Smartmouth Brewing Co. in Norfolk, Va., launched a new “magically ridiculous” beer: a limited-edition IPA — with marshmallows. Chris Neikirk, brewery spokesperson, said the beer is “brewed with in-house toasted marshmallows and bulk dehydrated marshmallow bits. … It has a soft pillowy body with a slight cereal taste.” Smartmouth hopes the beer evokes “nostalgia in adults who remember when … Saturday mornings were a time that you sat around watching cartoons and playing games,” Neikirk added, while warning that the brewery is “not marketing to children.”
When Bulldogs Sulk
Dog walker Michele Bilsland has become accustomed to strangers growing alarmed when they see her charge, Begbie, throwing himself to the ground as they start out on their constitutional. Begbie, who lives with Roz Niblock and Matt Kennedy in Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland, stages his protest when Bilsland leads him on what he knows is the shorter route around the block, rather than his usual hour-long jaunt through fields. On March 15, two workmen stopped to see if Bilsland needed help: “I told them he was fine and just having a tantrum and sulking.” Begbie, a 4-year-old Old English bulldog, continued his charade for at least a minute before getting up and getting on with his walk. “Begbie just has a very strong personality,” Bilsland noted.
Having Fun In The Stun
On Jan. 29, the Chenoa, Ill., Police Department put a call out for volunteers to help with a training session taking place that evening. “Officers are undergoing their annual Taser training tonight … and are looking for members of the public who are willing to volunteer for the experience,” announced WEEK-TV. Volunteers were required to sign an “exposure waiver” in order to participate.
Every Criminal Needs A Forklift
Nicholas Hodgden climbed into a forklift outside a Dillons grocery store one evening and set off down the road. The forklift, valued at $1,500, had been left outside a store with the keys in the ignition. A spokesperson for the Topeka, Kan., police department said bystanders saw what happened and called police, who apprehended Hodgden as he drove along, holding an open can of beer. He also had a six-pack in the back. Hodgden was booked into the Shawnee County Jail on one count of felony theft and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and transporting an open alcoholic beverage container.
Bright Ideas
— If you’re looking for a creepy weekend getaway, The Gas Station along Texas Highway 304 near Bastrop now offers overnight stays. Why, you say? The old filling station was the setting for the 1974 film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The Gas Station opened as a restaurant in 2016, serving barbecue and souvenir merchandise to film buffs. Manager Ben Hughes said the Coke machine in the movie is the same one that’s now in the restaurant, and they have a van parked outside that’s an exact replica of the one in the film. Now, fans can stay in one of four mini-cabins right behind the restaurant. But Hughes promises the staff won’t try to scare you: “We want to make sure that everybody who comes out has a good time … not just freakin’ out or anything like that.”
— Outdoorsman Scott Ritchie of Loveland, Colo., has a new lease on life thanks to 3-D printing. Ritchie was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in early 2018 after noticing pain in his hip after fly-fishing. Dr. Ronald Hugate of the Panorama Orthopedics and Spine Center in Highlands Ranch took an aggressive and creative approach to treating Ritchie: He made a 3-D virtual model of Ritchie’s pelvis, then designed an implant to exactly replace the area of bone that would have to be surgically removed. Made of titanium, the implant was produced using a 3-D printer. Two weeks later after surgery, Ritchie was walking with crutches and was expected to walk on his own in a few weeks more, although he was warned he might have a limp. “If I do have a limp, it’s better than nothing,” Ritchie said.
Ewwww!
Penny Pospisil, of Sumter County, Fla., was arrested for the alleged murder of her boyfriend Anthony Mitchell. Investigators believe that last August, in the Lake Pan RV Village where Pospisil and Mitchell lived, she killed Mitchell and cut his body into pieces, living with the remains in their camper. When neighbors asked about him, she explained that Mitchell had died of natural causes and she had him cremated. But they also noticed a foul odor coming from the camper and that Pospisil was regularly showering at the pool. When police arrived in December to investigate her overdue lot fee, she told them that she was a victim of domestic violence and had killed Mitchell in self-defense. She faces charges of second-degree murder and abuse of a dead human body.
Blame It on the Meth
Debra Lynn Johnson, 69, of Searles, Minn., suffered from heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and mental illnesses, and was a patient at a transitional care center before her husband took her home to have a “death party,” he later told authorities. Brown County sheriff’s officers responding to a 911 call from Duane Arden Johnson, 58, found the words “Death Parde God Hell” spray-painted on the front door. Duane came out of the house naked, yelled that his wife was dead and ran back inside, where officers found him in the bathtub picking “things” from his skin. Debra’s body, still warm, was wrapped in a sheet. Duane told police his wife had begged him to take her home to die, so they had staged the party, “rocking out” to Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health” and taking methamphetamines. After her death, Duane said he washed and wrapped her “like the Bible told me to do.” Police found stolen guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the home. Duane was charged with felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property.
People With Issues
Volleyball players at the University of Kansas reported to Lawrence, Kan., police a number of break-ins over 2017 and 2018. But it was the list of missing items that was puzzling: swimsuit bottoms, socks, shoes and many pairs of underwear. After a spring break 2018 incident, police got a lead in the case: Surveillance video captured a suspect vehicle that had a dealership sticker in the window. Officers worked with the local dealership, which had loaned the car to Skyler N. Yee, while his own car was being serviced. Yee, a volunteer assistant volleyball coach since 2016, was arrested and charged with 15 counts of burglary, property damage and theft after police searched his home in early February, where they found a 40-drawer plastic storage container full of women’s underwear, with each drawer labeled with a player’s name; six other containers with underwear; and bags containing pink high heels, boots, a sundress and a jumpsuit that victims had reported missing, along with jewelry, sex toys and other items. Yee resigned from his position; KU Athletics spokesman Jim Marchiony said, “We have taken precautions to ensure that he is not permitted to be anywhere near the volleyball program.”
People Different From Us
Researchers at St. Mary’s Hospital in London had been stumped about how 10 British men contracted a rare virus called human T-cell leukemia virus type 1. The men weren’t intravenous drug users and hadn’t had transfusions. None of them displayed any symptoms, but doctors had identified the virus through bloodwork. Dr. Divya Dhasmana, co-author of a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was eventually tipped off to the source of the infections when she saw scars on one of the men’s back. The men participate in blood-shedding religious rituals, such as cutting or whipping themselves. The rituals the men reported include striking the forehead with a knife, then passing the knife to other men; or striking the back with a chain of blades. Dhasmana said that one infected man told her the blades were soaked in a bucket of antiseptic solution between uses, but that didn’t prevent the virus’ spread. “Our message is not ‘Don’t do it,’” said Dr. Dhasmana. “Our message is, ‘If you do it, don’t share equipment.’”
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