Weird News... June 08

[Bungleau]

Taking a page from Arvon's book... here's something I found *ahem* interesting...

*edit* Feel free to comment, folks... part of the fun of finding these bizarre things is seeing other people's thoughts... even Variol's

From Yahoo Weird News...

Dutch man injures posterior in mooning accident Wed Jun 4, 1:11 AM ET UTRECHT, Netherlands - Utrecht police say a 21-year-old Dutch man is recovering after a "mooning" that went horribly wrong. A police statement says the man and two others had run down a street in Utrecht with their pants pulled down in the back "for a joke." It says that at one point the 21-year-old "pushed his behind against the window of a restaurant" that broke and resulted in "deep wounds to his derriere." The statement released Tuesday says police detained the three men after the incident Sunday morning. But the cafe owner decided not to press charges after the men agreed to pay for the broken window. The injured man was treated for his injuries at a nearby hospital.

I'm sure (as usual) that alcohol was involved... but can you imagine having to explain that you broke a window with your butt cheeks? That's almost as bad as having to admit you knocked in the Stanley Cup-winning goal by sitting on it... that is, the winning goal for the other team!

[Bungleau]

From Yahoo Weird News...

Japan man discovers woman living in his closet Fri May 30, 1:35 PM ET TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man who was mystified when food kept disappearing from his kitchen, set up a hidden camera and found an unknown woman living secretly in his closet, Japanese media said Friday. The 57-year-old unemployed man of Fukuoka in southern Japan called police Wednesday when the camera sent pictures to his mobile phone of an intruder in his home while he was out on Wednesday, the Asahi newspaper said on its Website. Officers rushed to the house and found a 58-year-old unemployed woman hiding in an unused closet, where she had secreted a mattress and plastic drink bottles, the Asahi said. Police suspect she may have been there for several months, the paper said. "I didn't have anywhere to live," the Nikkan Sports tabloid quoted the woman as telling police. Local police confirmed that they had arrested a woman for trespassing, but would not comment further on the case. (Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by David Fox)

Several months??? Okay, I may not be the most observant guy in the world, but I'm thinking that somewhere along the way, she *had* to have left a couple more clues...

[Bungleau]

From Yahoo Weird News...

Man sets blaze while trying to kill pesky bees Thu Jun 5, 6:49 PM ET MOBILE, Ala. - Joshua Mullen just wanted to kill the bees swarming around his utility shed. When Mullen, 26, walked away from the gasoline-soaked towels he was using, he heard a "whoosh" and turned around to see the shed in flames that spread to his rented home and wound up causing some $80,000 in damage. "There were no injuries, unless you count the bees," Mobile Fire-Rescue spokesman Steve Huffman said. Huffman said the fire appears to have started when the pilot light of a hot-water heater in the shed ignited fumes from the gas. Mullen, who rented the home after his Biloxi, Miss., residence was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, said he had poured gas on some towels the bees were swarming around and then walked away to pick up some trash in the yard. He managed to get his fiancee and 1-year-old daughter safely out of the house. The blaze was hot enough that it melted some plastic blinds through a closed window on a neighbor's house. A trained mechanic, Mullen said he has been trained on gasoline flash points and flammability but didn't expect the gas to put off enough fumes to catch fire. "Looking at all this, there might have been a better way," Mullen said while a few surviving bees buzzed around the ashes of the shed. "It was a mistake. I wish I hadn't done it, but I did."

My thoughts...

• Trained mechanic, eh? I want to know where he works... so I can go elsewhere.
• Whoever did the training should refund his money
• I do believe that an open flame (aka pilot light) will meet or exceed the flash point for gasoline any day, unless you're in the middle of a hurricane or some such.
• Rented home, eh? Betcha he's looking for a new home soon... I'd boot him as a renter for general stupidity, if I could find a legal way to do it. Otherwise, I'd make sure it'd be cheaper for him to live anywhere else...

[Bungleau]

From Yahoo Weird News...

Man accused of leaving kids to pick wild asparagus SPENCER, Iowa - A northwest Iowa man accused of leaving two children in his car while he picked wild asparagus along a busy highway south of Spencer has been charged with child endangerment. The Clay County sheriff's office says the man was arrested Wednesday night after a passer-by spotted the children. Authorities says the man's 5-year-old niece was outside the car crying when the passer-by stopped to help. The man's 2-year-old son was asleep in the back seat. Chief Deputy Duane Bates said the man was in a ditch about a half mile from the car. He didn't have any wild asparagus when the deputy found him. After searching his vehicle, Bates says deputies found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The man, who also was charged with drug possession, was released from the county jail after posting bond.

I just double-checked... I've been to southwest Iowa, and unless there's a lot more happening in the northwest, picking asparagus could be considered a really good time However, stopping to pick it and leaving both your kids and your *ahem* paraphernalia in the car...? Methinks there's a piece missing in this story, about the substances he'd consumed beforehand...

[VulcanRider]

June 7, 2008, 7:57PM Man dies after jumping from plane with no parachute Associated Press DUANESBURG, N.Y. — A 29-year-old man leaped out of a plane at 10,000 feet with a camera but no parachute Saturday. His body was found next to a house with a damaged roof, police said. Sloan Carafello of Schenectady, who was observing on the flight, followed an instructor, student and videographer out the door, wearing no skydiving gear, officials said. Police said they did not suspect foul play but would not elaborate. Robert Rawlins, pilot and owner of the Duanesburg Skydiving Club, said he was flying the single-engine plane and had begun to close the door when Carafello jumped. His body was found next to a house west of Albany.

And the global average for IQ points goes up by a fraction...

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

I think he should go with the glass from other stupid finding the other day!

If it stops bricks it should stop....

[Bungleau]

From Reuters Weird News...

Guy kidnaps ex-girlfriend to get ironing done Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:16pm EDT ROME (Reuters) - An Italian man was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from a pub, taking her home and forcing her to iron his clothes and wash the dishes, police said Monday. The 43-year-old man dragged the woman out of a pub in the port city of Genoa, shoved her into a car and took her to his home where he made her iron and wash dishes after threatening her, they said. Police arrived at his house after being tipped off by a friend of the woman who watched the scene at the pub. The man, who was apparently furious at his ex-girlfriend for leaving him, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, police said. (Writing by Deepa Babington)

Now, I don't like ironing much either, but that's *not* the best way to get out of it!

[Bungleau]

From Gizmodo... An RFID Robotic chair...



Okay... your thoughts. Was that real, or did it just look very claymation-like? I'm not sure I'd like a chair running around after me... but the idea is pretty interesting. What else could you do with it?

[Bungleau]

From MSNBC Weird News...

Enema monument unveiled in Russian resort Spa director: 'An enema is almost a symbol of our region' Nurses posing near a monument to enemas at Mashuk Akva-Term Sanatorium in the town of Zheleznovodsk, Russian Caucasus Mountains region. The bronze syringe bulb weighs 800 pounds and is held by three angels. MOSCOW - A monument to the enema, a procedure many people would rather not think about, has been unveiled at a spa in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. The bronze syringe bulb, which weighs 800 pounds and is held by three angels, was unveiled at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa, the spa's director said Thursday. "There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," Alexander Kharchenko told The Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region." The Caucasus Mountains region is known for dozens of spas where enemas with water from mineral springs are routinely administered to treat digestive and other complaints. Kharchenko, 50, said the monument cost $42,000 and was installed in a square in front of his spa on Wednesday. A banner declaring: "Let's beat constipation and sloppiness with enemas" — an allusion to a line from "The Twelve Chairs," a famous Soviet film comedy — was posted on one of the spa's walls. Sculptor Svetlana Avakina said she designed the 5-foot-high monument with "irony and humor" and modeled the angels on those in works by Italian Renaissance painter Alessandro Botticelli. "This device is eternal, it will never change," she told the AP. "We could promote this brand, turn it into a franchise with souvenirs and awards for medical doctors." Dozens of monuments dedicated to characters from tall tales and popular jokes have been erected in post-Soviet Russia.

Sorry... I have nothing to say on this one except... those crazy Russians! Too much time, too much vodka, too little supervision...

[Bungleau]

Okay... that kid (the target) has got to be the stupidest person I've ever seen, with the possible exception of the guy I worked with who stuck his hand into a running garbage disposal. With a little better aim, they could have removed him from the gene pool...