News of the Weird: Week of July 23, 2026

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I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

An 82-year-old widow is regaining her strength after surviving nine days stuck in her bathtub. On June 1, Joan Rivet of North Carolina was getting ready for bed in the bathroom of her home, where she lives by herself, when she "tripped over [her] own two feet" and fell backward into the bathtub, People reported. The fall rendered her mostly immobile, though she was eventually able to use her toes to manipulate the faucet and her hand to bring water to her mouth. The shower rod had come down during the fall, and she used it to drag her robe to herself for warmth. Eventually, her brother, Bill Lesko, 79, of Georgia, called police for a wellness check when he hadn't heard from her for a few days. "I was unconscious and barely had a pulse when the rescuers arrived," Rivet said. "I don't remember being rescued by them at all, to be honest with you." She was brought to Haywood Regional Medical Center before being transferred to a nearby rehabilitation center. "I think several more hours or another day, she would have died," Lesko said. Rivet is undergoing physical therapy and preparing to move to Georgia to be closer to her family. [People, 7/14/26]

Buddy for Hire

In some parts of Russia, men are running personal ads, not to look for love, but to offer themselves for a different kind of connection: as a barbecue companion. Oddity Central reported on July 13 that the service is exactly what it sounds like -- someone to come over and enjoy some barbecue, beer and conversation. The cost ranges from $13 to $65, and can include services such as preparing the grill, cooking the meat, setting up the tent and acting as a friendly companion. "I'll help you organize barbecues and camping, keep you company, and grill some meat. Jokes and anecdotes are also included," one person wrote in his ad. The ads are exclusively marketed to other men, and clearly state that the services aren't meant to spark a friendship. If someone wants to engage the barbecue buddy's services again, they will have to pay for it. "From a business perspective, this is absolutely natural: If there's an unmet need, a service will emerge," Russian restaurateur Evgeny Demchenko said. [Oddity Central, 7/13/26]

Just What the Doctor Ordered

At the advice of her doctor, an elderly woman consumed one and a half liters of Diet Coke to dissolve a mass in her stomach ... and it worked! Oddity Central said on July 9 that a team of doctors reported the case in the New England Journal of Medicine. An elderly woman presented with a bezoar, or a large mass, that resulted as a side effect of taking a GLP-1. She lost 40 pounds over the course of a year, but reported continued stomach pain. After an endoscopy revealed the bezoar, she discontinued her medication, and, in an effort to avoid surgery, doctors suggested drinking carbonated beverages to help dissolve the mass. "Existing evidence, largely from case series and anecdotal experiences, supports the administration of 3 liters of cola, either orally or through a nasogastric tube, within a 12-hour window," the doctors said in the report. "It is not well understood whether acidity, carbonation, or another mechanism accounts for dissolution of the bezoar." As the woman was diabetic, her "prescription" was adjusted to one and a half liters of diet cola. After just a couple of days on the cola regimen, the woman reported relief from her symptoms, and another endoscopy revealed the mass had dissolved. See, soda can be healthy! [Oddity Central, 7/9/26]

Something Old, Something New ...

              -- After Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden, one New York man made bank by collecting the trash outside the venue and selling the treasure to Swifties. "There's garbage on the floor after the party. Collected from the edge of a love story outside Madison Square Garden, as close to Taylor & Travis' big day as you could've gotten without an invite," collector Justin Gignac wrote on his website. Items he found include cigarette butts, paper cups, plastic straws, scraps of fabric, an ovulation test kit, plastic bags, candy wrappers and a single AirPod. Gignac wrapped each item in an airtight plastic cube -- labeled "JUST&T MARRIED" -- and marketed his wares as "Pocket Garbage." He says he is sold out after Swifties bought up all 50 of his trash cubes. Each cube sold for $25. [UPI, 7/10/26]

              -- In Ecuador, couples getting married in civil ceremonies now have more options for who can serve as their witnesses: their pets. Yahoo News reported on July 11 that when Diana Tupiza, 38, and Andres Alquinga, 31, got married, they brought their dog, Luna, who "signed" the marriage certificate with her paw print. Luna's stamp is merely symbolic, and the document she signed says "Symbolic marriage certificate," with a space that indicates "paw print of your furry friend." The official certificate was signed by the couple and their (human) witnesses. [Yahoo! News, 7/11/26]

              -- Robert, an office worker, recently married Matilda, a dancer, in Moscow's Pushkin Library. The ceremony was the first of its kind in Russia, because Robert and Matilda are robots. The humanoid machines, made by the Russian company IT-Imperial, exchanged vows written by AI, MSN reported on July 13. While their "marriage" has no legal standing, organizers say the goal of the event was to showcase the robots' capabilities and foster more interaction between humans and humanoids. Videos and photos on social media show the "couple" dancing and visiting with human guests. [MSN, 7/13/26]

What Is This, a Center for PLANTS?

Lacking a green thumb? Take your plant(s) to Hilda Houseplant Hospital, run by Rosanna Costello of Edinburgh, Scotland. According to a July 11 report from the Good News Network, the hospital is run by horticulturalist Rosanna Costello, who remembers going into plant shops and wishing she had more guidance to help her care for her own plants. Costello works up a "patient history" when customers bring in their plants, and chats with them about possible diagnoses and treatments. Like their human counterparts, "patients" in the plant hospital can be "put on drips," quarantined or even undergo "surgery" -- which usually just means something like repotting or removing pests. "Once they've been repotted and trimmed, we feed them, give them a really good cleaning, and let the customer know they're ready to collect," Costello said. "There's an awful lot of feelings and emotions attached to the houseplants that we see, and when they come to collect and get care information, there's so much relief and joy." [Good News Network, 7/11/26]

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