News of the Weird: Week of August 27, 2026

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There's Gold in Them Thar Walls

Construction workers in Belgium struck gold while working on a new sewer line in an old building -- literally $10.4 million worth of gold, BBC reported on Aug. 14. Workers removed part of the cellar wall and discovered a wealth of gold coins and bars, which they initially mistook for euros. They called the police, who recorded the haul and moved the gold to a secure federal vault. The building was once a brewery but is now owned by a welfare organization. Belgian law dictates that the gold's rightful owner has five years to claim it. However, investigators are still looking into the stash to determine whether it might be related to criminal activity. If not, and if no legitimate claim is made on it after five years, the gold will be split between the finders -- the construction workers -- and the property owner. [BBC, 8/14/26]

Art History

Milwaukee landlord Tim Dertz was cleaning out an apartment unit after evicting its tenant when he found a painting left behind. Dertz took it to an antique dealer who recognized it as a Picasso, possibly worth up to $50,000, the Associated Press reported on Aug. 14. Dertz then contacted police, who determined the painting had been stolen from DeLind Fine Art Appraisals in 2018. When police contacted owner Bill DeLind, he recognized the work as a "Toreo" print, signed by Picasso himself. In a bittersweet twist, DeLind said that his former gallery partner, who passed in February, used to call police every year on the anniversary of the robbery, asking for an update on the case. "He would have been over the moon about this," DeLind said. "It was special to him." The 2018 robbery remains under investigation with the FBI, and Milwaukee police are holding on to the painting in the meantime. [AP, 8/14/26]

Snake Takes

              -- WSLS reported on Aug. 13 that an 8-foot python was the source of overnight chaos at Forest Middle School in Bedford County, Virginia. While inside the school, the escaped snake knocked over a heat lamp, starting a fire, which triggered the school's sprinkler system and alerted the fire department at 12:31 a.m. Firefighters responded, found and secured the python, and proceeded to extinguish the fire. Eight classrooms were damaged, but Bedford County Public Schools stated, "This will not affect the first day of school as alternate locations within FMS for impacted areas will be assigned, if needed." Crews are working to repair and clean the damaged areas while the east wing of the school is temporarily closed. [WSLS 10, 8/13/26]

              -- A car ride took a surprising turn for a family running an errand in Lebanon, Tennessee, when a snake began slithering across their car's hood while they were driving. "We were on our way to Mt. Juliet," Analissa Hensley told News 2, "and we're just having a conversation, and my husband's like, 'There's a snake.'" Hensley began recording the snake's path across the hood. She estimates it to have been about 5 feet long. "I'm sitting there like, 'We have a huge snake on the hood of our car.'" The family attempted to pull the car over, but Hensley said that was when the snake rolled and went off the side. Experts say the snake appears to have been a nonvenomous gray rat snake. [WKRN, 8/13/26]

Let Sleeping Bears Lie

The Norwegian government fined an unnamed perpetrator over $5,000 for sounding a foghorn that disturbed a polar bear, waking it and causing it to move. CNN reported on Aug. 14 that a boat was sailing through fjords in Svalbard, an archipelago that lies about halfway between Norway and the North Pole, when someone on board the vessel spotted a sleeping polar bear and used the ship's foghorn to rouse it. Polar bears are protected by Norwegian and international laws, which say that it is prohibited to "unnecessarily disturb, lure or pursue polar bears." Geoff York, vice president of research and policy at Polar Bears International, says that polar bears have fewer food sources in the summer. "Disturbing bears during this time of year may be more significant for their survival or potential reproductive success if it's a pregnant or nursing female by causing them to burn calories unnecessarily," he said. The individual has agreed to pay the fine. [CNN, 8/14/26]

Finger Lickin' Good

WLKY reported on Aug. 17 that a bear made its way into a home and helped itself to KFC leftovers. Kendra North, of Harlan County, Kentucky, said she had left her home's front door open due to lack of air conditioning and forgot to shut it before going to bed. The bear, estimated to have been between 600 to 700 pounds, wandered in, ate the leftover food and shattered a glass table. While North slept through the encounter, her sister, who lives in a neighboring mobile home, was awoken by the bear. North said a few days later that a cub estimated to be around 300 pounds was on her porch as she made dinner. "I keep that front door shut good though at night now, and apparently 7 p.m. is bear time now too," she said. [WLKY, 8/16/2026]

Not Even Dying Can Get You Out of a Parking Ticket

The New Zealand outlet Stuff reported on Aug. 17 that a 54-year-old woman who experienced a medical emergency in a grocery store parking lot -- her heart even stopped briefly, making her "technically dead" for a few minutes -- and was taken to the hospital by ambulance was issued a parking fine for exceeding the allowed 90-minute parking limit. Her car was left in the lot for over five hours, and she received a fine in the mail for $80 from the third-party company that manages it. After being told of the circumstances, the parking lot company understood and ... reduced the fine to $30. The woman's father called the request "offensive." When grocery store staff caught wind of the parking situation, they stepped in and paid the $30, and the parking lot company has since apologized to the woman. "We have since reinforced our processes and provided further guidance to our team to support consistent decision-making in exceptional circumstances," they said. [Stuff, 8/17/26]

Plot Twist

In March, Kenneth Voyles was experiencing homelessness in Porland, Oregon, when he broke into a local business seeking shelter -- and, he admits, to steal a drill bag -- The Independent reported on Aug. 15. Startled by the intrusion, owner James Grant shot Voyles multiple times. Now Voyles is suing both Grant and the company, Touchstone Granite & Marble Inc., for $10 million. The lawsuit accuses them of battery, assault, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Grant disputes Voyles' version of events, claiming self-defense from Voyles' aggression. "It went right through my brain that he was ready to attack me," Grant said. "He picked up the bolt cutter and raised it, and he was starting to come at me ... my life was totally in danger." [The Independent, 08/15/26]

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