Oddacity News
Drunk without drinking, grim Easter discovery, fraud on Mount Everest
Welcome to Oddacity News, your source for the weird, unusual and offbeat news of the world.
Parking space: Drivers in British Columbia were alarmed this week to see what appeared to be a Volkswagen Beetle clinging perilously to a steep rock face next to a highway, reports Associated Press. In fact, it was only the red shell of the car — the seats and engine removed — that had been placed near the town of Squamish in a prank by college engineering students. Local officials were not amused: “This is an area that deserves respect, and that wasn’t the case here,” said the town’s mayor.
Holiday hunt: An Easter egg hunt in a California park was interrupted when kids and parents found partially buried human remains, reports CBS News. Police were called to DeForest Park in Long Beach after a human skull and what appeared to be the bones of a small child were found. One witness said: “At first we saw the family there, doing like an Easter egg hunt, but they were freaking out a little bit.”
Sick, part I: Researchers say a medical condition that causes people to get drunk without drinking alcohol may be more common than previously realized, reports The New York Times. Auto-brewery syndrome occurs when a person’s gut microbes run amok, producing large amounts of ethanol when digesting food. People with this condition have been arrested for drunk driving, lost their jobs, and been ostracized for seemingly having a drinking problem. One sufferer said: “My own parents were telling my wife she should leave me.”
Sick, Part II: Mount Everest guides allegedly gave climbers food poisoning on purpose to trigger expensive helicopter evacuations as part of an insurance scam, reports The Independent. Investigators in Nepal say that the guides spiked climbers’ meals with excessive baking soda, uncooked chicken or even rat droppings to make them sick and to justify evacuations. In some cases, climbers participated in the scam by faking illnesses. Police said more than 300 cases of questionable rescues have been uncovered, with bills totalling nearly $20 million charged to climbers and insurers.
Sudden stop: Chaos interrupted one of Europe’s biggest cycling races when a train ran full speed through the course, forcing some riders to stop, while others kept going and built a larger lead, reports The Guardian. Some 54 of the riders in the Tour of Flanders are under criminal investigation for failing to stop for the rail crossing lights. “Crossing a red light at a railway crossing constitutes a fourth-degree offense, the most serious category under the road code, and can lead to serious consequences,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Say what? A male school board member in Tennessee told a high school girl “God, you’re hot” and gave her a partial hug during a public meeting, reported WYMT-TV. Keith Ervin, school board member in Washington County leaned over and put one arm around the girl when he made the comment : “God, you’re hot. Do you know that? Damn. Where do you go to school at?” The school board later censured Ervin, but did not remove him from the board.
OMG - a Long Beach story!!!!