News of the Weird: Week of July 31, 2025

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Creme de la Weird

Neil Hopper, 49, a vascular surgeon from Truro, England, has been the subject of a 2 1/2-year investigation after he allegedly tried to defraud two insurance companies, The Guardian reported on July 23. Devon and Cornwall police said that in 2019 he "made a false representation to insurers, namely the injuries to his legs were the result of sepsis and were not self-inflicted." Hopper is accused of amputating his own legs in the scheme, hoping to gain $320,000 from one company and $314,000 from the other. Before his legal problems, he was shortlisted in the European Space Agency's search for an astronaut with a disability. He was scheduled to reappear in court on Aug. 26.

Saw That Coming

Or not. Several victims reported on July 19 that they had been subjected to an involuntary "golden shower" at The Landing in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Smoking Gun reported that 30-year-old Matthew Day "entered the rooftop bar ... and urinated from the balcony onto the sidewalk," according to police, with urine striking people on the ground. Security officers saw the incident and showed Day the door; he was charged with disorderly conduct and released on $500 bond.

The Tech Revolution

The South Florida Water Management District is working with the University of Florida to develop a new strategy for managing invasive pythons in the Everglades, WFLA-TV reported on July 23. Solar-powered toy bunnies that emit heat and are equipped with cameras are alerting staff to python activity, which sends them out to capture and euthanize the snakes. The district said it is "committed to protecting this delicate ecosystem."

Clothing Optional

A couple in Oklahoma City were startled by a "big, fat, naked, crazy guy" entering their home around 6 p.m. on July 21, KFOR-TV reported. Homeowner Blake Overstreet said the perp, Korey Sisco, was 6-feet-2 and 400 pounds. When Overstreet and his wife pointed a gun at him, Sisco exited through the back door and skipped to the neighborhood pond, where he jumped in. "It was very strange," Overstreet said. He noted the pond is full of snakes and snapping turtles. Sisco lingered in the pond for about an hour until police coaxed him out.

Fashion Faux Paw

For more than a year, Natasha Lavoie of British Columbia has been receiving phone calls about her missing cat, Torbo, United Press International reported. Problem is, her cat's name is Mauser and is very much not missing. The mix-up mystery was finally traced to a T-shirt sold by Wisdumb NY, which features a lost cat poster that includes Lavoie's phone number. Wisdumb NY said the shirt is no longer available and the "use of a real number within the art created was not intentional." But Lavoie doesn't want to change her number. "I've had my number for 20 years," she said. "I'll just keep not answering."

News You Can Use

              -- For five days every summer, a flotilla of rowboats is unleashed on the River Thames in London, where carefully selected, scarlet-coated oarsmen are tasked with Swan Upping -- a census of the swans, the Associated Press reported. These swans belong to the Lord of the Swans, otherwise known as King Charles III, and they must be marked and checked for disease or injury. Veteran King's Swan Marker David Barber sees the ritual as more than tradition: "I think it's serving a very useful purpose. It gives us an indication of what's going on throughout the country." The census dates back to the 12th century, when swans were important food sources for royal banquets.

              -- The National Police Agency in Japan is urgently warning parents and others about a "Real Gimmick Mini Revolver" found among the prizes in claw machines around the country, Oddity Central reported. The plastic toy, which comes with eight plastic bullets, reportedly can also fire real bullets. Sixteen thousand of the toys have been imported from China since December; the added danger is that shooting a live bullet could cause the plastic firearm to blow up in the shooter's hand.

Truth Is Stranger Than Netflix

On July 19, 36-year-old Stephen Blasetti allegedly stole a boat and took it for a joyride on the Hudson River in New York, WABC-TV reported. Blasetti, notably, wasn't wearing any clothes when he committed the theft, for which he was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and reckless endangerment. He was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia in New York for a psychiatric evaluation, but early on July 23, Blasetti slipped out of his handcuffs as the police officer guarding him slept, borrowed a doctor's lab coat and left the hospital. He was last seen on surveillance video walking down a sidewalk, barefooted.

It's Come to This

At the Ryde Hotel in California, Fox5 Atlanta reported, peacocks and peahens are part of the appeal as they wander about the property. But on July 20, after a guest reported seeing two men loading one of the birds into a cage in a pickup truck bed, the hotel's general manager, David Nielsen, initiated a count of the flock, realizing that only four of about 15 remained. "We're not sure why anyone would do anything like this," he said -- but the male birds are valued at about $2,000 and the females at $1,000. The colorful birds have become tame and like pets to the staff of the hotel. Police are depending on tips from the public to locate the animals.

Ewwwww!

Leanna Coy, a flight attendant based in Connecticut, couldn't help but share the yuck factor after she made a discovery on the floor of a plane, the New York Post reported on July 24. "Those are toenails," she captioned a TikTok post. "The passenger clipped their toenails mid-flight and left them." Commenters had no empathy for the long-in-the-toenail flyer: "No-fly list!" said one. "What dirtbag did this?" asked another.

Great Art

People magazine reported on July 24 that 33-year-old Jane Labowitch of Maryland is making a living, and a name for herself, with her Etch-a-Sketch art. Labowitch's subjects include Russia's St. Basil's Cathedral and Grant Wood's "American Gothic." She said when she was little, her grandmother wouldn't let her watch TV as much as she wanted, so with her Etch-a-Sketch, she just "started from staircases." She hopes the classic toy "isn't going anywhere. I think that it's got a lot left to give the world."

Suspicions Confirmed

On July 23 in Tallahassee, Florida, police took a famous mouse into custody: Chuck E. Cheese. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Mr. Cheese, aka Jermell Jones, had been fingered as the person who stole a patron's credit card in June and made fraudulent purchases with it. When police arrived at the famous restaurant, Jones, wearing his giant costume mouse head, was handcuffed and escorted out the front door in front of patrons young and old. Officers found the stolen credit card in his possession.

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