As leaders worldwide search for ways to encourage people to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, officials in Indonesia are taking advantage of its citizens' superstitions, Reuters reported on April 13. Kepuh, a village on Java island, is employing village residents to dress as "pocong," or the trapped souls of the dead, in Indonesian folklore. The ghostly figures, wrapped in white shrouds with their heads covered and dark-rimmed eyes peering out, surprise unsuspecting pedestrians, then disappear into the night. The strategy appears to be working: Villagers have been seen running off in fright when the pocong appear. "People will not gather or stay on the streets after evening prayers," resident Karno Supadmo said. [Reuters, 4/13/2020]

Desperate Measures

Olive Veronesi, 93, of Seminole, Pennsylvania, wasn't shy about letting loved ones know what she needed during the lockdown. "I need more beer!" read a sign she held up, along with a can of Coors Light. A relative posted Veronesi's photo to social media, KDKA reported, and her predicament went viral. "I have a beer every night. ... I was on my last 12 cans. You know what, beer has vitamins in it. It's good for you, only don't overdo it," Veronesi said. On April 13, she got her wish: Molson Coors delivered 10 cases of her favorite brew to her front door. Her new sign reads, "Got more beer!" [KDKA, 4/13/2020]

Names in the News

-- A baby born on April 6 in Sheopur, Bhopal, India, will carry a special name with him through his life: Lockdown. Manju Mail, his mother, confirmed to hospital staff: "Yes, he is Lockdown, as he was born during the lockdown period." Her husband, Raghunath, told The Times of India: "It is a significant name. The whole world using lockdown as a means to stem this pandemic. We should not take Lockdown lightly." [Times of India, 4/9/2020]

-- Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, India, another couple blessed their twins, born March 27, with timely names: Corona and Covid. Preeti Verma, 27, told the Press Trust of India her children's names symbolize triumph over hardships. "Indeed the virus is dangerous and life-threatening, but its outbreak made people focus on sanitation, hygiene and inculcate other good habits," she said. [Press Trust of India via NDTV, 4/3/2020]

The Continuing Crisis

Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responded to a home in Saugus, California, on April 7 after a dispute over toilet paper turned violent, CNN reported. A 26-year-old man was arrested and charged with battery after his mother told deputies he had punched her. Sheriff's department spokesperson Shirley Miller said the man had accused his mother of hiding toilet paper, which she admitted to deputies, saying her son was using too much. "This is the first arrest I've heard of that started out over an argument over toilet paper," remarked Miller. [CNN, 4/8/2020]

Getting the Message Out

Civic-minded car designer Kanyaboyina Sudhakar of the Sudha Cars Museum in Bahadurpura, India, has built a one-seat vehicle in the shape of the coronavirus "so that awareness can be spread on social distancing," he told The Times of India on April 8. The six-wheeled Corona Car can go about 25 mph and took Sudhakar 10 days to build. "I have always made cars to give back to the society in my own way," Sudhakar said. "(I)t is important to tell people to stay home and stay safe, and the coronavirus car is meant to convey the message." [Times of India, 4/8/2020]

Priorities

As tornadoes bore down on the Southeast on April 12, an unnamed family sought safety in a storm shelter in Crossville, Alabama, but said they were turned away when they had only one face mask. The woman told WHNT a man who opened the door asked if they had masks. "I said I have one mask," the woman said. "He motioned no and shut the door." The family ran back to their car and looked for shelter elsewhere. Crossville Mayor Tera Fortenberry had posted the face coverings requirement on Facebook, but the family didn't see the message. After the story became public, masks were donated to the town anonymously. [WHNT, 4/14/2020]

Buried Treasure

A man in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England, set out to build a deck in his back garden in early April and uncovered a mystery. As John Brayshaw, 40, began digging post holes, he unearthed an automobile buried on its side, Yahoo News UK reported. "I thought it was an old air raid shelter at first, then I saw the roof," Brayshaw said. "Then I kept digging and saw the door, the steering wheel and realized it was a full car, complete with the registration plate. The only thing that was missing was the wheels.” Brayshaw, who has owned the home for about six months, believes the 1955/56 Ford predates the previous owners, who resided in the home 50 years. [Yahoo News UK, 4/10/2020]

Inexplicable

-- Davis, California, resident Shaun Lamar Moore, 40, was arrested on April 12 and charged with burglary after allegedly stealing a specimen that was waiting to be tested for COVID-19 from the Sutter Davis Hospital. Authorities said hospital employees reported a person had entered the facility April 11 and removed the specimen, Fox News reported. That evening, police were alerted that a sealed COVID-19 specimen was found in a shopping cart at a nearby CVS store. Police Deputy Chief Paul Doroshov said the specimen "hadn't been opened or tampered with based on the security seals. ... Although the incident is very serious, detectives do not believe (Moore) intended to harm himself or others," he added. [Fox News, 4/13/2020]

-- Kevin Fallon, 30, of New York City reportedly sent warnings to friends and family on April 9 that he intended to blow up a bronze statue in Central Park depicting characters from "Alice in Wonderland," according to court documents. On April 11, he allegedly followed up with photos of a pipe bomb and ammunition, along with threats: "This is going to hurt. None of you are safe. I am lethal." At his mother's request, NYPD conducted a wellness check at his apartment that day and found three bombs, ammunition and knives that had been taped together, authorities said. The New York Post reported the bombs were found to be nonfunctional, and later that day, Fallon was found at a hotel in the city, where he was taken into custody and charged with making a terroristic threat. [NY Post, 4/14/2020]

Ewwwww

A new study has found the presence of a parasitic worm called Anisakis, or herring worms, in raw or undercooked seafood has increased 283-fold since the 1970s. Study co-author Chelsea Wood, assistant professor in the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, said most people who've eaten the worms think they have food poisoning. The symptoms are much the same, she told United Press International, and they disappear after the worm in a few days. But the worms can reach 0.8 inches in length and are visible to the naked eye, Wood noted. While fish processors and sushi chefs are adept at removing the worms, she suggested cutting sushi in half and inspecting each piece if you're concerned. [United Press International, 4/14/2020]

Least Competent Criminal

Furquan Muhammad, 22, started his very bad encounter with law enforcement on April 11 when he sped off after being pulled over in Monroe County, Georgia, for not having a license tag, authorities said. Georgia State Patrol spokesperson Lt. Stephanie Stallings told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that as the car sped by, troopers saw "there were other passengers in the fleeing vehicle that appeared to be children." The chase went on through four counties, until Muhammad crashed into a state trooper's car, which then caused a chain reaction involving four police vehicles and injured two troopers, according to authorities. Along with Muhammad in the car, deputies said they found four children (ranging in age from 9 weeks to 15 years old), marijuana, Xanax pills, a firearm and $2,000 in cash. Muhammad was arrested on multiple charges. [Atlanta Journal Constitution, 4/14/2020]

Authorities executed a search warrant relating to a narcotics investigation in the South Texas town of Mercedes on March 25, but what they seized wasn't drugs. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Sammy Parks told the Associated Press that officers had been warned there were exotic animals on the 5-acre property, and game wardens who joined the search found a white Bengal tiger, bobcat, kinkajou, porcupines, llamas, emus and deer. While no arrests were made, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department had to euthanize three of the animals; the remainder were removed to the Austin Zoo for examination and rehabilitation. [Associated Press, 4/3/2020]

How the World Has Changed

-- Amy Simonson and Dan Stuglik proceeded with their planned wedding on April 4 in Pokagon, Michigan, but the coronavirus pandemic forced them to get creative. While the original guest list of 150 people had to be pared down repeatedly as restrictions were placed on public gatherings, Stuglik was determined that his bride not walk down the aisle between empty pews in the Old Rugged Cross Church. He hit upon the idea of filling the church with cardboard cutouts of family and friends and stopped by Menasha Packaging Co. to ask for help. Employees Ted Harris and Luke Arendash jumped at the chance. "(Stuglik) was just looking for a general person shape, but I was able to make it a little bit more realistic audience for them," Harris told The Herald Palladium. The company supplied more than 100 cutouts of varying sizes, shapes and hairstyles. The newlyweds moved their reception to October and canceled their honeymoon in Newport, Rhode Island, but Stuglik said they "both have peace now, because it's stripped down to what it should be, which is us and God, getting married." [Herald Palladium, 4/1/2020]

-- Our four-legged friends are taking advantage of the COVID-19 lockdown in multiple cities, United Press International reported: On March 31, 122 Kashmiri goats took over the Welsh town of Llandudno, eating gardens and sleeping in the yards; on April 6, residents of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, reported a large herd of deer casually wandering through neighborhoods; in Gir, Gujarat, India, citizens were warned on April 5 to stay inside not only because of the pandemic but because a large lion was nosing around the city; at a Fast Stop store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a bear took the low-traffic opportunity to dumpster dive on April 3; and in the Central Region of Singapore, witnesses captured video of a horse galloping through the empty streets of Bukit Timah on April 6. She had escaped from the Paisano Polo Academy, where the owner said she'd only been loose for about 20 minutes. [United Press International, various]

-- Recent sunny weather in the Czech spa town of Lazne Bohdanec, where sunbathing naked is allowed, brought out more than a hundred eager sunbathers -- nude and not -- but police were soon on hand to warn they still needed to wear face masks, as ordered by the Czech government, reported the Daily Mail. "Citizens can be without clothes in places designated for this purpose, but they must have their mouths covered and must observe the numbers in which they can go out into nature," police spokeswoman Marketa Janovska told local media. "We understand that many people do not have a garden and want to ventilate in the countryside," she added. About half of the 150 people were not wearing masks, but no fines were issued. [Daily Mail, 4/7/2020]

Coronavirus Cosplay

Police on horseback and motorcycles in Hyderabad, India, are reminding civilians about the dangers of COVID-19 by wearing large red masks and headdresses in the shape of the virus as they patrol. Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said the masked officers would be stationed at various city junctions, Fox News reported. Ironically, the city organized a rally on April 7 to kick off the awareness campaign, displaying signs reading "Please Avoid Gathering" and "Social Distancing Is Social Responsibility." [Fox News, 4/7/2020]

Crowd Control

-- According to his attorney, Rumson, New Jersey, resident John Maldjian, 54, intended for his "Stay at Home" Pink Floyd cover concert to be viewed only on Facebook Live by his friends on April 4. However, at the last minute, Maldjian decided to play his guitar on his front porch, which drew a crowd. What started with a few neighbors eventually grew to about 30 people in his front yard when police showed up to enforce social distancing orders, NJ Online reported. One of the "partiers" allegedly became abusive, according to police, but attorney Mitchell J. Ansell said his client had "absolutely no malicious intentions ... and never wanted this to escalate." Maldjian was charged for violating emergency orders. [NJ Online, 4/6/2020]

-- A 21-year-old woman and her 61-year-old father, of Key West, Florida, told Monroe County Sheriff's officers they were on a boat off Wisteria Island April 4 where they spotted a group of about 20 college-aged people drinking on the beach, the New York Daily News reported. The woman said they approached the group and asked them to obey social distancing orders and keep the noise down, but the people became violent and struck both victims in the head with a baseball bat. Authorities said both sustained head injuries in the attack; the attackers jumped into three boats docked nearby and took off, and no one has been arrested. [NY Daily News, 4/7/2020]

Using the Weapons at Hand

-- Michigan State Police responding to a call in Gibson Township, Michigan, on April 6 seized a muzzleloader pistol from a man involved in a dispute over a camping trailer, authorities said. Trooper David Kaiser said officers discovered a 58-year-old man and a female relative had arrived at the property to pick up the trailer, but the 55-year-old man who lived there questioned its ownership. The resident fired the muzzleloader, hitting no one, said Kaiser, then allegedly used the gun to strike the older man, which prompted the woman to grab a shovel and hit the resident on the head. MLive reported police arrested the resident for felonious assault; further charges are pending. [MLive, 4/7/2020]

-- Shadae Miranda, 30, was charged with felony domestic battery in Fort Pierce, Florida, on April 4, after allegedly attacking a man with a "15.6-ounce metal can of Spaghettio's ... in a plastic bag," according to an arrest affidavit. The Smoking Gun reported the victim told police he and Miranda were sharing a room at the Travel Inn motel where, after he arrived "home from the hospital," the two began to argue. The victim told police he stepped outside to let things cool down, but Miranda followed him, wielding the Spaghettio's. She was arrested, but it was unclear whether the Spaghettio's were booked into evidence. [Smoking Gun, 4/7/2020]

People Are Good

Royal Mail postman Jon Matson still has to make his rounds in the English village of Boldon during the coronavirus lockdown, and he's doing what he can to "lift the spirits" of the residents he sees along the way. Matson, 39, has been sporting different costumes, including a Greek soldier, a cheerleader and Little Bo Peep -- all with the Royal Mail's blessing, as long as he wears his uniform shoes. "Everyone is uncertain at the moment, and you are the only person outside of the family that they see, so why not give them something to smile about," Matson told the Sunderland Echo on March 28. He's coy, though, about what sorts of costumes are on tap in the days to come. Zoe Grant, who lives on Matson's route, gushed: "I'm proud that Jon is my postman, and I can't wait to see his next costume." [Sunderland Echo, 3/28/2020]

-- In Melbourne, Australia, "a bit of boredom in isolation" led 27-year-old astrophysicist Daniel Reardon to experiment on March 26 with an idea to stop people from touching their faces -- a necklace and accompanying bracelet of magnets that would sound an alarm whenever someone reached up, The Guardian reported. When that didn't work, Reardon started playing with the powerful neodymium magnets, clipping them to his earlobes and nostrils, and that's where things went wrong. Two magnets inside his nostrils became stuck together, and he couldn't separate them. Reardon tried using pliers, but they became magnetized: "Every time I brought the pliers close to my nose, my entire nose would shift toward the pliers and then the pliers would stick to the magnet," he said. Finally, his partner "took me to the hospital that she works in because she wanted all her colleagues to laugh at me," and doctors applied an anesthetic spray, then manually removed the magnets. "Needless to say, I am not going to play with the magnets anymore," Reardon said. [The Guardian, 3/30/2020]

-- Donuts Delite in Rochester, New York, has found a special way to pay tribute to immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci. Since March 23, the shop has been printing Dr. Fauci's image on thin, edible paper, then applying it to the buttercream frosting on its doughnuts. Nick Semeraro, franchisee of the shop, told the Democrat & Chronicle: "He's on TV giving us the facts; you've got to respect that. ... People are buying them like crazy. We're making more right now." The doc doughnuts go for $20 per dozen, curbside pickup and delivery available. [Democrat & Chronicle, 3/30/2020]

-- A survey commissioned by Mentimeter, an interactive presentation company, found that 12% of people working from home turn their computer's camera off during a video meeting because they're wearing few or no clothes, United Press International reported on March 26. Along with that, Walmart Executive Vice President Dan Bartlett told The Washington Post, "we're seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms," a phenomenon presumably driven by video conferencing workers who do leave their cameras on. [United Press International, 3/26/2020; Washington Post, 3/28/2020]

-- App developers Daniel Ahmadizadeh and Christopher Smeder have good news for those in the dating pool during this time of social distancing and staying at home. Quarantine Together is a text-based app they launched on March 15 that asks users once a day whether they've washed their hands, and if they say yes, they're introduced to another user. Nivi Jayasekar of San Francisco told CNN she was eager to give it a shot: "It was a hilarious idea. I feel like it's an opportunity to form a deeper connection with someone before meeting them," she said. Ahmadizadeh reports that sign-ups have been growing by 50% every day. [CNN, 3/29/2020]

Doggone It!

Alberto Tito Alejandro, 51, was arrested following a high-speed chase after Washington state troopers received multiple calls on March 29 about a car hitting two other vehicles south of Seattle and then racing away at speeds up to 100 mph, AFP reported. Trooper Heather Axtman said when officers got close to the 1996 Buick, they were shocked to see a dog sitting in the driver's seat. Alejandro was steering and pushing the gas pedal from the passenger seat. "When we took him into custody," Axtman said, "he admitted to our troopers that he was teaching his dog to drive. ... I've heard a lot of excuses ... but I've never had an excuse that the dog was driving." Alejandro was charged on multiple counts, including driving under the influence of drugs. [AFP, 3/30/2020]

All In

MedFet UK, a small company that supplies people who indulge in medical fetishes, donated its entire inventory ("just a few sets") of disposable medical scrubs to Britain's National Health Service on March 27 after being contacted by desperate procurement officers, Metro News reported. "When we, a tiny company set up to serve a small section of the kink community, find ourselves being sought out as a last-resort supplier to our National Health Service in a time of crisis, something is seriously wrong," the company posted on Twitter. It also took the opportunity to provide a PSA: "Whether getting ready for some kinky fun or guarding against a virus outbreak, the single most effective method of infection control is scrupulous hand hygiene." [Metro News, 3/28/2020]

Discovery

Friends Callum Gow, Josh Grossman and Carson Schiefner in British Columbia, Canada, all in their early 20s, decided a hike away from more heavily traveled trails near Alouette Lake would be a good way to maintain social distance on March 20. There have long been rumors of a stash of gold hidden in the area, but the treasure they discovered was completely different: a secret camp, including supplies, that hadn't been touched for almost 30 years. "It was almost like one of those time capsules that you run into," Schiefner told the CBC. The hikers found sealed boxes, a radio, a Coleman stove, first aid supplies, a knife, tobacco and, apropos to current day, a big roll of toilet paper. A log book revealed the camp had been used from 1986 until 1991, and through social media, the hikers managed to find some of the original campers, including Rick Senft. He explained that a group of friends calling themselves the B.C. Weirdness Federation set up the camp, but "life gets in the way" and they gathered there less and less. "They're probably some of the best years I had," he reminisced. [CBC, 3/29/2020]

Desperate Measures

After three days quarantined in his house in Mexico, Antonio Munoz got a yen for Cheetos. With the neighborhood store just feet away, but out of reach for a nonessential trip outside, Munoz enlisted the help of his chihuahua, Chokis. Munoz attached a note and $20 to Chokis' collar and sent the dog across the street. Sure enough, Chokis returned with the Cheetos, and Munoz told Metro News on March 25 he has repeated the trip two other times, bringing back different flavors of potato chips. [Metro News, 3/25/2020]

Government in Action

Business Insider reported the U.S. Navy installed new toilet and sewage systems on two of its aircraft carriers -- the Nimitz-class USS George H.W. Bush and the newer USS Gerald R. Ford -- but found they "reportedly cannot withstand demand without having problems." Frequent clogs require the Navy to "acid flush" the sewage systems "on a regular basis," each flush costing $400,000, a Government Accountability Office review indicated. The carriers house a crew of more than 4,000 people. [Business Insider, 3/24/2020]

Can't Win

A tractor-trailer crash and subsequent fire near Dallas on April 1 lay waste to an entire load of a hot commodity in these bizarre times: toilet paper. The Associated Press reported the driver was unharmed, but the TP "burned extensively" and spilled over the interstate, which had to be closed to traffic. The truck was hauling the large rolls typically used in business restrooms. [Associated Press, 4/1/2020]