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
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