Issue 22 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.
Sometimes When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go?
It was just about the end of an English soccer match between Salford City and Bradford Park Avenue on October 28, 2017, when something odd happened. Salford City’s goalkeeper, New Zealander Max Crocombe, was given a red card, a penalty card used to indicate an expulsion from the game for an infraction. While getting the red card by a player is not that unusual, the reason for Crocombe’s dismissal was. The goalkeeper had been sent off for urinating during the game.
He had been warned by the steward twice not to urinate, but Crocombe went to the side of the stands anyway and relieved himself. He wasn’t, however, out of sight of the linesman who saw the act and sent him packing. Crocombe later apologized on Twitter to fans and both clubs and stated that he, “was in a very uncomfortable position,” and that, “it won’t happen again.”
This hasn’t been the first time a goalkeeper has had to relieve themselves during professional play. In 2009, during a Champions League match, Jens Lehmann, the goalkeeper for Stuttgart, did his business behind his goal up against an advertising board during a game. Lehmann, however, did it without getting caught by the linesman.
What Are the Chances?
A baby was born at Winter Park Memorial Hospital in Florida on October 31, 2017, the day of Halloween. While many babies were born on this date, what made this particular baby a little different was the little tyke’s name. His name was Frankenstein, specifically Oskar Frankenstein, the baby boy of parents Kyle and Jessica Frankenstein of Winter Park, Florida. To add to the name and date fun, the baby’s proud grandmother, Jennifer Frankenstein, said she had a daughter that was born on the same day as Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. How’s that for a coincidence.
It’s Nice and Flat, But Those Are Noisy Birds
Wildlife is a common site in Alaska, but when that wildlife is a seal that weighs 450 pounds that decided to lounge on a runway of an airport, it’s enough to make anyone do a double take. That’s exactly what happened at Wily Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport in Utqiagvik, Alaska, at the end of October 2017. A worker at the airport discovered the seal in the middle of the runway as he was removing snow from that area of the runway. The airport crew waited for authorities from North Slope Animal Control to arrive to try to remove the seal after an attempt was made using an Alaska Airlines jet to scare the animal away failed. Animal control was finally able to remove the seal using a snowmobile and a sled.
A Piece of Paper Worth $1.3 Million
“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” This was a quote written by Albert Einstein in 1922 about the time he had been informed he would be receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics. He was traveling in Tokyo, Japan, and didn’t have enough cash to tip a bellboy. Einstein scribbled him the note written in German in lieu of a tip and told the bellboy that it “will probably be worth more than a regular tip.”
The piece of paper with the now famous quote sold at auction on October 24, 2017, in Jerusalem for $1.3 million. It has come to be known as Einstein’s theory of happiness.
Just Gettin’ My Grove On
Taoufik Moalla of Montréal, Canada, couldn’t help but let his music consume him while he was making a run to the grocery store in late October 2017. He put in the CD of the 1990 hit “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C+C Music Factory into his car’s stereo and began to sing. Moalla continued to jam away at his tune until he was surprised by the sound of the police siren behind his car. The 38-year-old father of two pulled over to the side of the road and was approached by two Montréal police officers. They asked him if he was screaming, and he told them that he was “just singing.”
He was even more surprised when the officers returned after checking his license and registration and issued him a $149 ticket ($118 U.S.). Police told him the ticket was for screaming in public. Moalla told the media that he didn’t think he was singing that loudly and felt it wasn’t any louder than anyone would sing to a song they liked. He said he was contesting the ticket. Do you blame him for feeling the rhythm?
Check out past issues of the Odd Stew.
