News of the Weird: Week of June 30, 2022

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Great Art

If getting a sound night's sleep is your aim, this "zero-star hotel" is not for you. Instead, the art installation in the village of Saillon, Switzerland, is meant to provoke deep thought about the state of our world. Brothers Frank and Patrik Riklin created a platform next to a gas station, upon which sit a bed and two bedside tables and lamps. There are no walls, ceiling or doors, and cars streak by on the road just feet away, Reuters reported. "In a nutshell, now is not the time to sleep, we have to react," Patrik said. "If we continue in the same direction we are today, there might be more anti-idyllic places than idyllic." The price for the no-sleep night: $337.

Oooohhhkkkayyyyy

He's the perfect husband: "Married life with him is wonderful. He doesn't fight with me. He doesn't argue and he just understands me." "He" is Marcelo, a rag doll that was made for Meirivone Rocha Moraes, 37, by her mother after she complained about being single, the Daily Mail reported. And to pile on to the Brazilian woman's joy, just months later, she found herself delivering Marcelo's rag baby! ("It's true, Marcelo got me pregnant. He didn't use a condom.") Not wanting to have a child out of wedlock, Marcelo and Meirivone were joined in holy matrimony before 250 guests and spent their honeymoon week in Rio de Janeiro, then returned to await the arrival of Marcelinho -- an event that was livestreamed on May 21. She says the birth, attended by a nurse and doctor, was pain-free. "He was here in 35 minutes."

Extra Value Meal

When a customer at a Carl's Jr. location in Skiatook, Oklahoma, near Tulsa, sat down on June 20 to eat his burger, he discovered something extra in the bag: a baggie with a "crystalline substance," Inside Edition reported. The manager replaced the man's meal and called police, who field-tested the substance and found it was methamphetamine. Officers arrested Bryce Francis, an employee of the restaurant, who was allegedly dealing drugs from the drive-thru window and told police he had put the packet in the wrong bag. He was held at the Osage County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Babies on Board

There's a baby boom coming to the NICU and Labor and Delivery department of St. Luke's East Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, Fox News reported on June 22 -- and it's an inside job. Thirteen neonatal nurses are pregnant, and one gave birth on June 3. "About every two weeks, someone else would announce, 'I'm pregnant,'" said Caitlin Hall, the new mother. The due dates are spread out through December. "To be able to experience this all together has been such a relief but also really exciting," said Ellie Kongs, one of the nurses.

What's in a Name?

Since 2013, when he was only 13 years old, Le'Genius Williams, now 22, of St. Petersburg, Florida, has spent a whole lotta time in the criminal justice system, The Smoking Gun reported. After release from prison in 2020, he was arrested in 2021 and released on $12,000 bond in February. But his latest run-in with law enforcement was on June 13, when he allegedly struck his girlfriend in the face with a handgun, then drove off in a truck with another man. When police caught up with him, they found loaded firearms, cocaine and fentanyl in the vehicle. Le'Genius, once again not living up to his name, was held on $77,000 bond, and his earlier bond was revoked.

Compelling Explanation

When 35-year-old Gloria Harpel was confronted by police in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, on June 16, she was walking down the street wearing no clothing from the waist down, North Penn Now reported. Initially, Harpel told officers that she had thrown her pants down the storm drain, but later she said that snakes had eaten them. When taken into custody at 2:30 p.m., Harpel was making "nonsensical outbursts" and was sweating profusely; she was held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, where she presumably was issued a pair of trousers.

Smooth Reaction

A woman who was allegedly being held hostage in the Bronx, New York, used a food ordering app to plea for help on June 19, CNN reported. The unnamed woman, 24, had met a man online and agreed to meet him, but, she said, he assaulted and raped her. He took away her phone, but she asked if she could use it to order food. On her Grubhub order, she added a note: "please call the police ... please don't make it obvious." The restaurant, Chipper Truck Cafe in Yonkers, alerted police, who responded about an hour later and arrested Kemoy Royal, 32. He was held on $25,000 cash bail and faces charges in another assault that took place four days earlier. Grubhub offered $5,000 to the restaurant owner to "invest in her business as our way of recognizing her and (her family) for their quick thinking." Alice Bermejo, one of the owners, said, "We're just grateful that the girl is OK. That is the most important thing." 

The Tech Revolution

Amazon announced at its Re:Mars event on June 22 that its virtual assistant Alexa will soon be able to mimic the voices of specific people -- even dead people, the Associated Press reported. Rohit Prasad, senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa, said the feature would help build trust in Alexa, which has become "even more important during the ongoing pandemic, when so many of us have lost ones that we love. While AI can't eliminate the pain of that loss, it can definitely make their memories last." Just a minute, I have to ask HAL what he thinks. 

Oops

KXLY-TV reported on June 21 that a family in Spirit Lake, Idaho, has been left without a roof for three weeks after a contractor mistakenly tore the roof off their home. Jessica Hotvedt, the homeowner, said the contractor covered the house with a tarp and left a letter saying there had been a miscommunication and the crew had been sent to the wrong address. But now, no one will take the blame. The roofing company said their insurance would handle it; that company has denied the family's claims. In the meantime, rainy weather has caused mold and mildew inside the home, along with damage to floors, drywall and carpeting. Bids to reinstall the metal roof are coming in at over $70,000. The family has contacted the state's attorney general and the Better Business Bureau and is seeking legal counsel. "It was a very costly mistake and it should have been fixed," Hotvedt said.

Most Helpful Criminal

Jeremiah James Taylor, 33, broke into a Park County (Colorado) Sheriff's substation on June 20 near Lake George and took off in a marked patrol car, USA Today reported. But you can't really completely hold that against him, because at 3:27 a.m., when a call for domestic violence in progress was broadcast over the police radio system in nearby Teller County, Taylor was the first to arrive at the home in Florissant, siren blaring. The unfamiliar "Park County sheriff" appeared intoxicated and the car was damaged, and when Teller County deputies asked Taylor to turn off the car and step out, he sped away, later crashing into the woods after a high-speed chase and attempting to flee on foot. Finally, Taylor was arrested and charged with four felony counts, including impersonating a police officer.

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