A waiter called the cops on a tourist who confused the words ‘grenade’ and ‘pomegranate’ while ordering a drink in Lisbon
Thanasis Zovoilis/Thom Lang/Getty Images
- A tourist was handcuffed after he used the word "grenade" instead of "pomegranate."
- The man used a translation app to order a drink at a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal.
- A waiter called the police, and the man was released after the translation error was confirmed.
A waiter called the police on a tourist after he mistakenly used the word "grenade" instead of "pomegranate" at a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday, the local newspaper Correio da Manhã reported.
A 36-year-old man used a translation app on his phone to order a drink at Portugália restaurant, reported Correio da Manhã. The man, who's Azerbaijani and holds Israeli citizenship, primarily spoke Russian, per the report. In Russian, "pomegranate" and "grenade" are the same word, which prompted the app to give the wrong translation for the fruit in Portuguese, per the report. In Hebrew, the official language of Israel, the same word is used for both as well. The identity of the man was not stated in the report.
A waiter cleared the restaurant and called the police, fearing that the man was making a bomb threat, the local news outlet Diário de Notícias reported, citing an anonymous police source.
A video posted by Correio da Manhã shows a man lying on the sidewalk next to a parking lot. Five people in uniform appear to be holding weapons and approaching the man on the ground.
The Public Security Police detained the man and investigated the restaurant, per Diário de Notícias. The police searched anti-terrorism databases and found no records related to this person, who was then released, per the report.
It's not the first time a tourist has been wrongly arrested. In July, a Singaporean man was arrested after being falsely accused of stealing from a German tourist while vacationing in Thailand. The hotel later apologized and offered him hotel vouchers as compensation. In November 2022, a British tourist said he was arrested while on holiday in Spain after being mistaken for a fugitive with the same name, he was released after his fingerprints failed to match those on the criminal database.
The Portuguese police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.