LEAD STORIES -- Halloween Fun

-- At Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, a mystery occurs every year at Halloween: Two pumpkins become impaled on the twin spires of the clock tower in the middle of campus. United Press International reported that the pumpkins have appeared since the 1970s, but no one seems to know who puts them there or how they do it. "Conjuring the best, if far-fetched, tale on how it happens is a favorite campus pastime," the university's website reads. [UPI, 10/19/2023]

-- It could only happen in Utah: City officials in Grantsville took to Facebook on Oct. 18 to demand that a Halloween display centered on a street sign be removed, Fox13Now-TV reported. The tableau featured a skeleton pole-dancing while two other skeletons sat in folding chairs with dollar bills in their hands. "Displays like this are not acceptable as it is against city code to attach anything to a street sign," the city wrote. And the pranksters complied: They moved the display to a front yard, with a new lighted pole, lights on the ground to make a "stage," and a tip jar. One commenter on the city's page gushed, "I salute the Halloween Decoration WIZARD that created this MASTERPIECE." [Fox13Now, 10/20/2023]

-- Hellen Schweizer, 28, of Wooster, Ohio, embraced her vampirism two years ago on Halloween, The Columbus Dispatch reported. "Not every vampire is bad," she explained. "I follow a higher path." For instance: "I'm not interested in sucking anyone's blood." But living as a vampire, with fangs, white makeup and a black cloak, "just felt right" for the social media manager. Schweizer said the "sun makes me nauseous" and she gains most of her energy at night. "I came out of the coffin, as it were, and never felt so free in my life." [Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/2023]

Awwwww!

While Amir Khan and Kat Warren of Washington, D.C., were visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Oct. 19, they became stranded along with other tourists at the top when a man was discovered climbing the structure. On hand with the couple was Associated Press reporter Pat Eaton-Robb, who was also visiting. Lucky for them, Eaton-Robb caught the moment when Khan decided to propose. He had been planning to do so later that evening at a restaurant, but "she always wanted to be proposed to on or under the Eiffel Tower. So I figured, 'This is it, this is the moment,'" Khan said. While romance was in the air atop the tower, police were arresting the climber, who was inexplicably carrying a banner that said something about singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. [AP, 10/19/2023]

Bright Idea

An unnamed 22-year-old man in Warsaw, Poland, outwitted mall security guards -- for a time -- after twice posing in a store window as a mannequin, The New York Times reported on Oct. 20. The man stood still next to two other mannequins and held a bag until the mall closed, when he stole jewelry from a kiosk. On another occasion, he ate at one of the mall's restaurants, found a new set of clothing and headed back for another meal. Police arrested the suspect, who faces up to 10 years in prison. [NY Times, 10/20/2023]

Animal Antics

Since Sept. 20, Alejandro Rios, 25, has become the target of a dive-bombing magpie who follows him as he rides his bike home from work. Fox News reported on Oct. 18 that the Brisbane, Australia, resident first felt something hit his head more than a month ago. "I ... thought a piece of fruit had fallen off a tree or someone had hit me," he said. Rios' helmet and eyewear protect him from injury, but the bird is persistent. Scientists say magpies remember faces and this one is likely protecting his young. "It's a bit of a friend and a bit of a nemesis," Rios said of his attacker. "I want to say it's my friend -- but it really, really hates me." [Fox News, 10/18/2023]

Saw That Coming

Two men in Minnesota were shot on Oct. 22 in separate incidents involving child shooters who were participating in youth hunting events, CBS News reported. In the first case, a 45-year-old dad from Becker Township had his 12-year-old daughter in a deer stand, where she had just successfully shot a deer. But then she accidentally shot her father in the leg. Another family member applied a tourniquet until emergency personnel arrived. In the second incident, a 50-year-old man was trying to explain to a 10-year-old boy how to unload a hunting rifle when the child accidentally pulled the trigger, somehow hitting both of the adult's buttocks. No news on the condition of either victim. [CBS News, 10/23/2023]

I'll Have the Coors Light

Someone posted a video on Weibo on Oct. 19 that captured a man climbing into a malt container at Pingdu, China, brewery Tsingtao and relieving himself, Sky News reported. The company, which identifies itself as the world's sixth-largest beermaker, released a statement, saying: "The batch of malt in question has been completely sealed" and police are investigating. However, the company's stock took a sizable hit, with share prices dropping 7.5% by Oct. 23. [Sky News, 10/24/2023]

Repeat Offender?

A particular house in Haddonfield, New Jersey, appears to be the victim of very bad luck -- or a serial car arsonist, WPVI-TV reported. Police say the most recent attack, on Oct. 21 around 1 a.m., was the third at the house since 2017. But strangely, all three attacks have been on cars belonging to different homeowners. In the latest incident, security cameras captured a person pouring gasoline on a 2010 Toyota Highlander and lighting it up. Police say they don't believe the attacks are aimed at the people who live there, who are "doing everything right. They have a camera system, they're calling us. It just unfortunately keeps happening." [WPVI, 10/25/2023]

Awesome!

Members of the Auburn (Massachusetts) Fire Department knew Debbie Virgilio well, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported on Oct. 25. First responders had transported her frequently during her final years, but when she passed last year, they had no idea of the plans she had made for them. Virgilio left the department $525,000 in her will; they used the money to buy a new ambulance and updated equipment. Fire Chief Stephen Coleman said, "It means a lot to me, as the chief, to know my people made such an impact on somebody, they're willing to donate half a million dollars to us when they pass. It's a testament to the men and women of this department." Cheers to Debbie. [Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 10/25/2023]

Wait, What?

Jad K. Shipman, 48, of Longview, Washington, was arrested on Oct. 17 on two counts: soliciting a prostitute and first-degree attempted animal cruelty, Big Country News reported. A vice detective who had been monitoring an online forum identified Shipman in August. Allegedly, he offered $440 for a person to come to Longview and sexually touch him and his miniature horse. Shipman is out on bail and prohibited from being around animals. [Big Country News, 10/25/2023]

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It's happened again. On Oct. 15, as an EasyJet flight prepared to travel from the Spanish island of Tenerife to London after a three-hour delay, the pilot announced that the flight would depart in about 20 minutes. "And that's when the incident happened with the defecation," said passenger Aaran Gedhu, according to CNN Travel. Gedhu saw two people visit the forward restroom before an unpleasant odor permeated the cabin and word spread that someone had pooped on the bathroom floor. "Obviously, the plane was in an unsanitary state. So they had to get external cleaners out from the airport to clean it," Gedhu said. After the cleaning was complete, the pilot announced that passengers would have to disembark -- which took another 30 minutes. Another passenger, Kitty Streek, said: "We obviously can't prove whether the person simply had an accident or if they had done this out of anger for the delayed flight ... but nobody wants to be stranded in another country." And yet, they were: Gedhu was lodged in a hotel overnight before taking a "rescue" flight the next day. [CNN Travel, 10/17/2023]

If It Ain't Broke ...?

A restaurant in Tokyo, Abe-chan, recently revealed the secret behind its popular pork skewers, Oddity Central reported. The skewers are dipped in a sauce jar that hasn't been cleaned in more than 60 years and is covered on the outside with a hardened goo. Each day, cooks pour new sauce over the previous day's sauce, as they have throughout three generations of owners -- a practice they say contributes to its rich flavor. Experts said as long as the concoction is heated, there shouldn't be any bacterial growth. [Oddity Central, 10/11/2023]

That Bugs Me!

As Volaris flight 221 prepared to leave Guadalajara International Airport on Oct. 6, passengers and crew were delayed by an infestation of mosquitoes in the cabin, ABC7-TV reported. The flight was headed to Mexico City, and crew members and passengers tried for two hours to eradicate the pests, swatting them and spraying bug repellent. Finally, passenger Elizabeth Corona said, the insects settled down when the cabin lights were turned off. [ABC7, 10/12/2023]

My Strange Obsession

Fox News reported on Oct. 17 that Rowan Sturgill of Lexington, Kentucky, has documented her mother, Beth's, obsession with Diet Coke on TikTok: "This isn't even half of it, I'm not kidding," Rowan captioned her video. Beth's decor includes a soap dispenser labeled with Diet Coke and a wall full of images related to the no-calorie drink. Her Christmas ornaments are dominated by the soda, and an entire wall of her home is dedicated to a shrine of sorts comprised of bottles and cans of various sizes and shapes. One friend posted that it's like being in an "alternate reality" when they're at the Sturgills' house. [Fox News, 10/17/2023]

The Passing Parade

On Oct. 15, as a child stood near a canal in Cape Coral, Florida, a Dodge Challenger left the road nearby at a high rate of speed and plunged into the canal nose first, NBC2-TV reported -- fortunately just missing the child. "I can only imagine how he's feeling," said Lorraine Holder, who lives on the canal and had a home security camera trained on the water that captured the incident. The car's airbags deployed, which made it difficult to get the driver out, but a Good Samaritan helped him escape before it sank completely. No injuries were reported. [NBC2, 10/17/2023]

News You Can Use

People in London have been perplexed by a bale of hay hanging from the Millennium Bridge, a modern structure that spans the River Thames, Sky News reported on Oct. 18. The bridge is undergoing maintenance that will reduce its headroom. When social media lit up with questions, the City Bridge Foundation, a charity that benefits crossings over the Thames, came to the rescue: "In accordance with ancient tradition (and the Port of London Thames Byelaws), a bundle of straw is dangled from the Millennium Bridge to warn shipping of work under the bridge (we're not making this up, honest)." At night, workers hang a white light to warn ships. Work is expected to be completed by Nov. 5. [Sky News, 10/18/2023]

Least Competent Criminals

Three Florida men were arrested on Oct. 14 in Pompano Beach, Florida, after a hapless kidnapping attempt, KMOV-TV reported. Raymond Gomez and brothers Jonathan Arista and Jeffry Arista grabbed a man outside his apartment in Plantation, Florida, and drove him to a home nearby -- but then realized they had the wrong guy, police said. They threatened him with an electric drill and a firearm and attempted to waterboard him before deciding he might be able to lure their intended victim to them. The kidnappers drove him to his place of business, where the other man was, but the original victim phoned in a bomb threat (to get an immediate response), and the suspects were arrested. They face life in prison. [KMOV, 10/17/2023]

Bright Idea

Japanese milk producer Seki Milk has devised an entertaining solution to a growing problem, Oddity Central reported on Oct. 11. The company did research showing that 65% of students weren't finishing their milk at lunch, so it partnered with a manga studio to produce an original comic series and print it in white on its glass milk bottles. As they drink, kids are compelled to finish the beverage so the artwork is revealed. The company says Milk Manga encourages healthy behavior and reading, and gets kids thinking about food loss. [Oddity Central, 10/11/2023]

It's a Dirty Job

Ryan Smith, 41, who transports bodies for a funeral company in Omaha, Nebraska, was arrested on Oct. 6 after he broke into the home of a deceased person he had moved, The Smoking Gun reported. Investigators said that when Smith initially went to the apartment, there was a "very real life size" sex doll on the bed near the body. Later, Smith called the property manager and said the sheriff had asked him to remove the doll "to collect swabs for biopsy." The property manager denied Smith entry to the home, but he later suspected Smith was inside the unit, which had been secured with a deadbolt and chain. The manager watched as Smith left with his shirt untucked and trousers in "disarray," then called police. The sex doll showed evidence of recent use, and she was confiscated for DNA testing. Ryan was relieved of his job. [The Smoking Gun, 10/13/2023]

It's a Mystery

Adorchita Di Perno of Calgary, Alberta, was proud of finishing her 22nd marathon in Chicago on Oct. 8, so she decided to have her medal engraved on the back, Running magazine reported. She also had the 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden sign the back in Sharpie. When she picked up the medal from the engraver, though, she saw that not only was her time wrong on the back, but the F-word was engraved above it. "This is my medal, but this is not my time or name," she said. "And I did not ask for the F-word." Later that day, store employees figured out that her medal had been confused with another runner's, who, oddly, DID want the F-word engraved on the back -- but declined to say why. Di Perno said she was upset about the mix-up at the time, but now she's laughing about it. Probably helps that she qualified for the Boston race. [Running, 10/18/2023]

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Some people are just desperate to get behind an underdog. So it seems with the members of a Facebook group called Chair Watch, who have locked in on an unlikely subject: a chair hanging from the top floor of a roofless abandoned home in Dennis Township, New Jersey. "One day it will come down but until then we all must drive by and look at the chair in all its mesmerizing glory," the group's description says, according to United Press International. "How long can it last? Will it blow down before the entire house falls down? ... Things we all want to know and don't want to know at the same time because it will ruin the fun." The group has attracted almost 10,000 followers, one of whom, Donna Marie O'Leary, commented that she hasn't "enjoyed this much fun since Christie was Gov. and closed the beach!" [UPI, 10/9/2023]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

In 1995, the Seattle Times reported, filmmaker Gerry Fialka of Los Angeles started a book club with an unconventional schedule: Members read the notoriously difficult "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce -- one page at a time. They just finished on Oct. 3. "We do one page at a time and then discuss it for two hours," Fialka said. "That's why it's taken us 28 years." When people ask what his book club is going to read next, he tells them, "We're never going to read another book." He explained that the book ends with a run-on sentence on page 628, which then continues on the first page of text. "So it's a cyclical book. It never ends. We'll read page 3 again next." Since the pandemic, the club has been meeting via Zoom, which Fialka says he likes better than in person. "I don't have to set up chairs," he said. [Seattle Times, 10/3/2023]

It's a Dirty Job

In this week's edition of "We Don't Pay Teachers Enough," Stephen Taylor, an educator at the Mill Creek Campus alternative school in Olathe, Kansas, lost his job over videos he posted to TikTok, Fox4-TV reported. In the videos, Taylor, who also does stand-up comedy, said he "saved up" his "big milky lactose intolerant" gas and "drop(ped) bombs silently ... and then I just let it stew." He also claimed that he gives students misinformation when they "annoy" him: "I tell them Abraham Lincoln invented the car, that's why it's named after him." When Taylor was called before the school board, he told members, "The reason I'm doing comedy on TikTok is to make money because you only pay me $45,000 a year and I work all the time." Taylor said the students understand his jokes, but he was relieved of his duties nonetheless and has no plans to return to teaching. [Fox4, 10/11/2023]

Oops

Fourth graders at the Academy of Innovative Education charter school in Miami Springs, Florida, got to choose a movie to watch during lunch on Oct. 2, CBS News Miami reported. They unknowingly chose "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey," a 2023 horror film about two murderers who prey on university students while wearing Pooh and Piglet costumes. The teacher "didn't stop the movie, even though the kids were saying, 'Hey, stop the movie, we don't want this,'" said parent Michelle Diaz. She said her twins were traumatized. The school later issued a statement saying they "have already met with those students who have expressed concerns." Oh, bother. [CBS News Miami, 10/9/2023]

Police Report

Lenni Rodriguez Cruz, 28, topped off a busy night of crime with an assault on a police officer on Sept. 20, the Associated Press reported. Cruz was allegedly driving a car with license plates that didn't match in Queens, New York, when an officer tried to pull him over. Cruz instead raced off, driving on a sidewalk and through a park and hitting four other vehicles, including a police car, before crashing. His breath smelled of alcohol and there was a cup with an alcoholic beverage in the car, police said. But it was back at the station where Cruz sealed his fate: He bit off an officer's left ring finger up to the first knuckle. The Queens district attorney said he could be looking at 25 years in prison. [Associated Press, 10/11/2023]

Animal Antics

A family outing to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas, got all awkward when a giraffe lost its footing and crashed into the windshield of Kari Hill's car, Fox7-TV reported. The park allows people to drive through in their own cars and feed the animals. As Hill and her family communed with a giraffe, it stuck its head through her sunroof and smiled for a picture. But then the animal slipped and fell, became panicked and started flailing its legs. After it recovered and ran off, Hill realized her windshield was shattered. No one was hurt, but they were covered with glass. Hill said when she filed an insurance claim, "It was hard for them, as anyone, not to laugh, but they were professional." [Fox7, 10/12/2023]

Unclear on the Concept

Lincoln County (Oklahoma) District Judge Traci Soderstrom, who was sworn in on Jan. 9, may already be out of a job, the Associated Press reported. In July, Soderstrom was captured on a court camera scrolling through social media and texting on her phone for minutes at a time during a trial. Soderstrom's texts to her bailiff included comments on jurors' and prosecutors' appearances and calling a police officer who was testifying "pretty" and saying, "I could look at him all day." She was suspended with pay pending a hearing by the Court on the Judiciary. The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recommended her removal: "The pattern of conduct demonstrates (Soderstrom's) gross neglect of duty, gross partiality and oppression," he said. [Associated Press, 10/11/2023]

Spooky

Townsfolk in Skelmorlie, Scotland, are getting their Halloween on as a Pennywise-type clown lurks around the streets, Sky News reported, leaving red balloons in his wake. Early on Oct. 12, the clown, who may or may not be someone named Cole Deimos, posted a "message to the media" in rhyme: "They called me 'killer clown.' Why don't you leave the jokes to me? The only thing that's dying is your credibility. This clown doesn't want fame, glory or gold. He just wants to play in this so-called 'sleepy town.' So, come and join in and learn to fear the Skelmorlie clown." Police haven't received any reports of crimes, and Facebook followers are gleeful: "Out of all the clowns in the village, he's the best." [Sky News, 10/13/2023]

The Neighbors

Daniel Powell, 76, got a rude response on Oct. 8 when talking with his mobile home park neighbor, Kali Robertson, 28, in Pinellas Park, Florida, The Smoking Gun reported. According to police, Robertson took an "unsecured bag of dog feces and pushed it" into Powell's face, "leaving feces smeared on his face." Robertson admitted to the assault but pleaded not guilty to the third-degree felony. She posted $2,500 bond. [Smoking Gun, 10/11/2023]

That's No Excuse

Amal Hanna, 60, will not be charged with driving under the influence, News12-TV reported, after an Oct. 4 incident in which she mistakenly guzzled a White Claw during her shift as a school bus driver in Smithtown, New York. Hanna said she is undergoing chemotherapy, which has affected her sense of taste, and she had no idea there was alcohol in the hard seltzer. "I have been crying and crying. I don't even have any more tears. It was just a mistake," Hanna said. While she won't face legal action, she did lose her job. [News12, 10/6/2023]

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