News of the Weird: Week of May 18, 2023

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Awesome!

Even with declining occurrences of tornadic storms, Kansas is famous for its twisters (thanks, Dorothy). Some cause extensive destruction, but on May 9, one tornado took precise aim on an unexpected target: a coconut cream pie. KSNT-TV reported that a baker in Clay Center, Nancy Kimbrough, filed an emergency report with the details: Her son was delivering baked goods to the Clay Center Country Club when the storm boiled up. The wind was so strong that it ripped the meringue right off the pie and splattered it across the parking lot. The club repaired the pie with Cool Whip and served it to guests anyway, and Kimbrough got a good laugh out of the incident. "It'll probably never happen again," she said, therefore inviting another pie-eating storm.

Suspicions Confirmed

A tourist identified as Mr. Zhang checked into a hotel in Lhasa, Tibet, on April 20, only to discover a foul smell in his room, CNN reported. He stuck it out for half a day, thinking it might be his own feet or the restaurant downstairs, but finally he asked to be moved. Two days later, he was informed about the source of the bad odor: a dead body under the bed. Police officers questioned Mr. Zhang but said he was not a suspect because the body had been there before he checked in. He cooperated with police and then took his leave of Tibet, saying he was suffering from the shock of the incident. "I stay up until 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. every morning, and the slightest movement would wake me up," he said. "It left me in a bad mental state." So yes, Billy, there really IS something scary under the bed.

The Fetishists

• David Neal, 52, is the night manager at the 4th Avenue South Hilton Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee -- or he was, until a bizarre incident on March 30. WKRN-TV reported that around 5 a.m. that day, Neal allegedly made a key card to enter an occupied room and suck on the toes of the sleeping guest. When officers arrived at the hotel, Neal admitted entering the room but said he had done so because he smelled smoke and wanted to check on the occupant. He was arrested on May 5 at his home and charged with aggravated burglary and assault.
• A cyclist and a hunter came to the rescue of a 51-year-old man who had been tied to a tree near the German town of Bueckburg on May 3, KRQE-TV reported. The situation was the unfortunate outcome of a sex game he had been playing with a woman; he told police that after she tied him up, she got a phone call and suddenly fled. He was fully dressed and had pantyhose over his head when he was found, but the box cutter he had brought "for such situations" was unreachable. The man was unharmed and refused to identify the woman for authorities.

Questionable Judgment

Chloe Stein, 23, of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, stopped attending classes at Penn State more than a year and a half ago, but her family was expecting her to graduate this month. So she did what any enterprising college student would do: She faked her own kidnapping. The New York Post reported that Stein left her job at Sonic on May 1 and texted her boyfriend that she'd been pulled over by police on a quiet road -- then she disappeared. When authorities caught up with her about 20 hours later, she was at the home of an acquaintance a few miles from the Sonic, where she had walked after abandoning her car and phone. She at first told police she had been bound and "semi-assaulted," but then admitted the whole thing was a hoax to cover for the fact that she wouldn't be graduating from college. State trooper Steve Limani said the search for Stein had cost the state "tens of thousands of dollars" in manpower and equipment. She is facing a number of charges in the case.

Don't Hear That Often

Beth Bogar of West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, was just finishing up a trip with her husband to Bali when things took a turn. WMUR-TV reported that the couple ended their tour at Mason Elephant Park & Lodge, where she got to swim with and ride an elephant. But when she posed with the pachyderm for a photo, her arm got "pushed" into the animal's mouth. "I couldn't get my arm out. I could just hear cracking and I just started to panic," she said. Bogar was rushed to a hospital an hour away, where the surgeon was able to reassemble her arm with plates and screws. "It's gonna be a long road," Bogar said. She noted that she knew the risks going in and doesn't blame the elephant.

The Neighbors

• Ninety-two-year-old Colette Ferry of Frontenex, France, was surprised to answer her door recently and find two police officers, The Guardian reported. The officers informed Ferry that they would have to remove three large frogs who lived in her garden pond and had been croaking loudly enough to keep Ferry's neighbor awake. Ferry said the frogs didn't belong to her but were squatters. "They're in and out of the water playing with my fish," she explained. "There's always someone ready to complain about someone else." She's looking forward to watching officials try to catch the frogs. "That'll be fun ... They jump."
• In the Burns Beach community of Perth, Australia, a dispute has arisen between a woman named Sarah and her neighbor, Perth Now reported. "Could you please shut your side window when cooking please," Sarah wrote on behalf of her family. "My family are vegan and the smell of the meat you cook makes us feel sick and upset." On the front of the envelope, she wrote, "PLEASE TAKE SERIOUSLY." But no such luck: The letter was posted to Facebook on May 5, where commenters were merciless: "I'm offended by the smell of the kale she always cooks," one said, while another said they'd be "firing up the bbq and inviting the entire street."

Animal Antics

On May 8 in Enid, Oklahoma, officers were called to a farm where someone had reported hearing shouts of "Help!" Officers David Sneed and Neil Storey arrived at the scene and also heard the cries for help: "I think it's a person," Sneed says on bodycam video. When they discovered the source of the hollering, it wasn't a person at all, but a goat. A person working at the farm then approached the officers and explained that the loud goat was "a little upset because I separated him from his friends," People reported.

Bright Idea

Franklin County (Kansas) Sheriff's deputies pulled over a driver on I-35 near Ottawa on May 5 after other motorists alerted law enforcement of his erratic driving, Fox4 News reported. When officers approached the car, they saw that the driver was wearing a Bud Light can costume. "A career in law enforcement is exciting, and you get to experience something new every day," the sheriff's department posted on its Facebook page. The driver posted bond on his DUI and was released from the county jail.

The Continuing Crisis

Residents of Brienz, Switzerland, gathered at a town hall on May 9, where officials warned them they would need to evacuate their homes by 6 p.m. on May 12, CNN reported. The head of the early warning service, Stefan Schneider, said a large mass of rock outside the small hamlet was expected to tumble down in a matter of days, probably as a result of climate change. "Up to 2 million cubic meters of rock material will collapse or slide," he said. Fortunately, fewer than 100 people live in the town.

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