News of the Weird: Week of April 4, 2024

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Creme de la Weird

NBC News reported on March 21 about a Tennessee man suffering from prosopometamorphopsia, also known as PMO -- a neurological disorder that causes victims to perceive faces in distorted shapes, size, texture or color. In Victor Sharrah's case, he sees faces as demonic. The 59-year-old of Clarksville said it started in November 2020: "My first thought was I woke up in a demon world," he said. "You can't imagine how scary it was." Sharrah sees the distortions only in person, not in pictures or on computer screens. Consequently, he was able to work with researchers at Dartmouth College to create a visual representation of what he sees vs. reality. There are fewer than 100 reported cases of PMO; symptoms can continue for years, as Sharrah's have, or can resolve after just a few days.

Awesome!

Punxsutawney Phil and his wife (?), Phyllis, have big news: They are parents to two healthy babies, the Associated Press reported. "Phil and Phyllis have started a family," said Thomas Dunkel, president of The Inner Circle, part of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. "I talked to Phil with my cane, which lets me speak Groundhogese, and Phil could not be more excited." (OK, Thomas.) Phil and Phyllis live in climate-controlled quarters at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, but plans are in place to move them to larger quarters on the grounds now that their family is growing. Dunkel said the offspring will not become Punxsutawney Phil, because Phil is immortal, having drunk "The Elixir of Life," which Phyllis is prohibited from imbibing. (Uh, yeah, OK, Thomas.)

Police Report

In 2024, California started prohibiting police departments from sharing photos of suspects in nonviolent crimes, United Press International reported. Accordingly, the Murrieta Police Department started using emojis, characters from movies and, most recently, Lego head images to cover the faces of suspects when they posted on social media. But now, Lt. Jeremy Durrant said, the Lego heads have to go. "The Lego Group reached out to us and respectfully asked us to refrain from using their intellectual property in our social media content, which ... we understand and will comply with."

Bright Ideas

              -- A 47-year-old man was arrested in Parowan, Utah, on March 17 after multiple drivers reported him from I-15, KSL-TV reported. Callers said the man's pickup truck had "red and blue flashing lights and they were getting other vehicles to move out of their way," police said. What tipped them off? The pickup also had a construction company logo on the side. The suspect indicated he was only trying to get through traffic faster, not pull anyone over. He also tested positive for "cannabis, amphetamines and methamphetamine," and he had a small bag of white powder that he said he uses "to stay awake while driving." He was booked into the Iron County Jail.

              -- Emma Keen, 42, of Wales, was on the fourth day of her trek to Mount Everest Base Camp in March to raise money for the Kidney Wales Foundation, Wales Online reported. As she FaceTimed with her brother and sister-in-law, she showed them a yak standing about 2 meters away. "Without warning I could hear the hoofs pounding toward me, a sharp stabbing pain in the top of my leg," Keen said. The yak was readying for another run at her when she was helped away and airlifted to a hospital, where she got 10 stitches. She later rejoined the group to finish the hike on horseback. "My charity means a lot to me as my brother Peter is currently on the transplant list," Keen said. "It was important that I continue with the trek."

Wait, What?

Dairy cows in Kansas and Texas have tested positive for bird flu, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Associated Press reported that while the virus is affecting cows in those states and in New Mexico, officials say there is no danger to the commercial milk supply because of production regulations and pasteurization, which kills viruses. USDA officials think the cows caught the virus from wild birds. They appear to have coldlike symptoms, but typically recover within 10 days.

Government in Action

              -- A state Senate panel in South Carolina is investigating a mystery involving $1.8 billion, the Associated Press reported on March 26. The huge sum has accumulated over the last decade in a bank account, but authorities don't know where the money is coming from or where it's supposed to go. "It does not inspire confidence," said Gov. Henry McMaster. "But the good news is no money was lost." Meanwhile, state officers are pointing fingers at each other, and lawmakers are annoyed that the money is sitting idle while requests from state agencies are going unfulfilled. "There is no need to hurry up and try to spend it," McMaster said.

              -- In Oakland, California, 102-year-old Victor Silva Sr. received a citation earlier in March from the city about the graffiti on his fence, KTVU-TV reported. If he didn't remove it, he'd face a $1,100 fine, plus $1,277 for each failed reinspection. Before Silva started using a wheelchair, he'd paint over the graffiti himself. Now, Silva Jr., 70, has that task. "It's hard to keep up with it because as soon as we get it painted, it's gonna be graffiti on it again, and it won't last," he said. The family owns a business nearby that's been broken into three times in the last year. "It's hard to understand where our tax dollars are going," Silva Jr. said. "They can't answer 911, but they can come out and hassle you about a fence?" The city inspector is expected to review the case and, most likely, cancel the citation.

The Continuing Crisis

Easter is obviously NOT a good time for an egg shortage, as Norwegians are finding out. The Associated Press reported that as a result of bird flu and overproduction, which led the country to ask farmers to reduce their production, eggs are not only hard to find, but are expensive when you can get your hands on them. So Norwegians are crossing the border to Sweden, where 20-packs of eggs are readily available and cost about $3.70 -- 30% less than in Norway. The Maxi-Mat food store in Sweden about 62 miles south of Oslo has been filled with "desperate" shoppers, the Norwegian news outlet Nettavisen reported. Wonder if any of them had large ears and a colorful basket?

It's Come to This

Remember the life-saving door at the end of "Titanic"? The one that Rose and Jack couldn't both fit on? At Heritage Auctions in Dallas on March 23, the Balsa wood panel used in the movie sold for $718,750 to an anonymous buyer, The New York Times reported. The auction liquidated a large trove of items from Planet Hollywood, including Indiana Jones' whip and Jack's ax from "The Shining." No word yet on whether the new owner has tested the door's width to see if Jack might have, after all, survived.

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