WEIRD NEWS Police in Bensalem, Pennsylvania had no trouble tracking down a suspect in
the robbery of three women at a Bucks County convenience store, because the women had taken the man’s picture a short time earlier at a bar. The three victims had been participating in a bachelorette party at a local bar when Andre Smith tried to strike up a conversation with them. While the ladies were taking photos of each other Andre jumped in front of the camera. He was later ejected from the bar for allegedly harassing customers. When two of the women left the bar to go to a nearby convenience store, Smith robbed them of their purses. While he didn’t recognize them, they recognized him and gave police a copy of their photo. A detective later searched nearby apartment complexes looking for Smith, found him and arrested him. (myway.com) I Would Walk 600 Miles!
Here’s a case of true fatherly love. A 72-year-old Chinese man walked more than 600 miles over 71 days to visit his son in prison. The poor guy had planned to take the train but had his money stolen shortly after leaving home. He begged along the way and sometimes ate food from garbage cans during his two month journey. He said, “I didn’t see him for two years. I am here to visit him and tell him not to worry about me and transform himself for good, while in prison.” Prison wardens were so touched by his story that they even bent the rules to allow him to see his son. The son, Xie Fei, revealed that his father is actually is his adoptive father, as his real parents died when he was ten. Fei said, “He adopted me and loves me very much, but I have nothing to repay all this.” The return home was a little easier as prison guards all chipped in to buy him a train ticket. (Ananova) Cloudvertising!
Francisco Guerra whose company, Snowmasters Inc, makes machines that churn out fake snow for Hollywood films, is also the man behind the latest advertising sensation — something he calls “Flogos”. Basically these are foam clouds shaped like corporate logos that will float up to 20,000-feet into the air. The 4-foot shapes are made from tiny soapy bubbles filled with helium and can travel for 30 miles before evaporating into thin air. Guerra has invented a machine which can manipulate the bubbles into any shape and pump them into the sky at a rate of one every 15 seconds. He’s already got Disney’s attention and has been hired to send clouds shaped like Mickey Mouse above Disney World. And best of all, Flogos are environmentally safe because they are made from just water, air, helium and a little soap. (Daily Telegraph) Naughty Niece
27-year-old Magdalena Rouco Hernández is the niece of Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela — the head of Spain’s Catholic Church. She also happens to be at odds with her uncle and his strict Catholic doctrine, so to protest and embarrass him, she’s appeared topless on the cover of a soft porn magazine. Cardinal Rouco, a close friend of Pope Benedict XVI, leads an ultra conservative wing of the church and has clashed with Spain’s socialist government over issues such as gay marriage and relaxing divorce laws. But Magdalena told the magazine she was brought up believing her uncle was “some kind of saint” and accused him of double standards. She also told the magazine, “When my father died, Rouco did not come to the funeral, didn’t send flowers or tell my mother of his sorrow. He told us he had a meeting with Pope John Paul II, but it was not true. I wanted to lay bare the hypocrisy of my uncle.” (Ananova) No “Wizardry” in Florida Please!
In Land O’Lakes, Florida, substitute teacher Jim Piculas was fired because school officials accused of performing “wizardry.” The so-called “wizardry” in question was nothing more than a simple magic trick where he made a toothpick disappear before his students. The school district’s Pat Sinclair terminated Jim over the phone and said, “You’ve been accused of wizardry.” Jim says he’s both amused and frustrated and tried to explain to Sinclair that the trick was merely a magic act saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not black magic. It’s a toothpick.” The trick was a simple a hand maneuver that made the toothpick seem to disappear, when it was merely hidden beneath Jim’s thumb. But assistant superintendent Renalia DuBose said that the accusation was merely one of many factors that led to Jim’s termination. Other incidents involved him diverting from the lesson plan, allowing students the use of computers despite the disapproval of the regular teacher, and putting a fifth-grader in charge of the classroom. Holy Cow! He kind of sounds like one of those fun, cool teachers that students love and remember all their lives. Good thing they fired him! (AHN News) No More Sex Advice From Grandma
If you’re ever flipping through the higher cable channels late night, maybe you’ve seen 77-year-old Sue Johanson’s sex talk show on the Oxygen Network. Alas, Sue is ready to call it a day. She’ll tape her last episode this Sunday ending six years of her show “Talk Sex.” Sue has been advising callers about their sexual health, birth control, sexually transmitted disease, sexual positions, sex toys, and all other things sex related. The Toronto based nurse has been educating the public about these matters since 1984, when she was a radio show host. Her funny, frank, and non-judgmental style, coupled with her age and Canadian accent made her a well-loved and trusted advisor for thousands of callers in Canada and the U.S. (AHN News) Cultures Different Than Ours
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11-year-old Mohammed al-Rashidi has married his 10-year-old cousin and told local reporters, “I am ready for this marriage. It will help me study better.” But in Yemen, a courageous 8-year-old girl walked in to a courtroom alone and demanded that the judge grant her a divorce from the 30-year-old man her father had contracted to marry her. The judge, rejecting tradition, granted the divorce. (Yemen Times)
