News of the Weird: Week of February 6, 2025

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It's Good To Have a Hobby

In 2023, friends Boone Hogg and Logan Jugler found a nice stick on the side of a trail in Utah -- it had "some excellent grain on it" and a "nice grip," they said. They liked it so much, they shared a review of it with their friends, National Public Radio reported on Jan. 23. Two years later, Stick Nation has about 3 million Instagram followers from all over the world who post pictures and reviews of their favorite sticks. Some are "modded," or altered by humans; others are "natty," left in their natural state. One poster from Antarctica wondered: "There are no sticks here. ... I found an ice stick. Does this count?" Stick Nation allowed the submission. "This is an Antarctica stick," Jugler decreed.

Nope

In November, high above Riedering, Germany, Friedi Kuhne and Lukas Irmler walked across a slackline strung between two hot-air balloons flying at more than 8,000 feet, United Press International reported. The two were awarded the Guinness World Record for highest slackline walk on Jan. 27. Irmler went first, calling the successful walk "a glorious moment." Kuhne admitted, "Watching Lukas struggle on the slackline was also very intimidating for me," noting that the balloons went up and down while they were mid-walk. "At one point we were walking kind of downhill -- the next minute uphill. The tension of the line was going up and down." He celebrated by parachuting off the line.

It's a Mystery

The Los Angeles Times reported on Jan. 27 that police were called to a property along the Los Angeles River where Google Earth images had captured multiple HELP signs scratched into the dirt. The land is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, and it turns out the satellite images were captured in 2023. But a KTLA-TV news helicopter flew over the property on Jan. 27 and saw that the words were still there. Jill Micek, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said the railroad is aware of a man who has trespassed on the company's property repeatedly and who is responsible for the alarming messages. While she stressed that no one is in danger, the conspiracy theory community lit up with tales of underground tunnels: "The truth is in the tunnels," one wrote on X. But LAPD is also familiar with the individual who frequents the area, and they said he "has refused housing or a mental health evaluation. He has been at the location for a few years."

Weird in the Wild

In rural Willows, Australia, a man in his 50s suffered serious injuries on Jan. 29 when a "massive" kangaroo attacked him as he walked from his house to his car, The Guardian reported. Fortunately, a neighbor witnessed the attack and was able to call for help. Rick Underhill of the Willows Rural Fire Brigade said the man encountered two kangaroos, one male and one female, and the female ran off before the "other bastard turned around and attacked him." He said the male roo was about 6 1/2 feet tall and probably weighed 220 pounds. Underhill warned community members to stay at home. "A lot of elderly people live in this little community, and they like to go and walk their dogs in the morning," he said. "And that's just asking for trouble."

The Tech Revolution

Twelve thousand humans, alongside dozens of humanoid robots, are scheduled to compete in a half-marathon in Beijing in April, Oddity Central reported on Jan. 29. Bipedal robots from Tesla, Boston Dynamics and 1X will have to have a human-inspired appearance and be able to move on two legs. Experts say experienced human runners have the edge over robots, partially because of battery life, but battery changes mid-race will be allowed.

The Passing Parade

In the name of gender equality, Chinese influencer Zhu Miaolin is calling on her male counterparts to start wearing Adam's apple covers, analogous to women wearing bras. The South China Morning Post reported on Jan. 23 that Zhu noted the Adam's apple is a delicate, sensitive area that should be protected. The covers are made from wool, leather or lace and cost between 70 cents and $3. A 2020 census in China revealed that there are about 35 million more men than women, a result of the longstanding (but now defunct) one-child policy in the country.

Family Values

Two mourning sisters from Clearwater, Florida, didn't even make it out of the church before getting into a scrape following their 95-year-old dad's funeral on Jan. 22, The Smoking Gun reported. As Kathleen Deegan, 66, delivered the eulogy for Dr. Arthur Deegan, she neglected to mention her niece, which upset Maureen Deegan, 60. After the service, Maureen allegedly chest-bumped her older sister; Kathleen then grabbed Maureen's hair and pulled her back. Maureen threw "strikes at (Kathleen's) face." Kathleen was arrested for misdemeanor battery; Maureen was charged with felony battery because her victim was over 65 years old.

News That Sounds Like a Joke

Fighting a cold? If you're lucky, you can find some Progresso Soup Drops -- cough lozenges that taste like chicken noodle soup. Metro News reported that General Mills announced the limited-time product on Jan. 16: "What's a soup drop? Well, it's soup you can suck on, of course!" A can of 24 lozenges costs $2.49, but they sold out almost immediately, before a second batch was released on Jan. 23.

Police Report

Police pulled over Elizabeth Perez of El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 24 after clocking her driving 106 mph on I-84 near Baker City, Oregon, The Oregonian reported. Why is that weird? Perez is 94 years old. She was also cited for failing to secure a child passenger, driving without insurance and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

What's in a Name?

Before she was born, a cosmetologist from McDonough, Georgia, told the New York Post on Jan. 27, her mom wanted to name her either Tequilla Sunrise or Shaylee Shian. After the birth, her dad merged the names and signed the papers, and Tequilla Shian was introduced to the world. Tequilla was bullied and got in trouble with teachers, who thought she was making up her name, until she started going by Shian when she was 11. As an adult, she has embraced her first name again. "I have heard the same jokes over and over again," she said. "Kids would ask if my parents were alcoholics or if they were drunk naming me." Interestingly, Tequilla is a teetotaler: "I myself don't drink -- people find that very funny, that the girl named Tequilla doesn't drink."

Don't Try This at Home

JAMA Cardiology published a case on Jan. 22 that might put followers of the carnivore diet off their meat. The subject arrived at a Tampa, Florida, hospital with yellow oozing nodes on his palms, elbows and soles of his feet, the New York Post reported. He told doctors that he was following a diet consisting of entire sticks of butter, 6 to 9 pounds of cheese and hamburger patties daily. He said his overall health had improved -- he had lost weight and gained energy and cognitive functioning. But the painless ooze had started nearly a month earlier. Blood tests revealed his cholesterol level was more than 1,000 mg/dL -- about five times what is considered healthy. He was diagnosed with xanthelasma, in which excess lipids ooze from the blood vessels. The report didn't reveal the man's fate.

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