Issue 18 of the Odd Stew: strange news items, oddities, plus other weird and fascinating things that have happened in the news that you may have missed.
Just Trying to Clean Up the Streets
A man in Avon Lake, Ohio, faced charges of receiving stolen property in June 2017 for stealing 500 signs from alongside the roadway. He claimed the signs were an eyesore and a distraction to drivers. Some of the signs had been posted illegally while other signs had been approved by the city. The man stole the signs over a few months, and they were valued at more than $5,500.
This Elevator Smells Funny
Officials in Craighead County, Arkansas, have continued to have to deal with a rather unsanitary problem for years in the county courthouse which is located in Jonesboro, Arkansas. People using the elevator in the courthouse can’t seem to stop urinating in it. Officials installed security cameras in the elevator in late 2016 to catch those who just couldn’t make it, or didn’t want to make it, to the restroom in time. The restroom, incidentally, is only 25 feet from the elevator. Three men have been caught relieving themselves since the cameras were installed. One of the men was cited for disorderly conduct and fined $105.
Pinching a Penny
A 37-year-old man in Round Rock, Texas, was definitely not happy with the date he had with a woman he met online in May 2017. He was so unhappy, in fact, that he decided to sue the woman for the price of the movie ticket of a movie they went to see. He filed a claim for $17.31 and stated that the reason he was suing the woman was because she sent texts while they were watching Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2, and then left him at the theater. The man said his 35-year-old date wouldn’t stop texting, and that he advised her that she should go outside to do it. The woman never returned after leaving. The man also said that he later asked her for the cost of the ticket, but the woman told him she didn’t need to pay him back because it was a date. Maybe the man just needed to chalk this one up to a good learning experience.
That’s Why He Didn’t Know Anything About Tools
In May 2017, A 53-year-old man in Plaistow, New Hampshire, put on an orange Home Depot apron and posed as an employee of the home improvement store so he could steal air conditioners. He managed to load his pickup truck with two air conditioners and then returned to the store. At this time, a manager in the store noticed that his apron had the name “Shannon” on it. The apron even had flowers drawn on it. The name didn’t match any of the employees at the store at that time so the manager called the police. Police located the man later, and he insisted he didn’t know anything about stolen air conditioners. That was until a Home Depot apron was found in his back pocket. He may have wanted to take a better look at that apron before you he put it on.
The Great Bee Burglary
A Montana beekeeper in January 2017 reported that 488 of his beehives had been stolen after he had moved them to California for the almond pollination season. Authorities in Fresno County, California, implemented a sting operation (no pun intended) to get the stolen hives back. They found $170,000 worth of stolen hives in a cow pasture, hidden along the freeway in a drainage canal, and in a rented bee nursery space. The investigation found there had been 10 victims in seven California counties. The Montana beekeeper got most of his bees back in early May 2017, but had to keep them away from his other hives in case they were infected with disease. It’s unknown why California bees couldn’t handle the almond pollination on their own.
One Angry Goose
An Indianapolis, Indiana man was ticketed after he whacked a Canadian goose with a plastic bat. The man stated that the goose came across a field and began to go after his four-year-old son. He felt the goose was attacking his child and decided to use the plastic bat to protect him. The man was ticketed for animal cruelty by Marion County animal services. Witnesses reported that the man had hit the bird three times. According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, people can protect themselves from wildlife but only if they use a reasonable amount of force. There was no mention from animal services if the goose was ticketed.
It’s Not a Wishing Well
On June 28, 2017, an 80-year-old woman just wanted to her flight on China Southern Airlines out of Shanghai to go smoothly, and to give the plane some luck, she decided to toss some coins at the plane and engine. The result would be what you would expect. Airplane engines don’t like coins.
Fellow passengers reported that the woman was throwing coins at the plane, and she was later taken away by police. She claims she was simply tossing the coins as a prayer for a safe flight. Officials found nine coins, one of which fell into the engine of the Airbus A320 aircraft. Maintenance staff for the airline had to complete a full inspection of the engine which delayed the flight by five hours. Shanghai Pudong Airport is known for having poor on-time rankings, but what do you expect when passengers are throwing coins at the plane?
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