{"id":3529,"date":"2015-09-03T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=3529"},"modified":"2015-08-19T11:33:32","modified_gmt":"2015-08-19T16:33:32","slug":"weird-news-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/","title":{"rendered":"WEIRD NEWS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking Fish<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scientists from Australia\u2019s James Cook University told reporters in June that they had spotted an aggressive fish that can walk on land, making its way toward the country from Papua New Guinea. The native freshwater \u201cclimbing perch\u201d can live out of water for days and has survived short saltwater treks from PNG toward Australia\u2019s Queensland.<\/p>\n

That Hurts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ran\u2019dell Busch, 27, was in serious condition after being shot on July 26 near the corner of 18th Street and Emmet Street in Omaha, Neb. He was also shot in 2014 around the intersection of 18th and Emmet. And in 2012, he was shot in a scuffle after running from the corner of 18th and Emmet.<\/p>\n

Least Competent\u00a0Criminals<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 A 26-year-old carpenter who was trying to break open an ATM at an ICICI Bank in Delhi, India, at 2:30 am accidentally locked himself in the tiny space behind it. He phoned police to come and rescue him.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A carjacker in Omaha, Neb., commandeered a car from a woman at gunpoint and climbed in. According to the woman, the man was very tall. After fumbling around a bit trying to adjust the seat, he gave up after driving only a few feet and ran away.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jason Stange, 44, became a fugitive last year by walking away from a Spokane halfway house while on probation for bank robbery. He was arrested in July in Olympia, Wash., after he appeared in an extensive newspaper pictorial about a local movie he was starring in. Stange could have chosen an obscure stage name; instead he billed himself merely as \u201cJason Strange\u201d \u2014 a choice that made detection easy for U.S. Marshals.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A task force of Benton, Ark., police and U.S. Marshals tracked down Tieren Watson, 26, after he spent several days on the lam as a suspect in a shooting. When Watson was arrested, he was wearing a T-shirt reading, \u201cYou Can Run, But You Can\u2019t Hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurial Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Grande Hotel San Calogero, the planned centerpiece of a Sicilian tourist renaissance, is still nowhere close to opening 61 years after construction began. It took 30 years to build. Then developers fought for 10 years over its management. Next, a serious drainage deficiency was discovered. Repairs for the drainage problem remain unfunded.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Construction of the ultra-modern Don Quixote airport in Ciudad Real, Spain, was finished in 2006. But the $1 billion facility never opened. In July, it was sold to a Chinese investor for $11,000.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A woman in a suburb of Beijing filed a lawsuit against the China Dragon Garden recently when she found that her name was affixed to a headstone in gold lettering. Furthermore, half of the 600 plots were marked for people who were still living. Cemetery staff said the move was a marketing plan star. China\u2019s aging population, and Beijing\u2019s land scarcity, have driven up prices, and spurred intense competition and corrupt practices, according to a Los Angeles Times dispatch.<\/p>\n

Unclear On The Concept<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June, at California\u2019s San Diego County Fair, the deep-fried Slim-Fast bar debuted. A 200-calorie diet bar was breaded in pancake batter, fried, dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with chocolate.<\/p>\n

We Aren\u2019t Alone<\/strong><\/p>\n

In July, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department posted a warning photo of a rare 8-inch-long centipede with gangly white legs tipped with venom-delivering fangs. The centipede eats lizards and toads.<\/p>\n

Ironies<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 An 87-year-old man who was taking his license renewal driving test in Deerfield, Ill., confused the brake and the accelerator and crashed into the driver\u2019s license office. Neither he nor the examiner was injured.<\/p>\n

\u2014 An 83-year-old man, driving around Cape Coral, Fla., in May, suffered a fatal heart attack at the wheel. The car came to rest in shrubbery ringing the offices of the Florida Heart Associates building.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A court in Lincoln, Neb., had already sent Paul Boye to prison for 10 years for shooting his girlfriend. In June, the same court ordered him to cover her medical bills. The woman had taken a .22-caliber bullet, which left a scar cutting right through a tattoo reading \u201cHappiness Is A Warm Gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inexplicable<\/strong><\/p>\n

A KPHO-TV news story in Phoenix featured a local doctor advising expectant mothers against \u201ctweaking\u201d the result of home pregnancy tests. Some women, apparently, had discovered the magic of \u201cPhotoshopping\u201d the pink reading on the home test\u2019s strip to make it look as if there is a pregnancy. Although the doctor warns of the general hazard of \u201cfalse positives,\u201d the 415-word news story does not explain how Photoshopping a not-positive reading into a positive one improves the likelihood of conception.<\/p>\n

Profile In Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maryland state delegate Ariana Kelly was charged with trespassing and indecent exposure in June after she arrived at her ex-husband\u2019s home to drop off their kids. On her arrival, she learned that her boyfriend\u2019s girlfriend was inside. According to police, she started banging on the door and ringing the bell repeatedly. Aware that her husband had a camera trained on the doorway, she faced it and exposed her breasts. Eventually, she dared an officer to arrest her. The Washington Post reported that Kelly is a member of a legislative task force studying maternal mental health issues.<\/p>\n

Updates\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 As News of the Weird has noted, some observant Jews are magnificently creative in devising workarounds to ancient ritual restraints. For instance, the KosherSwitch theoretically allows Jews to defeat the restriction on engaging electricity during Shabbat. By employing a laser circuit that periodically malfunctions in connecting a switch to a power flow, it permits the user not to be the direct cause of the electricity. The KosherSwitch is currently the subject of a crowdfunding project sponsored by the device\u2019s patent holder.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Norway\u2019s prison system had refused to honor the educational rehabilitation demands of Anders Behring Breivik, the mass-murderer of 71 at a camp in 2011. Breivik had been sentenced to 21 years in prison \u2014 the country\u2019s maximum. At first, he was subsequently turned down when he sought to register as a political science student at Oslo University. However, in July, prison officials relented and said they will allow the enrollment. Breivik will still be subject to prison restrictions against Internet and email use.<\/p>\n

Weird News Classic\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Time magazine reported in August, 2010, that among the entries in \u201cDetroit Hair Wars\u201d were The Hummer (styled by \u201cLittle Willie\u201d), in which a mass of extensions was shaped to resemble the vehicle. The hairstyle featured four large \u201ctires\u201d with metallic hubcaps. Another style was the Beautiful Butterfly, featuring extensions thinned, teased and stretched so that four \u201cwings\u201d rose from the model\u2019s head. Both stylings appeared to be at least 2 feet long, and dwarfed the models\u2019 heads.<\/p>\n

Oops!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Maine enacted legislation in July to make immigrant asylum-seekers eligible for the state\u2019s General Assistance fund. Gov. Paul LePage promised to veto the bill. The governor misunderstood state law and believed legislation would be regarded as vetoed if he failed to sign it for 10 days. On the 11th day after the bill passed, LePage\u00a0 was stunned to read in the press that asylum-seekers were now eligible for benefits.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The mayor pro tem of Georgetown, Texas, Rachael Jonrow, confirmed that a city councilman neglected to turn off his mobile microphone during a May meeting as he excused himself for a restroom break. Jonrow ignored the men\u2019s room sounds on the PA system. But then the noise from a toilet\u2019s flushing seemed to release the councilmembers\u2019 tension and they burst into laughter.<\/p>\n

\u2014 A guest at the upscale W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had to be rescued by firefighters in July when he fell off of a machine in the hotel\u2019s exercise room and got his head caught in the one next to it. Rescuers arrived with torches and saws. However, they managed to pull and push and manipulate the man\u2019s head free. (He had \u201csignificant\u201d injuries.)<\/p>\n

Wait, What?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Upset that New Zealand\u2019s health care administration has rejected paying for gastric bypass surgery, Jason Patterson announced in July that he will protest publicly by going on a hunger strike. \u201cThe first two to three days will be really hard,\u201d he told New Zealand\u2019s Channel 3 News.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Local officials in China\u2019s Xinjiang region informed Muslim shopkeepers and restaurateurs in May that they will henceforth be required to sell alcohol and cigarettes even though Islam forbids their consumption. An official told Radio Free Asia that the government aims to weaken religion.<\/p>\n

The Continuing Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Reuters reported in early July that a big loser in the nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers was the brothel industry of Vienna, Austria, which hosted the final round. With so many male diplomats in town for two stressful months, business had been robust.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Texas\u2019 highest criminal appeals court agreed to postpone Clifton Williams\u2019 execution until they could consider the significance of evidence presented to his jury in 2006. Prosecutors had claimed at his trial that the likelihood of another black man having Williams\u2019 DNA profile was 1 in 43 sextillion (43 followed by 21 zeros \u2014 or 43 billion trillion). Texas officials have recently recalculated the FBI math and concluded that the odds that a second black man has Williams\u2019 profile are only 1 in 40 billion trillion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walking Fish Scientists from Australia\u2019s James Cook University told reporters in June that they had spotted an aggressive fish that can walk on land, making its way toward the country from Papua New Guinea. The native freshwater \u201cclimbing perch\u201d can live out of water for days and has survived short saltwater treks from PNG toward [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[65,40],"yoast_head":"\nWEIRD NEWS - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WEIRD NEWS - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Walking Fish Scientists from Australia\u2019s James Cook University told reporters in June that they had spotted an aggressive fish that can walk on land, making its way toward the country from Papua New Guinea. The native freshwater \u201cclimbing perch\u201d can live out of water for days and has survived short saltwater treks from PNG toward [&hellip\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-03T13:00:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-08-19T16:33:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/news-of-the-weird-inet.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"610\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Shepherd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chuck Shepherd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/\",\"name\":\"WEIRD NEWS - BestOfSwla\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-03T13:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-08-19T16:33:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d527ce14b072c577b69550fd38e97cb7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"WEIRD NEWS\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/\",\"name\":\"BestOfSwla\",\"description\":\"Powered by Lagniappe Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d527ce14b072c577b69550fd38e97cb7\",\"name\":\"Chuck Shepherd\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a44e79124b51782daafcefc31d4666b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a44e79124b51782daafcefc31d4666b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chuck Shepherd\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/author\/chuckshepherd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WEIRD NEWS - BestOfSwla","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WEIRD NEWS - BestOfSwla","og_description":"Walking Fish Scientists from Australia\u2019s James Cook University told reporters in June that they had spotted an aggressive fish that can walk on land, making its way toward the country from Papua New Guinea. The native freshwater \u201cclimbing perch\u201d can live out of water for days and has survived short saltwater treks from PNG toward [&hellip","og_url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/","og_site_name":"BestOfSwla","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bestofswla","article_published_time":"2015-09-03T13:00:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-08-19T16:33:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":610,"height":250,"url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/news-of-the-weird-inet.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chuck Shepherd","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chuck Shepherd","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/","url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/","name":"WEIRD NEWS - BestOfSwla","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-09-03T13:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2015-08-19T16:33:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d527ce14b072c577b69550fd38e97cb7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/09\/03\/weird-news-4\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"WEIRD NEWS"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/","name":"BestOfSwla","description":"Powered by Lagniappe Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d527ce14b072c577b69550fd38e97cb7","name":"Chuck Shepherd","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a44e79124b51782daafcefc31d4666b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a44e79124b51782daafcefc31d4666b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chuck Shepherd"},"url":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/author\/chuckshepherd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}