Emerald Downs racetrack in Auburn, Washington, switched things up on June 25 with a Grandparents Race, WMTV reported. It was part of Grandparents Weekend, where nanas and pop-pops received free admittance and could participate in prize drawings. About 25 grandparents competed in the race, charging out of the horse gates toward a finish line about 40 yards away. Two of the racers stumbled and fell during the sprint, but no one was hurt. Steve Butler of Everett, Washington, was declared the winner. [WMTV, 6/26/2023]

For the Birds

The Cotehele medieval house in Cornwall, England, was all set to be the site of a five-day cherry-picking festival starting on June 28, the BBC reported, but blackbirds foiled the plan. Laura Jarman of the National Trust said that 80 trees were full of the fruits on June 19, but two days later "the gardener came to tell me they'd all gone ... feasted on by the very cheeky blackbirds. They're so cute, we don't mind too much," she added. The site still plans to host an apple-picking event later in the year. [BBC, 6/23/2023]

Government in Action

Paavo Arhinmaki, 46, the deputy mayor of Helsinki, Finland, was caught in the act on June 23 as he and a friend spray-painted graffiti in a railway tunnel in the capital city, the Associated Press reported. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency said the cost to clean up the graffiti would be about $3,830, but it's not clear if the deputy mayor will face charges. "I have committed a crime and bear full responsibility for it," Arhinmaki said, calling his actions "stupid fooling around." However, he is refusing to resign his position. [AP, 6/28/2023]

Unconventional Weaponry

Tristan Stetina, 19, was charged with fifth-degree assault (who knew degrees went to 5!) after an incident at a Mankato, Minnesota, restaurant on June 23, KSTP-TV reported. Police officers were called to the business after Stetina allegedly arrived there and "began yelling and throwing Skittles at employees and customers." One victim said she experienced stinging on her back after being hit with one of the candies. Officers, who were familiar with Stetina, found him nearby and placed him under arrest; because he resisted, he was also charged with obstruction of the legal process and disorderly conduct. [KSTP, 6/28/2023]

Inexplicable

Public restrooms are a gamble on the best day, but in Columbus, Indiana, a discovery in the bathroom at Mill Race Park raised the bar: David Lancaster, part of the cleaning crew, found a dead octopus in a toilet there on June 22, with its long tentacles hanging out of the bowl. Fox59-TV reported that Mark Jones, director of the park department, said he didn't know how the octopus had come to be in the toilet, but it had been removed. [Fox59, 6/26/2023]

Irony

Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino, who researches dishonesty and unethical behavior, is in the hot seat with her administration for ... submitting work that falsified results. NPR reported on June 26 that several people have alleged that Gino changed data in at least four papers about her studies. She is currently on administrative leave; for her part, Gino did not confirm or deny the claims, but said she is "limited into what I can say publicly. I want to assure you that I take (the allegations) seriously and they will be addressed." Investigators said they found incidents of fraud spanning more than a decade. [NPR, 6/26/2023]

Unclear on the Concept

When Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois, underwent a cybersecurity audit, TechCrunch reported, the vendor mistakenly reset every student's password, which prevented students from being able to log into their Google account. Naturally, the school wanted to rectify the situation, so on June 23, they sent parents an email: "To fix this, we have reset your child's password to Ch@ngeme! so that they can once again access their Google account. We strongly suggest that your child update their password to their own unique password as soon as possible." What could go wrong? Manning Peterson, an OPRF student's mom, noted, "This is terribly insecure and you have just invited every single student's accounts to get hacked." It took the school a day to realize its mistake, whereupon it promised to send "a special password process that will be unique to your specific student." [TechCrunch, 6/29/2023]

It's Good To Have Goals

"Highpointing" enthusiasts seek to find tallest points in a geographic region. The hobby intrigues former Colorado resident Andrew Karr, so it's only natural that in his new home state of Florida, he'd continue the quest. According to The Messenger, Karr has pledged to summit the highest point of every county in Florida -- the flattest state in the country. He studies maps, rents kayaks and asks landowners for permission to cross their property to achieve his goal, and he's almost there: He's summitted 61 out of 67 counties. [The Messenger, 6/29/2023]

The Aristocrats

A Brooklyn-based art collective called MSCHF created a teeny tiny handbag that sold for $63,000 at auction on June 28, CNN reported. The neon green bag, measuring less than 0.03 inches wide, is fashioned after an iconic Louis Vuitton bag called the OntheGo tote, but it was not sanctioned by the designer. It was made using technology that prints 3D micro-scale plastic parts and was sold with a microscope so the owner can see it. [CNN, 6/29/2023]

News You Can Use

The Bridge of Flowers between Shelburne and Buckland, Massachusetts, draws walkers from both cities to view the flora alongside the footbridge, Mass Live reported. But now the Bridge of Flowers Committee is asking residents not to scatter loved ones' ashes there. "It's not healthy," said Carol Angus, co-chair of the committee. "The gardeners and volunteers are then exposed to the human remains," and the leaves and roots of the plants are damaged. "It's very upsetting," Angus added. [Mass Live, 6/28/2023]

Recent Alarming Headline

At Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport on June 29, a 57-year-old Thai woman was preparing to board a flight when she became caught in the moving walkway in Terminal 2, The Guardian reported. The lower part of the woman's leg was trapped beneath the belt at the end of the walkway; a medical team had to amputate her leg above the knee, and she then was transferred to a hospital to assess the chances of reattaching her leg. Airport director Karun Thanakuljeerapat offered "my deepest condolences regarding the accident" and said the airport would be fully responsible for the victim's medical costs. [Guardian, 6/30/2023]

Great Art!

German artist Werner Hartl of Reichersbeuern paints stunning agriculture and landscape scenes, mostly of cows, Oddity Central reported. What sets Hartl apart is his medium of choice: diluted cow manure. Hartl places a canister beneath a cow's rear end as it poops, then mixes the dung with water. "I use watered-down dung for the light shades ... I use dung with no water mixed in for the dark shades," Hartl explained. "When it is wet, the 'paint' is a bit funky, but when it's completely dry, it doesn't smell anymore," he said. [Oddity Central, 6/23/2023]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

Visitors to the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam can now bring home a new, and permanent, souvenir of their visit. The Associated Press reported that tattoo artist Henk Schiffmaker and others are doing a residency within the museum called "A Poor Man's Rembrandt," where tourists can get inked with sketches by the famous artist. Schiffmaker calls it "highbrow to lowbrow. And it's great that these two worlds can visit one another." The tattoos cost between $54 and $270. [AP, 6/19/2023]

Wait, What?

Employees of Taqueria Garibaldi restaurants in northern California got an unusual -- and unorthodox -- perk during work hours, USA Today reported. Employees testified in court that a person who identified as a priest was called in to hear workers' "confessions." "The priest urged workers to 'get their sins out' and asked employees if they had stolen from the employer, been late for work, had done anything to harm their employer or if they had bad intentions toward their employer," according to a release from the U.S. Department of Labor. But the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento said it could find no connection between the alleged priest and the diocese. An investigation found that the restaurants had denied overtime pay and threatened employees with retaliation, among other "sins," and the owners were ordered to pay $140,000 in damages and back wages. [USA Today, 6/21/2023]

The Tech Revolution

In an office building in Durham, North Carolina, nine scientists are hard at work in Duke University's Smart Toilet Lab, The News & Observer reported. Sonia Grego told the paper that she and her colleagues "are addressing a very serious health problem" -- gut health. The toilets in the lab move poop into a specialized chamber before flushing it away. There, cameras are placed for image processing, and the resulting data can give doctors insights into a patient's gut health. Startup Coprata is testing pilot versions of the smart toilets in a few dozen households; after the data is gathered, users can access it themselves on a smartphone app. "The knowledge of people's bowel habits empowers individuals to make lifestyle choices that improve their gut health," Grego said. [News & Observer, 6/15/2023]

Insult to Injury

Mark Dicara of Lake Barrington, Illinois, allegedly shot himself in the leg on June 12 while dreaming of a home invasion, Insider reported. Dicara grabbed his .357 Magnum and fired -- which instantly brought him to consciousness. There was no intruder in the home. Police found him in bed with a "significant amount of blood." He was charged with possession of a firearm without a valid Firearm Owners Identification card and reckless discharge of a firearm. [Insider, 6/15/2023]

It's Come to This

Cedric Lodge, 55, and his wife, Denise, 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, were indicted in federal court on June 14 after it was revealed that they allegedly were stealing and selling human body parts, the Associated Press reported. Lodge was the manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue until May 6, when he was fired. He and his wife offered a shopping opportunity at the morgue, where buyers could pick which donated remains they wanted. The Lodges would then take the items home and ship them through the mail. The parts included heads, brains, skin and bones. Three others were indicted: Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts; Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania; and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota. Prosecutors say they were part of a nationwide network of people who buy and sell human remains. Harvard called the actions "morally reprehensible." [AP, 6/15/2023]

Smooth Reaction

When Martin Trimble, 30, tried to rob a convenience store in Durham, England, in May, the shop owner got the best of him: He lowered the store's steel shutter, trapping Trimble on his back half in and half out, and waited for authorities to arrive. Once Trimble realized he was pinned to the ground, Fox News reported, he popped open one of the beers he'd tried to steal and drank it as he waited to be arrested. Trimble pleaded guilty on June 16 to attempted robbery and possession of a knife and was sentenced to three years in jail. [Fox News, 6/18/2023]

Bright Idea

Self-pitying Belgian TikTokker David Baerten, 45, has a morbid sense of humor -- or a fragile ego. According to Sky News, Baerten and his family decided to "prank" his friends by faking his own death because he felt "unappreciated" by them. The funeral, which took place in early June near Liege, drew a crowd of friends and family, who were shocked when a helicopter landed nearby and Baerten stepped out. "What I see in my family often hurts me. I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me," Baerten said. "That's why I wanted to give them a life lesson." [Sky News, 6/14/2023]

Weird Science

KTVX-TV reported on June 21 that snow in the mountains of Utah is turning pink, red and orange -- what scientists call "watermelon snow." Experts said the colored snow results from blooming green algae, which is found in mountain ranges. "The snow algae produce a pigment that basically darkens their cells," said Scott Hotaling, an assistant professor at Utah State University's department of watershed sciences. Basically, the algae turn colors to protect themselves. One young visitor said the snow turned his shoes orange. "I thought that was pretty cool," he said. [KTVX, 6/20/2023]

You Had One Jo

The town of Stuart, Iowa, needed a new water tower to handle its growing population, according to KCRG-TV. But when residents saw the name painted on one side, they cringed. Rather than STUART, the tower was painted with START. Mayor Dick Cook called the social media attention about the misspelling "hilarious," and the tower has been repainted. [KCRG, 6/21/2023]

Maybe the Dingo Did Eat Your Baby ...

On K'gari beach (formerly Fraser Island) in Australia, a 10-year-old boy was bitten and dragged under the water by a dingo on June 16, The Guardian reported. Not two weeks earlier, another dingo was euthanized after biting multiple tourists, including a French woman who was bitten on her posterior as she sunbathed. In the most recent event, the boy's older sister rescued him, and he was treated for puncture wounds to his shoulder and arms. "These animals are capable of inflicting serious harm ... some are quite brazen and are not fleeing when yelled at or when someone brandishes a stick," said ranger Danielle Mansfield. "Children and teenagers must be within arm's reach of an adult at all times." [Guardian, 6/21/2023]

Oops!

"The Price Is Right" contestant Henry Choi went home with more than a trip to Hawaii on the episode that aired on June 16, the Los Angeles Times reported. Choi threw his arms up and pumped his fists as he was called onstage, then leaped into the air and pounded his chest. Afterward, he could be seen holding his right arm and stretching it out. Later in the show, host Drew Carey explained that Choi had dislocated his shoulder, and Choi's wife, Alice, was allowed to spin the wheel for him during the Showcase Showdown. When he won, he meekly lifted his uninjured left arm, but Alice jumped up and waved her arms. "Don't hurt yourself," warned Carey. [Los Angeles Times, 6/20/2023]

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Protesters at the Massachusetts Statehouse bared more than their souls as they demonstrated against climate change on June 15, according to an NBC-10 Boston report. Shouts began to rain down from the public gallery just after 1 p.m. from eight members of Extinction Rebellion, an international environmental movement, followed by a warning: "We are going to be mooning you ... You can look away if you wish." At that point, the octet turned their backs on the senators and dropped trou, revealing pink thongs and bare buttocks emblazoned with the words "stop passing gas." The protesters continued with chants of "You're a senator, not an ass, why are you still passing gas," and "Butts out for climate" for about an hour before they were arrested and escorted out of the chamber. [NBC 10 Boston, 6/15/2023]

Reunited and It Feels So Good

-- A first edition of George Orwell's "1984" has been returned to the library ... 65 years late. UPI reported that the Multnomah County Public Library in Portland recently received the return from an 86-year-old patron. The patron attached a note to the book, explaining that they meant to return it in 1958 after checking it out as a Portland State University student, they just "never got around to it." But talk about excellent timing: The library just went fine-free. [UPI, 6/14/2023]

-- Sheriff's detectives in Kanawha County, West Virginia, made an odd discovery while executing a search warrant on an impounded vehicle in February: a 1965 class ring from Needham Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, bearing the initials "M.P." Their investigation determined the owner was one Michael Pedneau, who told the Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette-Mail that he only vaguely recalls losing the bling some 50 years ago, perhaps on a trip to Princeton, West Virginia. "There's probably 40 or 50 of us [classmates] who get together monthly for lunch," Pedneau said. "We're all old, so we enjoy swapping stories, and this is one I'll share with them. I'll show them the ring and we'll have some fun around it." [Charleston Gazette-Mail, 6/13/2023]

Up in Smoke

A dispensary in Baltimore faces fines for blowing smoke ... literally. WMAR-2 in Baltimore reported that the Cookies dispensary opened May 27, only to be shut down less than a week later after a surprise inspection revealed a laundry list of violations, including "large plumes of medical cannabis smoke being blown from a large gun apparatus into the mouths of persons outside the dispensary," according to the suspension notice. Cookies is part of a franchise, and Cookies San Francisco was the first to utilize a "Flame Thrower" smoke blower, created by Jeff Dick of Colorado. The blower has since become part of the Cookies brand. [WMAR-2, 6/15/2023]

Some Things Beg Certainty

Relatives were mourning Bella Montoya, 76, at her wake in Ecuador on June 9 when they heard strange sounds coming from the coffin. "There were about 20 of us there," the woman's son, Gilberto Barbera, said. "After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds." The supposedly deceased had been declared dead the Martin Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo earlier that day, but that evening, "my mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily," Barbera said. Montoya was rushed back to the hospital, but the Associated Press reported that she was intubated and is not expected to recover. Ecuador's Health Ministry has launched an investigation into the incident. [AP, 6/12/2023]

A Bear's Gotta Eat

Workers for American Plate Glass in Sunapee, New Hampshire, learned an important lesson about locking up their valuables on June 14, but it wasn't at the hands of the typical thief, and the valuables weren't the usual tools or construction materials. Curtis Fidler was working onsite when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision: "I turn and it was a bear nonchalantly just having lunch in the front seat of the truck." The bear enjoyed all of the snacks it could find, left the truck and disappeared into the woods. Fidler FaceTimed his mother-in-law, Melinda Scott, who watched the encounter live and later told WHDH-7 News that "There is not a single scratch on the box truck. He did no damage. He just had lunch and took a nap." [WHDH-7, 6/15/2023]

The Agony of the Heat

The hopes of Bangkok residents were slightly deflated on June 9, as a long-awaited art installation in Victoria Harbor lost steam. Dutch artist Forentijn Hofman's giant rubber ducky installation, which tours cities around the world and captured the affections of Bangkok residents when it visited there back in 2013, returned to the city earlier this month, this time with two giant rubber duckies, which the artist said would bring "double luck." Unfortunately, Yahoo News reported that rising temperatures put one ducky -- and residents -- at risk. The "rubber duck skin had become strained because the hot weather has caused air pressure to rise," organizers said in a statement. They deflated the duck as a precaution. [Yahoo News, 6/3/2023]

Two Paws Up, Way Up

Theatergoers in Thailand have a new pet-friendly place to bring their furry friends. Yahoo News reported that the country's largest movie theater chain, Major Cineplex Group, started offering weekend showtimes for patrons who want to bring Fluffy or Fido with them. Of course, there's a catch: Pets must weigh under 11 pounds and either wear a diaper or be kept in a carrier. Visitors turned out in droves for a pets-welcome showing of "The Little Mermaid," cosplaying their creature companions as Sebastian the crab and Ariel the mermaid. Not everyone's a fan, however; as one former resident said, "It's so ridiculous dogs are not allowed in (most Bangkok) parks but they can go to a movie or cafe. What comes next, you bring your dog or cat to a massage parlor?" [Yahoo News, 6/10/2023]

I Hope That Someone Gets My ...

Almost exactly 34 years after it was thrown into the sea in Newfoundland, a message in a bottle was recovered in Quebec. "I was so excited. I mean, what I'm looking for all the time is a note in a bottle," Trudy Shattler told Saltwire of her discovery. After some social media sleuthing, she learned that the bottle belonged to one Gilbert Hamlyn, who was known for writing messages on cigarette packs, stuffing them in bottles, and setting them to sea. Sadly, Mr. Hamlyn passed away two years ago, but his son, Rick, was all too happy to hear of the bottle's recovery, and intends to place it at his father's grave. [Saltwire, 6/13/2023]

Aquaman, Is That You?

A Florida scientist who calls himself "Dr. Deep Sea" resurfaced on June 9 ... after spending 100 days underwater. CNN reported that Dr. Joseph Dituri, 55, a biomedical engineer who teaches at the University of South Florida, began his research mission on March 1, when he dove to the bottom of the Emerald Lagoon in Key Largo, Florida. Dituri stayed in Jules' Undersea Lodge, an underwater hotel, during his record-setting stint below the surface, and he hopes that the data gleaned from all that time underwater will help researchers understand the effects of compression on the human body. "My greatest hope is that I have inspired a new generation of explorers and researchers to push past all boundaries," Dituri said in a news release. [CNN.com, 6/11/2023]

Money Movers

Police in Clintonville, Ohio, are on the hunt after brazen thieves used a U-Haul truck to rip a safe out of a drive-thru ATM in the early hours of June 15. WCMH-TV reported that the suspects used a chain secured to the truck to pull the safe free of the machine, then absconded in a getaway vehicle, leaving the U-Haul behind. Authorities had no description of the other vehicle or how much money the thieves stole, but they believe at least two suspects were involved. [WCMH-TV, 6/15/2023]

Time To Buy a Lottery Ticket

Ripleys.com (of "Believe It or Not!" fame) claims that orange lobsters are even more rare -- to the tune of 1-in-30-million -- than the blue variety. So one can imagine the surprise of Captain Peter Pray, a lobsterman working in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine, when he caught his third orange lobster in a week on June 15. WGME-13 reported that Pray, who is one of the lobster suppliers for Harbor Fish Market, made his latest catch, a female, using the same trap with which he caught the others, which were male. A tweet from Harbor Fish Market asked the question on everyone's mind: "What's up Casco Bay? What kind of lobster magic is happening in your waters?" [WGME-13, 6/15/2023]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.