The Weird Week in Review

Robbers Call Bank for Take-out Money
Albert Bailey and an unidentified 16-year-old accomplice planned a bank robbery in Fairfield, Connecticut. To make things run smoother, they called a People's United Bank branch ahead of time to have them get a big bag of money ready. Ten minutes later, they showed up at the bank, where police were waiting to arrest them. They are being held on charges of robbery and threatening. A police sergeant said the suspects were "not too bright".
Kangaroo Punches Jogger
David Striegl of Canberra, Australia was jogging on Mount Ainslie during his lunch break when he was assaulted by a kangaroo who punched him in the face! Striegl was found dazed and bleeding and was taken to a hospital by a passing motorist. Striegl suffered a black eye and other cuts and bruises.
"The main thing they've been asking is whether I got one (punch) back on the roo," he told the Australian Associated Press.
"I can't even say that, because one punch and it put me to the floor.
"All my years of playing football and never a fight, and then I have a fight with a kangaroo."
The Rugby Match at the Bottom of the World
For 26 years straight, New Zealand has defeated the US in rugby to win the Ross Island Cup. But these aren't professional rugby players -they are scientists and support staff who live and work in Antarctica! The national team back home in New Zealand are the All Blacks, but the team from Scott Base goes by the name Ice Blacks. The US team from McMurdo Station, well, most of them don't even know how to play rugby before they are recruited for the annual game. Tuesday's game resulted in a score of 23-0.
Family Feared Listening Device for 11 Years
A family in Cairo, Egypt has been using noted to communicate with each other for eleven years, after they found a bug in their home, assumed to have been installed by the father Muhammad's first wife. They were afraid other listening devices were installed in the home, so they stopped talking in the house. This behavior continued even after the family moved to a new apartment! After the ex-wife died, Muhammad asked for help from a specialist, who reported that the bug they found had never been functional.
Bragging of Crime on TV Leads to Jail
Matthew and Nora Eaton of San Marcos, California appeared on the Dr. Phil show in 2008 to talk about their business of shoplifting toys and selling them on eBay. This drew the interest of federal authorities, who searched the couple's home in May of 2009. They found 500 boxes of toys ready to be shipped out. The Eatons pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property. Last week, District Judge Irma Gonzalez sentenced Matthew Eaton to 27 months and Nora Eaton to a year in prison. Gonzalez had some choice words for Dr. Phil.
"What a charlatan this man is," the judge said during the hearing. "What a terrible, terrible man."
Gonzalez was perturbed that McGraw holds himself out as a doctor wishing to help. But, the judge said to Matthew Eaton, "he obviously didn't help you."
Kaput One Mile Short of 3,000 Mile Race
Phil Pring and Ben Cummings from Penzance, Cornwall, England participated in the Atlantic Rowing Race where contestants row their boats 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to the West Indies. They had been at sea since January 4th. On Sunday, Pring and Cummings were less than a mile from the finish line when their boat hit a reef and they had to be rescued by Antiguan authorities. They didn't finish the race, but since they had reached Antigua, they have officially completed an Atlantic crossing. The two rowers were in 15th place when the mishap occurred.
No More New Moore Island
For years, two nations have both claimed the territory of an uninhabited island that the Bangladeshis called South Talpatti Island and the Indians called New Moore Island. The Indian Border Security Force was once called in to claim sovereignty. The dispute is now moot, as the island has vanished underwater! The island never rose more than about six feet above sea level. Professor Sugata Hazra of Jadavpur University in Calcutta blames global warming, and predicts more islands in the Indian Ocean will vanish as sea levels rise.