News of the Weird: Week of May 14, 2026

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T(AI)nted Love

A growing trend in China among younger people: creating AI versions of their former beaus. Oddity Central reported on May 4 that an open-source module, ex.skill, is behind the trend. Users can feed the module materials like photos and social media posts, as well as custom descriptions, from their previous relationships. The jilted lovers can then "talk" to their AI "ex," which mimics their tone, nuance and conversational style. Ex.skill's creators say that the "project is for personal reflection and emotional healing only, not for harassment, stalking, or privacy invasion." Users say the AI module has helped them find closure. "I was finally able to say [to the AI double] everything I'd been hesitant to say, and it made me feel better," one person said in a social media post. [Oddity Central, 5/4/26]

Return of the Mac

Some fired employees take the high road, some the low; some choose to defraud their former employer out of tens of thousands of dollars via macaroni and cheese. Such was allegedly the case for Keyshun Jones, who was fired from his job at a Chik-fil-A in Grapevine, Texas, and about a month later, in November 2025, began a scheme of returning to the restaurant, hopping behind the counter and ringing up fake orders of mac-and-cheese, only to refund them to his own credit cards. The restaurant owner reported the thefts, which totaled more than $80,000 over roughly 800 fake orders, and after a lengthy investigation, police arrested Jones on April 17 on charges of theft of property, money laundering and evading arrest. [KDFW, 4/28/26]

Blazing Wrenches

Think you've got the fastest Allen wrench in the land? Think again: That honor belongs to U.K. resident Hayley McAuley of Wigan (just outside Manchester), who defended her title at the second-annual Flatpack World Championships on May 1. The event, part of a home design expo, had competitors racing through multiple rounds of IKEA assembly with a live audience cheering them on. Wigan Today reported that McAuley displayed "speed, precision and calm under pressure" during the final round, in which she put together a nightstand in just over eight minutes. McAuley went home with the "coveted golden Allen key medal," and all the assembled furniture went to a local charity. Win-win. [Wigan Today, 5/1/26]

Now Boarding

Eily Ben-Abraham of Elite Event Robotics bought two tickets and boarded a Southwest Airlines flight in Oakland with an unusual companion -- a robot named Bebop, UPI reported on May 4. The 4-foot, 70-pound robot gave the plane crew pause. First, Ben-Abraham had to move Bebop from its aisle seat -- where its presence violated airline rules about large carry-ons -- to a window seat. But the challenges didn't end there, as crew determined that Bebop's lithium batteries exceeded Southwest's allowable amount. The flight, which was headed to San Diego, was delayed just over an hour while the batteries were removed and confiscated. Elite Event Robotics says Bebop will continue to fly commercial, but without its batteries. [UPI, 5/4/26]

It's Come to This

A Florida couple were arrested for criminal mischief after burning a neighbor's drone when it mistakenly landed in their yard, the Smoking Gun reported on May 3. Christopher Paula, 40, of Port St. Lucie, was flying his DJI Mini 3 Pro drone when it lost communication. While the drone is programmed to go back to its point of origin, it somehow instead ended up in Sandra Marcelus' backyard. Paula located the drone using a GPS tracker, and when he approached Marcelus' home, Marcelus, 43, told him through her Ring camera, "You don't have a f------ drone anymore, sir." Marcelus and her husband, Alquidiven Daniels, 49, admitted to burning the drone. Police confirm that the drone had been burned in the fire pit. The couple were charged with a felony but released from the county jail after paying a $2,500 bond. [The Smoking Gun, 5/3/26]

Nature Gone Wild

A Florida woman who feared she heard someone breaking into her house was met with a bigger surprise -- two alligators duking it out on her screened-in lanai. According to UPI on May 3, Kayla Burress of Ave Maria was home with a sleeping baby when she heard the clamor. The gators tore through the mesh, and Burress filmed one of them biting the other's tail. "It definitely looked like they were fighting over territory or something," she said. "It wasn't like a mating ritual that I had seen, because there was blood and it had its hindquarters, like, in its jaws through the door." A licensed trapper captured the alligators and relocated them. "It was scary," Burress said. "And I just warned everybody else in the neighborhood, like, watch your kids. Watch the dogs. Because it was fast and they were powerful." [UPI, 5/3/26]

The Tech Revolution

Residents of a Toronto neighborhood banded together after a Google Maps glitch had drivers heading the wrong way down a one-way road for several days. UPI reported on May 6 that as early as April 29, Google Maps had mistakenly listed the southbound-only Winona Drive as a northbound street. "[The drivers] come up here with such gusto," resident J.P. Timmerman said. "The crossing guard seems ready to keel over." Residents put up a sign: "GPS is wrong." They appealed to local police and even to Google. The city even had to install a temporary "do not enter" sign before Google Maps corrected the error. "I will be following up with Google Maps to understand what went wrong and what improvements can be made to prevent this situation in the future," City Councilor Josh Matlow said in a social media post. "These sorts of Google glitches cause real and immediate safety impacts on our streets. Google Maps needs to be far more responsive to residents' complaints, and far more transparent about the processes in place." [UPI, 5/6/26]

Awesome!

A pop-up bookless bookstore opened on May 1 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, Yahoo! News reported. The Audible Story House showcases only, you guessed it, audiobooks. "This is a physical place entirely dedicated to bringing audio storytelling to life," Audible CEO Bob Carrigan said. Visitors can browse tablets, called "story tiles," and listen to excerpts through headphones. The space also offers a room with speakers for those who prefer to listen without headphones. According to the press release, readers can pull up to the "Listening Bar" and be guided by "Story Tenders" to find stories that match their interests and preferences. The store will be open throughout May. [Yahoo! News, 5/2/26]

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