NEWS OF THE WEIRD
April fool
Michael Boatman, 41, discovered by two sheriff ’s deputies wandering down the street at 1 a.m. in Spartanburg, S.C., wearing only a “clear bag over his genitals” on April 1, told the officers he was doing a “walk of shame” in penance for cheating on his wife, according to an incident report.
The Smoking Gun reported Boatman, who was smoking marijuana, according to the report, also allegedly told officers he had taken methamphetamine. Boatman briefly tried to run away from officers, police said, but was captured and arrested for indecent exposure, among other offenses.
Cat cliché come to life
Around 4:15 a.m. on March 24, an unidentified resident of Laurium, Mich., woke to find a gun pointed at his head, WLUC-TV reported.
Laurium Police said Warren Meyers, 52, of Calumet, Mich., allegedly demanded the homeowner give him his two cats. The “cat burglar” left with one cat and was later apprehended, along with the gun he used, authorities said. He was arraigned on March 29 in Houghton County Court; the fate of the stolen cat is unknown.
Everyone’s a critic
Jason Harvey, 50, of Romford, England, has been fined about $3,800 after his East London town council received 150 complaints from neighbors about his Saturday-night karaoke parties.
“It has been a nightmare,” said one neighbor. “It was so loud, and his singing was terrible.”
Noise officers told the Evening Standard they received specific complaints about Harvey’s covers of Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing,” and Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream.”
Harvey, who planned to appeal the fine, defended his voice: “I admit I’m no singer, but I have a go. I would have a couple of people over, and they loved all that.”
Don’t eat that
Among the treasures discovered at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, England, is a 121-year-old chocolate bar, still in its tin, commissioned by Queen Victoria for troops fighting in the Second Boer War in South Africa, Reuters reported March 31.
Oxburgh was the ancestral home of the Bedingfeld family for 500 years, and one of them, Sir Henry Edward Paston-bedingfeld, fought in that war; the chocolate bar was discovered in his helmet case. On the lid, a message is inscribed in Queen Victoria’s handwriting: “I wish you a happy new year.”
X-ray gets to the point
Kent Ryan Tomao, 25, of Kidapawan City, Philippines, has experienced pain in his chest during cold weather ever since he was stabbed by teenagers on his way home from work in January 2020.
Inquirer.net reported March 24 that a recent X-ray taken as part of Tomao’s application for a mining job revealed the source: a 4-inch knife blade buried in his chest, just inches from his lungs.
Tomao told local media he had “no idea there is a knife in my chest” and now “I am just seeking help so it can be removed.”
Shop elsewhere? Nevermore
The Anchorage, Alaska, Daily News reported March 26 that customers at a Costco store are routinely robbed of large cuts of meat as they transfer their groceries to their cars — by ravens.
More than a year ago, Olani Saunoa was buckling in her toddler when a raven swooped in and grabbed a package of short ribs from her car. And this year it happened to her again — a bird snatched a pack of pork ribs.
Other customers are reporting similar incidents. Rick Sinnott, a former wildlife biologist, isn’t surprised: Ravens “much prefer … a package of short ribs from Costco to half of a hamburger bun from Mcdonald’s.”