News of the Weird: Week of Jan. 27, 2022

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Government at Work

In the United Kingdom, as of Jan. 29, flouting a new highway code rule will cost you up to 1,000 pounds, the Mirror reported. The rule requires someone inside a car to open the door with the hand farthest from the door, employing a technique known as the Dutch Reach. In other words, if you're driving (on the right side of the car), you would use your left hand to reach around and open the car door. (The technique is borrowed from the Netherlands, thus the name.) Rule 239 reads: "This will make you turn your head to look over your shoulder. You are then more likely to avoid causing injury to cyclists or motorcyclists passing you on the road, or to people on the pavement." If a person in a car injures someone by opening with the wrong hand, a fine will be levied. Cycling UK estimates that more than 500 people are injured every year by car doors.

Wait, What?

Cameron Newsom, 42, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was treated for stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma on her tongue in 2013, the New York Post reported. Removing the tumor meant also removing part of her tongue, which doctors replaced with skin and muscle taken from her thigh. Through all of her experiences in treating the cancer, she said, "The weirdest part ... was when I felt a rough texture on the 'thigh' part of my tongue -- and when I looked in the mirror, it had started growing leg hair!" Newsom had to learn to speak again and still finds eating a challenge, but she's back to being a gymnastics coach, even with her fuzzy tongue.

It's a Living

Xavier Long, 20, of Yerkwood, Alabama, has discovered a way to profit from human jealousy and insecurity, the Daily Mail reported. Suspicious partners pay Long to flirt on social media with their loved ones as a loyalty test, and Long rakes in the proceeds: In one week alone, he made over $2,000. Long said he receives about 100 requests for help every day and charges a minimum of $10. If a woman he's paid to flirt with gives him any of her personal contact information, he considers her a "fail." "I'm helping people, so I feel like it's a good thing in a way," Long said. "Doing these tests has allowed me to stop working a 9-to-5 job."

When Pigs Swim

Veteran surfer Ingrid Seiple was catching a wave on Dec. 18 off Oahu, Hawaii, when she saw something floating like a log in the water, KITV reported. She at first thought it was a Hawaiian monk seal, but, she said, "That's when I realized it was a pig, and it saw me. It started swimming toward me as fast as it could! It was very close and getting closer. I pushed the board between the pig and I and it bit my board." Seiple thinks the wild boar was chased into the ocean by hunting dogs. "It looked like it had an injury on its face," she said. Seiple escaped the boar without harm, but no word on the pig's condition.

Don't See That Every Day

Motorists on I-59 in Tennessee on Jan. 12 got a closeup look at the world's largest cast-iron skillet as it made its way on a flatbed truck to the future Lodge Cast Iron Museum in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. The big fry pan measures 18 feet from handle to handle and weighs more than 14,000 pounds, United Press International reported. It will be used outside the museum, which is set to open in late summer. Get your selfie stick ready!

Family Values

Teacher Kerry Lyn Caviasca, 36, of Watertown, Connecticut, was arrested on Jan. 15 and charged with two counts of risk of injury to a child and second-degree reckless endangerment, WFSB-TV reported, stemming from an incident in November. According to the arrest warrant, Caviasca's ex-husband informed police that she had left their two children, both under age 12, home alone for two days while she went on vacation to Florida with her boyfriend. When the father checked one of the children's phones, he saw texts between the child and Caviasca, including exchanges about what they should eat, to which she replied, "Just eat candy." She also instructed them to stay in the basement so they wouldn't be seen. The children told police they were alone in the house, except for their dog.

Just Rewards

Mayor Chen Qimai of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, has ordered a clever punishment for people convicted of drunk driving in his community. Oddity Central reported that offenders will have to clean funeral parlors to give them the experience of being close to death. In January, 11 drunk drivers spent hours cleaning a mortuary, refrigeration unit and crematorium. "I had never been close to death, and it felt disturbing," one offender said. When they were finished, they reportedly expressed their deep remorse and said they wouldn't drive drunk again.

Mistaken Identity

Police were called to investigate on Jan. 15 after a motorist on the M11 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, spotted what they believed were the sneakered feet of a dead person rolled up in a carpet in another car. A law enforcement spokesperson explained, however, that the feet belonged to "a mannequin dressed as Prince Charming who was on his way to a themed birthday! Thankfully, this was a false alarm." Metro News reported that the driver was advised to "avoid such circumstances occurring again."

Undignified Death

Newsweek reported that a man in Spain perished on Jan. 20 while he was working in an agricultural warehouse. The unnamed 34-year-old was buried when a large quantity of carrots fell on him, emergency services said. The man died at the scene.

When in Doubt, Use the Pork

A Jack Russell terrier named Millie, who slipped out of her leash and became stranded on mudflats near Hampshire, England, was lured to safety with the most reliable of baits: a sausage. Officials began a rescue mission when it seemed Millie might be swept out to sea, but their efforts failed for four days, the Guardian reported on Jan. 20. But one of the rescuers thought of dangling a sausage from a drone and flying it over her. "It was a crazy idea," said Chris Taylor, chair of the Denmead Drone Search and Rescue team. "If we hadn't got her away from that area the tide would have come in and she would have been at risk of drowning. The sausages were the last resort." Millie's owner, Emma Oakes, confirmed that Millie "really likes food and she'll eat anything you give her ... but she much prefers sausages."

Nay-chur

In the wee hours of Jan. 19, residents along Hastings Drive in Belmont, California, were awakened by growling and roaring in their front yard, KTVU-TV reported. Two mountain lions were captured by doorbell camera as they fought to the death. The prevailing lion then dragged the dead one across the street to a neighbor's front porch. "Just keep your head on a swivel," suggested Kevin Stanford, who is part of the neighborhood's watch team. Tiffany Yap, an expert at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the attack was just "mountain lions being mountain lions. It's a common occurrence for mountain lions to kill each other over territory." Still, Belmont Police urged area residents to be extra cautious, keeping pets and small children inside.

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