News Weird News Compilation

[Hornbein]

I had to think about a dialogue I once read. A park ranger had been asked why they couldn't make the trash cans in the park bear-proven. His answer was, that the intelligence of some bears exceeds the intelligence of some tourists by far.

Well yeah, but to be fair the bears are much more motivated and have a lot more time on their hands.

There are experiments where ravens solve problems that I think some people couldn't do.

 

[fresh_42]

Well yeah, but to be fair the bears are much more motivated and have a lot more time on their hands.

There are experiments where ravens solve problems that I think some people couldn't do.

 

[Hornbein]

That's impressive. I think many animals have much more understanding of what is going on than people commonly suppose. Animals have limited ability to communicate what they know, especially anything at all abstract.

 

[fresh_42]

That's impressive. I think many animals have much more understanding of what is going on than people commonly suppose. Animals have limited ability to communicate what they know, especially anything at all abstract.

The more I learn about animals the less I see a difference between them and a dry-nosed primate who's the only one left of its related versions. You cannot deny that we all evolved on the same planet. We only occupy different niches. So many criteria blew up in the last decades: tools, lying, laughter, grieving, empathy, cooperation with other species, etc. None of those once-assumed distinctions survived.

 

[nsaspook]

 

[Astronuc]

SUV Explodes in Supermarket Parking Lot After Man Lights Cigarette Near Propane Canisters
https://www.yahoo.com/news/suv-explodes-supermarket-parking-lot-001422382.html

A man living in an SUV was injured but survived when his vehicle, which contained canisters of butane, exploded as he was trying to light a cigarette on Thursday night, May 23.

 

[Astronuc]

Judge stunned when man with suspended license joins court Zoom call while driving
https://news.yahoo.com/news/judge-stunned-man-suspended-license-010540156.html

A Michigan state judge appeared shocked when Corey Harris, who was charged with driving with a suspended license, appeared in his court hearing over Zoom for the charges while he was driving. Washtenaw County Judge Cedric Simpson revoked Harris’ bond and ordered Harris to turn himself in at a local county jail the same day. Harris has a pretrial hearing scheduled on June 5, . . .

Maybe he drove himself to jail.

 

[Borg]

Once again I'm reminded that average IQ means that half the population is below average. Some people work extra hard to check that box.

EDIT: It's since been revealed that the person wasn't driving with a suspended license. Instead, there was a clerical error in his file that the judge was reading. Still, it's not legal in Michigan to drive during a Zoom call.

There is more to this story.
Claim: The Viral Story About a Defendant Driving With a Suspended License Was Fake News
https://www.yahoo.com/news/viral-story-defendant-driving-suspended-202015577.html

 

[jack action]

Once again I'm reminded that average IQ means that half the population is below average. Some people work extra hard to check that box.

There is a more realistic reason: He just doesn't care about the law and the authorities.
Even a more frightening reason: He defies them.

 

[Hornbein]

SUV Explodes in Supermarket Parking Lot After Man Lights Cigarette Near Propane Canisters
https://www.yahoo.com/news/suv-explodes-supermarket-parking-lot-001422382.html

Don't you just hate it when that happens?

In Colorado some years back two gas co. men were tasked with emptying a propane tank next to a gas station. The junior employee accidentally broke the value, causing an uncontrolled release of gas. The two men along with two policemen stood by the tank trying to figure out what to do. The station was closed down and the workers in the convenience store were locked inside. The gas seeped into the store and exploded, obliterating the place. The workers were somewhat burned but as all the shrapnel had flown away from them they were otherwise unharmed. I don't know what traces were found of the four men who had been standing next to the tank.

I have a propane tank inside the house I bought in Bali. When the pressure gets very low it starts to leak. This seems to be routine, as the gauge has a red zone that seems intended to warn of this feature. Hmm, maybe I should do something about this.

 

[Hornbein]

There is a more realistic reason: He just doesn't care about the law and the authorities.
Even a more frightening reason: He defies them.

Hmm, what is worse? Let's apply logic. I say stupidity is worse. Reason: The not caring or defiant man might change his attitude, improve. The stupid one on the other hand....

 

[Arjan82]

There is a more realistic reason: He just doesn't care about the law and the authorities.
Even a more frightening reason: He defies them.

Just in case you're wondering, he wasn't defying....

 

[nsaspook]

Maybe lame jokes is a better thread. Just when you think flat earthers as the top echelon of weird, somebody comes along and wins the Grand Master belt for Not Even Nothing.

 

[phinds]

Yee GADS what a moron.

 

[fresh_42]

Maybe lame jokes is a better thread. Just when you think flat earthers as the top echelon of weird, somebody comes along and wins the Grand Master belt for Not Even Nothing.

What a waste of time, and an embarrassing revelation of educational bankruptcy by T. Howard. We live in times when people publically present their unbelievable amount of stupidity and are proud of it!

 

[Hornbein]

What a waste of time, and an embarrassing revelation of educational bankruptcy by T. Howard. We live in times when people publically present their unbelievable amount of stupidity and are proud of it!

I prudently avoided listening to this stuff. Better things to do, yes?

 

[nsaspook]

 

[Astronuc]

Judge stunned when man with suspended license joins court Zoom call while driving
https://news.yahoo.com/news/judge-stunned-man-suspended-license-010540156.html


Maybe he drove himself to jail.

There is more to this story.
Claim: The Viral Story About a Defendant Driving With a Suspended License Was Fake News
https://www.yahoo.com/news/viral-story-defendant-driving-suspended-202015577.html

It turns out all those stories, however, were based on a falsehood. Harris' license had been reinstated years prior and was only registering as suspended due to a clerical error. As of this writing, there has been no spate of additional articles, corrections, or a reinvigorated news cycle based around this information, because the truth here doesn't lend itself to virality and engagement.

 

[Hornbein]

It turns out all those stories, however, were based on a falsehood. Harris' license had been reinstated years prior and was only registering as suspended due to a clerical error. As of this writing, there has been no spate of additional articles, corrections, or a reinvigorated news cycle based around this information, because the truth here doesn't lend itself to virality and engagement.

I'd say it goes deeper than that. James Carville was, among other things, the chief staffer of Bill Clinton's first campaign. He wrote that the press is very reluctant to publish any corrections. If they get the story wrong they'll stick with it almost no matter what. So it was very important to be available at all times in order to get your view in there first.
----
I just learned that in 1992 James posted a talking point that became the slogan of the 2008 Obama run

1. Change vs. more of the same.

I'm impressed. A number of other famous sayings came from his pen.

 

[Borg]

Spectator fills in for PGA golfer's caddy.

Paul Emerson started out the final round of the RBC Canadian Open as a fan, but spent the middle of it as a caddie for a moment he’ll never forget.

The lawyer from Aurora, Ontario, in Canada went from behind the rope as a fan to carrying the bag of Taiwanese golfer C.T. Pan for two holes on June 2 after Pan’s professional caddie was injured in the middle of the round.

 

[fresh_42]

For decades, the papyrus fragment lay unnoticed in the Hamburg State and University Library.​

Papyrus experts have deciphered a manuscript fragment as the earliest surviving copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. They dated the manuscript to the 4th or 5th century, as the Institute for Christianity and Antiquity at the Humboldt University (HU) in Berlin announced on Tuesday. The gospel tells of the childhood of Jesus and is one of the so-called apocryphal writings. These were not included in the Bible, but their stories were very popular and widespread in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

According to the information, the papyrus fragment with the inventory number P.Hamb.Graec. 1011 had been lying unnoticed in the Hamburg Carl von Ossietzky State and University Library for decades. The discovery was made by papyrus expert Lajos Berkes from the Berlin Institute and his colleague Gabriel Nocchi Macedo from the University of Liège, Belgium.

Spoiler: Source

https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/5...-des-evangeliums-ueber-kindheit-jesu-entdeckt

 

[Borg]

Once again I'm reminded that average IQ means that half the population is below average. Some people work extra hard to check that box.

EDIT: It's since been revealed that the person wasn't driving with a suspended license. Instead, there was a clerical error in his file that the judge was reading. Still, it's not legal in Michigan to drive during a Zoom call.

There is more to this story.
Claim: The Viral Story About a Defendant Driving With a Suspended License Was Fake News
https://www.yahoo.com/news/viral-story-defendant-driving-suspended-202015577.html

And the saga continues. Turns out he *never* had a driver's license in Michigan or any other state. It's a bit difficult to have your license suspended if you don't have one to suspend.

 

[Borg]

I just happened to read the very first post in the thread and wondered what actually happened. That post was from 2016 and the case was finally resolved in Jan. 2023. The artist who didn't paint the painting, ended up being awarded 2.5 million.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jan/20/artist-peter-doig-lawsuit-painting

The acclaimed painter Peter Doig has won a multimillion-dollar judgment against a former correctional officer who claimed he owned a bona fide Doig work – and that Doig was just lying that he never painted it.

On Wednesday Doig was awarded $2.5m by an Illinois federal court after more than a decade of litigation.

I'm always finding weird things in the news and thought it might be fun if we all shared odd stories we came across. Please feel free to post odd, funny or unusual stories in this thread.

Turns out that Zoobyshoe beat me in posting about this in another thread, so he will officially be known as the starter of this thread.

Here's one where a man appears to have a painting that is not painted by a famous author, but is suing the famous author for saying it's not his and a judge is actually letting it go to court even though the famous author has proof it wasn't painted by him. (only in the US).

Artist sued for $5M over painting he insists he didn’t paint

continued...
http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/artist-sued-for-5m-over-painting-he-insists-he-didnt-paint/

 

[Hornbein]

I just happened to read the very first post in the thread and wondered what actually happened. That post was from 2016 and the case was finally resolved in Jan. 2023. The artist who didn't paint the painting, ended up being awarded 2.5 million.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jan/20/artist-peter-doig-lawsuit-painting

As if a former correctional officer turned scam artist failure has got $2.5 million. I guess they'll garnish any wages he may earn until Peter Doig has mercy on his soul. Or maybe Mr. Fletcher will fake a new identity and move out of Illinois. Can you still get away with that?

 

[Hornbein]

Cedar Point camel escape.

 

[nsaspook]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...traightjacket-not-believing-was-fo-rcna156608

Four Tops singer says hospital put him in straitjacket after not believing he was in Four Tops
Alexander Morris alleges in a lawsuit that he told staffers about security concerns due to fans and stalkers but that they thought he was mentally ill, restrained him and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

The restraint jacket was finally removed, and Morris was placed back on oxygen after being restrained for “approximately an hour and a half or 90 minutes,” the complaint says.

Morris was offered a $25 gift card to Meijer as an apology, which he refused, it says

What a sad incident. I can't believe someone could be so upset as to turn down a Meijer gift card just like that ...

 

[Astronuc]

New Jersey couple just sitting in their backyard when massive object falls from sky 'out of nowhere'​

https://news.yahoo.com/news/jersey-couple-just-sitting-backyard-211346119.html

The roof of a New Jersey home was severely damaged in a chilling incident when a large chunk of ice fell from above on Wednesday.

Paul and Sabrina Gomez were sitting in the backyard of their Patterson home at around 9:30 p.m. when the projectile came out of nowhere and left a gaping hole in the roof, the New York Post reported. The couple were seated at a table less than 12 feet from the impacted area.

The chilling incident comes nearly a year after a chunk of ice weighing between 15 and 20 pounds struck a Massachusetts home, according to the Associated Press.

Jeff Ilg said he and his wife, Amelia Rainville, suspect the ice fell off an airplane traveling to Boston Logan International Airport. The ice chunk, which Ilg said was initially estimated to be 15 to 20 pounds and hit their home in Shirley, 50 miles west of Boston.

https://news.yahoo.com/large-chunk-ice-crashes-jersey-182532005.html

Seems like some folks on a flight path need flight insurance.

Are commercial arilines doing bombing practice on the side?


Meanwhile, further NW,

SpaceX Pays for Rocket Parts That Fell to Farm of Canadian, Who Vows to Use Money to Pay for Hockey Rink​

https://news.yahoo.com/news/spacex-pays-rocket-parts-fell-190639799.html

Earlier this year, massive pieces of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that had delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station came crashing down on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, Canada.

Farmer Barry Sawchuk, who stumbled upon the chunks of space junk, promised at the time to sell the unusual treasure to raise money for a hockey rink that's being built in the town of Ituna, Saskatchewan, where he was born and raised.

And as the CBC now reports, Sawchuk can now make good on his promise. Two SpaceX employees showed up at his farm in a U-Haul truck to cart the pieces away, without offering any comment.


While Sawchuk didn't reveal how much money he had gotten in return, he's still excited to share the proceeds with his community.

 

[Astronuc]

Porsche Crashes Off Rooftop Parking Garage, Wads of Cash Found Atop Wreck
https://www.yahoo.com/autos/porsche-crashes-off-rooftop-parking-154100059.html

Well, there's something you don't see every day: a Porsche Panamera lying in a field besides a parking garage, having apparently flown off the roof, with wads of $100 bills and a cell phone left atop (or rather, on the bottom of) the overturned vehicle. Yet that was the sight officers from New York Police Department came across in the Bronx on June 16th, according to news reports . . . .

Yes, it is an unusual, not-every-day event.

The car crashed through a concrete wall at approximately 5 a.m. on Sunday and landed on its roof about 15 feet below the parking deck, according to the police. No occupants were found at the scene; however, police say a trail of blood was located near the wreck.

Meanwhile, Vehicle falls off upper deck of parking garage in the Bronx: NYPD
https://www.yahoo.com/news/vehicle-falls-off-upper-deck-191039094.html

THE BRONX (PIX11) — A vehicle fell off of the top deck of a parking garage in the Bronx on Sunday, according to police.

The vehicle fell through the wall of the upper deck by 10 W 225th St. Deegan Expressway and Broadway around 11:30 a.m., according to police.

I'm not sure falling through a wall makes grammatical sense. Falling is usually down in the vertical, as in the direction of the local gravitational field. It would seem the car drove through the wall, for whatever reason, and the falling began as the front wheels no long made contact with horizontal surface.

 

[fresh_42]

Porsche Crashes Off Rooftop Parking Garage, Wads of Cash Found Atop Wreck
https://www.yahoo.com/autos/porsche-crashes-off-rooftop-parking-154100059.html

Yes, it is an unusual, not-every-day event.



Meanwhile, Vehicle falls off upper deck of parking garage in the Bronx: NYPD
https://www.yahoo.com/news/vehicle-falls-off-upper-deck-191039094.html


I'm not sure falling through a wall makes grammatical sense. Falling is usually down in the vertical, as in the direction of the local gravitational field. It would seem the car drove through the wall, for whatever reason, and the falling began as the front wheels no long made contact with horizontal surface.

Down is easy. The real artists go up!

https://www.freiepresse.de/nachrich...adtkirchendach-artikel1441799#google_vignette

 

[Astronuc]

Down is easy. The real artists go up!

That is impressive.

Runner up, or honorable mention for trying.
https://abc11.com/jurupa-valley-ca-crash-news-caught-on-video/14663022/

JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. -- A driver who was attempting to make a turn on a residential street in Southern California ended up crashing into the garage of a home.

Making a turn at a high rate of speed.

Same video on youtube.