21 Weird Stories Of 2024: Bear Impersonators, Ashes On Disneyland Ride – Patch
ACROSS CALIFORNIA — Well, California — we are coming up on another year.
While loyal readers across the Golden State never got a break from hard-hitting news, they did get a few weird news stories that made them stop and laugh — or just stop.
Some readers may find themselves asking, “why do
The answer is simple. “Weird news” can still be real news, and as journalists — sometimes it’s necessary to pepper in the occasional oddity in order to aspire to our goal of expansive, locally-curated stories that you’ve come to love on Patch.
Here are 21 of the weirdest news stories by Patch editors in California this year.
Note: Articles are not listed in any particular order as to the level of weirdness.
1. Second Rare Deep-Sea ‘Doomsday Fish’ Found In San Diego County: The so-called “doomsday” fish, regarded in Japanese legend as a harbinger of earthquakes and other natural disasters, washed ashore in SoCal for the third time this year earlier this month.
2. Mattel’s ‘Wicked’ Misprint On Packaging Directs Customers To Porn Site: The wrong URL on packaging for a Mattel doll inspired by the “Wicked” movie took consumers to an adults-only porn site.
3. Lake Arrowhead Bear-Impersonators Arrested For $141K In Fake Claims: Four Los Angeles County residents faced insurance fraud and conspiracy charges after investigators tore apart their video that appeared to show bears trashing high-value automobiles, police said.
4. Amazon Sent A Dirty Diaper To A Woman In CA: Report: A Redlands woman got a package in the mail that no one wants to receive.
5. Smuggled Turtles Intercepted In South Bay En Route To China: About 40 box turtles were found bound in socks to protect their shells and to keep them from moving and alerting authorities in Torrance, the DOJ said.
6. CA Woman Fined $88K After Kids Take Clams, Accidentally Breaking Law: A Fresno woman was fined more than $88,000 after her children, unaware they were doing anything wrong, collected 72 clams they thought were seashells from a highly-regulated shoreline in Pismo Beach.
7. Live Rattlesnake Mailed To Unsuspecting Trucker In SoCal: A 60-year-old man from Twentynine Palms received the shock of a lifetime when he received a venomous pit viper in the mail.
8. Crypt Caper: Cult Classic Horror Character’s Statue Stolen: The Los Angeles Mystic Museum called upon all horror fans to aid in the search for their stolen statue of the Crypt Keeper.
9. Human Remains Scattered On Disneyland Ride Prompts Closure, Horror: After waiting hours at the Happiest Place on Earth for a seat on ‘Rise of the Resistance’ at Galaxy’s Edge, fans were forced from the ride when someone scattered human remains on the track.
10. Clerk Tells Off Governor, Unaware Customer Is The Governor: When Gov. Gavin Newsom was at a Target and asked a clerk why she didn’t intervene upon witnessing a theft, she blamed the governor, not realizing he was in front of her.
11. Yosemite Has A Poop Problem: Earlier this year, Yosemite National Parked asked visitors to stop marring its natural beauty with dirty toilet paper.
12. Homeowners Warned Of Burglars Using Pizza Delivery As Ruse: Report: A woman was caught on security camera pretending to deliver a pizza while a hooded figure approached the back of a home in the South Bay.
13. ‘Slave Leia’ Star Wars Bikini Sold At Auction For $175K: One of film’s most memorable costumes fetched an eye-popping price at a recent Hollywood auction that offered up pricy props from Star Wars and Star Trek to Harry Potter and Home Alone.
14. Tourist’s Skin Melted Off From Walking On Hot CA Sand: How hot was it this past summer? A man suffered third-degree burns while walking in Death Valley National Park, according to authorities.
15. Flamethrower-Weilding Robbery Suspect Arrested In South Bay: A woman is facing charges of robbery and assault after aiming an improvised flamethrower at a South Bay 7-Eleven employee in Manhattan Beach.
16. Pet Bunny, Other Items Taken By Thieves In Rash Of Burglaries: Police: It was bad enough that thieves in Petaluma broke into residents cars overnight and stole money, wallets, IDs, headphones, GPS devices and other items — but a little girl’s heart was broken when her pet bunny, Snowy, was stolen from his hutch.
17. Chickens Seized From Suspected DUI Driver In South Bay: Authorities investigating a suspected DUI in the Lomita were surprised to find a box of chickens in the backseat.
18. Megapod Of 1,500 Dolphins Put On A Show: Travelers aboard a Dana Point whale watching boat were treated to a spectacular sight: a megapod of 1,500 dolphins dashing through the waters.
19. A Lost Cat’s Mysterious 2-Month, 900-Mile Journey Home To California: The cat found its way from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to California.
20. Ghastly Sea Creature Washes Up On South OC Beach: A pale, mangled-looking sea creature washed ashore in the Dana Point area in October.
21. 15 UFO Sightings In California, The Mothership For UFO Sightings: 2024: There have been more than 138 sightings reported so far this year in the Golden State, and Patch has gathered the most intriguing ones.
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