The Puerto Rican taxi driver specifically requested the unusual funeral as he was dying of cancer.
Puerto Rico has developed a tradition of odd wakes. They include a young man seated on his motorcycle, a boxer standing in the ring and an 80-year-old woman sitting in her favorite rocking chair while wearing her wedding gown.
7The taxi driver who was invited to the Ferrari Theme Park by a passenger
When tourists visit the Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi, they usually book a taxi for the day and leave the driver waiting outside.
Not Liam Murphy.
Murphy, who was traveling alone on business, said in a Facebook post he struck up a conversation with his Indian-born taxi driver, Shakiha, during the ride to the theme park.
Murphy said Shakiha told him he had never been to Ferrari World, despite living in the area for 14 years, because he couldn't afford it. The businessman invited the driver to accompany him inside the park and shared pictures of their fun day together on Facebook.
8The cab driver turned hero who helped grab two robbers after a manhunt
On August 2015, a taxi driver helped police nab two assault suspects hiding out in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The suspects were on the run after they allegedly beat another man on Interstate 694 and left him along the highway, then called a cab for a way out of a perimeter that police had set up. When the taxi driver pulled up to their hiding place, and the cab door opened, out spilled two Ramsey County deputies, two police officers, a Minnesota state trooper and a K-9. An airport taxi driver helped authorities nab Hunter J. Carlstrom, 28, of Rockford, IL, and Jessie J. Liegel, 30, of Bridgeton, NJ.
Ramsey County Sheriff Sgt. Kevin Otto said, "The cabbie was awesome. He went above and beyond the call."
9The taxi driver who received an unusual tip—a sketch worth £5,000
A sketch that Damien Hirst gave to a taxi driver as a tip for a short journey could be worth £5,000. The controversial artist drew the picture for cabbie Jon Horsley during a 30 minute trip from Chelsea Harbour to Mayfair in 2008.
As the pair chatted during the drive, they discovered they shared an interest in comic illustrations. Hirst began doodling a shark and a diamond skull—two of his most iconic works.
The drawing was set to be sold at auction for £5,000, which means Damien Hirst will never have to wait more than 15 seconds for a cab ever again. Measuring 29.5cm x 41cm, the pencil on paper sketch has the words "For LJ. Don't give up on the art," and is addressed to Horsley's son who is studying for an art GCSE.
Horsley says it is the best tip he has been given in 15 years of working as a cab driver.
10The taxi drivers who forced fare dodgers to strip naked
People in Russia are being humiliated as punishment for attempting to get away without paying their cab fare. Drivers are forcing fare dodging passengers to strip naked. Despite the shameful fate suffered by these people, the police are not taking any action against the new trend.
The first incident occurred when three men who took a cab in the village of Rudnik jumped out of the car and ran away after reaching their destination. The taxi driver called his colleagues, and together they managed to capture two of the three culprits. They ordered them to strip naked and painted them with bright blue paint before posting the video on the Internet as a warning to others. It was uploaded by taxi driver Ilya Mashensky, with the title “Never f*** with Tagil taxis.”
The video went viral, and other drivers began using the same tactics. In another incident, a young woman was forced to paint her face blue. She was seen crying as she painted her face. That moment was also uploaded to the Internet, and several more videos like it have since followed.