News of the Weird: Week of September 11, 2025

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Inexplicable

Perhaps it was the stress of speaking in front of others. Perhaps it was just a call to a higher Michael Jackson. On Sept. 2 in Cranford, New Jersey, resident Will Thilly appeared at a town hall meeting to ask questions about a recent property tax hike, WABC-TV reported. But before he uttered a word, he performed a wordless robot dance, without music, and spun on the floor. Then he asked, "How was everyone's weekend?" He went on to ask a few specific questions about taxes and school expenses, then gathered his papers from the podium and moonwalked back to his seat. Oh -- and Thilly is a candidate for the Cranford township committee. "I hope to bring a friendly, stress-free way of our committee when dealing with the public," he says on his website.

Fail

Hopes were dashed into the sweet winds on Oct. 2 as the Dolce Vento was launched into the water off the coast of Zonguldak, Turkey, the New York Post reported. The $1 million, 85-foot yacht slipped into the water and almost immediately started listing to its port side before sinking. The new owner, captain and two crew members were able to jump overboard and swim to the nearby shore without injury. Shipyard officials said the cause of the sinking was under investigation.

Bad Dog!

Registered sex offender Rodney Platthy, 46, has been working at a pet store in Clearwater, Florida, The Smoking Gun reported. His job is to wear an inflatable puppy costume and stand outside the store to lure in pet lovers. But on Aug. 29, Platthy and the store owner got into it with several "juveniles (riding) by on bicycles." It wasn't their first beef with the kids, and as one of them tried to ride away, Platthy "approached the victim from behind and placed him in a chokehold," police said. The victim told police he couldn't breathe for a brief period. Platthy was arrested for battery by strangulation and ordered to have no contact with the victim; he posted a $10,000 bond.

What's in a Name?

              -- This week's winner of Best Name for a Credit Card Fraud Suspect is Alec Bogus, 33, of Aurora, Colorado. Bogus gets bonus points for his attempted escape from law enforcement on Aug. 26, when he was approached at the Indian Hot Springs resort in Idaho Springs, Colorado. According to CBS News, Bogus, who also had an outstanding felony warrant from Douglas County, was just exiting the mud bath wearing only a Speedo when officers arrived. He ran up a wooded mountainside and tried to hide in a shed, but he was recovered a short time later still covered in mud. His charges included assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest.

              -- Indianapolis-based bankruptcy attorney Mark S. Zuckerberg is suing Meta, the company of Mark E. Zuckerberg, because the former's Facebook page keeps getting shut down, WTHR-TV reported on Sept. 4. "It's not funny," the attorney said. Meta has been accusing him of impersonating a celebrity and using a false name, "which I've had way longer than he has," he said. "I'd rather not pick a fight with them, but I don't know how else to make them stop." He said his business account has been removed five times and his personal account four. "It's not right and they need to stop," he said. And so, they have: Meta confirmed that Zuckerberg's account is back up after being "disabled in error."

That Rule Doesn't Apply to Me

A court in Germany has ruled that an unnamed teacher who has been on sick leave for 16 years must prove that she is ill, Metro News reported on Aug. 23. Since 2009, the female teacher has been drawing her full salary in spite of not working at all. When the education authority in North Rhine-Westphalia demanded that she take a medical test, she sued. But the court called her case "truly incomprehensible" and ruled that the employer had the right to call for the test. Andreas Bartsch, president of the state's teachers' union, called her behavior "completely abysmal."

Maybe the Hyenas Ate Your Groomsman

Nicolas Hohls, 27, of Harburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was camping at Cape Vidal Nature Reserve in St. Lucia, South Africa, on Aug. 30 when he got unexpected overnight visitors. Hohls was there with his dad and others for a bachelor party, People magazine reported. After settling in his tent, he woke up to two hyenas attacking him -- one focused on his face, the other on his ankle. "I fought them off by ... attacking the eyes of one and forcing my hand down the throat of the other," Hohls said. His dad heard him screaming and rushed him to a hospital, where doctors say a full recovery will take about a month. "I'm doing a lot better. The doctors are happy with my progress," he said.

Awkward

Police in Canton, Connecticut, are searching for the owners of a silver urn containing cremated remains that was left along a running trail near the Canton Department of Public Works, WFSB-TV reported on Sept. 4. Authorities report that they tried to open the urn, but it appears to be sealed shut. Officers hope whoever misplaced the object will come forward to retrieve it.

It's a Mystery

Over the Labor Day weekend, hikers on Huron Peak in Colorado got a special surprise when they reached the summit of the 14,000-foot-plus mountain, the Associated Press reported. Seated in a camping chair, wearing an ice cream cone costume and sunglasses with a fake mustache, was an unnamed man who had hauled up ice cream sandwiches in a pack with dry ice. One hiker dubbed him "legend dairy" for rewarding climbers with the sweet treat. "Ice cream was just kind of what we wanted," said Blaine Griffin. Griffin said he saw the man zooming down the mountain once the ice cream was gone, sans costume.

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