LEAD STORY — Police Report – News of the Weird – UExpress

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman accompanied the mayor on Nov. 6 at a news conference where they presented a resolution to help curb reckless driving in the city, The Washington Post reported, saying the city needs to "change the daily behavior" of dangerous drivers. But after the event, as soon as Norman hit the road in his SUV, a dump truck rear-ended him, injuring both Norman and another officer. "We did not need this type of reminder that all drivers need to slow down and increase caution on our roadways," Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. [Washington Post, 11/7/2023]
Surprise, Surprise!
When antique dealer Beth Meyer bought the contents of a storage unit in September 2022, she was disappointed that there were no rocks inside; rocks are her specialty. However, The Washington Post reported, she did find a human skull among the items. This October, she put a $4,000 price tag on the skull and used it in a Halloween display in the store she helps run in North Fort Myers, Florida — until an anthropologist walked through and saw it. While Meyer already knew the skull was real, the scientist thought it was very old and possibly from a Native American person, making it subject to certain federal laws. So they contacted the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Deputies deposited the skull with the medical examiner's office, and while Florida law prohibits selling human remains, they don't believe Meyer did anything wrong. She said she was "unaware of the skull being a Native American. I put such a high price on it that I figured no one would buy it." [Washington Post, 11/6/2023]
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
In the Chinese province of Hunan, the Shiniuzhai Scenic Area offers stunning landscapes of sheer cliffs — perfect for climbers. And who doesn't get a little thirsty on the way up a grueling vertical mountain face? CNN reported that perched at 394 feet above the ground, a 2-square-meter "convenience store" offers free water bottles and other sustenance to hungry and parched climbers. The general manager of Shiniuzhai, Song Huizhou, said staff members are tasked with hauling goods up to the store every day in their backpacks. And you thought your commute was brutal. [CNN, 11/5/2023]
The Tech Revolution
The BBC reported on Nov. 8 that a man in South Korea lost his life after a robot he was working on in a factory grabbed him and crushed his face and chest onto a conveyor belt. The employee of the robotics company, in his 40s, was working late on the robotic arm when it mistook him for a box of vegetables, which it was supposed to lift and transfer onto a pallet. The man was taken to the hospital but later died of his injuries. [BBC, 11/8/2023]
Meanwhile, at the Mall …
A man who had been living in a Shanghai shopping center stairwell for about six months was finally evicted on Oct. 30, the Daily Star reported. One security guard discovered his cozy setup, which included a tent, an ergonomic chair, a desk and a computer, but allowed him to stay while he studied for exams — until a second guard found the makeshift home. The unnamed man used the mall's electrical outlets to charge his devices. [Daily Star, 11/7/2023]
Recent Alarming Headlines
— On Nov. 7, David Lassiter, 74, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, left his wallet behind when he voted, PennLive.com reported. Lassiter returned to the polling place and found his wallet, but $100 was missing. Police said he "made a scene inside … (and) made threats to come back with a firearm." At home, he called police to report the alleged theft, but then said he would get a gun and handle it on his own. Officers arrived at the polling station before Lassiter arrived; in his car, they found seven firearms with ammunition. "Mr. Lassiter became aggressive and hostile toward the officers on scene," police said. "He was detained for his safety as well as that of everyone on the scene." [PennLive.com, 11/8/2023]
— Well, this escalated quickly. A man in Malaga, Spain, called a plumber on Nov. 4 to fix a broken pipe in his home, Oddity Central reported. After assessing the project, the plumber gave the homeowner an estimate, which sent the homeowner into a rage. He produced a firearm and threatened to kill the plumber; neighbors heard the disturbance and called police, but when they arrived, the homeowner would not release his hostage. Police got a glimpse of him and the plumber/hostage through a window and began negotiations; they asked the man to slightly open the front door so they could see that the plumber was all right. That's when special forces stormed in and rescued the hostage. The homeowner is in police custody. [Oddity Central, 11/8/2023]
Great Art
Washington native Ben Miller is a painter of landscapes, focusing on river scenes to raise awareness about conservation. Oddity Central reported that it's his painting method that makes him stand alone: He applies paint to fishing flies that he makes himself, then flings them at a piece of plexiglass positioned several feet away. Having learned fly fishing from his dad, Miller hits the precise mark he's aiming for every time. He said he sometimes gets approached by police because people assume he's fishing out of season, but they've always been understanding. [Oddity Central, 11/8/2023]
It Doesn't Work That Way
On Nov. 1, at Canberra Airport in Australia, a woman who seemingly missed her flight ran past security and onto the tarmac, trying to attract the attention of the pilot, 9News reported. The QantasLink flight was headed to Adelaide. Witness Dennis Bilic said it was "weird" that no one stopped her: "People were a bit flat-footed … that was the weird part." Another witness said the pilot was "warned or spotted her and killed the engine." Flights were delayed for about 10 minutes after the incident. [9News, 11/2/2023]
Wait, What?
Fashion icon Dior has launched a new scent made for babies, the Mirror reported. Bonne Etoile, priced at 230 British pounds (about $281), will provide a "gentle reminder of sweet memories of early childhood," the brand gushed, with its "light notes of fruit, pillowy cotton and velvety petals." (Do I detect a hint of spit-up?) It contains 98% natural-original ingredients. Parents can also indulge in hydrating body milks and bath cleansing foams. But everybody knows that babies smell amazing without the pricey perfumes! [Mirror, 11/9/2023]
Bright Idea
Workers at Arlington Auto Wrecking in Akron, Ohio, had had enough of 26-year-old Alexander Funk, who had broken into the facility three times, Fox News reported on Nov. 5. In the most recent incident in October, Funk broke into an SUV on the lot, but before he could drive away, a forklift driver hoisted the car about 20 feet off the ground with Funk inside. When they explained the situation to the 911 operator, they said, "Wonderful, that is the greatest thing I've ever heard." Officers arrived and Funk was lowered to the ground and handcuffed. He was charged with criminal trespassing and possessing criminal tools. [Fox News, 11/5/2023]
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
A store in Swansea, Wales, that supports the Barnardo children's charity has circulated a request to its donors, United Press International reported on Oct. 27: Please don't send us your sex toys. "Please be mindful that we are a children's charity and as such we have a range of ages on our wonderful volunteer team," the statement read. "We therefore ask that you refrain from donating your used and unused marital aids! … The branch has CCTV so that these items can be traced back to their owners." In other words, we know who you are. [UPI, 10/27/2023]
Ewwwww!
Desirae Kelly of Farmington, Missouri, woke up at 5 a.m. on Oct. 24 to a strange feeling. "I actually felt something move in my ear," Kelly said in a TikTok video. Fox News reported that Kelly was in such discomfort, she started to cry in the waiting room at urgent care. As a nurse started to flush her ear with water, Kelly "felt whatever that was crawl out of my ear … and I watched out of the corner of my eye something fall and land on my sweater," Kelly said. "I watch this black spider with all eight legs crawl across the floor." She said she screeched and threw up as the nurses trapped the spider in a container. "The nurses were so sweet and passed no judgment like I thought they would," Kelly said. "I don't think I could ever sleep without earplugs again." [Fox News, 10/26/2023]
It's Come to This
A 75-year-old woman in Pavia, Italy, had to get the courts involved to get her two sons, ages 42 and 40, out of her house, CNN reported on Oct. 27. Mom described her sons as "parasites" who had been living with her without contributing financially, even though both had jobs. Judge Simona Caterbi called the brothers "bamboccioni," or big babies, and declared they have until Dec. 18 to vacate the woman's home. "Once a certain age has been exceeded, the child can no longer expect the parents to continue the maintenance obligation within limits that are no longer reasonable," Caterbi said. The brothers hadn't decided whether they would appeal the decision. [CNN, 10/27/2023]
What's in a Name?
Too many words, according to officials in Spain. Fernando Fitz-James Stuart, the 17th duke of Huescar, recently baptized his second child with a name 25 words long, Sky News reported. The name pays tribute to the baby's mother and father, other members of the family and religious devotions. But register rules limit a child's name to one compound name and two simple ones, and the duke and his wife will need to shorten the name for legal purposes. [Sky News, 10/26/2023]
The Continuing Crisis
— An unnamed teacher at Mesa High School in Arizona is on paid administrative leave and under investigation after he dressed up in devil horns and waved a pitchfork over students' heads on Oct. 25, KPNX-TV reported. Student Nathaniel Hamlet, who reported the incident to his dad, said the teacher said, "Hail, Satan" as he waved the pitchfork. "Some people thought it was funny, some people didn't like it," said Hamlet, who was insulted by the costume. For his part, the teacher said he was dressing up for Spirit Week at the school and was part of a "dynamic duo" with the teacher next door, who dressed as an angel. "Participating in spirit weeks like this is a way for me to engage with my students and bring fun to my classroom," he said. "It's truly not any more complicated than that." Mesa Public Schools said in a statement that the investigation is ongoing. [KPNX, 10/31/2023]
— The Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in Blue Ridge, Georgia, has updated its menu with an addendum: Patrons will get a surcharge if they are "unable to parent" — $50 per bill for misbehaving kids — NBC10 Philadelphia reported. A Google review from diner Lyndsey Landmann described a "huge scene" made by the owner in front of the whole restaurant: "He got in our faces and told us that we belonged at Burger King and not at his restaurant," Landmann said. "He was yelling." The owners, however, said they weren't going to "comment on a policy we've had for years. We just want to live in the woods and cook." [NBC10, 10/26/2023]
Questionable Judgment
As college antics go, it stands up: On Oct. 25, someone wearing a giant penis costume was escorted out of the stands at a football game between Sam Houston State University and the University of Texas at El Paso, Huff Post reported. A school spokesperson said the prankster was given "the option to take the costume off or leave the stadium." Sam Houston was winning the game until the phallic fan was removed; they lost 37-34. [Huff Post, 10/26/2023]
News You Can Use
Bet you didn't know that every year, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials distribute oral rabies vaccines to raccoon populations in 14 states, driving around and targeting areas where the critters will find and eat the bait. But, as NPR reported, in rural communities, it's more efficient to drop the little packets from low-flying planes. "The planes have a tube and a conveyor belt that just drops these vaccines to make sure they're sort of evenly dispersed," said journalist Emily Mullin. Jordona Kirby with the USDA said the trick was to make the vaccines palatable to a raccoon, so they come in a fish flavor and a sweet flavor. If other animals find and eat the packets, it won't hurt them. [NPR, 11/1/2023]
Inexplicable
Two unsuspecting visitors to Wortham Park in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 26 were the victims of a teenager's scream for attention, KHOU-TV reported. Alford Lasean Lewis, 19, and 18-year-old Kingston Miker cooked up a scheme wherein Lewis first tried to rob a man, and then sucker-punched another man in the back of the head, as Miker filmed the actions. "They did this for fun and posted it on social media, which is simply unacceptable," said Ashlea Sheridan, a prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney's office. Lewis was contrite: "You know, I just made a mistake, and everybody makes mistakes," he told KHOU. "What people don't see is that I shook his hand after and gave the man a hug." Oh well, then. Case closed. [KHOU, 10/30/2023]
Buried the Lede
Joshua Dillon, 37, went on a drug-fueled rampage early on Oct. 29, forcing his way into two homes in Rush Township, Pennsylvania, WTAJ-TV reported. Dillon told homeowners he had been shot and was in danger. After barging in at the last house, he threw a television to the ground, dumped a CD rack, threw a lamp, BROKE THE HANDLE OFF A CAST IRON SKILLET (our emphasis) and rubbed frozen meat on his chest. Dillon had allegedly consumed a quarter-ounce of hallucinogenic mushrooms and now faces felony charges of burglary and criminal trespassing. But let's talk about that skillet handle! [WTAJ, 11/1/2023]
Crime Report
Officials in Melbourne, Australia, raided a home on Oct. 31, where they found a meth lab, boxes of gemstones and so many Legos that they'll need a truck to haul them away, The Guardian reported. Police found 1,130 boxes of the plastic blocks valued at more than $200,000 and arrested a 36-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman. "This is the first time our detectives have seized a Lego collection," said Detective Inspector Anthony Vella. [Guardian, 11/1/2023]
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
LEAD STORIES — Halloween Fun
— At Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, a mystery occurs every year at Halloween: Two pumpkins become impaled on the twin spires of the clock tower in the middle of campus. United Press International reported that the pumpkins have appeared since the 1970s, but no one seems to know who puts them there or how they do it. "Conjuring the best, if far-fetched, tale on how it happens is a favorite campus pastime," the university's website reads. [UPI, 10/19/2023]
— It could only happen in Utah: City officials in Grantsville took to Facebook on Oct. 18 to demand that a Halloween display centered on a street sign be removed, Fox13Now-TV reported. The tableau featured a skeleton pole-dancing while two other skeletons sat in folding chairs with dollar bills in their hands. "Displays like this are not acceptable as it is against city code to attach anything to a street sign," the city wrote. And the pranksters complied: They moved the display to a front yard, with a new lighted pole, lights on the ground to make a "stage," and a tip jar. One commenter on the city's page gushed, "I salute the Halloween Decoration WIZARD that created this MASTERPIECE." [Fox13Now, 10/20/2023]
— Hellen Schweizer, 28, of Wooster, Ohio, embraced her vampirism two years ago on Halloween, The Columbus Dispatch reported. "Not every vampire is bad," she explained. "I follow a higher path." For instance: "I'm not interested in sucking anyone's blood." But living as a vampire, with fangs, white makeup and a black cloak, "just felt right" for the social media manager. Schweizer said the "sun makes me nauseous" and she gains most of her energy at night. "I came out of the coffin, as it were, and never felt so free in my life." [Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/2023]
Awwwww!
While Amir Khan and Kat Warren of Washington, D.C., were visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Oct. 19, they became stranded along with other tourists at the top when a man was discovered climbing the structure. On hand with the couple was Associated Press reporter Pat Eaton-Robb, who was also visiting. Lucky for them, Eaton-Robb caught the moment when Khan decided to propose. He had been planning to do so later that evening at a restaurant, but "she always wanted to be proposed to on or under the Eiffel Tower. So I figured, 'This is it, this is the moment,'" Khan said. While romance was in the air atop the tower, police were arresting the climber, who was inexplicably carrying a banner that said something about singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. [AP, 10/19/2023]
Bright Idea
An unnamed 22-year-old man in Warsaw, Poland, outwitted mall security guards — for a time — after twice posing in a store window as a mannequin, The New York Times reported on Oct. 20. The man stood still next to two other mannequins and held a bag until the mall closed, when he stole jewelry from a kiosk. On another occasion, he ate at one of the mall's restaurants, found a new set of clothing and headed back for another meal. Police arrested the suspect, who faces up to 10 years in prison. [NY Times, 10/20/2023]
Animal Antics
Since Sept. 20, Alejandro Rios, 25, has become the target of a dive-bombing magpie who follows him as he rides his bike home from work. Fox News reported on Oct. 18 that the Brisbane, Australia, resident first felt something hit his head more than a month ago. "I … thought a piece of fruit had fallen off a tree or someone had hit me," he said. Rios' helmet and eyewear protect him from injury, but the bird is persistent. Scientists say magpies remember faces and this one is likely protecting his young. "It's a bit of a friend and a bit of a nemesis," Rios said of his attacker. "I want to say it's my friend — but it really, really hates me." [Fox News, 10/18/2023]
Saw That Coming
Two men in Minnesota were shot on Oct. 22 in separate incidents involving child shooters who were participating in youth hunting events, CBS News reported. In the first case, a 45-year-old dad from Becker Township had his 12-year-old daughter in a deer stand, where she had just successfully shot a deer. But then she accidentally shot her father in the leg. Another family member applied a tourniquet until emergency personnel arrived. In the second incident, a 50-year-old man was trying to explain to a 10-year-old boy how to unload a hunting rifle when the child accidentally pulled the trigger, somehow hitting both of the adult's buttocks. No news on the condition of either victim. [CBS News, 10/23/2023]
I'll Have the Coors Light
Someone posted a video on Weibo on Oct. 19 that captured a man climbing into a malt container at Pingdu, China, brewery Tsingtao and relieving himself, Sky News reported. The company, which identifies itself as the world's sixth-largest beermaker, released a statement, saying: "The batch of malt in question has been completely sealed" and police are investigating. However, the company's stock took a sizable hit, with share prices dropping 7.5% by Oct. 23. [Sky News, 10/24/2023]
Repeat Offender?
A particular house in Haddonfield, New Jersey, appears to be the victim of very bad luck — or a serial car arsonist, WPVI-TV reported. Police say the most recent attack, on Oct. 21 around 1 a.m., was the third at the house since 2017. But strangely, all three attacks have been on cars belonging to different homeowners. In the latest incident, security cameras captured a person pouring gasoline on a 2010 Toyota Highlander and lighting it up. Police say they don't believe the attacks are aimed at the people who live there, who are "doing everything right. They have a camera system, they're calling us. It just unfortunately keeps happening." [WPVI, 10/25/2023]
Awesome!
Members of the Auburn (Massachusetts) Fire Department knew Debbie Virgilio well, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported on Oct. 25. First responders had transported her frequently during her final years, but when she passed last year, they had no idea of the plans she had made for them. Virgilio left the department $525,000 in her will; they used the money to buy a new ambulance and updated equipment. Fire Chief Stephen Coleman said, "It means a lot to me, as the chief, to know my people made such an impact on somebody, they're willing to donate half a million dollars to us when they pass. It's a testament to the men and women of this department." Cheers to Debbie. [Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 10/25/2023]
Wait, What?
Jad K. Shipman, 48, of Longview, Washington, was arrested on Oct. 17 on two counts: soliciting a prostitute and first-degree attempted animal cruelty, Big Country News reported. A vice detective who had been monitoring an online forum identified Shipman in August. Allegedly, he offered $440 for a person to come to Longview and sexually touch him and his miniature horse. Shipman is out on bail and prohibited from being around animals. [Big Country News, 10/25/2023]
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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