News of the Weird: Week of July 24, 2025

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Play Stupid Games ...

Former Texan Derek Huffman, along with his wife, DeAnna, and three children, moved to Russia earlier this year looking for "traditional values," the Kyiv Post reported on July 15. Derek was hoping for a job with the Russian military as a welder, but with no prior military experience and after just a few weeks of training, he's being sent to the front lines in Russia's war with Ukraine. The Huffmans don't speak or understand Russian, either. "I don't want anyone here in Russia to say that we don't belong here, so if I go put my body on the line for Russia ... I've earned our place here," Derek said on the family's YouTube channel. "Now we are just believing in God that everything is going to work out as it is supposed to," DeAnna added. She also said Derek had to "donate" 10,000 rubles for his supplies and that he hasn't received any pay or bonuses after one month.

The Continuing Crisis

Carlos Abundez, 35, of San Ysidro, California, couldn't really explain to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent on June 25 how 14 keel-billed toucans got into the dashboard of his Volkswagen Passat, The New York Times reported. Customs and Border Protection officers were alerted to the strange cargo when one of their dogs picked up a scent; the threatened birds appeared to be sedated, and some of them were injured. Abundez said he had left his temporary home in Tijuana, Mexico, to get McDonald's in the U.S. He claimed his car had been parked and locked in his driveway overnight. On July 7, he was charged with smuggling and illegal importation and was released on $10,000 bond.

No Good Deed

A 21-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries on July 6 when he tried to direct a shark back into the sea in Nantucket, Massachusetts. According to the Nantucket Current, the man had been fishing and caught the sandbar shark, which he and others were trying to pull by its tail back into deeper waters. But when he released the animal, it turned and bit him on the leg before swimming away. Beachgoers watched and recorded video as the incident unfolded. A friend took the injured man to the hospital, and he was later transported by helicopter to a mainland hospital.

The Weirdo-American Community

Big Country News reported on July 15 that the Ada County (Idaho) Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying a rogue booty-slapper in and around south Boise. The perp, who rides an electric dirt bike, typically approaches women and slaps or grabs their buttocks as he rides by. He's described as a white male wearing dark clothing, a ski mask and gloves.

Is That Wrong?

Soccer player Lamine Yamal, forward for Barcelona, hosted a party to celebrate his 18th birthday on July 13 at a rented country house in Olivella, Spain, The Athletic reported. Media gathered outside caught glimpses not only of celebrity guests, but also of a group of people with dwarfism who were seen entering the house, which sparked an investigation by Spain's Ministry of Social Rights and condemnation from the Association of People With Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias (ADEE). But on July 14, Catalan radio station RAC1 aired an interview with one of the people from the party, who downplayed the controversy. "We are only asking they let us work," they said. "We are normal people, self-employed and do everything legally. ... In the show that we offer, we go to the place and dance with the people, we deliver shots and drinks ... we do magic tricks. ... I've never experienced a lack of respect ... while working so far. With all this criticism what (the ADEE is) doing is screwing with our jobs."

Police Report

On July 12, Los Angeles County Sheriff's officers were responding to a call when an assault rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition apparently fell out of their car's trunk, KTLA-TV reported. Officers searched and retraced the car's route but were unable to locate the weapon and ammo. But on July 14, a resident of Lennox, California, returned the items to the South Los Angeles Station after having found them the same evening. "Their actions are a powerful reminder of the vital role our residents play in helping keep our neighborhoods safe," said Capt. Nicole Palomino.

That Bugs Me

Restoration workers at the 1,000-year-old Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary are busy removing 100,000 books from the abbey's library in an effort to save them from beetles, the Associated Press reported. The drugstore or bread beetle feasts on the gelatin and starch-based adhesives found in books. "This is an advanced infestation," said Zsofia Edit Hajdu, chief restorer on the project. "We've never encountered such a degree of infection before."

Awesome!

Workers digging a 2-inch-wide, 750-foot-deep hole in a parking lot at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science hit a "hole in one from the moon," said James Hagadorn, the curator of geology. The Associated Press reported on July 10 that the bore was intended to help them study geothermal heating potential for the museum, but what the core revealed was a dinosaur bone fossil -- probably from an ornithopod, which lived in the Cretaceous period. "I would love to dig a 763-foot hole in the parking lot to excavate that dinosaur, the rest of it," said Hagadorn. "But I don't think that's going to fly because we really need parking."

Bright Ideas

              -- Client Services in Japan provides many conveniences, Oddity Central reported on July 15, but one of the most popular is "OK Grandma." Through this service, people can "rent" a woman between the ages of 60 and 94 for 3,300 yen per hour. Some of the grannies cook for their clients, while others babysit or employ their beautiful handwriting skills. "I want to break up with my boyfriend," said one client, "but I can't tell him clearly, so I want my grandmother to come with me." Another client hired a grandmother to fill out their family's side of a wedding.

              -- The poor Brits, sizzling in summer heat and desperately looking for solutions. The BBC reported on July 12 that two scientists from Loughborough University in England had tested a hypothesis: Will yogurt smeared on the windows of a home help it stay cooler? "We've started to look at shading solutions, stopping sun getting into your house during the day," said Ben Roberts. Evidently they've not heard of blinds and shades, but it turns out their experiment was successful: The indoor temperature of the house with yogurt spread on the windows was up to 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler than the control home. Roberts said the yogurt stinks for "30 minutes while drying" but the smell dissipates. He said the results surprised him. "It shows the importance of treating windows and heat shielding solutions for windows to reduce overheating," he said.

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