All hail The Flying Spaghetti Monster

Austrian Pastafarian wins right to wear religious headgear in driver’s licence photo

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

While we can’t imagine that plunking a plastic colander on one’s head enhances the overall motoring experience, an Austrian man has nevertheless won the right to wear a spaghetti strainer on his noggin for his official driver’s licence photo.

Niko Alm, a self-described “Pastafarian,” was recently given permission to wear a colander atop his cranium in his Austrian driver’s license photo. Apparently, Alm’s religion compels him to cover his head with a cooking utensil while commuting.

Alm is a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Members of the “church” claim Earth was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster, but since the creature was drunk at the time, the planet is cursed with a flawed design.

Founded in 2005, the church also serves as a comedic protest against calls to teach intelligent design in public schools. And Alm is apparently the group’s first follower to be given the right to don kitchenware as religious headwear in a government photo.

“My religious head covering is recognized as such by the Republic of Austria,” Alm boasted on his blog.

Alm first applied for a driver’s licence three years ago after reading that, according to Austrian law, headgear was allowed in official pictures only for confessional reasons. Austrian officials required him to obtain a doctor’s certificate stating that he was “psychologically fit” to drive according to a BBC report. (An understanable request given the circumstances, we should think.)
While Alm’s religious garb is unorthodox, it’s not the first time religious attire in Europe has made headlines. France has already enacted a ban on burkas and bars Islamic face veils while legislators in other countries have proposed similar regulations. (Does a colander ban beckon?)

Then again, maybe there’s a safety advantage to Alm’s religious headgear: by simply affixing a chinstrap to his spaghetti strainer, Alm can fabricate an instant makeshift cycling helmet.

As well, you’d likely make friends with Alm very quickly if you had just cooked up a pot of roadside linguine but had no strainer (although we highly recommend that you'd thoroughly wash the Alm's hari-covering utensil first.)

Amen. And pass the parmesan cheese...