News Weird News Compilation

[Borg]

This falls more in the category of evil than weird.
After striking a pedestrian, the woman got out of her car, went over to the injured man, took away his cell phone as he tried to call 911, threw his phone into the bushes and then sped off. What she failed to realize is that her bumper, which came off during the collision, still had the license plate on it. It didn't take long to track her down. Somebody needs to go to jail for a VERY long time.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...-run-crash-draw-more-serious-charges/2887477/

 

[jack action]

This falls more in the category of evil than weird.
After striking a pedestrian, the woman got out of her car, went over to the injured man, took away his cell phone as he tried to call 911, threw his phone into the bushes and then sped off. What she failed to realize is that her bumper, which came off during the collision, still had the license plate on it. It didn't take long to track her down. Somebody needs to go to jail for a VERY long time.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...-run-crash-draw-more-serious-charges/2887477/

That's what happens when we are always looking for someone to blame, especially thinking bigger & bigger punishments will deter people from acting irresponsibly. When the expected punishment is so destructive that it cannot be worst, people have nothing to lose by acting a little bit more irresponsible and - maybe - getting away with it.

 

[Borg]

I'm not looking for someone to blame. She was driving without a license and hit someone who was walking in the road which was stupid on his part. If she had stayed and rendered aid, there might have been some consequences but nothing like what she is facing now. What she did was reprehensible beyond belief and showed complete disregard for another human being. What started out as an accident, turned into cold-blooded murder by denying him access to help that might have saved his life. Someone like that is unlikely to be deterred regardless of the severity of the punishment.

 

[sysprog]

It is well established that certainty of punishment deters better than severity of punishment does; however, legislatures are not always consuaded by that.

 

[jack action]

What she did was reprehensible beyond belief and showed complete disregard for another human being.

Agree.

If she had stayed and rendered aid, there might have been some consequences but nothing like what she is facing now.

How sure are you about that? Maybe she was talking on her cell? Or speeding? Or maybe she had a little drink before taking the wheel?

At some point you may be facing a decision:

• A sure criminal offence with a few years in prison (or even just the loss of your job or social status) because you stay and help;
• A criminal offence with a lot of years in prison ... if they catch you.

What started out as an accident,

They are fewer of those. What used to be accidents are more and more defined as criminal negligence someway, somehow (i.e. trying to blame someone). This leads to more and more people facing the previous dilemma. And fleeing is a natural instinct hard to fight.

 

[nsaspook]

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictur...omedy-wildlife-photography-award-winners-2021

 

[BillTre]

Here is a nice story I found on CNN about how a bad guy killed his wife by snakebite in India.
The police got him, in part based on a lot of knowledge about the particular species of snakes involved, such their preferred terrain and conditions, when they are active, and how they behave.
Very good biological detective work.
There was a nice ending, in that the bad guy was caught.

One of the players in the story:

The weird thing in front of the eye is a pit organ (senses infra-red) to detect warm things in the dark, gives a poorly resolved image.

 

[Astronuc]

Old, but odd. Attack of the Giant Balloons – The 1932 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Disaster
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/11/20/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/

Back in the day, the balloons were released into sky to float away. Macy’s officials — knowing the air space would be filled with planes — issued a stern warning to pilots who might be tempted to use the helium-filled characters for target practice, emphasizing that no reward would be given for, as they put it, “recovering” balloons.

That did not deter a plucky 22-year-old student pilot, Annette Gibson, of Brooklyn. At 4 pm on November 24th, a half-hour after the parade was over and the balloons released, Gibson and her flight instructor, Hugh Copeland, flying at 5,000 feet above Queens, spotted a 60-foot, yellow-striped Tom Kat directly in their path. Gibson, ready for some fun, wasn’t about to swerve, announcing, “I think I’ll have a piece of its neck.”

. . .

It didn't turn out well.

 

[mfb]

Woman Named Crystal Methvin Arrested For Having Crystal Meth

 

[Astronuc]

A children's book checked out from the Boise, Idaho, public library in 1910 vanished for 111 years only to be returned anonymously, library officials said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/o...y-to-idaho-library-111-years-later/ar-AARdgyS

 

[BillTre]

A guy made a fake "Rent-A-Hitman" website in 2005.

The site boasts having almost 18,000 field operatives who can do a job anywhere in the United States. It features testimonials from satisfied clients, including a man who wrote that RentAHitman "handled my disgruntled employee issue promptly while I was out of town on vacation."

Innes, who lives in Fairfield, California, says he's left red flags all over his site hinting that it's a trap. For starters, the website openly suggests that it offers illegal services. Its phony testimonials include one from a woman who's "ready to mingle" after she caught her husband cheating with a babysitter.

And the site promises confidentiality under the "Hitman Information Privacy & Protection Act of 1964," a tongue-in-cheek nod to HIPAA, the real-life Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which passed in 1996 and protects patients' medical information.

Innes says more than 400 people have filled service request forms on the site since it launched, including some who have expressed interest in becoming hit men and pranksters trying to play jokes on friends. Of those, roughly 10% turned into legitimate cases where police became involved, he says.
"I thought nobody can be that stupid, and boy have I been proven wrong," says Innes, 54. "These people ... whoever they are, they see HIPAA, they think privacy. So they feel compelled to leave their real information -- names, address, where the intended target is..."

"I just play matchmaker with the police," he says. "I'd rather be a state witness than a state conspirator."

 

[Borg]

Saw that on CNN this morning. Like the old saying goes, jails are full of stupid people.

 

[mfb]

Entanglement between superconducting qubits and a tardigrade

This is not an AI-generated title. They used a tardigrade (cooled to 10 mK and in an extremely good vacuum) as dielectric material in a capacitor, and put that into superposition between two different states.

They approximated the tardigrade as a cube with a dielectric constant of about 4. The tardigrade could be brought back to life afterwards.

Two of the authors previously won an Ig Nobel prize for investigating the magnetic properties of cockroaches.

 

[mfb]

A bank robber deposited the stolen money in an ATM - the ATM of that bank branch, immediately after leaving the bank he just robbed.

 

[DaveE]

Entanglement between superconducting qubits and a tardigrade

This is not an AI-generated title. They used a tardigrade (cooled to 10 mK and in an extremely good vacuum) as dielectric material in a capacitor, and put that into superposition between two different states.

They approximated the tardigrade as a cube with a dielectric constant of about 4. The tardigrade could be brought back to life afterwards.

Two of the authors previously won an Ig Nobel prize for investigating the magnetic properties of cockroaches.

"This work was supported by the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Education of Singapore, and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange NAWA Project No. PPN/PPO/2018/1/00007/U/00001."

And they want their money back, I'd guess.

 

[Borg]

A bank robber deposited the stolen money in an ATM - the ATM of that bank branch, immediately after leaving the bank he just robbed.

 

[nsaspook]

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/18/us/tennessee-professor-syllabus-money-trnd/index.html

With every new college semester, students are faced with multiple syllabuses outlining the subjects in their classes.
But do students read them thoroughly?

 

[Astronuc]

Don't try this at home, . . . or in the car,

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/19/tesla-baby-philadelphia-autopilot

A Philadelphia mother has given birth to what is believed to be the world’s first Tesla baby: an infant delivered in the front seat of an electric smart car while it was driving on autopilot.

 

[strangerep]

Don't try this at home, . . . or in the car,

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/19/tesla-baby-philadelphia-autopilot

I shudder to think of the subsequent bill for car cleaning.

 

[mfb]

Man once convicted of arson named acting chief of Metro East fire department
He is also the son of the director of the local Emergency Management Agency.

10 out of 13 firefighters quit immediately when it was announced.

 

[sysprog]

https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-mayor-gangs-gang-lawsuit-lori-lightfoot/11021073/

LORI LIGHTFOOT

Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduces ordinance to allow Chicago to sue gang leaders​

By Craig Wall
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced an ordinance that would allow the city to file civil lawsuits against Chicago gangs and their leaders.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she will continue to fight for an ordinance to go after the assets of gang members despite a temporary setback Tuesday. She said the city has a responsibility to protect residents threatened by violence tied to those gangs.

The ordinance was introduced Tuesday and was sent to the Rules Committee, where it's often said ordinances go to die. But Lightfoot expressed confidence that it will eventually pass, and she put gang members on notice.

"Put down the guns, stop the violence," Lightfoot said. "But if you choose to continue, then we will hold you accountable."

Lightfoot forged ahead with her plan to civilly go after what she called "well-organized gangs" that have a hierarchy to take the assets they have accumulated as a result of their criminal activity.

"If we stop trying, if we stop putting forth initiatives that will help reduce violence in this city, to protect our families, to protect our children, our seniors, then we fail you as a city council," said Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th Ward.

But the proposal has come under fire from other alderman and civil rights groups.

"There'll be a fight over every single one of these civil lawsuits that's filed," said Ed Yohnka, with ACLU of Illinois. "None of this will end up being effective in addressing the violence."

"We believe that ordinance is just a PR move right now, so the administration can say that they are doing something about crime, but the reality is it's not going to change much," said Ald. Rossanna Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd Ward.

The mayor said the city would go after gang assets such as cash, cars and property bought with laundered money. She said they have a responsibility to the people of Chicago to combat violent gangs in any way they can.

"We have to push back against these violent criminal gangs and we have to take their blood money that they are profiting from, killing our children our elders and others," Lightfoot said.

 

[berkeman]

Um...

Amazon's Alexa tells 10-year-old child to touch penny to exposed plug socket​

(CNN)Amazon's Alexa has been developed over the years to offer ever-improving access to information and knowledge.
However, the voice-enabled assistant recently gave some dangerous advice to one user that went viral on social media.
According to a tweet posted by Kristin Livdahl, Alexa told her 10-year-old child to touch a penny to an exposed plug socket, .

"My 10 year old just asked Alexa on our Echo for a challenge and this is what she said," Livdahl tweeted on Sunday.

Livdahl shared an image of Alexa's response after her child asked the device for a challenge.

"Here's something I found on the web. According to ourcommunitynow.com: The challenge is simple: plug in a phone charger about halfway into a wall outlet, then touch a penny to the exposed prongs," Alexa's response read.

Users expressed their astonishment in the comments:

"That's shocking," one user tweeted.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/29/business/amazon-alexa-penny-plug-intl-scli/index.html

 

[Keith_McClary]

Amazon's Alexa tells 10-year-old child to touch penny to exposed plug socket

https://tenor.com/view/bender-futurama-kill-all-humans-robot-gif-17343915

 

[mfb]

I still can't understand why the US plugs are so unprotected. Every time you pull out a plug in a difficult spot you risk getting a shock. With European plugs you couldn't do that even if you tried because you never get an exposed hot surface. When there is an electric contact then only insulated parts are accessible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko

 

[Borg]

What do you do when the replacement of the battery is more than the car is worth? Blow it up of course!

I like how the video shows a weather alert day. Maybe because it's raining car parts.

 

[berkeman]

Important tax preparation tip!

Don't Forget to Declare Income From Stolen Goods and Illegal Activities, IRS Says​

As you wind down the year, cleaning out drawers and emptying wallets of receipts, don’t forget to report to the IRS any income you brought in from drug deals, bribes, stolen goods, prostitution or other illegal activity.According to IRS publication 17, the Internal Revenue Service wants taxpayers to include on their forms “income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs.” Make sure you put that on “Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity,” the IRS wrote.The agency also requests that “if you steal property, you must report its fair market value,” but only if you don’t “return it to its rightful owner in the same year.”

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/nat...oods-and-illegal-activities-irs-says/2766905/

 

[Keith_McClary]

What do you do when the replacement of the battery is more than the car is worth? Blow it up of course!

And you can't afford to blast it off to Mars? (I guess Musk wrote that off as a business expense - rocket testing.)

 

[jack action]

Important tax preparation tip!

Don't Forget to Declare Income From Stolen Goods and Illegal Activities, IRS Says​

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/nat...oods-and-illegal-activities-irs-says/2766905/

This has been bugging me since I read this:

Say I kill someone to inherit from them. That is clearly an illegal activity, but also there is no inheritance tax. So do I have to declare it or not?

 

[nsaspook]

This has been bugging me since I read this:

Say I kill someone to inherit from them. That is clearly an illegal activity, but also there is no inheritance tax. So do I have to declare it or not?

Ask A Expert

 

[berkeman]

Say I kill someone to inherit from them. That is clearly an illegal activity, but also there is no inheritance tax. So do I have to declare it or not?

Asking for a friend?