News of the Weird: Week of March 14, 2024

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That's Sporting

The 2024 Iditarod race in Alaska got off to a messy start, Sporting News reported on March 7. On the first day, musher Jesse Holmes went mano-a-mano with a moose that became aggressive toward his dogs on the trail. Holmes punched the moose in the nose and went on his way. Soon after, Dallas Seavey and his dogs came upon a moose -- it's not clear whether it was the same one -- that was "threatening and belligerent." When the moose got entangled with his dogs, Seavey dispensed with the heroics and shot it. As per the Iditarod's rules, Seavey then stopped for about 10 minutes to field-dress the moose, but he was later assessed a two-hour penalty at the next checkpoint because "the animal was not sufficiently gutted by the musher." A third musher, Wally Robinson, ran across the moose carcass in the dark, on a trail curving through woods. Race Marshal Warren Palfrey confirmed that "we are making sure that every attempt is made to utilize and salvage the moose meat." So there's that.

Clothing Optional

Looking for something light and airy to do at the end of April? Set your GPS for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Crafton Ingram Lanes, where Balls Out Bowling will return on April 28, according to WTRF-TV. The Pittsburgh Area Naturalists are hosting the event, which requires nudity (except women are allowed to wear bottoms). Participants must be 18 or older, and sexual activity is not permitted; harassment will result in being ejected from the bowling alley. And leave your cellphone at home; no photos or videos allowed. You won't have anywhere to carry it anyway!

The Passing Parade

As the last remaining Hooters restaurant in West Virginia prepared for demolition, residents of Kanawha City gathered on Feb. 23 for a candlelight vigil, WCHS-TV reported. The event, which started as a joke, got international attention, and hundreds of people showed up. "It's a lot of memories going down with that building," said Noah Collins of Rand, West Virginia. Tearful former Hooters employees reunited for one last time. "I started out coming in to get a job and it became so much more because I met so many lifelong friends and my co-workers," said Danielle Hughart. "This building right here was a legitimate iconic figure to the Kanawha Valley," declared co-organizer Leo Browning. The corporate office sent a box of calendars to distribute to those who attended the vigil.

Smooth Reaction

Dr. Krisztina Ilko, 33, a junior research fellow and director of studies at the University of Cambridge Queens' College in England, lives in a medieval tower, the Independent reported. But on Feb. 29, Ilko became trapped in her bathroom for seven hours after the wooden door locked behind her and wouldn't budge. She couldn't signal or yell for help because the tower walls are thick, and there are no windows in the bathroom. However, she kept her cool and McGyvered the door open using an eyeliner (to push down the door's latch) and a cotton swab (to pull the locking mechanism away from the door frame). "When ... the door opened, it was exhilarating because I didn't think it would work," Ilko said. Since the incident, she's had the lock removed.

Police Report

              -- In Kennesaw, Georgia, police responded to the Heritage Park Town Homes on Feb. 21 after a Toyota Corolla "rammed through the pool fence ... and (she's) in the middle of the pool," said the 911 caller. Fox5-TV reported that the driver suffered some sort of medical emergency and was unconscious when officers arrived; they were able to break a car window and get her out of the car. She was taken to a hospital and was expected to make a full recovery, according to Cobb County Police. The pool cover was so strong that the car didn't sink; a tow truck removed it from the cover later in the day.

              -- The Putnam County (Florida) Sheriff's Office was flooded with calls on March 2 after two low-flying F-15 jets from the Florida Air National Guard caused sonic booms, News4Jax-TV reported. "It destroyed my friggin' house!" one caller exclaimed, while others thought a bomb had dropped. "I have major damage, they flew right over my house. The lights were blown off the walls, there's glass everywhere," said another. The National Guard issued a statement saying they were aware of damage sustained by the sonic booms and had established a contact number for residents who had damage claims.

Delusions of Grandeur

For Connor James Litka, 21, of Bloomington, Indiana, it was "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Litka arrived at a Porsche dealership in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 21 and tried to buy a car with a fake $78 million check, WAVE-TV reported. When he was rebuffed, he searched around the back entrance to the showroom, looking for car keys. Salespeople summoned police, who charged him with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Turns out Litka tried the same stunt the day before at a Land Rover dealership, where he presented a $12 million check.

Oopsy

Anne Hughes, 71, was standing outside the Best One shop in Tonteg, Wales, where she works, when the electric security shutters started raising, catching her coat and leaving her dangling upside down 7 feet in the air. The incident from March 4 was caught on CCTV, Sky News reported; she hung in the air until a shopkeeper helped free her as the shutter was lowered. "I'm learning to live with the fame," Hughes said. "I'll never hear the end of it." She was uninjured in the mishap.

Cheeky

Rawiya Al-Qasimi, a female reporter, was covering an event in Riyadh on March 4 when a Saudi Arabian robot called Android Muhammad unexpectedly slapped her posterior during a live shot, the Daily Star reported. Al-Qasimi pushed the robot's hand away and rebuked him. Before the untoward touching, Android Muhammad introduced himself, saying, "I was manufactured and developed here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a national project to demonstrate our achievements in the field of artificial intelligence." Ironically, had he been a real man, he might have faced jail time for his inappropriate behavior.

Maybe She's Onto Something

Spanish artist Alicia Framis, now based in Amsterdam, has created the perfect husband: a hologram that she designed and named AILex Sibouwlingen, whom she modeled on past paramours, according to EuroNews. Framis plans to marry him this summer at a museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. On her Instagram page, Framis shares photos and videos of herself and AILex sharing meals and other elements of daily life. "Love and sex with robots and holograms are an inevitable reality," Framis said. "They are great companions and capable of expressing empathy."

Truth Is Stranger Than Netflix

Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, and Karen Casbohm, 63, were charged with theft and gross abuse of a corpse after allegedly carrying out a "Weekend at Bernie's" stunt in Ashtabula, Ohio, The Smoking Gun reported. On March 4, police said, Feralo and Casbohm -- who were not related to Douglas Layman, 80, but lived in his home -- loaded his corpse into the front seat of a car "in such a manner that he would be visible to bank staff" and drove through his bank, where they used his card to withdraw $900. The bank had allowed the women to withdraw from his account before, as long as he was with him. Having secured the funds, the women then dropped Layman's body at the Ashtabula County Medical Center emergency room "without providing any information about the man or themselves," police said. They were able to identify the women and question them. The women, both of whom have significant priors, said Layman died at home.

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