News of the Weird: Aug. 15, 2019

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Seeing Double

On Thursday, Aug. 1, identical twin brothers Andy and Chad Baker of Nashville, Tenn., were on their way to the annual Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, in their identical blue Tesla Model 3s, when an Ohio state trooper pulled them both over for having identical license plates, reading “SUBJ TO.” The brothers patiently explained to the officer that the plates are, in fact, different: In one, “TO” is spelled with a zero, and in the other, it’s spelled with a capital letter O. “Nobody likes getting pulled over by police; we were both nervous, but it’s a great story, and we will tell it all weekend,” Andy told Fox8.

In the Heat of the Moment

It’s been a hot summer in Europe. Among those suffering was an unnamed 66-year-old military veteran in the small southeastern French town of Les Arcs-sur-Argens, who had been complaining for several weeks to his landlady, Maryse Malin, 71, about the lack of air conditioning in his villa. That may have been why, the Local reported, he shot the “sweet, kind and caring lady” three times, killing her. Malin had agreed to install air conditioning but told the tenant it couldn’t be done until October.

Hot Pursuit

Two men in Antwerp, Belgium, felt the heat on Wednesday, July 24, when they accidentally got locked in a shipping container full of cocaine in the huge port there, reported AFP. That day, temperatures reached a record high of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, stifling the 24- and 25-year-olds who had entered the container “to remove the drugs,” according to prosecutors. As the mercury rose, they desperately called a police emergency number, and when police finally found them two hours later, they gratefully gave themselves up. Port workers were videoed pouring water over the pair to try to lower their body temperatures.

The Unkindest Cut of All

Alex Bonilla, 49, took revenge to an extreme on the man he told police he had caught cheating with his wife in May, according to WCJB. On Sunday, July 14, Gilchrist County, Fla., sheriff’s deputies said Bonilla entered a house in the town of Bell, firing a gunshot and forcing a man inside into a bedroom, where he tied the man up and, using scissors, cut off his…, which he then ran away with. Later that day, deputies arrested Bonilla at his place of employment; his bond was set at $1.25 million. The family of the victim declined to comment, but said through the sheriff’s office the victim was doing well medically.

Cold Dog

In a product expansion move that inspires one to shout, “Stay in your lane!” Oscar Meyer announced on Thursday, Aug. 1, that it is entering the dessert category with the Ice Dog Sandwich—an ice cream sandwich with cookie “buns” surrounding bits of candied hot dog meat and spicy mustard ice cream. UPI reported that the company partnered with a New York ice cream company to create the confectionary treat. Not to be outflanked, French’s has announced that it’s coming out with its own mustard-flavored dessert together with Coolhaus (an ice cream maker).

Just Too Easy

Police in Sydney, Australia, had a drug bust land in their laps on Monday, July 22, when an unnamed man slammed a van loaded with 600 pounds of methamphetamines into a patrol car parked outside a suburban police station. The car was empty at the time of the collision, Reuters reported. The van sped away from the scene, but police caught up with the 28-year-old driver an hour later and charged him with drug supply and negligent driving. The drugs had an estimated street value of about $140 million.

Just Too Easy II

Michael Harrell, 54, strolled into a U.S. Bank in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday, July 29, with a note demanding cash from a teller: “This is a robbery. Don’t get nobody hurt.” Unfortunately for the robber, according to WJW, he wrote the note on the back of a document he had received from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which included his full name and address. The teller gave Harrell $206 and summoned police, who later arrested him.

Just Too Easy III

A man in Spain who is a serial mocker of recycling efforts was fined 45,000 euros ($50,000) and ordered to retrieve a refrigerator he tossed down a hillside in July. Spain’s Guardia Civil identified the man from a Twitter video he had proudly posted of his refrigerator dumping, which included video coverage of the truck he used, registered to a house-clearing company, and its license plate, clearly visible behind him, The Local reported. (He could be seen in a different video throwing a washing machine into the ravine in the same area.) He was fired from his job, fined, and officers later posted a video of the man struggling to bring the refrigerator back up the hill.

© 2019 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION