Man Repairs Airbed, Blows Up Apartment

An unidentified 45-year-old man in Duesseldorf, Germany tried to fix a leaky airbed by patching it with tire repair solvent. He left the glue on overnight and tried to inflate the bed the next day. A spark from the electric air pump he was using ignited the glue and the resulting explosion blew his living room wall into the building’s stairwell. The blast damaged furniture and walls. The apartment building was evacuated until a structural inspection could be carried out. The man suffered burns on his arms, and a three-year-old girl suffered first degree burns.

Superman Arrested, Batman Released

23-year-old street performer Maksim Katsnelson dresses as Surperman and entertains tourists in Times Square. On July 9th, New York City police approached him and asked for ID. Katsnelson had none, and the confrontation led to a scuffle which eventually involved seven police officers.  Katsnelson was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. Another street performer dressed as Batman was handcuffed for lack of identification, but was later released because he caused no problems for police. He was last seen leaving with someone dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Katsnelson, again dressed as Superman, was arrested a second time on Wednesday.

Huge Blob of Arctic Goo

A mysterious mass of black goo has been observed oozing through the Chukchi sea off the coast of Alaska. The blob was first observed neat Wainwright and moved toward Barrow, where samples were collected for testing.

Nobody knows for sure what the gunk is, but Petty Officer 1st Class Terry Hasenauer says the Coast Guard is sure what it is not.

“It’s certainly biological,” Hasenauer said. “It’s definitely not an oil product of any kind. It has no characteristics of an oil, or a hazardous substance, for that matter.

“It’s definitely, by the smell and the makeup of it, it’s some sort of naturally occurring organic or otherwise marine organism.”

Update: The blob is composed of algae.

Forked Dog

A chihuahua named Smokey wandered around with a fork stuck deep in his head for three days! He was at a cookout in Kentucky when the barbecue fork flew off its handle and skewered Smokey’s head. The dog ran off into the woods and was found three days later. Taken to an animal hospital, veterinarians removed the fork from Smokey’s head in an operation that lasted about 30 seconds. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Bride’s Bouquet Brings Down Plane

At a wedding in Suvereto, Italy, the plan was to have the bride’s bouquet thrown from an microlight plane flying over the wedding party. A line of women were waiting for the bouquet below. The bouquet was tossed and was sucked into the plane’s engine. The plane crashed into a hostel. The pilot was uninjured, but the passenger, who tossed the bouquet, was taken to a hospital in Pisa with multiple fractures.

20-foot “Harmless” Shark on Beach

Surfers at Gilgo Beach on Long Island found 20-foot shark lying on the beach Tuesday. Spectators took pictures of the arresting sight, and began to wonder how many other sharks that size waited out in the waters. Marine biologist Tracy Marcus examined the estimated 2,000-pound fish and said there was nothing to worry about, as this specimen is a basking shark that eats plankton. It doesn’t even have teeth. The Long Island shark will undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death and then will be buried nearby.

42 Tons of Trash Removed

The home of John R. Mallgren of Mastic Beach, New York was condemned for unsafe conditions. Workers then removed 85,000 pounds of debris from the property, which required 10 garbage trucks! The city is sending the $8,742 bill to the owner of the property, John W. Mallgren, who is the occupant’s father. He had tried to clean up the property before, but was threatened by his son.