News of the Weird: Week of August 8, 2024

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Creme de la Weird

Mary Jacobs, 77, of Newmarket, England, tried to sell her prized collection of bedpans at auction in July, the Suffolk News reported on July 29, but there were no takers. Jacobs said she started collecting bedpans in 1984: "I just wanted to collect something different," she said. "It snowballed from there." Now, with 160 unique items, she's run out of room to store them. The rarest ones are those with odd shapes, she noted. She's hoping to find a new home for them: "They're clean, washed and in fantastic condition." 

But Why?

St. Petersburg, Florida, resident Jaclyn Goszczynski, 40, was arrested on July 26 and charged with felony child abuse, The Smoking Gun reported. Goszczynski, police said, had been hanging picture frames with her three children when she asked her 12-year-old daughter whether she'd ever been "screwed in the a**," then proceeded to drive a screw into her daughter's "left side buttocks" with an electric screwdriver. No word on the daughter's condition, but Goszczynski sits in the county jail on $25,000 bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the victim. 

Saw That Coming

Homeowners' associations seem to aspire to be the group versions of "Karens." To wit: The Wildernest Home Owners Association in Summit County, Colorado, called the sheriff's office in late July to tattle on a kids' lemonade stand that they said was blocking the road. When officers arrived, KKTV reported, they found the kids were not blocking the road, "but did ask them to move back from the road a few feet for their safety," police said. "The original reporting parties came out and began yelling at the children, claiming they were on private property ... (but officers) determined the property was shared HOA property and because the children's parents are part of the HOA, they had a right to be there," the report went on. Kids 1, HOA 0. 

Animal Antics 

When Alicia Mastroianni left for work in Brighton, Massachusetts, on July 15, she found her car covered in scratches and a note, she told WBZ-TV. The note was from a neighbor, who wrote, "I just watched and recorded a massive turkey attack your car for over 15 minutes. Sorry you were the target of this turkey rage." "All sides of my car were messed up," Mastroianni said. The Massachusetts Environmental Police said turkey attacks aren't rare anymore in the area. One reason for the assaults is that the birds see their own reflection in the car's surface and attack. They recommend covering your car or yelling to scare turkeys away. 

What's in a Name?

On July 22, when officers noticed a white van on the I-5 near Weed, California, that kept swerving out of its lane, they engaged their lights and sirens -- and it still took almost 3 miles for the van to pull over, KOBI-TV reported. Inside the van, they found 1,021 rooted marijuana plants, which, according to driver Yung Fai Sze, 53, were on their way to Oregon. However, Sze did not have the proper documentation from the California Department of Cannabis Control, so he was arrested and charged with illegal transportation and possession of marijuana. 

Awesome! 

In Leicestershire, England, a quaint problem is getting a practical solution, the BBC reported on July 25. The North West Leicestershire District Council received a grant of about $9,300 from Keep Britain Tidy's Chewing Gum Task Force to clean up the discarded wads of gum littering the sidewalks. "Many of the streets, pavements and shopping areas in our towns are affected by discarded chewing gum," said Michael Wyatt of the council, which will also install signs asking people to dispose of their gum properly. The grant is provided by gum manufacturers. 

It's Always Something 

In 2016, the Scottish government declared it would increase the number of medical school placements because of a shortage of doctors, the BBC reported. Eight years later, professor Gordon Findlater, HM Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland, has declared an unexpected and potentially dire result of the change: a shortage of cadavers for medical students to train on. "This is already having an impact on the surgical colleges (which) are now having to cancel training classes," Findlater said. 

The Continuing Crisis 

River Church Kansas City in Lenexa, Kansas, celebrated Father's Day with a raffle, KSHB-TV reported on July 29. Just what did the lucky winner receive? An AR-15 rifle, of course. The contest was so popular that for the Fourth of July, River Church gave away three more firearms. Why? Well, "A gun is a blessing because here in America, we have what's called the Second Amendment, and we're free Americans," explained pastor Christopher Zehner. "Christ gives us freedom, and so, as Christ has given us freedom on the inside, Americans are free as well, so it correlates," he went on. "Our attendance doubled after this whole thing happened," he said. "We will probably do it again. I would say maybe Christmastime, to be a blessing again." The four winners declined to comment.

Bright Idea

Jason Arsenault, 41, pleaded guilty in Portland, Maine, on July 29 to an unconventional bank robbery attempt, HNGN reported. Back in January, Arsenault, wearing a black hat, a mask and sunglasses on his face, pulled into the drive-thru lane of a Key Bank location and sent a note to the teller through the pneumatic tube: "CAR BOMB No Cops Alarms or WE ALL DIE $50,000 in 20s." The teller sent the money back through the tube, and Arsenault drove away. Surveillance video allowed law enforcement to track Arsenault's movements until they could spot him without his disguise; six days later, he was arrested. He directed police to a backpack with the money, hidden in the woods. He faces up to 20 years in prison. 

Ewwwwww!

Have it your way! Tiffany Floyd of Gettzville, New York, stopped at her local Burger King on July 27 to get her 4-year-old daughter a hamburger, People reported. When the girl started eating her burger, she said, "Mom, I don't want ketchup." Floyd took the bag back, thinking the order had been made wrong, "And I look in her bag and there is blood all over. You could tell it was human blood." She called the restaurant and asked to speak with a manager, who admitted, "Yes, I had a worker here cut their hand right before your food was made and bagged. The worker knew he cut himself but did not think he was bleeding that bad." The manager offered Floyd a refund, but instead she hung up and called the local health department. Burger King closed the restaurant for retraining and deep cleaning, but Floyd said their trauma continues: "She now needs to get bloodwork done every month" to look for HIV and hepatitis, among other infections, and her daughter is afraid to eat. "She thinks there's blood in it." 

Mistaken Identity

Gallaghers, a New York City restaurant with a nearly century-long presence on 52nd Street, is decorated inside with photos of celebrities who have frequented the landmark over the many years, the New York Post reported on July 27. One of the signed photos is of Perry Como, a wildly popular singer and television personality during the mid-20th century. But Gallaghers was forced to add a couple of small disclaimers to the frame of Como's photo because of his vague resemblance to disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019. "THIS IS NOT JEFFREY EPSTEIN," the first plaque reads. "THIS IS PERRY COMO." Gallaghers owner Dean Poll said "hundreds" of customers asked about the photo. "It was constant. Not one a day, but all during the day." He said Epstein was not a customer. 

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