The Case of the Purloined Vote
The editors here at the Weird News Tattler usually steer clear of political news, simply because you can't get much weirder than politics.
But this story caught our attention.
With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe (our favorite author at the Tattler), we're calling this incident The Case of the Purloined Vote.
Survivalist's Rule #1: Go for the eyes
The lesson in this story: Make sure your thumbs are strong.
No, it's not a story about text messaging. It's the second story in a week where someone was able to free themselves from a creature bound and determined to eat them by jabbing a thumb into its eye.
Two weeks ago it was a guy nabbed by an alligator in Florida.
Today, it's a guy nabbed by a shark in Australia.
Swimming in uncharted waters? Don't panic. Just keep those thumbs free.
Woman on toilet: Part II
This story is a bit more gruesome than the earlier one I posted about the woman who sat on the toilet so long that she became attached to it.
In this situation an elderly woman died while on the toilet and the family in the trailer was just praying that it wasn't true.
What a sad, sad weird story.
If ever there was a reason to stay home, this is it
There are bad days and then there are really bad days. Then there are the kinds of days this guy had coming home from work:
From the Associated Press: ROCK ISLAND, Tenn. -- One moment, Justin Hill was turning into his driveway. Minutes later he was being flown to a hospital as his home went up in flames. Then he got a traffic ticket.
Hill, 42, got into a crash after turning into the path of an oncoming car, said Tennessee Highway Patrol Officer Monte Terry. Hill's wife heard the crash and ran outside, leaving the kitchen stove, where she had been cooking, unattended.
Within minutes, their Rock Island trailer was on fire, and firefighters who had responded to the accident found themselves fighting the blaze.
The rural central Tennessee home had extensive damage. Hill was treated at the hospital and released, but he was cited in the accident for failure to yield.
Take my picture! Now, give me your purse
Stupid criminals -- the files of the Weird News Tattler is full of stories about them. Here's another one:
From the Associated Press: BENSALEM, Pa. -- Police say they had no trouble tracking down a robbery suspect, because the victims had taken his picture while chatting with him at a bar a short time before the theft.
The suspect, Andre Smith, struck up a conversation with a group of women at a bachelorette party at the Bensalem Township taproom early Sunday morning, the township's public safety director, Fred Harran, said Wednesday. The women were taking photos of each other when Smith jumped in front of the camera, Harran said.
Smith later was ejected from the bar for allegedly harassing customers.
When two women in the group left the bar to go to a nearby convenience store, Smith robbed them of their purses, Harran said. The women recognized Smith -- who apparently didn't recognize them -- and gave investigators a copy of their photo, Harran said.
Later Sunday, a detective went around to local apartment complexes looking for Smith and spotted him, Harran said.
Smith was arrested on robbery and theft charges and is being held on $50,000 bail.
Favre-orite jersey finally comes off
OK, we all have our favorite items. But this kid took it wa-a-a-ay too far. He wore a Brett Favre jersey for four years!
He'll love his beer, even after he's gone
People sure love their beer. My tastes run more toward a full-body beer, but any beer will do after cutting the lawn on a warm summer day.
Besides the obvious effects that too much beer can have on the drinker (I've only heard about this aspect of consuming libations), it also apparently makes some sober people do unusual things. Remember the item I posted a while back about the Beer Can House in Houston?
And I've been to funerals where someone slips a can of beer into the casket before it's closed, presumably to make the trip to the afterlife go a bit more smoothly.
Well, here's a guy who wants to never forget what his favorite brew is.
Maybe supporters were too drunk to vote
The losers in this election are probably crying in their beer -- if they can find one in this Massachusetts town.
From the Associated Press: TISBURY, Mass. -- A hand recount in a Massachusetts town shows residents aren't as evenly divided about alcohol sales as election officials initially thought.
The April 15 vote appeared to be a 690-690 tie after the original machine count. But the recount turned up two additional votes in favor of upholding the ban Friday. It prohibits beer and wine sales at restaurants in the Martha's Vineyard community.
Had the hand recount resulted in another tie, the measure would have been defeated because it required a majority to pass.
Politician in a sex scandal: who would've guessed?
A fan of the Weird News blog sent me this story, which comes to us from Down Under, with the comment that he didn't think this was that much of a political scandal compared to some others that have come to light lately.
Quiet police work solves mystery of loud explosions
Looks like they've solved the Case of the Nighttime Bangs and Light Flashes in a town in Massachusetts. Police have arrested a man on fireworks charges. Read why he was doing it.
