NEWS OF THE WEIRD

It’s nice to have a hobby

People have discovered all sorts of pastimes during COVID-19 lockdowns, and Tom Quirk, 36, is no exception, as Metro News reported Feb. 23.

Quirk, of the Forest of Dean in the United Kingdom, treated himself to a new Shark vacuum a couple of years ago and quickly realized he could make great art with it. Quirk made a stunningly realistic portrait of Donald Trump in his living room rug, a frightening likeness of Jack Nicholson from “The Shining” (“Here’s Johnny!”) and a pretty good image of Slash.

“You have to hoover the rug all over in just one direction first so it gives you an all over light image,” Quirk said. “Then I remove the hose and add the thin attachment to the end and drag the long fibers the opposite direction to get the shadows of faces. It normally takes about 15 to 20 minutes, which isn’t bad considering it took Leonardo da Vinci four years to do the ‘Mona Lisa.’”

Questionable judgment

An unnamed student at Brigham Young University in Utah was trying to make 5 pounds of rocket fuel Feb. 20 in his dorm kitchen when the mixture exploded, People reported.

Flames “engulfed the walls and ceiling around the stove, and the intense heat tripped the fire sprinkler system,” BYU police said in a statement.

Lt. Jeff Long said the student was trying to re-create something he saw online. “He didn’t think this through,” Long said. No one was injured.

Goat got criminal’s goat

The Henry County (Virginia) Sheriff ’s Office has offered kudos to a local resident who helped track down a person they were chasing Feb. 13, the Martinsville Bulletin reported. Capt. Scott Barker said Deputy David Parnell was trying to arrest a suspect for domestic assault when the suspect fled on foot, and Parnell gave chase.

“A goat from the property joined Deputy Parnell,” Barker said, and chased the man into the woods. Another deputy and the goat then flushed the suspect out of the woods, and Parnell took him into custody.