Parents and teachers at Gosho Kodomo-en kindergarten in southwestern Japan thought for sure someone with a footwear fetish was swiping little shoes from cubbies at the school, the Associated Press reported. Police installed three cameras in the school, and on Nov. 11, zeroed in on another culprit: a weasel. "It's great it turned out not to be a human being," said Deputy Police Chief Hiroaki Inada. The stolen shoes have not been found, but the school has installed a net over the cubbies to keep the weasel, who is still on the loose, out. [AP, 11/24/2024]

Ewwwww

-- Los Angeles is known for many things, but perhaps its most ignominious claim to fame is being the "clogged capital" of the United States on "Brown Friday" -- the day after Thanksgiving, when plumbers nationally go out on emergency calls 65% more often than on other Fridays. Analysis by Yelp showed that plumbing-related searches went up 73% in L.A., followed by 37% in Miami, United Press International reported. Roto-Rooter said the most common problem areas were kitchen sinks, toilets and garbage disposals. [UPI, 11/21/2024]

-- Looking for a different type of pizza than the standard pepperoni or sausage? At Pizza Hut restaurants in China, customers are being offered deep-fried frogs on top of their pies, the Independent reported on Nov. 21. The pizza has a thick crust with red sauce and basil, with a whole fried bullfrog on top. The limited-time variety is being offered in a collaboration with Dungeons and Dragons and is called "Goblin Pizza." [Independent, 11/21/2024]

Rude

-- Starting on Jan. 1, the Garden of Remembrance cemetery in Stoke-on-Trent, England, will welcome visitors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, the Stoke Sentinel reported. But should family members want to visit at other times, they'll be required to buy a VIP pass for 5 pounds (or 10 pounds, if they also want to visit the rose garden). "Now I need to pay a membership fee to visit my dad's grave," groused Jode Bourne, whose father, Mark, is buried there. "This is an absolute disgrace." A posted notice says the new rules will make "the site secure for our staff, families and visitors." [Stoke Sentinel, 11/23/2024]

-- A prop gravestone for Ebenezer Scrooge, left behind after a 1984 movie adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" starring George C. Scott, was smashed on Nov. 24, the BBC reported. The cemetery next to St. Chad's Church in Shrewsbury, England, was part of the scene where Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come; much of the movie was filmed there. Town council clerk Helen Ball said the stone is "in multiple pieces. I think it's one of those things that's very dear to everybody's hearts." She said the council would determine whether the stone could be repaired. [BBC, 11/25/2024]

No Good Deed ...

Nigel Carter, 64, of Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, collected 500 bikes to send to a charity in Sudan that helps people who need cheap transportation to school or work, the BBC reported on Nov. 22. But a Scottish Environment Protection Agency inspector said the shipment could not leave the port because some of the bikes needed minor repairs, such as oil on chains and new brake cables. Carter said he found it "ludicrous" that the bikes were returned to him. A SEPA official said he had a duty to ensure that Scotland's waste was not dumped on another country, but Carter said the Sudanese charity had picked out the bikes and were happy with their condition. They will likely be returned to the recycling center where they came from and scrapped. [BBC, 11/22/2024]

It's a Mystery

George Oliver of Calvert County, Maryland, often walks the beach looking for fossils, NBC News reported. As he strolled along Chesapeake Bay on Nov. 4 during low tide, he spotted a coffin in the water. Inside was a nearly whole human skeleton. Oliver removed the skeleton and dug the mostly submerged coffin out of the water. "When I first found it," he said, "you could not tell that there was human remains. You just thought that it was full of beach sand." Oliver called the sheriff's department, who called an archaeological society. Based on the construction of the coffin and the condition of the body, it's believed to be at least 100 years old. Kelcey Ward, a crime scene technician with the sheriff's office, said the skull showed signs of "a gunshot wound or blunt force trauma of some sort." The remains and coffin will be interred at a local cemetery. [NBC News, 11/21/2024]

The Passing Parade

Have you ever really loved a car? The Polara family of Padarshinga Village in India REALLY loved their 18-year-old Suzuki Wagon R, Oddity Central reported. They believed the hatchback to be their lucky car, so when it burned its last gallon of gas, they gave it a special send-off: a lavish burial ceremony attended by more than 1,500 guests. The Polaras had a 15-foot-deep hole dug on their property, then had the car, covered with flowers and decorated with garlands, lowered into it as music played. The ceremony included several rituals and cost the Polaras more than $4,500. "This car was more than just a vehicle," Sanjay Polara said. "It was part of our journey toward success." He plans to plant a tree over the grave as a marker. [Oddity Central, 11/22/2024]

News You Can Use

Looking for a torture method even more sinister than sitting across from your politically outspoken cousin at the holiday dinner table? LAD Bible reported on Nov. 21 that an Italian monk, Franciscus Brunus de San Severino, described "goat's tongue" in his 1502 treatise on torture methods -- but it's not entirely clear whether the medieval practice actually took place. It involves soaking the subject's feet in saltwater, then securing them in a stock and letting a goat lick them to the point of peeling and bleeding. The torture method, which may date back to ancient Rome, could have resulted in death from infection. [LAD Bible, 11/21/2024]

The Golden Age of Air Travel

-- On Nov. 25 at Boston's Logan International Airport, two planes got a tad too chummy on the tarmac, Fox News reported. An American Airlines Boeing 777 was being towed when its wing clipped the wing of a Frontier Airlines Airbus A321 that was parked at a gate, the Federal Aviation Administration said. There were no injuries reported to passengers, but all passengers exited the planes, and American removed its plane from service. Frontier said all passengers would receive a $100 travel voucher, as well as the option to rebook on Frontier or receive a full refund. An airport spokesperson called it a minor incident. [Fox News, 11/25/2024]

-- On Nov. 16, aboard United Airlines flight 502 from Austin, Texas, to Los Angeles, one traveler lost his composure and started beating up ... his seat. The New York Post reported that the unnamed man, dressed in sweats, stood on his seat and repeatedly kicked its backrest as bystanders watched and took video. "The flight attendant walked by a couple times, nobody was doing anything," said witness Gino Galofaro. He and two other passengers decided to take matters into their own hands, zip-tying the irate passenger's hands and feet and strapping him into a seat. About an hour later, as the flight landed, law enforcement met them at the gate. United Airlines said he has been banned from future flights. [NY Post, 11/26/2024]

Customs officials at the Lima, Peru, airport spotted something unusual about a man boarding a flight on Nov. 8, The New York Times reported. The unnamed 28-year-old, a citizen of South Korea, was returning home with a planned stopover in France, but he was notable because of his extremely swollen stomach, officials said. When asked to lift his shirt, he revealed a creepy, crawly cargo: 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants. Each bug had its own plastic bag, all of which were attached to two girdles wrapped around the man's body. The 35 adult tarantulas were each about the size of a human hand. All the bugs are native to the Amazon region of Peru, said Walter Silva, a government wildlife specialist. He added that the discovery was "part of the illegal wildlife trafficking that moves millions of dollars." The tarantulas are on the country's endangered species list. The man was arrested with charges pending. [New York Times, 11/16/2024]

Field Report

Norwegian fisherman Harald Engen got a message on Nov. 11 that his 32-foot boat's trawl nets had snagged something most unusual, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Turns out the USS Virginia, a 377-foot nuclear-powered submarine, had been chugging away from Tromso, Norway, with a Norwegian Coast Guard vessel escorting it, when its propellers became entangled with the nets. As a result, the Coast Guard had to cut the nets to free the submarine. They assured Engen that he would be reimbursed for his nets. [Anchorage Daily News, 11/18/2024]

Can't Possibly Be True

KSNW-TV reported on Nov. 17 that Gina Morgan and her husband, Ronnie, felt double the bad luck when they both struck a deer while driving. Not such a weird occurrence near Wichita, Kansas -- but Gina and Ronnie hit the SAME deer while driving in different directions. "We were in two different vehicles, driving in two different directions, and we managed to hit the same deer," Gina explained. "It was just at the point where the sun had gone down." Damage to Gina's car was estimated at $6,000; Ronnie's car had a push bar, so it sustained less impact. [KSNW, 11/17/2024]

Gimme a Sign

Transportation workers in Boulder, Colorado, had to go out on Nov. 19 to take down some "freelance" road signs that had mysteriously appeared in the city, 9News-TV reported. The signs, which appeared in four different locations, warned drivers to "Get Off Your Damn Phone" and "Don't Kill Any Kids Today," along with other messages. Boulder Police spokesperson Dionne Waugh said the signs are professionally made and installed, but officials don't know who put them up. "I'm guessing that it's a concerned citizen that is kind of fed up with the behavior they're seeing in their neighborhoods," said police commander Darren Fladung. He suggested there are more appropriate ways to get those messages out. [9News, 11/19/2024]

Latest Religious Message

Why settle for a middleman when you can confess your sins straight to Jesus Christ himself? Worshippers at St. Peter's Church in Lucerne, Switzerland, are baring their souls to a hologram Jesus powered by AI, the Daily Mail reported on Nov. 20. And already, at least two-thirds of the people who have received the image's grace have called it a "spiritual" experience. "Though it's a machine, it gave me so much advice," one person said -- like, "Your task is not to judge, but to accompany with love." The AI Jesus can even speak 100 different languages. It was trained at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts using the New Testament. [Daily Mail, 11/20/2024]

It's Come to This

Sweden's minister for gender equality and work life, Paulina Brandberg, has spoken in the past about her extreme phobia of bananas, The Guardian reported on Nov. 14. But recently leaked emails have made clear just how far her staff will go to protect her from the yellow fruits. For instance, staff will specify that "no traces of bananas must be in the room" before she arrives. Brandberg said she was getting professional help with her phobia, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson backed her up: "I am disturbed when a hardworking cabinet minister is almost reduced to a phobia and people make fun of it." [Guardian, 11/14/2024]

Recent Alarming Headline

Passengers aboard an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas on Nov. 19 went full-on MacGyver with an unruly Canadian passenger, ABC7-TV reported. While the plane was in flight, the passenger asked a flight attendant to open the cabin door; when his request was denied, he became agitated. He allegedly rushed toward the door, striking the flight attendant, before other passengers subdued him, eventually duct-taping his wrists and ankles and laying him on his stomach on the floor. Airport police and FBI personnel met him at the gate and took him for a medical evaluation. [ABC7, 11/21/2024]

Weird Science

University of Richmond professor and neuroscientist Kelly Lambert has been training rats to drive tiny cars since 2019, the New York Post reported. "Unexpectedly, we found that the rats had an intense motivation for their driving training, often jumping into the car and revving the 'lever engine' before their vehicle hit the road," Lambert said. She and her fellow scientists concluded that the rats' excitement was a Pavlovian response to treats and operating the vehicles -- but even when the treats were removed, they were ready to put the pedal to the metal. "They remind us that planning, anticipating and enjoying the ride may be key to a healthy brain," Lambert said. [NY Post, 11/17/2024]

Great Art

The duct-taped banana "artwork" just won't turn brown and mushy and find its way into the bin. On Nov. 20 in New York City, Sotheby's sold the latest iteration for $6.2 million to Justin Sun, founder of the cryptocurrency platform TRON, WFAA-TV reported. Bidding started at $800,000. Sun said the art "represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes and the cryptocurrency community. ... In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture." Lucky for Sun, he technically bought the rights to duct-tape any other banana to any other wall and call it "Comedian," as it was dubbed in 2019 by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. [WFAA, 11/21/2024]

Who Knew?

Fox News host Jesse Watters has laid down the law regarding man-to-man birthday etiquette, the Independent reported. On his show, "Jesse Watters Primetime," on Nov. 20, the host said he would have wished President Joe Biden a happy birthday, but that would break his "rules." "Men don't wish men happy birthdays," he said. He revealed the rule earlier this fall, when he said wishing another Fox host happy birthday "would not be manly." Watters also apparently has rules about men eating soup and ice cream in public -- "It's not a good look." [Independent, 11/21/2024]

On Nov. 7, the South China Morning Post reported an uproar following a social media post depicting a small child urinating on a table full of food. The baby’s mother captured the moment on video when her child sprayed the breakfast table with urine, then proudly revealed that the family had continued to eat the food. The Beijing mom commented that they “rarely put disposable diapers on him ... We do not cover it because it is better not to interrupt the child while he is urinating.” [South China Morning Post, 11/7/2024]

Recurring Theme

On Nov. 8, police in Los Angeles arrested a man who had apparently been living in the crawl space beneath a 92-year-old woman’s home, The New York Times reported. She had heard unusual noises from inside her house and assumed they were animals, but when family members heard knocking, they called police. When officers arrived, the alleged squatter, Isaac Betancourt, 27, who was naked, would not come out from under the home. Betancourt had to be forced out with gas; he was released after his arrest for trespassing. The homeowner’s son-in-law, Ricardo Silva, said the entrances to the crawl space would be secured. “It’s probably not uncommon, you know,” Silva said, “in this day and age, people are looking for shelter.” [NY Times, 11/13/2024]

The Aristocrats

Auction house Reeman Dansie in Colchester, England, announced that a slice of wedding cake from the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip has been purchased for $2,831, United Press International reported. The little slice of history, part of a 500-pound cake served at the Nov. 20, 1947, wedding, had been given as a gift to Marion Polson, a housekeeper at Holyrood House in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was preserved in a box bearing the then-princess's insignia and included a letter from the bride. No word on how it tasted. [UPI, 11/11/2024]

Oops

Mattel is scrambling after releasing its new line of "Wicked" dolls in packaging that included a link not to the upcoming movie's official page, but to a porn website, United Press International reported. "We deeply regret this unfortunate error," the company said in a statement. It was unclear how many dolls carried the misprint, but the company said they were mostly sold in the United States. Mattel helpfully advises people who have purchased products with the misprint to dispose of the boxes. [UPI, 11/11/2024]

Awesome!

Aaron Fowler, a surfer in Denmark, Western Australia, was riding the waves on Nov. 1 when he spotted an unusual bird, the Albany Advertiser reported. "There was this big bird in the water ... and it just stood up and waddled right over to us," he said. The emperor penguin had swum thousands of kilometers from Antarctica and was malnourished; it was given into the care of the University of Western Australia's School of Biological Sciences, where its rehabilitation is expected to last a few weeks. One expert there said the penguins are never observed north of the 60th parallel south. "It was kind of funny," Fowler said, "like as he came out of the water, he went to do a tummy slide -- like I guess he's used to on the ice -- and he just did a kind of face-plant in the sand ... and looked a bit shocked." [Albany Advertiser, 11/5/2024]

Say What?

Semi-professional paranormal investigator Johnny Turnip of Abergavenny, Wales, has weighed in on the recent American election, the Abergavenny Chronicle reported on Nov. 11. "Trump isn't the real enemy, leprechauns are!" he told the paper. "They have been using world leaders and royalty as puppets and distractions from their own diabolical schemes for generations. I don't think either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris were ever aware that they were being used by these corrupt, gold-hungry, shamrock-obsessed, stove-pipe-wearing, alcoholic little pygmies." Turnip went on: "Most people don't think leprechauns are real, and neither did I until a wise man told me that I'd have a hard time finding a mermaid in this day and age because the leprechauns had systematically slaughtered most for them for their scales centuries ago." Unsurprisingly, Turnip had MUCH more to say than we can include here. Consider yourself warned. [Abergavenny Chronicle, 11/11/2024]

Undignified Death

The Marion County (Indiana) Coroner identified a man found deceased on Nov. 11 as Derek Sink, 39, People magazine reported. Sink was discovered in a tanning bed at a Planet Fitness location, where he had arrived on Friday, Nov. 8. His family had not heard from him since Friday and reported him missing on Sunday; Sink, who had battled addiction, was wearing an ankle monitor, so his probation officer was able to see his last location. Sink's mother, Karen Wetzel, said a syringe was found in the room with him, and she suspects he overdosed. She called her son "the kindest person" with "the softest heart." [People, 11/13/2024]

The Passing Parade

On Nov. 6, Mohammed Abdullah Alabilan, 27, of Pennsylvania, received a lap dance inside the Reign nightclub in Clearwater, Florida, but "refused to pay the $40 service fee," The Smoking Gun reported. When Alabilan tried to leave the club, a deputy stepped in and charged him with misdemeanor theft. He was released from jail after paying ... a $40 bond. The judge ordered him to stay away from the nightclub. [The Smoking Gun, 11/7/2024]

Least Competent Criminals

Four Californians were arrested for insurance fraud on Nov. 13 for an incident that took place in January, NBC News reported. Ruben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, filed insurance claims on three Mercedes cars, complete with video, which they said had been damaged by a bear. The Jan. 8 alleged attack took place while the cars were parked at Lake Arrowhead northeast of Los Angeles. "The investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume," the insurance department said. The bear costume, paws and metal hand tools that simulate claws were found in the suspects' home, officials said. Investigators said they had shown the video to a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who "opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit." [NBC News, 11/13/2024]

Animal Antics

Residents of Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire, England, seem conflicted about the badgers that are causing problems in their burg. The Daily Star reported on Nov. 13 that the burrowing animals have caused roads and sidewalks to collapse, which has resulted in construction projects and delays everywhere. But the locals are reticent about eliminating them: "I don't want anything untoward to happen to them, but I'm a believer that they've got to be controlled in certain areas," said resident Des Barnett. Natural England has warned road workers that their projects must be complete by the end of November, when badger mating season begins, or be put off until July 2025. [Daily Star, 11/13/2024]