News of the Weird: Oct. 21, 2021

×

Expand

News of the Weird newspapers illustration

Space Invasion

Forget a "rude" awakening -- this one verges closer to "terrifying." Ruth Hamilton of Golden, British Columbia, told CBC News that she woke up on Oct. 4 to her dog barking. "The next thing was just a huge explosion and debris all over my face," she said. After realizing something had punched a hole in her ceiling, she called 911. While answering the operator's questions, she moved a bed pillow and discovered a "melon-sized space rock" that must have landed inches from her head while she slept. Peter Brown, a physics and astronomy professor at Western University in London, Ontario, confirmed the rock was "certainly a meteorite," but will require further study to determine its exact origins.

Out on a Limb

A police standoff that began on Oct. 6 finally came to an end more than 48 hours later, as a man wanted in connection with an assault case climbed down from the tree he had taken refuge in. When police arrived at the Queens, New York, home of Roody Thomas, 44, in response to a call about a domestic dispute during which Thomas threatened his mother, Thomas climbed out of a second-story window and onto his roof. He then leapt from the roof into a 30-foot spruce tree, where he spent two uncomfortable nights. According to Fox 5 NY, a negotiator was ultimately able to talk Thomas into leaving his perch. Thomas, who had a warrant out for his arrest for allegedly punching his girlfriend on Sept. 30, surrendered to police and was sent to a hospital for evaluation.

Sprinklegate

Don't mess with a man's sprinkles. The owner of a U.K. bakery went viral for ranting about regulations that are cutting into his bread and butter -- or rather his cake and frosting. Rich Myers, 32, of Leeds, can no longer sell his most popular items because they featured "illegal sprinkles" imported from the United States. The sprinkles contained an additive called E127, which has been linked to "hyperactivity disorders and tumors in rats," reports the Mirror. An anonymous customer tipped off West Yorkshire Trading Standards, the local regulatory agency, about the infraction. Myers swears he won't switch to the approved sprinkles from his home country, claiming they don't hold their colors during the baking process. "If I can't use (the imported sprinkles), I won't use any," he said. "I will be on sprinkle strike and won't budge for no man." The contraband goodies aren't exactly hard to come by, he added: "We buy them from a shop in London, so it's not like we're getting them from a cocaine haulage in Mexico."

Where's Wally

An Arctic walrus who found fame this summer after touring the coasts of Spain, France and the U.K. was feared dead after he disappeared from West Cork, Ireland, in late August. But fans of Wally the walrus can breathe easy: The Independent reports that the intrepid wanderer was recently spotted off the coast of Iceland. Wally became famous for launching himself onto the decks of (empty, docked) boats, sinking several, as he stopped in various European harbors to rest during his travels. Wildlife organizations even created special pontoon "couches" for him to nap on. Wally appears to be in good health and is expected to make his way to the Arctic to begin his search for a mate once he's rested and built up some blubber for the trek.

Pain in the Neck

For the last two years, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have been witness to a bizarre wildlife sighting: a bull elk roaming the wilderness with a tire around its neck. CNN reported that CPW officials had been monitoring the elk since it was first spotted in July 2019, and though the tire did not impede the animal from drinking or feeding, they grew concerned that the tire might get tangled in branches, fencing or the antlers of another elk. CPW officers received a community tip on the elk's whereabouts on Oct. 9 and were finally able to tranquilize it and remove the tire -- which had 10 pounds of debris inside it -- after removing the elk's antlers. "We would have preferred to cut the tire and leave the antlers for his rutting activity, but the situation was dynamic and we had to just get the tire off in any way possible," CPW officer Scott Murdoch said. The elk is expected to make a full recovery.

One Person's Junk ...

-- Go take a closer look at your garden gnomes: A Sudbury, England, couple was unknowingly using artifacts from ancient Egypt to decorate their garden. The pair of small sphinx statues went up for auction as the couple cleared out their home before a move. The couple had bought them at another auction 15 years prior, thinking they were 18th-century replicas, and expected to get a few hundred dollars for them. But when prospective buyers suggested the items could be actual Egyptian relics, bidding took off. An international art gallery ended up paying $265,510 for the sphinx statues. Auctioneer James Mander said the gallery owners determined the items are indeed authentic, although more study is needed to determine their exact age and provenance. "I wonder where they've been for the last 5,000 years," Mander said.

-- Careful which old plate you're using to microwave your hot dogs, kids. A dish found in the drawer of a Scottish country house fetched a staggering $1.7 million in an online auction held on Oct. 6, The Scotsman reported. A ceramics specialist working for auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull discovered the dish, which features a painting of Samson and Delilah by Nicola di Gabriele Sbraghe -- aka Nicola da Urbino, a 16th-century master of maiolica pottery. "As the auctioneer, it was a real joy to bring the hammer down at over 1 million pounds on this incredibly rare dish," said Lyon & Turnbull Managing Director Gavin Strang.

Not Missing the Bus

Bus driver shortages have caused problems across the United States as students have returned to in-person learning, but when Ohio dad Sean Rogers Jr. saw his kids and their friends lacking transportation to school, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He borrowed a limousine from his father's limo company, and is using the stretch ride to take kids to school in style. "I'm going to continue to do what I can do to help these families get their kids to school," Rogers Jr. told Fox News. "If it gets to the point where, you know, the limo is not enough, then I would definitely pull a charter bus out and we'll go from there."

Meanwhile in Florida

When hopeless romantic Matthew Huber, 43, was questioned by police on Oct. 12 after witnesses reported him breaking into a Nissan truck outside a Walmart in Vero Beach, Florida, he wanted them to know it was a labor of love. According to the police report, Huber claimed that he attempted to get into the vehicle "to see his imaginary girlfriend Emma," whom he only sees when he is "tripping on meth." The Smoking Gun reported that Huber was arrested for burglary and carrying a concealed weapon during the commission of a criminal offense. Emma could not be reached for comment.

Mission Impawsable

Some pet owners are willing to go to extremes for their fur babies; some take "extremes" to extremes. Tony Wittman, 45, of Australia, was convicted on Oct. 11 on charges stemming from a Jan. 11 incident in which the former soldier donned full combat gear (complete with fake assault rifle) and stormed the Lost Dogs' Home in Melbourne. Wittman tied up a female employee and questioned her about the whereabouts of his cat, then left without retrieving the animal and was arrested the next day. Fox News reported that Wittman told the police he has suffered from PTSD since his time in the military and "felt like he needed to get the cat back and acted without thinking about the consequences."

Recalculating ...

The robot apocalypse may be getting closer every day, but if self-driving car technology is any indicator, it's probably still a ways off. Case in point: A dead-end street in San Francisco has seen a swell in traffic recently, but the humans inside the cars are not to blame -- the A.I. is. Those who live in the area of 15th Avenue in the Richmond district have been baffled by the Waymo self-driving cars that seem to have taken a liking to their street. The cars appear throughout the day and night; they enter and drive to the end of the street, the drivers inside take over and make a multipoint turn, then the cars go back the way they came. Resident Jennifer King told KPIX 5 that "there are some days where it can be up to 50. It's literally every five minutes." Waymo representatives told KPIX 5 they are looking into the situation.

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

COPYRIGHT 2021 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

1130 Walnut, Kansas City MO 64106; 800-255-6734