At the fringes of news reporting, there is a place for wild and weird occurrences that would have never seen the light of day before the Internet. Every so often one will make it to the top of national news, but few people realize just how many occur every day.
An update on strange happenings from the past couple weeks:
Ballarat, Australia – An inexperienced old man treasure-hunter was tinkering with his fancy new metal detector when he discovered a 12 pound hunk of gold worth more than $300,000.
Cairns, Australia – Another tale from down under. This time, a scrub python wrapped itself around the wing of a plane leaving for Papua, New Guinea. Passengers watched as it struggled to cling on throughout the flight, and it was still moving when the plane landed. Sadly, it died several hours later. At least Samuel L. Jackson was not aboard the vessel—the snake’s time on Earth might have been cut even shorter.
San Andreas, Calif. – A man charged with burglary and theft pled not guilty, claiming he was only in a stranger’s home for one reason—to take a dip in the sauna. He thought the house was vacant and had apparently visited more than once. He was wearing almost nothing when the homeowner apprehended him.
New York City, N.Y. – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a popular shop in the Big Apple, is now offering a flavor that will supposedly cure flu symptoms. Among the ingredients are lemon, cayenne pepper—and whiskey.
Detroit, Mich. – A depressed and desperate Vincent Bright stole his father’s corpse from a local cemetery the night before the burial with hopes of bringing him back to life. Never mind the possible 10-year jail sentence. In the meantime, the body was stowed in a basement freezer.
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – Ordinary chap Russell George performed a citizen’s arrest on a police officer who appeared to be liquored up on the job. He was driving in the wrong lane, and his car was a bit smashed. Russel approached the vehicle, pulled the officer out and shut him up in the back of his own cruiser.
