Car collector Anthony Saia just sold a 1987 Buick GNX on eBay for $249,999. The GNX, part of a limited edition of 547 built for only one year, was produced by Buick along with McLaren Engines and ASC. It was the second-fastest 0-to-60 mph car of its day (behind the Porsche 911 Turbo). Other GNXs have sold for similar amounts. Saia’s car only had 426 miles on it.
Time To Water The Dirt
The New York Earth Room was created in 1977 by artist Walter De Maria. It consists of a second-floor apartment at 141 Wooster St. that is filled with dirt. The room’s caretaker, Bill Dilworth, waters and rakes the dirt regularly. The room welcomes up to 100 visitors a day. What does it all mean? “The artist never attached any meaning to it,” Dilworth says. It’s free to view the 250 cubic yards of soil, but people are not allowed to take photographs or touch the dirt.
I’m Actually A Little Older Than 22
Laura Oglesby recently pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally providing false information to the Social Security Administration. In 2016, she used her estranged daughter’s identity to create another life for herself as Lauren Hays, a 22-year-old college student who was supposed to have lived in Mountain View, Mo. She obtained a Social Security card and driver’s license, then racked up more than $25,000 in debt with student loans and other expenses. She worked at Southwest Baptist University and rented a room from Wendy and Avery Parker. “Everybody believed in her identity,” said Mountain View Police Chief Jamie Perkins. “She even had boyfriends who believed she was 22.” Oglesby may face up to five years in prison and will have to pay restitution to her daughter and SBU.
Bad News Bears
In Monrovia, Calif., Donna Hargett captured video of a bear cub wrestling with her neighbor’s inflatable reindeer Christmas decoration as the mama bear looked on. “I looked up and there it was, jumping on the reindeer,” Hargett said. “We see these two bears around all the time. They’re trouble,” she said. In fact, Hargett said they once broke into her home and left paw prints on the bed.
Please Don’t Shoot At The Decoys
Can’t we all just follow the rules? Three people in Massachusetts were arrested after they shot a deer decoy with a crossbow. Massachusetts Environmental Police officers spotted a truck with a spotlight shining on the “deer” just before the shot was taken. The hunters realized the “deer” was a decoy and took off. But they were apprehended. Officers found “deer legs within the truck bed in plain view.” The hunters were arraigned on multiple charges, including hunting with artificial light, hunting with the aid of a vehicle and hunting after hours.
You Don’t Need To Know What I’m Wearing
Keeta Neville was detained for trespassing in Norfolk, Va. She was charged with disorderly conduct and assault on officers during her arrest. But that’s not the most interesting thing about the incident. Neville’s head and face were covered with a cream-colored “paintlike substance” when she was apprehended. The nature and source of the substance still aren’t known.
Well, There’s No Law Against It
Islamic police in Karo, Nigeria, arrested 26-year-old Aliyu Na Idris because he was trying to sell himself for $50,000. He works as a tailor, but said, “The decision to sell myself was due to poverty. I plan to give my parents 10 million nara when I eventually get a buyer.” Police said what he did was “forbidden in Islam.” But he was released the day after his arrest and said the police only gave him advice.
Get Out Of Jail Free
Lauras Matiusovas was mistakenly released from the Pentonville Prison in North London on Nov. 26 after serving only 48 hours of a four-year sentence. After he called his probation officer, who told him that everything needed for his release was in order, Matiusovas did what any grateful con would do: embark on a 10-day boozing binge with his friends. “It’s mad,” one buddy said. “He could have jumped on a flight and left the U.K. Instead, he chilled with us and had a great time.” It all came to an end on Dec. 6 when he was hauled back to his cell. The Ministry of Justice commented: “Releases in error are incredibly rare, but we take them extremely seriously.”
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Hasan Riza Gunay, Turkey’s one and only stress coach, has a unique method for easing his clients’ tension: he lets them hit him (and doesn’t hit back). After a decade in the business, though, Gunay is ready to train someone to take his place. “Most of my clients suffer from depression or panic attacks,” he said. “I would like to train other potentially interested people … and hand over my gloves to the new generation.” Gunay said 70 percent of his clients are women whose strength is equivalent to that of boys 12 to 14. So he doesn’t worry about getting hurt. And he wears protective gear. He’s sometimes accompanied by a photo of the person the client is unhappy with.
Cocaine Is A Hell Of A Drug
Mark Rogers, 38, Joseph Way, 36, and Tashara Levans, 37, each pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping a federal employee, which could get them nine years to life in federal prison. It all started in Rochester, N.Y., when the three were anxiously awaiting a postal delivery of $70,000 worth of cocaine. The mail carrier delivered several other packages to the home that day. As she stepped off the porch, the trio accused her of stealing the drug package. They ransacked her mail truck, “then told her she was coming with them,” prosecutor Robert Marangola said during a hearing. In Levans’ SUV, they told the postal employee that they were going to kill her, her children and her mother. They searched her personal vehicle, then continued driving her around while threatening her. But eventually they stopped and got out to talk. That’s when the mail carrier used her smartwatch to text her supervisor and the Rochester Police Dept. As the suspects finally dropped her off at her car, police swarmed the SUV and arrested them. Sentencing is scheduled for April.
Winding Around The Christmas Tree
Rob and Marcela Wild of Robertson, South Africa, figured there might be a mouse in their newly decorated Christmas tree when their cats started watching it. Instead, they found one of the most venomous snakes in Africa, a boomslang, in the tree. The Wilds called on snake catcher Gerrie Heyns, who used “snake tongs” to put the reptile on the floor. “Once I had it under control, the family came right up to see the snake,” Heyns said. “A scary moment turned into an exciting moment for the children.” Heyns released the 4 1/2 feet long snake into the wild a couple of days later.
Christmas Tree Wars
The 10-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree that the town council installed in the Grimsby town center in England left locals underwhelmed. In fact, the council had the expensive decoration removed. Snarky comments included one from a resident who said he had a bigger tree in his house. Another called the Christmas tree “an insult to Grimsby.” The council responded that the tree cost more than 1,000 pounds but had been installed too early. The bigger and better traditional live tree from a nearby farm would be installed on Nov. 25. After that, the fake tree would be put up again for a Christmas market. This explanation so confused the residents of Grimsby that they quit complaining about the Christmas tree.
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