News of the Weird: Week of April 21, 2022

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Let Someone Else Eat Cake

A birthday party for an employee at Gravity Diagnostics in Kentucky cost the company $450,000, but it wasn't an expensive cake and decorations that ran up the bill, WLKY-TV reported. The employee, whose birthday fell on Aug. 7, asked the office manager days before to forgo the usual celebration because such affairs trigger his anxiety disorder, and "being the center of attention" would cause him to suffer a panic attack. However, the manager went ahead with planning a lunchtime to-do in the break room, which caused the guest of honor to flee to his car to eat his lunch. The next day, the birthday boy was called into a meeting and scolded for his reaction and was later fired "because of the events of the previous week," according to a lawsuit he filed against the company. In the suit, the former employee said the company didn't accommodate his anxiety disorder and caused him to suffer a "loss of income and benefits and emotional distress and mental anxiety." The Kenton County jury agreed and awarded him the six-figure amount.

It's a Dirty Job ...

In Australia, Queensland's Bill Edgar is known to some as the Coffin Confessor. As such, Edgar shows up at funerals and speaks for the deceased, telling off family members, setting friends straight and delivering bad news about beneficiaries, News.com.au reported on April 14. But Edgar's job doesn't stop there. His services, for which he charges $2,000 to $10,000, have expanded to removing items from the deceased's home that they'd rather the family not see: "Could be sex toys, messages of hate, love, whatever it is they've written down, that they want removed from their web browsers. One gentleman had ... a sex dungeon in one of his bedrooms. And that gentleman was 88 years of age, believe it or not," Edgar said. He even delivers his services in the United States and United Kingdom, and he said Paramount has picked up the story for a movie.

Location, Location, Location

According to Washingtonian magazine, a five-bedroom house for sale in Fairfax, Virginia, listed for $800,000, will "go quickly" in a neighborhood where many homes sell for $1 million or more. It's not in great shape, granted, but the biggest drawback? The home has "a person(s) living in lower level with no lease in place." And prospective buyers can't see the lower level. Listing agent Zinta K. Rodgers-Rickert said the basement resident has "weaseled her way in" and does not pay rent, and the current owners can't "emotionally deal with the eviction." Nevertheless, the house already had attracted at least one offer, with more expected. Rodgers-Rickert helpfully drew a picture of the basement for one potential buyer and said it's in no worse shape than the rest of the house. Except for that squatter, of course.

Now, Where Did I Put That ...

On April 11, ITV News reported that a dead body had been left in a "side room" at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, England, for four days. Once discovered, the body was removed to the hospital's mortuary, and the deceased's family was notified. Officials, who did not reveal the identity of the body, have launched an investigation and offered their apologies to the patient's family.

The Tech Revolution

It may have been April 1, but it was no April Fools' prank. A San Francisco police officer approached an idling car with its headlights off around 10 p.m. and saw that it was empty, SFGate reported. That's when the car moved forward, crossed the intersection and came to a stop with its emergency flashers on. As it turned out, the AV, or autonomous vehicle, was operated by Cruise, and was just trying to move into a safe position before yielding to officers. "An officer contacted Cruise personnel, and no citation was issued," the company explained in a statement. A maintenance team was dispatched to take control of the vehicle.

I'll Do Anything for a Frosty(R)

David Stover, 57, has been telling workers at the Bunnell, Florida, Wendy's restaurant that he's an undercover DEA agent ever since his buddy who worked there left, in an effort to continue getting a discount on food, ClickOrlando.com reported. The store manager told investigators Stover would even flash a badge when asked for proof. Unfortunately for the fast-food fan, the badge was a concealed-carry permit, and police were called to Wendy's on April 11 because Stover was arguing with the staff. He was arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer.

The Job of the Researcher

In preparing to reconstruct Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral after a devastating fire in 2019, scientists have discovered a sarcophagus that may date to the 14th century, France24 reported. It was buried 65 feet underground, among the brick pipes of an old heating system, and extracted from the cathedral on April 12. They were able to look inside using an endoscopic camera, where they saw a skeleton, a pillow of leaves and fabric, among other items. Lead archaeologist Christophe Besnier noted that "if it turns out that it is in fact ... from the Middle Ages, we are dealing with an extremely rare burial practice." France's Institute of Forensic Medicine will study the body and contents of the sarcophagus and try to determine the social rank of the person. Afterward, it will be returned "as an anthropological asset" and could possibly be reinterred at Notre-Dame.

Not Your Ordinary Quickie Mart

A "convenience store" called Skraptyques in a Lumberton, New Jersey, strip mall was selling more than scratch-offs and cigarettes, according to Yahoo! News. In-the-know customers allegedly surrendered their cellphones to an armed guard in a bulletproof vest and were scanned by handheld metal detectors before being shown into a back room, where they could shop for marijuana, edibles and psychedelic mushrooms with colorful packages mimicking popular food items such as "Cheetos, Life Savers, Nerds and Skittles," the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said. The store's owners, Matthew Quinn, 44, and Crystal Cain, 30, were charged in late March with possessing marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, along with other offenses; three employees were also charged.

... and in Related News

Rebecca Swanner, 60, owner of a home day care in Garrisonville, Virginia, was charged with three counts of cruelty and injury to children as a result of three 1-year-olds in her care going to the emergency room after allegedly eating what the sheriff's office described as "gold fish crackers" laced with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. The incident happened in early March; a Stafford County Sheriff's detective investigated and sent some of the crackers to a lab for testing, where the presence of THC was detected. NBC Washington reported that Swanner surrendered to the sheriff's office on April 14 and was released on bond.

Can't Possibly Be True

Edward Draper and his son, Rowan, have set a Guinness World Record for hanging up 10 items of clothing, according to SWLondoner. The pair achieved the amazing feat at Turk's Head pub in Twickenham, London, England, in March. They hung up 10 items of clothing on wooden hangers in 56.87 seconds. Seriously? Good on them for raising money for the British Heart Foundation, but geez, men. Might want to visit the laundry room more often.

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

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