Tag: Andrews McMeel

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 06/13/24

A Hard Act to Swallow

Parashuram, 38, a convict in a Karnataka, India, prison, acted quickly to hide his smuggled-in cellphone when guards raided his cell in early April, The Indian Express reported. Instead of stashing the contraband in a pillowcase or toilet, the convicted murderer serving a life sentence swallowed the phone. When he started complaining of stomach pain, he was transferred to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, where doctors did an ultrasound. On April 25, he went under the knife to remove the phone, which was stuck at the entrance of the small intestine. The phone had been inside Parashuram for 20 days when it was removed; the prisoner recovered from the surgery and was returned to his cell. [Indian Express, 5/2/2024]

Surprise!

When David Loop of Sierra Pacific Furbabies, a feline rescue organization in California, found a box dumped in front of their office in April, the attached note explained that the “kitten” was found “in Mt. Rubidoux hiking path.” But when he opened the box, Loop said instantly, “I’m pretty sure this is a bobcat kitten.” Sure enough, Newsweek reported, when Loop contacted a local wildlife center, they thought the bobcat kitten was 3 to 5 weeks old. The furball has been transferred to a wildlife center where it will hang out with other bobcats and eventually be reintroduced to the wild. [Newsweek, 4/30/2024]

Most Chatty Criminal

Last September, Stephanie Langley, 55, of East Farleigh, Kent, England, stepped outside the Hare and Hound pub and stabbed her former brother-in-law, Matthew Bryant, to death. She was convicted on May 1, the BBC reported. Although Langley “claimed in court that she had never intended to hurt her victim,” she started that violent evening by telling pub-goers, “Get a drink while he’s still alive.” Then she told Bryant, “You’re dead tonight.” After she stabbed him three times, witnesses heard Langley say, “I hope he’s dead.” She told arresting officers she had killed him, was glad she had killed him, and was happy to go to jail for it. She’ll be sentenced at a future hearing, probably to life. [BBC, 5/1/2024]

News You Can Use

Attention Tornado Alley dwellers: On April 30, as violent storms were coursing around the Midwest, two “rare” versions were detected near Loveland, Oklahoma, Fox Weather reported. Meteorologist Stephen Morgan acknowledged that “some strange things” popped up that night. Turns out, more than 98 percent of tornadoes spin in a counterclockwise direction. But that night, two tornadoes — technically called anticyclones — were found to be spinning clockwise. Morgan said the anticyclonic tornado “rotated around what you could call a ‘normal’ tornado. What we saw … was very rare.” The anticyclones are typically smaller and weaker than cyclonic storms. There were no reports of injuries in the area. [Fox Weather, 5/2/2024]

It’s Come to This

Stanislav Netesov of Moscow, Russia, was attacked on April 27 at a bus stop on his way home from work, Oddity Central reported. The assailants took his phone and knocked out one of his teeth. The next day, Netesov went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to report the attack, but instead of taking his report, they accused him of a crime: dyeing his hair yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Doing so is a punishable offense against the Russian army. Police took his fingerprints, handed him a summons to military enlistment, and told him they’d force him to “kiss his native soil in the trenches.” [Oddity Central, 5/2/2024]

Family Values

A 41-year-old mom in Newtown Township, Pennsylvania, was charged with DUI on May 6 after she ran into her 7-year-old son with her car in the parking lot of a Little League baseball field, WPVI-TV reported. After backing into the boy, the mom told police she didn’t realize he wasn’t inside the car. He suffered injuries to his ankle. Police said the mom had a “strong odor of alcohol” and “slurred speech.” She was taken into custody and later released. [WPVI, 5/7/2024]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 06/06/24

Creme de la Weird

The latest plane failure story — about the emergency slide that fell off a Boeing 767 leaving JFK Airport — gets a “whodathunkit” follow-up, the New York Post reported. On April 28, the slide washed up right in front of the beachside home in Belle Harbor, Queens, of Jake Bissell-Linsk, who happens to be the attorney who filed a federal lawsuit against Boeing after the Alaska Airlines door blowout in January. Belle Harbor is about six miles southeast of JFK. “I didn’t want to touch it, but I got close enough to get a close look at it,” Bissell-Linsk said. He said a Delta Airlines crew arrived a few hours later and threw the slide into the back of a truck. “We haven’t decided if the slide is relevant to our case,” he noted. [NY Post, 4/29/2024]

Animal Antics

The large animals are restless lately. On April 28, four zebras made a break for it from a trailer at a highway exit in Washington State, The New York Times reported. Kristine Keltgen was hauling them to her petting zoo in Anaconda, Montana, when the latch on the trailer became loose and the zebras “bolted out.” Police officers and volunteers headed up the effort to corral them, but David Danton of Mount Vernon, Washington, was a ringer: Danton is a former rodeo clown and bullfighter. He and his wife happened to be driving by and stopped to help. “It was kind of divine intervention,” Danton’s wife said. Danton built a makeshift chute leading to a horse pen on a nearby farm. “It’s just about being quiet, working them gentle, and not getting excited,” he said. As of May 2, one of the zebras was still on the lam, but Keltgen was sure it would be found. [NY Times, 4/29/2024]

The Golden Age of Air Travel

Passengers aboard an American Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Phoenix on April 25 were delayed by about 90 minutes after their flight had to make an unplanned stop in Oklahoma City, Simple Flying reported. While AA’s official statement called the problem a “mechanical issue,” social media reports indicated that the toilets became clogged, and the plane had to land for maintenance. One traveler posted: “I was on this flight. Apparently, the lavatory tanks were NOT emptied from the previous LAX to DCA flight the night before.” [Simple Flying, 4/27/2024]

Tourists Behaving Badly

Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, “is a town built on tourism,” said Michie Motomochi, the owner of a cafe in the city. So it says a lot that the town began constructing a large black screen on a stretch of sidewalk that is a favorite spot for viewing and photographing Mount Fuji in the distance. The Associated Press reported that construction began on April 30; the screen will be 8 feet high and 65 feet long. “I welcome many visitors,” Motomochi said, “… but there are many things about their manners that are worrying,” such as littering, crossing the road in traffic, ignoring traffic lights, and trespassing. The town has reportedly tried other tactics — signs in multiple languages and security guards — to no avail. [AP, 4/30/2024]

Questionable Judgment

After Jacob Wright, 24, and Cambree Wright, 19, exchanged wedding vows on Feb. 10, it was time for pictures, Fox News reported. So Jacob grabbed his Apple Vision Pro headset and wore it while the photos were snapped. Jacob said he saw an opportunity to have fun and create a viral moment. “I was like, ‘Oh, it’d be like such a meme. It’d be so funny if we just took some pictures with it on after the wedding.’” Sure enough, when they posted the pics, Cambree said she started getting “crazy” messages: “I woke up to 200-plus messages and just random girls telling me to divorce my husband.” But the bride said the photos “perfectly encompass Jacob and his personality … and what our relationship is like.” [Fox News, 3/13/2024]

Suspicions Confirmed

Ashley Class of Charlotte, North Carolina, was stumped by her toddler’s reports of monsters in the wall of her bedroom, NPR reported. For months, Saylor told her mom she could hear something, but Class chalked it up to the stress of a new baby in the house. She and her husband deployed “monster spray” (water) and pretended to look for the monsters. But finally, Class called a pest control specialist, who went into Saylor’s room with a thermal camera. “It lit up like Christmas,” Class said. “It was floor to ceiling.” Behind Saylor’s wall was a 100-pound honeycomb and about 50,000 bees, which the beekeeper removed. But not before the bees had done tens of thousands of dollars in damage. “It’s been a nightmare,” Class said. [NPR, 4/30/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 04/25/24

Awesome!

• At the Goodwill store in DuBois, Pennsylvania, workers found a treasure in a box of old LEGO pieces, United Press International reported on March 12: a 14-karat gold Kanohi Hau mask from LEGO’s Bionicle collection. Originally priced at Goodwill at $14.95, the piece eventually sold for $18,100 to an anonymous collector. “We didn’t know it was worth anything until people started asking if they could buy it for $1,000,” said Chad Smith, vice president of e-commerce and technology for Goodwill. Lego created only 30 pieces in gold in 2001. [UPI, 3/12/2024]

• LAD Bible reported on March 5 about two unacquainted Brits who were headed to a holiday in Bangkok, Thailand. At the airport, Mark Garland, 58, of Wiltshire, tried to check in, but gate staff told him he already had. After some sleuthing, they realized there was another Mark Garland (62, from Bristol) on the flight — and the look-alikes were seated next to each other. As it happens, they live only about 15 miles apart and sometimes ride the same bus. They even have a friend in common. “We were so shocked by how strange it was,” said the younger Garland. “It was crazy — I have never known anything like it,” said the older. “I’ve made a friend for life.” [LAD Bible, 3/5/2024]

Bright Idea

Amber Denae Wright of Cape Town, South Africa, has shared a marriage tip on TikTok that other wives may want to adopt, People reported on March 9. A video on the social media site shows her husband, Nick, talking when Amber plays orchestra music from her phone. When Nick asks, “What is that? What are you playing?” Amber says, “It’s Oscars music. You know, when the speeches are too long …” Nick’s taking it well, though: “She’s been doing this the whole week. Every time I tell a story! Is this gonna be the rest of my life?” One TikTok commenter suggested, “I should use this at work when guys mansplain.” [People, 3/9/2024]

Field Report

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told city council members on March 13 that rats had infested the department’s building so thoroughly that they made their way into the evidence room and were eating confiscated marijuana. “They’re all high,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “The uncleanliness is off the charts.” She elaborated, saying the building is full of mold and cockroaches, and staff suffer broken air-conditioning and elevators. [AP, 3/13/2024]

That’s Disappointing

The Pittsburgh Penguins planned to provide prized playthings to their passionate patrons on the evening of March 14, ESPN reported. (Okay, that’s enough of that.) NHL legend Jaromír Jágr bobbleheads were promised for the game against the San Jose Sharks — but the cargo was stolen during transit. Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin said the team is looking forward to “resolving this theft and delivering the prized Jagr bobbleheads to their rightful homes, with our fans.” The hockey great commented, “The legend of Jágr continues.” [ESPN, 3/14/2024]

The Passing Parade

On March 5 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a 42-year-old man was charged with battery and disorderly conduct with a weapon after his daughter called 911, saying her dad was naked and had a gun. The Smoking Gun reported the story — and the much more compelling backstory about Deez-Nuts Lee Kroll, the defendant. In 2011, Derrick Lee Kroll, then 29, petitioned the court and paid $164.50 for a name change. On the form, Kroll, who seems to be spelling-challenged, wrote his preferred name: Dez-Nuts Lee Kroll, and said his reason for the change was that “I with out a dout [sic] HATE MY NAME.” Six years later, it occurred to Dez-Nuts that he had spelled the name wrong, and he went to court to change his name again. At his recent run-in with the law, officers noted that he appeared to be intoxicated but cooperated with them. He was released on $2,000 bond. [The Smoking Gun, 3/13/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 04/18/24

Cheeky

Rawiya Al-Qasimi, a female reporter, was covering an event in Riyadh on March 4 when a Saudi Arabian robot called Android Muhammad unexpectedly slapped her posterior during a live shot, the Daily Star reported. Al-Qasimi pushed the robot’s hand away and rebuked him. Before the untoward touching, Android Muhammad introduced himself, saying, “I was manufactured and developed here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a national project to demonstrate our achievements in the field of artificial intelligence.” Ironically, had he been a real man, he might have faced jail time for his inappropriate behavior. [Daily Star, 3/7/2024]

Maybe She’s Onto Something

Spanish artist Alicia Framis, now based in Amsterdam, has created the perfect husband: a hologram that she designed and named AILex Sibouwlingen, whom she modeled on past paramours, according to EuroNews. Framis plans to marry him this summer at a museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. On her Instagram page, Framis shares photos and videos of herself and AILex sharing meals and other elements of daily life. “Love and sex with robots and holograms are an inevitable reality,” Framis said. “They are great companions and capable of expressing empathy.” [EuroNews, 3/1/2024]

Truth Is Stranger Than Netflix

Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, and Karen Casbohm, 63, were charged with theft and gross abuse of a corpse after allegedly carrying out a Weekend at Bernie’s stunt in Ashtabula, Ohio, The Smoking Gun reported. On March 4, police said, Feralo and Casbohm — who were not related to Douglas Layman, 80, but lived in his home — loaded his corpse into the front seat of a car “in such a manner that he would be visible to bank staff” and drove through his bank, where they used his card to withdraw $900. The bank had allowed the women to withdraw from his account before, as long as he was with him. Having secured the funds, the women then dropped Layman’s body at the Ashtabula County Medical Center emergency room “without providing any information about the man or themselves,” police said. They were able to identify the women and question them. The women, both of whom have significant priors, said Layman died at home. [The Smoking Gun, 3/7/2024]

Creme de la Weird

Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, pleaded guilty on March 12 to two felony wildlife crimes after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks conducted a yearslong investigation, Business Insider reported. Schubarth was accused of buying, selling, and breeding “alternative” livestock, such as mountain sheep and mountain goats, for captive hunting operations. Between 2013 and 2021, court documents said, he conspired with others to create a large hybrid species of sheep that would garner higher prices from shooting preserves. To do so, he brought parts of Marco Polo argali sheep from Kyrgyzstan to the U.S. without declaring them. His other crimes include forging veterinary documents and shipping hybrid semen to other breeders. He faces jail time, fines, and supervised release. [Business Insider, 3/14/2024]

Recurring Theme

It’s baaaackkk. In the waning days of 2020, a tall silver monolith popped up in various locations in California, Texas, Romania, and elsewhere. Now, Wales Online reports, it’s back. The 10-foot-tall tower, which appears to be stainless steel, turned up near Hay-on-Wye in Wales around March 10, when Richard Haynes came across it while he was out for a run. “I thought it … might be a scientific media research thing collecting rainwater. But then I realized it was way too tall and strange for that. It was hollow and I imagine … light enough for two people to carry it up and plant it in the ground,” Haynes said. Stay tuned. [Wales Online, 3/11/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 03/28/24

Expectations: Unmanaged

At an event billed as “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” on Feb. 24 in Glasgow, Scotland, children and parents were so underwhelmed that police were called, The New York Times reported. The event, which promised Willy Wonka-themed chocolate fountains, performances by Oompa Loompas and “optical marvels,” turned out to offer just a few jelly beans and a nearly empty warehouse. Stuart Sinclair, who paid about $44 per ticket to bring his kids to the show, said it amounted to “maybe 20 chairs, a couple of tables, and a half-inflated bouncy castle.” Jenny Fogarty, who was hired to play an Oompa Loompa, said she was given a 15-page script the night before and that “the wigs were very cheap.” The organizer canceled the event on Saturday afternoon; it was unclear who had called police. The event organizer, House of Illuminati, said ticket purchases would be refunded. [New York Times, 2/27/2024]

Bright Ideas

Details have recently emerged about an incident in Willow Springs, Missouri, in November, the Springfield News-Leader reported. The Howell County Sheriff’s Office had investigated after a man in his 60s, who was a paraplegic, lost his feet while brush-hogging. “It was a poorly executed plan,” said Lt. Torey Thompson. He said it was clear almost immediately that the accident had been staged: The cuts were very clean, the feet were nowhere to be found, and tourniquets had been applied to both legs. Allegedly, the victim had help from a man from Florida, who cut off the feet with a hatchet to help him commit insurance fraud. However, since the unnamed man never filed the claim and he was so severely injured, the sheriff’s office declined to charge him. And the missing feet? “A couple of days later, we got a call that a relative found them in a bucket obscured by tires, so we went and got them,” Thompson said. Mystery solved. [Springfield News-Leader, 2/15/2024]

The Golden Age of Air Travel

• On Feb. 13, as a Delta flight soared from Amsterdam to Detroit, maggots began falling from an overhead compartment onto passengers below, The Guardian reported. Philip Schotte, who was on the flight, said attendants traced the source to a bag stowed above and found a rotten fish wrapped in newspaper. They removed the offending item, and the pilot announced that the plane would be returning to Amsterdam. Apologizing, Delta said the passengers were placed on another flight and the plane was removed from service for cleaning. Passengers were also given 8,000 air miles, hotel room compensation, and a $30 meal ticket. But who’s hungry? [Guardian, 2/15/2024]

• Sri Lankan Airlines was forced to ground one of its Airbus A330 planes for three days after a rat was spotted on the aircraft, United Press International reported on Feb. 27. The rodent was seen during a flight from Lahore, Pakistan, to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Workers sprayed the plane with poison, and technicians checked wiring for damage done by chewing. [UPI, 2/27/2024]

Try the Decaf

Brandie Gotch, 30, of Peoria, Arizona, told police that her children were being bullied by other kids, and she had reported it to the school and law enforcement, but nothing happened. So on Feb. 27, she took matters into her own hands, CBS5-TV reported. With her four children in her Silverado, Gotch drove to a local park, where she allegedly approached a group of kids and started yelling at them. Police said Gotch grabbed a 14-year-old boy by the hair and yanked his head back and forth as she yelled at him, then grabbed a stick from her truck, and chased him, yelling, “I am going to kill you and run you over!” She then jumped back into her truck and drove it toward the group of kids, running over a girl’s ankle in the process, although she told police she didn’t think she hit the girl. “I hope I didn’t,” she said. Her own children told police they were bouncing all over the truck during her jaunt through the park. Gotch was charged with six counts of endangerment, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of attempted first-degree murder. [CBS5, 2/29/2024]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 03/21/24

Very Senior Year

It’s never too late to graduate, and Fred Allen Smalls of Georgetown, South Carolina, is proof. Smalls took the stage at Georgetown High School on Feb. 4, the day before his 106th birthday, to receive an honorary diploma at a ceremony that came to fruition largely due to the efforts of his granddaughter. Smalls completed eighth grade in the 1930s and moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a janitor and held several other jobs before beginning a career with the District of Columbia, eventually retiring during the John F. Kennedy administration. WPDE ABC 15 reported that the diploma was “something he’s wished for most of his life.” And the diploma wasn’t the first time Smalls made recent news: In 2023, ABC News recognized him as the oldest Philadelphia Eagles fan. [ABC15, 2/20/2024]

Sticky Situation

A coyote that found itself in an ironic predicament in mid-January has the Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) and the Wildlife in Need Center (WINC) of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, to thank for its rescue — maybe with a little help from above? WDJT in Milwaukee reported that the coyote had gotten its head stuck inside a hollow statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, while chasing a rabbit. The coyote was spotted dragging the statue and working to free itself, but by the next day, the animal was exhausted and still trapped. HAWS located the coyote and transported it to WINC, where it was freed, treated for minor injuries, and given the nickname “Frannie.” [WDJT CBS 58, 2/12/2024]

Cemetery Shortcut

In the immortal words of Shaggy, “It wasn’t me.” The Lavonia (Georgia) Police Department wants residents to know that a chaotic scene in a local graveyard Feb. 20 had nothing to do with them. “In case you saw or heard the law enforcement commotion,” reads a post on the department’s Facebook page, “well, it wasn’t us.” The commotion in question? Deputies from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office in neighboring South Carolina had chased a reckless driver across state lines and into the Lavonia City Burgess Cemetery, reports FOX 5 Atlanta. The driver — who was apparently “late for an appointment” — damaged several graves before attempting to flee on foot. Unsuccessfully. [Fox 5, 2/20/2024]

Animal Antics

• Caterina Sevares of Florida had a late-night craving for tacos on Feb. 13, so she did what many of us have probably done: She placed a DoorDash order and hopped in the shower while waiting for her food to be delivered. But when she opened the door to retrieve the Talkin’ Tacos delivery, Fox 35 reported that she was met by three masked bandits — a trio of raccoons who got to her meal first, eating everything but the tortillas. Sevares began to film the carnage but retreated once the raccoons started engaging — one stood up on its hind legs while the other two stared her down. “Once they started hissing, I shut the door so fast. I was like, ‘They can have the carne asada, it’s fine,’” Sevares said. Talkin’ Tacos caught wind of the bandits’ antics after Sevares’ story went viral on TikTok, and sent her a gift card for her troubles. [FOX 35, 2/14/2024]

• Elsewhere in Florida, bears ransacked a woman’s car — on Valentine’s Day, no less. Cassidy Simoes’ boyfriend left chocolates in the front seat of her car the night before, intending to give them to her the next day. But NBC2 reported that at about 3:30 on Valentine’s morning, the couple woke to find the car in bad shape: “Basically, the whole door panel, I can’t even open the door at all or roll the windows down, nothing,” Simoes said. No word on if the chocolates were replaced. [NBC2, 2/14/24]

Bright Idea

On Feb. 19, neighbors in an apartment building in Wejherowo, Poland, became alarmed as a 19-year-old man tried to lead a full-grown horse up the stairs to his third-floor home, Radio Gdansk reported. Police were called to the building and determined that the mare, worth about $3,800, had been stolen. She was returned to the owner, and the horse thief was charged with theft; he faces five years in prison. [Radio Gdansk, 2/21/2024]

© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 03/14/24

Not Likely

• Roderick Jackson of Waskom, Texas, is suing Walmart for $100 million — or “unlimited free lifetime shopping” at any location — in relation to a vague incident from an Omaha Walmart in March 2021. NBC News reported that Jackson alleges there was a “false pretense of shoplifting” that was a violation of his civil rights “based on race/color.” Walmart responded that the suit is “almost identical to a lawsuit he filed against our company in 2021 that was dismissed.” The earlier suit said he suffered emotional stress and pain from the handcuffs. [NBC News, 1/11/2024]

• Joao Pimenta da Silva, 71, of Minas Gerais, Brazil, repeatedly dreamed that gold lay deep under his home, the New York Post reported. To that end, over a year ago, he began digging a hole in his kitchen floor that ended up being 130 feet deep and about 35 inches in diameter. But on Jan. 4, Pimenta’s dreams died when he lost his balance and plunged to his death at the bottom of the cavity. His neighbor Arnaldo da Silva tried to discourage the project, but Pimenta was convinced his dream would come true. In the fall, he suffered head injuries and broken bones. [NY Post, 1/8/2024]

Wait, How Many?

And you thought your glovebox full of unpaid parking tickets was impressive. Police detectives and patrol officers arrested Ahyoka Keith, aka Carol Ann Sumner, on Feb. 16, two weeks after she was charged with an astonishing 322 felonies and 327 misdemeanors by the Spring Township police department in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Keith is an over-the-road trucker, and her 649 warrants were related to the theft of thousands of dollars from a relative. [WPMI NBC15, 2/20/2024]

Long-Term Lending

More and more libraries across the country have converted to fine-free lending, and that’s a very good thing for one patron of the Licking County Library in Ohio. WPDE ABC 15 in Columbus reported that an Instagram post shared by the library included video of a poetry book that recently had been returned — about 93 years late. The patron had found the “Heart Throbs” poetry collection at a relative’s house and discovered the due date card inside the front cover, last stamped “Nov 9 ’31.” WPDE estimated the total fine would have been approximately $5,770. [AP, 2/13/2024]

Not Getting It

A 42-year-old resident of Ajax, Ontario, was arrested and charged with impaired driving on Feb. 20 at the Durham Regional police station, where he had driven to complain … about his arrest for public intoxication from earlier that morning. The man asked to speak with a supervisor when he arrived at the station, but officers noticed he seemed to be intoxicated, and, after confirming he had driven himself, issued a breathalyzer test, which the man failed. His license was suspended and his vehicle was impounded.
[DurhamRegion.com, 2/20/24]

Need for Speed

The Hockenheimring racetrack in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, was the setting for a Guinness World Record-setting run recently. The speed reached — 92.24 mph — might not sound so impressive, but Fulda University engineering student Marcel Paul attained that velocity in a toy car. Paul spent 10 months modifying the miniature Porsche with the goal of beating the 88 mph made famous by the time-traveling DeLorean DMC-12 in the Back to the Future movies, and in the process created the world’s fasted ride-on toy car. Said one user in the comments on Paul’s Instagram video of the milestone event: “Hell no that looks dangerous.” [Yahoo News, 2/20/2024]

Bleepin’ Birds

Eight potty-mouthed parrots are set to rejoin the rest of their flock at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in Boston, United Kingdom, after zoo officials decided that recent efforts to help the dirty birds clean up their act in isolation had shown promise. Steve Nichols, who serves as chief executive of the park, still isn’t sure what will happen when the birds are reunited with their more well-behaved peers. “We could end up with 100 swearing parrots on our hands,” Nichols said. “Only time will tell.” For now, the park does not plan to take down its signs warning visitors of the potential for foul language. [BBC, 2/21/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 03/07/24

High Tech

The story about the Alaska Airlines plane that lost a panel while flying at 16,000 feet is all over the news. But it’s the little human-interest stories that really capture us: When the panel flew off and the hole gaped open midair on Jan. 5, someone’s iPhone got sucked out and landed on a roadside in Washington state, Yahoo! News reported. Sean Bates, who found the phone, posted a photo on X showing the phone’s intact screen and a battery life of 44 percent remaining: “Pretty clean, no scratches on it, sitting under a bush,” he posted. Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board said all found phones would be returned to their owners. [Yahoo! News, 1/8/2024]

Inauspicious Award

Kathleen Murray of Sandford, Tasmania, credits bandicoots for helping her win the first-ever World’s Ugliest Lawn competition, The Guardian reported on Jan. 11. The marsupials, Murray said, have “actually liberated me from ever having to mow it again. I’m all for guilt-free weekends, especially since my ex-husband left with the lawnmower back in 2016.” (That must have been a good-looking Toro!) The contest began as Gotland’s (Sweden) Ugliest Lawn, which was conceived to encourage water-saving and environmentally friendly gardening in 2022. “All of [the lawns] were hideous and well worthy of winning, but the winning entry was really, really bad,” said Gotland’s Mimmi Gibson. “It brings me a lot of joy to see all the little creatures who now feel safe to come out during the day in my yard,” Murray said. [Guardian, 1/11/2024]

What’s in a Name?

Or a word? Wayne State University in Michigan has announced its 15th annual list of 10 “long-lost” words that should be resurrected, United Press International reported on Jan. 10. The Word Warriors program has identified “blatherskite” (nonsense), “curglaff” (the shock felt upon diving into cold water), “rawgabbit” (a person who speaks confidently but ignorantly), and “pawky” (having a cynical sense of humor), among others. Let’s get together and twankle during our kaffeeklatsch! [UPI, 1/10/2024]

But Why?

On Jan. 8, as an Air Canada flight prepared to leave Toronto for Dubai, a passenger who had just boarded opened a cabin door and stepped out, falling about 20 feet to the ground. CTV News reported. The passenger was injured, and emergency services were called, the airline said. The flight was delayed but eventually took off. There was no explanation for why the person jumped out. [CTV News, 1/10/2024]

Illustration: Jeanne Seagle

Crime Report

A 32-year-old woman who had been arrested for assault in Boone, North Carolina, took her aggression out on the police car’s backseat on Jan. 2, The Charlotte Observer reported. Boone Police Sgt. Dennis O’Neal said a “substantial amount of padding” had been chewed away, adding up to $650 in damages. The department’s Facebook post suggested they “may need to invest in Kevlar seat covers.” Authorities were still deciding whether to charge her in connection with the car’s damages. [Charlotte Observer, 1/8/2024]

That’s One Way To Do It

The Bean Monger, a coffee shop in Indianapolis, Indiana, next to a wedding venue site, was the site of a “pop-up” marriage on Dec. 31 — with no prior notice that the happy couple and their guests were planning to converge, the New York Post reported. Twenty to 30 people, including an officiant, photographer, and guests, crowded into the small store, where they treated the unsuspecting workers as if they were hired staff. “They were asking us to take coats, purses, and watch personal items as if they had rented us out,” one person said. The wedding party blocked the entrance to other patrons, and when a barista asked them to move, the photographer replied, “No, wait at least five minutes.” The store typically charges $500 for private events, which they have requested from the bride, but she deemed the amount “unreasonable.” [NY Post, 1/8/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 02/29/24

News You Can Use

We’ve all seen the restaurant notices about automatic gratuities added for parties of more than six or eight people. A 10-person group in South Bend, Indiana, thought they would beat the system at the Wild Crab restaurant by splitting into two groups of five, WSBT-TV reported. A manager said the group was informed that they’d be subject to the 18 percent gratuity, even though they were seated in different sections of the restaurant. As the party left the restaurant, someone threw crayons at the manager and pepper-sprayed them. Firefighters responded to help the victim of the pepper spray, and a police report was filed. [WSBT, 1/2/2024]

Oops

Someone missed the “Please secure all loose clothing” safety message. On Jan. 5, on the DC Rivals HyperCoaster at Movie World in Oxenford, Australia, the Mirror reported that a scarf became entangled around the wheel of one of the trains, which caused it to stop at the top of a hill. Dozens of riders were stranded, and each was given a harness and told to walk down the stairs to the load station. “All the guests on-board are safe with the ride vehicle stopped in a designated zone,” Warner Bros. Movie World said in a statement. [Mirror, 1/5/2024]

Unconventional Weaponry

The Laconia (New Hampshire) Daily Sun reported on Jan. 5 that police were called to the Market Basket supermarket in Tilton the day before after a “fruity fracas” broke out in the produce section. Social media posts indicated that a watermelon had been used in an assault, and Sgt. Andrew Salmon of the Tilton Police Department confirmed that his department is investigating. Salmon said one person went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries “from being struck by a produce item.” A worker who answered the phone at the Market Basket said, “We have been instructed not to say anything.” [Laconia Daily Sun, 1/5/2024]

Awesome!

• King, a rescue dog at the Lost Our Home Pet Rescue in Tempe, Arizona, enjoyed a brief reign among his shelter buddies, Fox10-TV reported on Jan. 11. Sometime around midnight, King managed to break out of his kennel at the shelter and busted out several other dogs. He also found a stash of food and enjoyed a little feast. In the meantime, alarms were triggered; Jodi Polanski, the shelter’s founder, looked at video from the scene and saw the mess. “The police actually came because he set the alarm off,” Polanski said. The unnamed responding officer cleaned up after King’s free-for-all and got the dog settled back in bed. “I was just like, wow, amazing man that he did that,” Polanski said. The rescue’s website indicates that King is no longer looking for a home. [Fox10, 1/8/2024]

• Rodney Holbrook, a 75-year-old retired postman from Wales, had been noticing for a couple of months that small messes in his shed were being mysteriously tidied overnight, the BBC reported. So he set up a camera and caught a little mouse picking up pegs, corks, nuts, bolts, and bird food. Holbrook aptly named the rodent Welsh Tidy Mouse. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the mouse will tidy up throughout the night,” Holbrook said. “I don’t bother to tidy up now, I leave things out of the box and they put it back in its place by morning. I’ve added different things to the desk to see if they can lift it,” he said. [BBC, 1/7/2024]

Goals

LuLu Lotus of Mississauga, Ontario, has earned a Guinness World Record for an impressive, if dubious, skill: She blew a 44.1-decibel whistle through her nose. United Press International reported on Jan. 9 that Lotus visited Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. to have her whistle measured in a special room. She said her 5-year-old son has recently discovered he, too, has a nose-whistling ability: “It would be a dream come true if he beat my record one day,” Lotus said. [UPI, 1/9/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 06/29/23

Weird Science

Spring weather can be unpredictable, but a man in Ankara, Turkey, got an up-close glimpse of exactly what intense winds can do on May 17, Metro News reported. As Onur Kalmaz looked out his window, trying to check on his car during the storm, he captured on video a sofa flying from a balcony of a 35-story block of apartments nearby. Kalmaz said the sofa crashed into other buildings before falling to the ground. “No one was hurt, but we were pretty scared,” he said. [Metro News, 5/18/2023]

Illustration: Jeanne Seagle

Clothing Optional

• After crashing his truck into a Volusia, Florida, utility pole around 2 a.m. on May 21, completely severing it, 39-year-old Kevin Gardner did the obvious thing: He took off all his clothes and started banging on the front door of a home nearby. ClickOrlando reported that when officers arrived at the home, Gardner had injuries on his face and legs. The truck was registered to him, but he said it had been stolen … and that he’d had seizures and didn’t remember anything. A breath test revealed an illegal blood-alcohol content, and Gardner was held on multiple charges. [ClickOrlando, 5/23/2023]

• In Georgia, residents can now use a digital driver’s license, which can be uploaded to Apple Wallet and allows users to leave their IDs in their bag or pocket at TSA checkpoints. But, as United Press International reported, snapping a selfie for the ID comes with a few rules. “Attention, lovely people of the digital era,” the Georgia Department of Driver Services posted on its Facebook page on May 23. “Please take pictures with your clothes on when submitting them for your Digital Driver’s License and ID. Cheers to technology and keeping things classy!” Put your shirt on. [UPI, 5/25/2023]

The Passing Parade

High school seniors in Marlin, Texas, are getting a few extra days of school tacked on, KWTX-TV reported on May 23. The reason: Twenty-eight of the 33 seniors — about 85 percent — were not eligible to graduate, according to an audit performed by the Marlin Independent School District because they had failed or neglected to complete a course or they had too many absences. The ceremony, originally scheduled for May 25, will take place sometime in June. “They told us that because of the students that didn’t meet the requirements, it wouldn’t be fair for only five students to walk the stage,” said Alondra Alvarado, who is eligible to graduate. Victoria Banda, whose son did not meet the requirements, said they were given very little notice about the change in plans. They had family “traveling in from Mexico” for the original ceremony — “and if anyone knows, it’s not cheap,” she said. Administrators hope the extra time will allow the majority of students to meet the state’s requirements. [KWTX, 5/23/2023]

Florida

• When the Brevard (Florida) Public Schools board met on May 9, the topic of dress codes came up, but it went way beyond hoodies and beachwear, ClickOrlando reported. Vice chair Megan Wright told board members that she has heard concerns about students dressing up as “furries” — people who anthropomorphize animals. District 5 Representative Katye Campbell weighed in: “I’m not a big fan of the furry movement, but … if ‘ears’ means a headband with pointed ears on them, it’s a hair accessory. Tails are different, and students meowing and barking at other students — that’s not cool. But that’s not dress code.” Chairman Matt Susin said his daughter is “tired of furries” at school and the subject comes up at least once a month at his dinner table. Leave it to District 3 Representative Jennifer Jenkins to cut through the kitty litter: “This is not rocket science … If you don’t want tails on kids, just say you don’t want tails.” She said among middle school students, the new thing is barking and meowing at each other, unrelated to furry costumes: “It’s weird, but they’re doing it.” [ClickOrlando, 5/11/2023]

• Omar Gutierrez, 32, of Gainesville, Florida, donned a cat costume before plunging a knife into his roommate’s neck on May 22, WCJB-TV reported. When the victim asked why he stabbed him, Gutierrez said, “It was instinctual.” Police reported that Gutierrez had told the victim a week earlier that he was “not above killing” him; Gutierrez had claimed that the roommate had hurt his cat, although he denied it. Gutierrez was charged with first-degree attempted murder — because, you know, he had to plan the costume. [WCJB, 5/24/2023]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

News of the Weird is now a podcast on all major platforms! To find out more, visit newsoftheweirdpodcast.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.