Veteran surfer Ingrid Seiple was catching a wave off Oahu, Hawaii, when she saw something floating like a log in the water. At first she thought it was a Hawaiian monk seal. But, she said, “that’s when I realized it was a wild pig, and it saw me. It started swimming toward me as fast as it could. It was very close and getting closer. I pushed the board between the pig and me and it bit my board.” Seiple thinks the wild boar was chased into the ocean by hunting dogs. “It looked like it had an injury on its face,” she said. Seiple escaped the boar without harm; no word on the pig’s condition.
The Really Big Fry Pan
Motorists on I-59 in Tennessee on Jan. 12 got a closeup look at the world’s largest cast-iron skillet as it made its way on a flatbed truck to the future Lodge Cast Iron Museum in South Pittsburg, Tenn. The big fry pan measures 18 feet from handle to handle and weighs more than 14,000 pounds. It will be placed outside the museum, which is set to open in late summer. Get your selfie stick ready.
Mannequins And Carpet Don’t Mix
Police were called to investigate after a motorist on the M11 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, spotted what they believed were the feet of a dead person who, they thought, had been rolled up in a carpet in another car. A law enforcement spokesperson explained, however, that the feet belonged to “a mannequin dressed as Prince Charming who was on his way to a themed birthday. Thankfully, this was a false alarm.” The driver was advised to “avoid such circumstances occurring again.”
Wait, What?
Cameron Newsom of Colorado Springs, Colo., was treated for stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma on her tongue in 2013. Removing the tumor also meant removing part of her tongue, which doctors replaced with skin and muscle taken from her thigh. Through all her experiences in treating the cancer, she said, “The weirdest part … was when I felt a rough texture on the ‘thigh’ part of my tongue — and when I looked in the mirror, it had started growing leg hair!” Newsom had to learn to speak again and still finds eating a challenge, but she’s back to being a gymnastics coach, even with her fuzzy tongue.
It’s a Living
Xavier Long, 20, of Yerkwood, Ala., has discovered a way to profit from human jealousy and insecurity. Suspicious partners pay Long to flirt on social media with their loved ones as a loyalty test, and Long rakes in the proceeds: In one week alone, he made over $2,000. Long said he receives 100 requests for help every day and charges a minimum of $10. If a woman he’s paid to flirt with gives him any of her personal contact information, he considers her a “fail.” “I’m helping people, so I feel like it’s a good thing in a way,” Long said. “Doing these tests has allowed me to stop working a 9 to 5 job.”
The ‘Just Eat Candy’ Mom
Teacher Kerry Lyn Caviasca of Watertown, Conn., has been charged with two counts of risk of injury to a child and second-degree reckless endangerment. According to the arrest warrant, Caviasca’s ex-husband informed police that she had left their two children, both under 12, home alone for two days while she went on vacation to Florida with her boyfriend. When the father checked one of the children’s phones, he saw texts between the child and Caviasca, including exchanges about what they should eat, to which she replied, “just eat candy.” She also instructed them to stay in the basement so they wouldn’t be seen. The children told police they were alone in the house, except for their dog.
Just Rewards
Mayor Chen Qimai of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, has ordered a clever punishment for people convicted of drunk driving in his community. Offenders will have to clean funeral parlors to give them the experience of being close to death. In January, 11 drunk drivers spent hours cleaning a mortuary, refrigeration unit and crematorium. “I had never been close to death, and it felt disturbing,” one offender said. When they were finished, they reportedly expressed their deep remorse and said they wouldn’t drive drunk again.
Healthy Food Kills
A man in Spain perished while he was working in an agricultural warehouse. The 34-year-old was buried when a large quantity of carrots fell on him.
‘She Much Prefers Sausages’
A Jack Russell terrier named Millie, who slipped out of her leash and became stranded on mudflats near Hampshire, England, was lured to safety with the most reliable of baits: a sausage. Officials began a rescue mission when it seemed Millie might be swept out to sea. Their efforts failed for four days. But one of the rescuers thought of dangling a sausage from a drone and flying it over the dog. “It was a crazy idea,” said Chris Taylor, chair of the Denmead Drone Search and Rescue team. “If we hadn’t got her away from that area, the tide would have come in and she would have been at risk of drowning. The sausages were the last resort.” Millie’s owner, Emma Oakes, confirmed that Millie “really likes food and she’ll eat anything you give her … but she much prefers sausages.”
No Brownies For Mom
At the Tabor, S.D., Senior Center, a regular card game got a little weird after players enjoyed some brownies supplied by the mother of 46-year-old Michael Koranda. Koranda, an elementary schoolteacher, had recently traveled to Colorado and brought back some THC-infused butter, which he used to make a batch of brownies. His mother unknowingly shared half the treats with her fellow card players, which resulted in multiple calls to county officials about a possible poisoning. Sheriff’s deputies spoke to Koranda and took the remaining brownies as evidence, charging him with possession of a controlled substance.
Hunting For Snorlax
The California Court of Appeal ruled that the Los Angeles Police Department was justified in its firing of two officers in 2017 after they ignored a robbery call to play Pokemon Go. On April 15, 2017, Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were assigned to patrol the LAPD’s southwest division. But when a call for backup came over the radio, Lozano and Mitchell were captured on their in-car video responding, “I don’t want to be his help” and “screw it.” Instead, they continued their hunt for a Snorlax and Togetic Pokemon, eventually meeting up with their sergeant at a 7-Eleven. When he questioned them about the robbery call, they said they hadn’t heard it because they were responding to another call, leading their supervisor to review the dashcam footage. After the officers were fired, they sued, saying that the video captured their “private communications” and that they were improperly questioned. Five years later, the courts disagreed, and Lozano and Mitchell have plenty of time to hunt for Snorlax and Togetic.
The Dutch Reach
In the United Kingdom, a new highway code rule will cost you up to 1,000 pounds. The rule requires that someone inside a car opens the door with the hand farthest from the door, employing a technique known as the Dutch Reach.
In other words, if you’re driving on the right side of the car, you would use your left hand to reach around and open the car door. Rule 239 reads: “This will make you turn your head to look over your shoulder. You are then more likely to avoid causing injury to cyclists or motorcyclists passing you on the road, or to people on the pavement.”
If a person in a car injures someone by opening with the wrong hand, a fine will be levied. Cycling UK estimates that more than 500 people are injured every year by car doors.
Nay-chur
In the wee hours of Jan. 19, residents along Hastings Drive in Belmont, Calif., were awakened by growling and roaring in their front yards. Two mountain lions were captured by doorbell camera as they fought to the death.
The prevailing lion dragged the dead one across the street to a neighbor’s front porch. “Just keep your head on a swivel,” suggested Kevin Stanford, who is part of the neighborhood’s watch team. Tiffany Yap, an expert at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the attack was just “mountain lions being mountain lions.
It’s a common occurrence for mountain lions to kill each other over territory.” Still, Belmont Police urged area residents to be extra cautious, keeping pets and small children inside.
Man Like A Wooden Man
Ms. Wang, of Zhengzhou, China, agreed to a blind date arranged by her parents, who had already arranged more than 10 blind dates on her behalf. She went to the man’s home for dinner. But during the meal, the two learned that the man’s community had gone into a rapid lockdown because of COVID-19, and she wouldn’t be able to leave for several days. She said that the situation was “not ideal.”
While the man did cook for her, “he doesn’t speak much. I feel that apart from him being reticent like a wooden mannequin, everything else about him is pretty good.” No word yet of whether a romance is blooming.
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