News of the Weird: Week of January 9, 2025

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Unclear on the Concept

Sam, 22, is an assistant manager at a frozen yogurt shop in Florida, Newsweek reported on Dec. 26, but even at his young age, he is able to recognize cash that might be counterfeit. Unlike his employees, that is, who flagged a $10 bill and a $5 bill as FAKE. "I shed a tear because of the sharpie they scrawled onto the bills," he wrote on Reddit. Sam said he had to explain that the bills were "just old, not counterfeit." He admitted that people his age and younger might rarely use cash: "It's a digital world nowadays, so I would suspect that to be one reason (they flagged the bills)."

Questionable Judgment

On Dec. 17, California Highway Patrol officers in Madera County shared a photo on Facebook of a Honda Ridgeline truck they had pulled over, Carscoops reported. With an unintentional nod to "The Grapes of Wrath," the truck was piled to at least twice its height with random items, some of which were flying off into traffic, officers said. "It is important to always secure your load/cargo and not exceed your vehicle's load capacity," CHP cautioned. "Flying debris can make motorists take evasive action and potentially be involved in a traffic crash."

Saw That Coming

The Rockwall County Herald-Banner in Texas reported that Valencia Smith, mother of a former football player for Rockwall-Heath High School, filed a suit on Dec. 23 against the team's former coach, John Harrell, and 12 other coaches. Smith's suit stems from an incident in January 2023, in which the coaches allegedly used excessive exercise as punishment for wearing the wrong uniform or failing to show enough "hustle." Students were forced to perform more than 400 pushups within an hour, which led to at least 26 players being diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that causes muscle to break down and enter the bloodstream. Smith said her son spent seven days in a hospital. The lawsuit seeks compensation for his medical expenses. Harrell resigned in March 2023; he settled two other lawsuits, but this is the first that names the assistant coaches as defendants.

Bright Idea

Canadian business student Javeria Wasim, 19, was with a friend in Toronto when she hatched the brilliant idea to try to bite into a 3-inch jawbreaker, the Daily Mail reported on Dec. 24. Immediately, Wasim's jaw began to hurt, and a tooth became loose. X-rays revealed that she had suffered two fractures in her jaw. The following day, she underwent surgery and had her jaw wired shut for six weeks. She said she would "probably never try a jawbreaker again. It hurt really bad, I was crying a lot when the ambulance came," she said. "All my bottom teeth are messed up. I lost seven pounds in two weeks. It was a dumb idea."

The Foreign Press

Belarusian retailer ZNWR, sometimes called the "Balenciaga of Belarus," is making headlines with its newest line of dresses and jackets, starting at about $116, fashioned from bubble wrap. The Times of India reported on Dec. 30 that the air-filled pockets provide a satisfying, quirky popping experience. The brand hyped the dresses as perfect for those who want to stand out on New Year's Eve (rather than wear the tired old velvet and satin). At least when you fall down drunk, you'll be cushioned!

Least Competent Criminal

In Haines City, Florida, on Dec. 29, Jervin Omar Mendieto Romero, 40, arrived at the home of his former partner, ClickOrlando reported. Romero wanted to speak with her, but when no one answered the door, he crawled into the house through a window, police said. "Once inside," police said, Romero "confronted ... his ex-domestic partner and her new boyfriend." The boyfriend was shot five times; in the process, Romero managed to shoot off his own ring finger. "This caused (him) to drop the firearm and flee the residence on foot," police reported. They tracked him down less than a mile away, and he was charged with attempted first-degree murder and armed burglary with assault or battery, along with other offenses. The boyfriend is expected to survive.

Inappropriate Behavior

Jude Hill of Plymouth, England, traveled to Thailand a few months ago after a fire at her home in September, Metro News reported. Around 3 a.m. on Christmas, Hill and her boyfriend were seen in the lobby of the Flipper Lodge Hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, consummating their relationship on a sofa. Witnesses said the pair then tried to move to a glass table, but it shattered. "We approached them and discovered they were not hotel customers, so we ushered them out," an anonymous worker said. Hill ran away but was detained by an armed officer near the beach. The hotel plans to press charges.

That Rule Doesn't Apply to Me

Magnus Carlsen, 34, the No. 1 chess player in the world, dropped out of the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in New York on Dec. 27 because he didn't want to change out of his blue jeans, Sky News reported. Officials said he had broken the dress code; Carlsen wasn't moved. "I didn't even think about it. ... They said I could (change) after the third round today. I said, 'I'll change tomorrow if that's OK' ... but they said, 'Well you have to change now.' At that point it became a matter of principle for me." Carlsen said he'd head somewhere with better weather.

Reunited

A Florida family got just what they wanted for Christmas when they answered a 2:30 a.m. doorbell ring on Christmas Eve to find their missing dog. Brooke Comer, a Green Cove Springs resident whose 4-year-old German shepherd, Athena, went missing on Dec. 15, spent the ensuing nine days receiving tips from neighbors and people in nearby towns about Athena sightings, but the frustrated family would always arrive too late, NEWS10 ABC reported. After several heartbreaking near-misses and with Christmas just one day away, Comer received an early morning notification from her Ring doorbell. "I was kind of like in a daze, and the dog was barking, and as soon as I heard that ring, I looked at my phone and you could see in the video it was Athena and she was jumping at the door, ringing the doorbell," Comer said. Athena seemed no worse for the wear after her journey, but will receive a full exam (and a microchip) soon.

Lost at Sea

A shark caught in the net of a fisherman is nothing new, but when it's the first Lego shark find since a cargo ship lost its load of nearly 5 million pieces at sea 27 years ago, the news makes waves. The BBC reported on Dec. 28 that hundreds of pieces from the Tokyo Express cargo ship have been recovered this year; the ship was hit by an unexpected wave on Feb. 13, 1997, and lost 62 shipping containers some 20 miles off Land's End, England. Since then, the BBC reports that the pieces have been washing ashore in southwest England, the Channel Islands, Wales, Ireland and even the Netherlands and Norway, but the shark find in August by fisherman Richard West, 35, of Plymouth, England, was the first of the 22,200 dark gray and 29,600 light gray Lego sharks lost in the incident. "The sharks sink, which explains why so few have been found," said Tracey Williams of the Lego Lost at Sea project. "There are probably some 50,000-plus still lying on the seabed, some making their way ashore, others heading into deeper waters."

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