week-in-review

Article

The Weird Week in Review

You Can't Fire Me Because I'm Drunk! The highest court in Peru has ruled that the town of Chorrillos must reinstate Pablo Cayo as a janitor. The municipality had fired Cayo for being intoxicated on the job. The court said that the firing was excessive because Cayo did not offend anyone or hurt anyone. Local and federal officials are protesting because the ruling may set a dangerous precedent for future employees. Cat Evicted from Post Office for Not Paying... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

School Drops the Word "School" Watercliffe Meadow in Sheffield, England opened in September to replace three schools, but don't call it a school. The institution is referred to as "a place for learning" instead. Headmistress Linda Kingdon has banned the word "school" because it has negative connotations for the parents of many of the students. The decision has drawn some ridicule from parents, and from those who read the story around the world. German Lovers Try to Elope to... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Man Hides in Attic for Christmas A family in Plains Township, Pennsylvania were astonished when a stranger came down from their attic! 21-year-old Stanley Carter was staying with friends on the other side of the duplex until he disappeared December 19th. The friends had reported him as missing. "When he came down from the attic, he was wearing my daughter's pants and my sweat shirt and sneakers," homeowner Stacy Ferrance said. "From what I gather, he was helping himself to my home, eating my food and... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Garlic Salt Used to De-ice Roads Tone Brothers Inc. is a spice producer in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. The company has donated 18,000 pounds of garlic salt to the city for use in de-icing roadways. The garlic salt would have otherwise gone to a landfill. City officials say road crews have been mixing the garlic salt with regular road salt, and that it melts ice just fine. However, the scent tends to make road workers hungry! Gorillas and Their... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Inflatable Breasts Recovered Last week we learned that a shipment of 130,000 inflatable breasts were lost during shipping between Beijing and Sydney. The shipment has been recovered in Melbourne, where they had been offloaded by mistake. The men's magazine Ralph is scrambling to get them packed inside the January issue, as was the original plan. Editor Santi Pintado said the breasts were found just in time; one more day and they would have missed the scheduled issue. Chipmunk Disables Car with... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

For some reason, this week's weird news roundup features many lost and found items. Fisherman Finds Lost Ring After 21 Years An unnamed fisherman landed an 8-pound bass on Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas and found a class ring inside it. An internet search led him to the owner of the ring, 41-year-old Joe Richardson, who was surprised to ever see the ring again. He had lost it while fishing only two weeks after his graduation -in 1987! His mother was upset at the time because the ring cost $200. She should be... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Cop in Charge of Drunk Driving Caught Driving Drunk A deputy police inspector in Tokyo was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Monday. He had bumped another car and ran off the road. Local media identified the inspector as the officer in charge of a campaign against drunk driving that had involved police handing out stickers at bars and restaurants. "It is inexcusable for a member of the police to have caused this case and we plan to deal with it strictly," Tsutomu Sato, the head of... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Police Chief Arrests 48 Relatives The chief of police in Heizhugou, Sichuan province, China oversaw the arrest of 48 of his relatives, with 25 of them serving various sentences. Laobulaluo has personally arrested his brother and two of his cousins. His activities led to threats against his parents, and violence against their livestock. "In the first few years, I did not dare head back to my hometown to pass the New Year holiday, but now it's all right. Everyone understands and supports what I was doing... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Removing Spider Webs Leads to House Fire Galen Winchell was cleaning the outside of his home in Sargent, Georgia when a fire broke out. Specifically, he was removing cobwebs with a blowtorch. The fire raced through the attic and was extinguished by the Coweta County Fire Department. The fire was limited to one end of the 1,400 square foot home, but smoke and water damaged the entire house. Coweta Fire Investigator James Gantt advised the public not to use a blowtorch to remove cobwebs. 73-year-old Scores... READ ON

Article

The Weird Week in Review

Gas Pump Assaulted 48-year-old Michael Mason has been identified as the man who repeatedly shot a gas pump at a Sunoco station Saturday in Naugatuck, Connecticut. He then fled the scene and crashed his car twice before stopping, according to police. Mason is in a hospital recovering from injuries received in the second crash. When his condition improves, police expect to charge Mason with first-degree reckless endangerment, having weapons in a motor vehicle, first-degree criminal mischief, unlawful... READ ON