The Weird Week in Review

Inmates Attempt Escape Disguised as Garbage

Sidney da Cruz and Carlos Pereira, two detainees at the Delegacia de Furtos jail in Curitiba, Brazil, had a great idea. They stuffed themselves into two garbage bags, along with some garbage, and hoped to be taken out and dumped with the rest of the facility's trash. However, prison guard Cleverson Mineiro walked by the garbage bags, lined up in a hallway, and saw a couple of them shaking. The plot was foiled. The local police chief said the plan was doomed to fail, as the thin bags would never be able to remain untorn under the weight of a grown man. Police and guards took photographs of Cruz and Pereira while still in their disguises.

The Fish That Fell from a Tree

A woman in Vancouver found a fish in her backyard. It had fallen out of a tree. Really. Cindy Wilkinson tells of a voice message she got from her friend Jan Bailey on Monday.

"She said, 'The strangest thing just happened. A fish just fell out of our cedar tree on to the ground.'" Bailey, who lives near Third Street and St. David's Avenue, had seen the fish make a dive worthy of an Olympian in her backyard. Her husband went out to investigate, and found the piscine drop-in covered in cedar needles but - incredibly - still alive.

It was an unusual looking fish, reddy orange and about 25 centimetres long. Bailey hauled out an old aquarium, filled it with water and put the fish inside. Then she called Wilkinson, who promptly called Lynda Taylor, another friend who knows her fish and has a big koi pond.

"I said, 'There's a fish that just fell out of a tree,'" said Bailey.

The women did their research and determined that the fish, now named "Lucky," is a Midas cichlid, and was most likely carried off by a heron or other large bird, then dropped alive into the tree. They would like to reunite the fish with its original owner.

Missing Lego Piece Found in Boy's Nose

Six-year-old Isaak Lasson of Salt Lake City, Utah, had been suffering from sinus problems for three years. Doctors had examined him and prescribed antibiotics to no avail. Last week, a new doctor thought he saw something stuck in the boy's nasal cavity. A specialist was enlisted to remove the object, which was covered in fungus. It was a small Lego piece - that had been stuck there for three years! Isaak remembered putting spaghetti up his nose when he was younger, but had no idea he'd been carrying around a Lego piece in his schnozz all that time.

Cow Rescued from Fifth Floor

In the Siberian village of Lesogorsk, Russia, a rescue crew was called to extract a cow from the fifth floor of an apartment building. The cow had apparently run up the stairs to escape an amorous bull that had chased her out of the pasture. The bull was lingering at the bottom floor of the building. Emergency workers told a Russian news agency that the cow had to be pulled downstairs and outside with a rope, as she had no desire to leave the safety of the building.

Don't Dial 911 During Your Own Crime

Justin Kryzanowski of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was arrested on drug charges after police received a 911 call from his phone. The 24-year-old had accidentally dialed 911 while in the middle of a drug deal. Dispatchers heard the entire conversation as Kryzanowski went about his business. The proceedings were also recorded, as all 911 calls are.

Bears Consume 100 Cans of Beer

A mother bear and three cubs are the suspected culprits in the vandalism of a cabin near Jarfjord, Norway. The owners arrived to find a wall of the cabin had been knocked down, the furniture wrecked, and every scrap of food in the cabin consumed. Including 100 cans of beer. Authorities are concerned that the bears may return to the area, looking for more goodies.

Arizona Penguins to be Left Homeless

The historic Eastman Gin in Phoenix, Arizona, is going to be dismantled. The town council has allocated $70,000 for the demolition of the 84-year-old gin.

Town officials say the cotton gin, which operated until 2005, is structurally unsound and filled with roosting penguins. They're concerned that the town will be liable if someone is hurt inside.

It's possible that the quote was supposed to say "pigeons," but one week and quite a few comments later, the story has not been altered.