Jacob Pina, 20, of Westport, Massachusetts, can't explain his physical oddity, but that's not stopping him from firmly grasping his 15 minutes of fame. Pina, recently dubbed "Thumb Boy," unveiled his unusually long (5 inches) right thumb on the TikTok app on Aug. 24, reported Metro News. "There's no reason it's so big just an anomaly," Pina posted. "I feel great about it. It's always great to be different and embrace your own essence." Pina has gained 145,000 followers on the app -- and he's never lost a thumb war. [Metro News, 8/29/2019]

Desperate Housewife

The Botox RN MD Spa in Sugar Land, Texas, was the scene of a breaking-and-entering caught on camera on Aug. 23, but police are still looking for the slim, youthful-looking culprit. Surveillance video shows a woman testing the locked doors of the spa that evening, the Associated Press reported, then returning in a Mercedes SUV with a battery-powered grinding saw. After cutting through the clinic's front door, she took an undisclosed amount of anti-aging products and drove away.

Weird Science

A day of fishing on Lake Champlain became more memorable than most when Debbie Geddes of Plattsburgh, New York, reeled in a trout worthy of a social media storm: It had two mouths. Geddes and her husband were fishing in mid-August when the unusual catch took the bait, WPTZ reported. Geddes' co-worker Adam Facteau posted pictures to Facebook and said he's heard many theories about what caused the fish's deformity -- including that it's an offspring of the lake's famed monster, Champy. Geddes threw the trout back after snapping some photos. [WPTZ, 8/21/2019]

Cuteness Overload

About a dozen service dogs in Ontario, Canada, took in a performance of "Billy Elliot: The Musical" in August as part of their training through the K-9 Country Inn Working Service Dogs organization. When the actors took their curtain call, nary a whimper or a quiet woof could be heard -- music to the ears of head trainer Laura MacKenzie. During such a performance, dogs are trained to sit under the seat or at their handler's feet, but MacKenzie told CNN that a few of the dogs peeked over the seats to see the action on stage. Dogs are also exposed to subways, zoos and crowded fairs during their training. [CNN, 8/20/2019]

Ewwwww!

Firefighters near Estacada, Oregon, rescued a woman on Aug. 20 who had been trapped in a septic tank on her rural property, possibly for two or three days. The unidentified woman, who lives alone, couldn't alert neighbors of her predicament because they live out of shouting range. Her daughter found her after becoming concerned when she was unable to reach her mother for four days. Firefighters told KATU that work appeared to be being done on the tank -- a hole had been dug exposing the tank, which had a rusted 2-by-2-foot hole in its lid. The woman had apparently fallen through the hole and was lying in sewage, with her face just above the surface, when rescuers got to her. They did not see any visible injuries on her, but she was transported to a hospital in Portland. [KATU, 8/22/2019]

Crime Report

-- Nicholas Redmond, 32, of Philadelphia, had a productive August as an employee of Macy's at the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania. Not because he sold a lot of merchandise, but because, according to police, he told them he stole about $12,000 in cash from the retailer. His run came to a halt on Aug. 25 when a security system alerted police to an intruder in the store. Around 4:30 a.m., authorities found Redmond hiding in the first-floor ceiling, clutching $7,000. Upper Merion Township police Lt. Brendan Brazunas told WPVI his officers "were very shocked ... they just couldn't believe somebody had gone up to that length to hide from them." Redmond was arraigned and held in jail, failing to post a $10,000 cash bond. [WPVI, 8/26/2019]

-- A Pennsylvania state appellate court has ruled against Stephen Kirchner, who was convicted in a lower court for disorderly conduct in 2018 for pointing his finger like a gun at a neighbor. In June of that year, KDKA reported, Kirchner was walking past a neighbor's home in Manor, Pennsylvania, when the neighbor made an obscene gesture with his hand. Kirchner responded by making a shooting gun gesture with his own hand. A witness called 911, and the unnamed neighbor told police he felt "extremely threatened." Kirchner argued that his gesture was not a hazard, but the appeals court disagreed. [KDKA, 8/29/2019]

Weird Fetish

Sebring, Florida, resident Gary Van Ryswyk, 74, has been charged with practicing medicine without a license following a bizarre incident at his home. According to the arrest report, Highlands County Sheriff's deputies responding to a 911 hang-up call on Aug. 18 were told by Van Ryswyk he had just removed the testicles of a man he'd met on a "website for those who have a fetish for castration." Officers found a 53-year-old man from the Tampa area lying on a bed, holding a towel to his groin, with said body parts in a jar nearby, BuzzFeed reported. The victim was flown to Tampa for medical treatment. Police also found a surgery room set up in the house with medical equipment and a camera to record the procedures. Investigators said Van Ryswyk told them he had bought painkillers from England and admitted to performing the surgery on at least one other man and on bulls and other animals while living on a farm growing up. He also said he removed one of his own testicles in 2012. But his most recent procedure went wrong when the "patient" bled profusely, making it difficult for Van Ryswyk to suture the wounds. For now, he's facing second-degree felony charges and a $250,000 bond. [BuzzFeed, 8/20/2019]

Anger Management

In Hudson, Florida, Pasco County deputies arrested 46-year-old Keith Mounts on a felony aggravated assault charge after he allegedly threatened an unnamed man with a machete. A sheriff's office spokesperson said the two men were at the victim's home on Aug. 24 when Mounts used the bathroom and "didn't flush, and when the victim called him on it, the suspect threatened" to "chop" him, according to Newsweek. The arrest report said officers found the machete in the yard, and Mounts told them he was using it to defend himself, but he couldn't say from what. He did provide a written statement saying simply, "S--t happened." Touche! [Newsweek, 8/27/2019]

Bright Idea

If you've experienced one (or more) flat tires in Sherburne County, Minnesota, over the last few weeks, News of the Weird is now able to tell you why. Jeffrey Scot Caouette, 63, of Elk River admitted to authorities in late August that he had purchased 55 pounds of sheetrock screws (that's more than 12,000 screws) and scattered them on local roads to "slow down" a person he believed was in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Specifically, KSTP reported, he put the screws on the road where he believed the man lived and on the roads between that house and the ex-girlfriend's house, among others. The arrest complaint notes that Big Lake police have received more than 100 reports of damage from the screws, including to three of their own vehicles. Caouette was charged with first-degree property damage. [KSTP, 8/28/2019]

Great Art!

In downtown Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, someone left a plate of macaroni and cheese, complete with fork, sitting atop a steel road barrier on Aug. 27, which caught the interest of a Reddit poster. No one knew where it came from or if someone would be back to retrieve it, but a day later an anonymous citizen made it into an art installation, reported CTV News, by adding a museum-like tag beside it. "Abandoned Snack (2019) -- Macaroni and sundried tomato on ceramic -- Unknown Artist," reads the placard. Christie's, are you listening? [CTV, 8/28/2019]

An upscale neighborhood near the Ibis Golf and Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, is all a-flutter over some unwelcome guests: dozens of black vultures. The Palm Beach Post reports that a New York family can no longer visit the $700,000 vacation home they bought earlier this year because the birds have defecated and vomited all around it, leaving a smell "like a thousand rotting corpses," claimed homeowner Siobhan Casimano. Homeowner Cheryl Katz put out fake owls with moving heads and blinking red lights for eyes to scare off the birds, but she said the vultures "ripped the heads off." Katz had to summon police when the vultures became trapped in her pool enclosure and attacked each other: "Blood was everywhere," she told the Post. Katz and other homeowners blame the invasion on a neighbor who feeds wildlife, supplying bags of dog food, roasted chicken and trays of sandwiches for their enjoyment. Neighborhood association president Gordon Holness told the Post the neighbor has been issued a warning, but the migratory birds are protected by federal law. [Palm Beach Post, 8/15/2019]

Spoiled

A young man identified only as Akash, in Yamunanagar, Haryana state in northern India, received a brand-new BMW from his parents for his birthday, reported Fox News on Aug. 12. But Akash, who had nagged his parents for a Jaguar instead, told police the BMW was "a little small for him and his friends inside." So he pushed the new vehicle into a river, where it sank into deep water and had to be pulled out with a crane. "The youth was arrogant and kept insisting that he be given a Jaguar," police said. "We could only afford to give him a BMW," said his father. "We never imagined he would do anything like this." [Fox News, 8/12/2019]

Second Thoughts

Maybe his conscience got the better of him. On Aug. 13, according to WTAE, a man in a wheelchair approached a teller at a First National Bank on Pittsburgh's South Side. The man, thought to be in his 60s, handed the teller a note demanding cash, but then "suddenly abandoned his robbery attempt and exited the bank," a police statement read. Police and FBI agents were on the lookout for the reluctant robber, but there were no photographs or video of him to aid them. [WTAE, 8/13/2019]

Strange Obsession

Washington State Highway Patrol Sgt. Kyle Smith stopped along Highway 518 near Seattle on Aug. 13 to see if a car parked on the shoulder needed assistance. Instead, according to the Associated Press, he observed the driver inside with eight mobile phones, neatly arranged in a blue foam square, all playing Pokemon Go. Smith did not issue a ticket to the driver, but he did warn him to put the phones away and move along, as the shoulder is meant only for emergency stops. [Associated Press, 8/15/2019]

What's in a Name?

Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel brought the town of Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador, continent-wide attention in mid-August when he gifted the community a Hollywood-style sign installed on a hill above the town. Soon, Canadian adult toy company Our Pleasure posted a video to Facebook featuring some of its products in front of the sign and at other locations around the town, reported The Telegram, inciting anger among some residents. "They went too far with this," said Andrew Pretty, a member of the town's local service district committee. "They had one picture right next to the playground ... it's not right." Our Pleasure owner Cathy Daniels described the video as "more of a fun video," but townspeople don't see the humor. They are circulating a petition asking Our Pleasure not to use photos of Dildo for its advertising and social media campaigns. [The Telegram, 8/20/2019]

The Devil Made Him Do It

Jeremiah Ehindero, 41, pastor of Jesus Miracle Church in Sango-Ota, Nigeria, blamed the devil for his trouble with the law after stealing an SUV from a local Toyota dealership. Ehindero negotiated a price for the Highlander, which he said would be used for "evangelism," then asked for a test drive -- and never came back, the Daily Post reported on Aug. 19. He later sold the vehicle to a spare parts dealer for about $1,650. According to police, Ehindero confessed he stole the car to repay a loan from a microfinance bank in Lagos after tithes and offerings from his congregation were insufficient. "When the pressure from the microfinance bank became unbearable for me, the devil told me to steal a vehicle from the car dealer to sell and use the proceeds to repay the loan. I regret my action." Ehindero and his accomplices were arrested in Ondo State. [Daily Post, 8/19/2019]

Creme de la Weird

In Stockholm, Sweden, an unnamed man attending a traditional crayfish party on Aug. 20 at the Skansen Aquarium was delivering a speech while standing on a rock in a restricted area. As he spoke, he rested his arm on a glass barrier -- until the crocodile who lives in the tank "jumped up and grabbed his lower arm," Jonas Wahlstrom, owner of the aquarium, told CNN. But that isn't the weird part of the story. The dastardly crocodile in this story was formerly owned by ... Fidel Castro. The croc was one of two given to a Russian cosmonaut in 1970, who took the animals to Moscow. Wahlstrom eventually brought them to Stockholm. The croc "lost its grip after 10 seconds," Wahlstrom said, leaving the victim with injuries to his lower arm and hand. [CNN, 8/21/2019]

Bright Idea

Dave Schmida, 21, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, set out on Aug. 12, determined to get rid of a hornet's nest three stories high under a corner of his family's roof. He first tried spraying the nest with Raid, but when that didn't work, he got creative. As his brother Matthew recorded video of the extermination, Dave lit up a Roman candle and pointed the fiery balls at the nest, reported the Worcester Telegram. The first two or three missed their mark, but when his ammunition connected with the nest, it burst into flames, killing the wasps but setting the eaves on fire as well. Schmida rushed up to a nearby window and used a fire extinguisher to put the flames out. "I would say mission accomplished," he said, even though there is now a small hole in the house. [Worcester Telegram, 8/15/2019]

Crime Report

An attempted burglary in Oronoco Township, Minnesota, unfolded in an unusual manner on Aug. 15. Police responded to a burglary in progress call to find that alledged thief Kirsten Hart, 29, had scuffled with a 64-year-old woman before making off with pill bottles, debit and credit cards, $150 cash and a fake $1 million bill. Hart had run out of the house with part of her shirt ripped off, which led a passing motorist to ask if she was hurt and needed a ride. Hart accepted, climbing into the trunk of the car, according to KIMT. The driver later told police he realized something wasn't right but panicked and drove off. Police also said they found iPads stolen from a local STEM school in Hart's car. She and an accomplice face multiple charges. [KIMT, 8/16/2019]

Snowflakes Falling Everywhere

Ex-cons, juvenile delinquents and drug addicts are getting new monikers in San Francisco, thanks to the Board of Supervisors' new "person-first" language guidelines. For example, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, someone just released from prison will be a "justice-involved person"; a repeat offender will be a "returning resident." People on probation will be "persons under supervision." The under-18 criminal crowd will be known as "young people impacted by the juvenile justice system." Those suffering from addiction will be "people with a history of substance use." Words such as "convict" and "inmate" "only serve to obstruct and separate people from society and make the institutionalization of racism and supremacy appear normal," the board's resolution reads. "Referring to them as felons is like a scarlet letter," Matt Haney, board supervisor, said. [San Francisco Chronicle, 8/11/2019]

-- Singer Wayne Newton was sued in District Court on Aug. 6 by a mother and daughter over an incident involving a monkey that took place in October 2017 at Newton's home in Las Vegas, where the daughter was an invited guest, according to court documents. Genevieve Urena, a minor, was touring the home when Newton's pet monkey, Boo, "without any provocation ... attacked and bit Ms. Urena, causing injury to her body as well as emotional distress," the suit claims, according to KVVU TV. The Urenas assert that Newton "had a duty to exercise due care" and should have known that Boo had a tendency to attack. They are seeking $15,000 in damages. [KVVU, 8/8/2019]

-- In Perth, Australia, two pig farmers face jail time after illegally importing Danish pig semen in shampoo bottles. The Guardian reported that Torben Soerensen and Henning Laue, of GD Pork, were sentenced to three years and two years in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty to breaching quarantine and biosecurity laws by bringing in the contraband numerous times between 2009 and 2017 to be used in GD Pork's artificial breeding program. Australian agriculture minister Bridget McKenzie said, "GD Pork imported the semen illegally in an attempt to get an unfair advantage over its competitors, through new genetics." Western Australian Farmers Federation spokesperson Jessica Wallace called the acts "selfish": "How extremely disappointing." GD Pork also was fined $500,000. [The Guardian, 8/13/2019]

Thank You, I Think?

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on Aug. 11 that in the overnight hours, more than 50 old-style television sets had been deposited on the front porches of homes in Henrico County, Virginia. Henrico Police Lt. Matt Pecka said the culprits were caught on several doorbell cameras, with one of the videos showing a person wearing TV-shaped headgear while dropping off the TV. Even more puzzling, a similar phenomenon happened last year in nearby Glen Allen, where 20 sets were left on porches. Pecka said the only crime that might have been committed is illegal dumping: "We don't believe there's any reason for the community to be alarmed." [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8/11/2019]

Bright Idea

A Twitter user known only as "Dorothy," 15, was banned from her phone by her mom in early August after becoming distracted while cooking and starting a fire, but that didn't stop her, reported The Guardian. First she tweeted from a Nintendo 3DS gaming device, but Mom caught on quickly and posted that the account would be shut down. The next day, Dorothy tweeted from her Wii U, assuring followers that while Mom was at work, she'd be looking for her phone. Finally, on Aug. 8, with no other options left, Dorothy reached out to Twitter from an unlikely source: her family's LG smart refrigerator. "I am talking to my fridge what the heck my Mom confiscated all of my electronics again," she posted. The post went viral, even prompting LG to tweet about it with the hashtag #FreeDorothy. [The Guardian, 8/13/2019]

Scary

Cambodian farmer Sum Bora, 28, is lucky to be alive after spending almost four days wedged between boulders in the jungle northwest of Phnom Penh. On Aug. 4, as Bora was collecting bat guano for use as fertilizer, he slipped while trying to retrieve the flashlight he had dropped down a crevice, The Washington Post reported. After three days, his brother found him and alerted authorities, who worked about 10 hours to free Bora from the hollow where he was trapped. He was transported to a local hospital. [Washington Post, 8/7/2019]

Least Competent Criminal

Larry Adams, 61, of Daytona Beach, Florida, came out swinging late on Aug. 12, complaining that neighbors were playing their music too loudly in the parking lot of their apartment complex. Adams emerged from his apartment threatening to shoot them and brandishing nunchucks, which he then hit himself in the head with. Police officers responding to a 911 call told WOLF-Fox 35 that Adams also sprayed everyone with roach repellent, causing them to cough and their skin to burn. "We not even roaches, so why are we getting sprayed with roach spray for?" wondered neighbor Cici Sylvester. Adams, sporting a goose egg on his forehead, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. [Fox 35, 8/13/2019]

True Love

For 68 years, Francis and Rosemary Klontz of Sacramento, California, have not just shared the ups and downs of marriage and family. They've cemented their bond by coordinating their outfits -- every day! -- for almost seven decades. Francis lets his wife pick out his clothes each morning: "She just lays it out for me, and I don't have to worry about a thing!" he told KOVR TV. The couple also sing together, performing at church, hospitals and around the house. They started dating in junior high school in Auburn, Washington, and the dressing alike custom started when Rosemary's mother bought them matching shirts. "We've been matching ever since," Rosemary said. [KOVR, 8/12/2019]

Government in Action

What a relief! The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Aug. 8 that miniature horses are cleared to fly in all cabins of commercial planes as emotional support and service animals. The agency called "dogs, cats and miniature horses" the "most commonly recognized service animals," Fox News reported. However, other organizations, including the Association of Flight Attendants, have urged a tightening of rules about the animals because of "rampant abuse" of service animal designations. Apparently, the DOT said "neiiiighhhh" to that. [Fox News, 8/15/2019]

Oops!

A Gwinnett County (Georgia) medical examiner has resigned after wildly misinterpreting the cause of death for 61-year-old Ray Neal of Lawrenceville, who died on July 21. Despite reports by police and witnesses of large amounts of blood on the floor and walls at scene, investigator Shannon Byers initially ruled Neal had died of natural causes. But when his body arrived at the funeral home, employees discovered a hole in his neck, Fox 5 News reported, and Neal was returned to the morgue for an autopsy, which revealed he had been stabbed several times. Police are now investigating the death as a murder. [Fox 5, 7/27/2019]

The Devil Is in the Details

Was there or was there not a clown? And what exactly is "fancy dress"? In the early hours of July 26, The Guardian reported, a "mass brawl" broke out in a buffet area of the P&O cruise ship Britannia, which was bound from Bergen, Norway, to Southampton, England. Witnesses told staff that the fight started when one passenger became angry that another was wearing a clown outfit, because they had specifically booked a cruise with no fancy dress. Another witness said the clown had crashed a black-tie party. But P&O later said in a statement there was no clown, and Hampshire police confirmed: "There is no information to suggest that a clown or anyone wearing fancy dress was involved in this incident." A number of passengers were injured in the brawl by flying furniture and plates, and two passengers were arrested, then later released. [The Guardian, 7/28/2019]

Compelling Explanation

Fanny Alida Beerepoot and her brother, Rembertus Cornelis Beerepoot, Christian missionaries in Tasmania, were ordered by the supreme court there to pay $2.3 million to the Australian Taxation Office on July 17 after failing to remit the estimated $930,000 in income taxes and other charges they owed in 2017. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported the dispute stems from the Beerepoots' contention that taxation "goes against God's will." Representing themselves, the siblings explained they had paid income taxes prior to 2011, but then came to realize that "the law of Almighty God is the supreme law of this land," and "transferring our allegiance from God to the Commonwealth would mean rebelling against God." Also in 2017, the family's property in Mole Creek was seized after they refused to pay property taxes on it for seven years. [ABC, 7/17/2019]