Architect Nick Drummond loves to renovate old houses and was told the century-old home he purchased last year in Ames, New York, had been built by a German baron who turned to bootlegging in the 1920s, but he was still surprised to find evidence within the walls on Oct. 9: dozens of bottles labeled Old Smuggler Gaelic Whisky. "We discovered multiple false walls and secret compartments under the floor in our mudroom," he told Lite 98.7. "The foundation walls and floors in the mudroom are lined with intact cases of 1920s whiskey." he said. Drummond said auction houses and collectors have contacted him, speculating that the value on the some of the bottles might range between $500 and $1,200. [Lite 98.7, 10/13/2020]

More Things to Worry About

As many as 9 million wild pigs are roaming the United States -- expanding from 17 states to at least 39 states over the last 30 years and causing $2.5 billion worth of damage each year to crops and domestic livestock, reported The Atlantic in September. Many of the feral swine are hybrids, a mixture of domestic breeds and wild boars called "super pigs," that multiply so fast "I've heard it referred to as a feral swine bomb," said Dale Nolte, manager of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the U.S. and Canada, government organizations are working to control the numbers; Montana has been especially vigilant, with a 24-hour hotline for residents to call when they see the animals. [The Atlantic, 9/19/2020]

Right Time, Right Place

Postal carrier Fernando Garcia in Norwalk, California, heard someone calling for help as he walked his route on Oct. 9 and soon found a man lying on the ground, covered in blood. The unnamed victim had cut his arm with a chain saw, so Garcia leaped into action, using his belt as a tourniquet until paramedics arrived. L.A. County Sheriff Lt. Pauline Panis told CBS Los Angeles, "I think we should let everybody know that anyone can make a difference ... it's a heartwarming story." The victim's family says he's recovering. [CBS Los Angeles, 10/10/2020]

Names in the News

As a fun way to get customers involved with the new Ikea store in Valladolid, Spain, the Swedish retailer asked the public to name the street it's on. The Independent reported that anyone who's been frustrated trying to assemble items bought from the store will appreciate the winning entry: Calle Me Falta un Tornillo, or I'm Missing a Screw Street. And Ikea's OK with that: "We wanted to make our arrival here more special ... always with a touch of humor, which defines our style," a spokesperson said. [Independent, 10/14/2020]

Latest Religious Messages

In Guadalupe, Mexico, pilgrims are flocking to a parking lot, leaving candles and flowers beside a detailed portrait of the Virgin Mary that inexplicably reappeared in early October, having been drawn in chalk by an anonymous artist in 2007. Oddity Central reported the artist has confirmed that the drawing is the same one he created as part of a local festival, and the area is now blocked with traffic cones and watered periodically to make the image more visible. Said Felix Palomo, director of culture for the municipality, which is part of greater Monterrey, "Whether you believe in miracles or not, the question is how did this image reappear 13 years after its creation?" [Oddity Central, 10/12/2020]

Oops!

William Hubbard, dean of the University of South Carolina School of Law, was thrilled when he saw that 82% of the school's graduates taking the bar exam had passed, so he shared the happy news in an email to the school's students. Unfortunately, the email also contained attachments with confidential exam scores for all who took the test -- those who passed and those who failed, The State reported. "Please delete the message I just sent about bar passage," Hubbard wrote in his second email. "Please do not open and, if opened, do not reveal any information in that attachment to anyone." The former president of the American Bar Association appeared devastated by the error in an interview. "I've sent a personal email to every one of those students ... I am deeply, profoundly sorry for my mistake," he said. [The State, 10/13/2020]

The Spirit World

The New York Post reported on Oct. 14 that Amethyst Realm, 32, of Bristol, England, announced on British morning television that her planned wedding to Ray, a ghost she met in Australia two years ago, was off because he "kept disappearing" and started hanging around with a sketchy spirit group while they were on vacation in Thailand. "He'd disappear for long periods of time. When he did come back, he'd bring other spirits to the house and they'd just stay around for days," Realm, said. She said the decision not to marry was mutual. "He just completely changed." [New York Post, 10/14/2020]

Ewwwwwww

Alicia Beverly of Detroit was sleeping in the back seat of a red-eye flight home from Las Vegas on Oct. 12 when she felt "something warm" on her side, and woke up to realize a man standing in the aisle was urinating on her, Fox 2 reported. "I screamed and that woke everybody up," she said. "I looked and there was a puddle of pee in the seats!" An off-duty police officer on the flight restrained the unidentified man, described as a well-known pastor from North Carolina, and he was taken into custody upon landing, but has not been charged. Beverly had to sit in her wet clothes for the duration of the trip and is suffering anxiety following the incident. "Since then I have only gotten four hours of sleep," she said. [Fox 2, 10/14/2020]

Bright Ideas

-- The Netherlands is home to a new trend in wellness therapy that promises serenity to those who try it: "koe knuffelen" (cow hugging). The BBC reported that a cow's warmer body temperature and slower heartbeat are thought to increase oxytocin levels in humans, reducing stress and promoting positivity. The practice began more than a decade ago, and now farms in Switzerland and the U.S. along with the Netherlands offer cow-cuddling sessions, which typically begin with a tour of the farm before participants are invited to rest against a cow for up to three hours. [BBC, 10/9/2020]

-- The Finnish airline Finnair began selling its business-class airplane food in supermarkets on Oct. 13, in an effort to keep its catering staff employed as well as offer a taste of nostalgia to travelers grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ready-made "Taste of Finnair" dishes include reindeer meatballs, Artic char and Japanese-style teriyaki beef and cost about $12, The Associated Press reported. Marika Nieminen, vice president of Finnair Kitchen, said the idea allows the airline to "create new work and employment for our people." (Associated Press, 10/15/2020]

Inexplicable

Customs officials at the Jacksonville (Florida) International Mail Facility came across a package from Hungary on Oct. 14 that contained more than 200 equine bones -- a complete horse skeleton, United Press International reported. Daniel Alonso, acting director of field operations for Customs and Border Protection in Miami, tweeted a photo of the skeleton with the caption: "No horsing around this Halloween." Because the package did not have a required veterinary services permit, he said it would not be sent to its destination. [UPI, 10/14/2020]

In June, Connecticut State Police investigating a December armed robbery outside the Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant in Norwich arrived at the Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville to obtain a DNA sample from Gregory Blue, 38, who first accused police of planting his DNA at the scene of the robbery before telling them "a phlebotomist who took his blood years ago dropped his DNA at the scene via airplane," according to authorities. Investigators had found blood at the scene of the robbery and on hats the unidentified 45-year-old victim said had been left by the assailant. The Connecticut Post reported the DNA samples matched, according to the arrest warrant, and on Sept. 25, Blue was charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. [Connecticut Post, 9/30/2020]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

-- Larry Stothers, 41, and Jayson Rappa, 31, were arrested on Sept. 26 in Largo, Florida, and charged with strong-arm robbery after allegedly stealing a prosthetic leg, according to The Smoking Gun. Police say they were called by the victim after Stothers and Rappa confronted him over a stolen backpack, "and in the course of the fight, a prosthetic leg was taken from the victim." Court records did not reveal the whereabouts of the leg. [The Smoking Gun, 9/28/2020]

-- An aggressive Muscovy duck named Bob in Mansfield, England, has terrorized postman Steve Hinds to the point that Hinds has refused to deliver mail to the duck's owners until they contain him, The Scottish Sun reported. Hinds told the Sun that on Oct. 3, "The duck started hissing at me and ... it ran me up the path snapping its beak." The apologetic owners left a Crunchie candy bar as a peace offering for Hinds and a note reading, "He used to be lovely and cuddly. Now he is a vicious sex-maniac! We have fenced him in and hopefully he won't escape." But two days later, Bob escaped the fence and came after Hinds again. At press time, the standoff continues. [The Scottish Sun, 10/7/2020]

Anger Management

Justin Anthony Garcia, 30, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, landed in the Lee County Jail on Sept. 27 on charges of aggravated battery following a heated argument over which is better: whole milk or almond milk, reported Fox 23 News. Deputies of the Lee County Sheriff's Office were called to the scene after the disagreement between two cousins escalated from verbal to physical, according to court documents, eventually ending with Garcia drawing a pocketknife and chasing his cousin through the front yard, cutting him on the torso. An uncle intervened and separated the two until deputies arrived, but the arrest complaint does not say which type of milk Garcia prefers. [Fox 23 News, 9/27/2020]

Least Competent Criminals

-- Three men are on the run in Philadelphia after a botched ATM burglary on Oct. 2, the Associated Press reported. The men entered a Chinese takeout restaurant and ordered food, then set off an explosive device while they waited that damaged an ATM, but they couldn't remove the cash box inside the machine, police said. They escaped empty-handed on foot and bicycle, and police are still searching for them. [Associated Press, 10/3/2020]

-- Alice Lavern Henry, 47, of Lake Wales, Florida, told a clerk at Griner's Jewelry in Winter Haven that she had found the ring she brought in to sell while treasure-hunting on a beach. The clerk became suspicious when she noticed the ring, valued at more than $1,000, had no damage, and investigators later determined it was part of a collection that had been stolen from the store in a July burglary, according to the Winter Haven Police Department. The Ledger reported that police also learned Henry had visited another jewelry store on several occasions in September, attempting to sell other rings from Griner's collection. She was arrested Oct. 4 on charges of felony grand theft. [The Ledger, 10/5/2020]

Great Art!

Passersby were in awe as 32 tons of raw carrots were dumped from a large truck onto a road running through the University of London campus on Sept. 30. The carrots were an art installation presented as part of the Goldsmiths art college Master of Fine Arts degree show by student Rafael Perez Evans, who titled his work "Grounding" and said it is designed to raise awareness about food waste, United Press International reported. The show ran from Oct. 2-6, and "Rafael has arranged for the carrots to be removed at the end of the exhibition and donated to animals," a university spokesperson said. [United Press International, 9/30/2020]

Recent Alarming Headlines

In White Marsh, Maryland, a person driving past the closed Rustic Inn bar on the morning of Oct. 7 saw what they thought was a Halloween decoration in the parking lot, WJZ reported. After doubling back, the driver determined it was a dead body, and "the body has suffered some sort of trauma," said Jennifer Peach of the Baltimore County Police Department. Peach went on to appeal for tips from the public: "We don't have a lot of information at this point." [WJZ, 10/7/2020]

Entrepreneurial Spirit

-- Two young men soliciting residents in Covina, California, for donations for the Covina High School football team ran into a problem when they appeared at the door of a resident who quickly questioned them: "It's funny you bring that up, because I know for a fact that you guys don't go to Covina because I teach there ... I'm a football coach." When neither of the alleged scammers could name the head coach, they left, Fox11 reported on Oct. 7, and the football team tweeted confirmation that the two were not with the program. [Fox 11, 10/7/2020]

-- Hotels.com is offering one lucky customer the opportunity to "live under a rock" to escape "election stress disorder" during election week Nov. 2-7, United Press International reports. The accommodations in a manmade cave 50 feet below ground in New Mexico will cost just $5 per night. "Political fatigue is real, regardless of the year or election," said Josh Belkin, vice president of Hotels.com. "Who knows what else 2020 has in store for us." [United Press International, 10/8/2020]

Wait, What?

A Japanese buyer with very precise requirements has paid a record $14,000 for a 22-pound traditional Iberian ham, Oddity Central reported. Julio Revilla, president of Sierra Mayor Jabugo, in Corteconcepcion, Spain, said the ham was produced according to the buyer's strict instructions: It had to come from an Iberian pig at least 2 years old that had grazed on a diet of only acorns and herbs in the mountains of Sierra Mayor for at least 100 days. The pig was slaughtered in 2015 and the ham was then cured for five years -- twice the amount of time for a typical premium ham. It was delivered to the buyer in September, who was also awarded with a Guinness World Record certificate. [Oddity Central, 10/6/2020]

Convicted drug smuggler Mike Gielen, 24, hired a helicopter at Deurne airport near Antwerp, Belgium, on Sept. 25, then hijacked the aircraft in mid-flight and forced the pilot to fly to Berkendaal women's prison south of Brussels to free his wife, Kristel Appelt, 27, who is being held there on suspicion of murdering an ex-boyfriend, The Guardian reported. As inmates cheered and waved below, the pilot circled the prison yard, trying unsuccessfully to land, while Gielen put his head out of the chopper to vomit five times, before giving up and flying off. Authorities arrested Gielen and several accomplices within 24 hours when they discovered he had used his real name to hire the helicopter. "It seems the whole thing has been staged quite amateurishly," remarked Tom van Overbeke, Gielen's attorney. [The Guardian, 9/28/2020]

Wide World of Sports

Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff's deputies responding to reports of a domestic violence situation on Sept. 23 arrived at the apartment of Devon Garnett, 26, to find Garnett and two friends, fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning, watching Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Neighbors had become alarmed after hearing shouts of "Shoot! Shoot!" and "I dare you to shoot!" just before 8:30 that evening, reported the Associated Press. The deputies "thought there were guns in the house," said Garnett, who told them, "Nope, we're just screaming for Steven Stamkos." [Associated Press, 9/25/2020]

Recurring Themes

Voters in the village of Deveselu, Romania, reelected popular Mayor Ion Aliman to a third term in a landslide victory on Sept. 27 despite the fact that Aliman had died of COVID-19 10 days before the election. The Associated Press reported that word of the mayor's passing had spread fast among the village's 3,000 residents, but his name still appeared on the ballots, and many villagers used the vote as an opportunity to honor Aliman, who would have celebrated his 57th birthday on election day. After the results were revealed, many villagers went to his grave to pay respects and light candles, saying, "We will make you proud" and "This is your victory." [Associated Press, 9/28/2020]

Compelling Explanation

After throwing a Bible that struck a Marion County (Florida) Sheriff's deputy in the face, Robert Otis Hoskins, 39, of Summerfield, told officers that God had directed him to break into his neighbors' home and free their young daughter, according to authorities. WKMG-TV reports police were responding to reports of a burglary on Sept. 22 when they encountered Hoskins, who emerged from the house next door wearing nothing but briefs and yelling something like, "I condemn you!" before throwing the Bible. Officers tased him and took him into custody; Hoskins' wife told deputies he "does have a drug problem," according to the arrest report, and the alleged victim said about $50 worth of clothing had been stolen. Hoskins was booked on multiple charges. [WKMG-TV, 9/30/2020]

Latest Human Rights

A High Court judge in Liverpool, England, has rejected Cheryl Pile's attempt to sue the Liverpool Police for violating her rights in April 2017 when four female officers changed her out of the clothes she had vomited on, reports the BBC. Calling the officers' actions "an act of decency," the judge noted that Pile, who later paid a fine for being drunk and disorderly, was "too insensible with drink to have much idea of either where she was or what she was doing there," and would otherwise have been left "to marinade overnight in her own bodily fluids." [BBC 9/18/2020]

Bad Behavior

CNN reports a 32-year-old unnamed Irishman was charged with vandalism after being caught on Sept. 21 carving his first and last initials into a pillar on the first floor of the Colosseum in Rome. The structure, which has stood for two millennia, is a World Heritage Site, and Italian law calls for a hefty fine or prison sentence for damaging a historical and artistic landmark. Archaeologist Federica Rinaldi, who is responsible for the Colosseum, suggested it would be better to "take a selfie" than to carve into the amphitheater's walls. [CNN, 9/26/2020]

Annuls of Technology

-- Taro Kono, Japan's new minister for administrative reform, is wasting no time in starting his crusade to cut down on bureaucratic red tape, reports The Japan Times, and among his first targets is the fax machine, which is still in use in more than 95% of businesses in Japan. "I don't think there are many administrative procedures that actually need printing out paper and faxing," Kono said on Sept. 25. A day after being appointed to his new job, Kono created a red-tape hotline on his website, inviting public input, that had to be shut down the next day after receiving more than 4,000 responses. [The Japan Times, 9/27/2020]

-- Keith Bebonis knows a secret about the Chicago Police Department, reported the Chicago Sun-Times on Sept. 25: They still use typewriters. Bebonis knows because he repairs them when the officers "abuse" them. "Police officers, in general, are very heavy typists," said Bebonis, 46, who carries on the business his dad started in the late 1960s, Bebon Office Machines and Supplies. He contracts every year to repair 40 to 50 IBM Wheelwriters -- early word-processing machines that can store a few pages' worth of data. "I don't want it to seem like I'm saying they're taking their frustrations out on the typewriter," Bebonis said. "But they're just not very sensitive with these machines." [Chicago Sun-Times, 9/25/2020]

It's Good to Have a Hobby

Calling himself "Britain's dullest man," Kevin Beresford, 68, of Redditch, is the founder of the Roundabout Appreciation Society and has traveled all over the country for the past 17 years, searching for the best traffic circles, which he memorializes in calendars with photos of his favorites. His hobby began when he ran a printing company that created calendars for clients every year, he told BirminghamLive, and they jokingly created a roundabout calendar. Since then, this self-described "Lord of the Rings" has expanded his interests to include phone boxes of Wales and Birmingham's No. 11 Outer Circle bus route. His latest focus has been on car parks. "I started the Car Park Appreciation Society 10 years ago, but nobody has joined," he said. "It's a bit sad." [Mirror, 9/18/2020]

Police Report

Johnathan Lee Rossmoine, 36, of Louisiana, was charged with multiple sex crimes on Sept. 27 after deputies of the Hernando County (Florida) Sheriff's Office arrested him at the Spring Hill home of a teenager in whose bedroom Rossmaine had been living for a month, according to authorities. The Associated Press reports the two met online two years ago, deputies said, and Rossmoine told them he had traveled to Florida several times since then. The teen told officers Rossmoine had been living in the bedroom since Aug. 19, and hid in the closet when the teen's parents were home. [Associated Press via KATC, 9/30/2020]

Animal Capers

Five African gray parrots adopted in August by Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom were on display to the public only 20 minutes before the park started getting complaints that the birds were using obscenities with guests, reported LincolnshireLive. When the birds first came to Lincolnshire, they were quarantined together, where it seems they taught each other some "fowl" language. "The more they swear, the more you usually laugh, which then triggers them to swear again," explained park CEO Steve Nichols. The birds have been placed in an offshore enclosure where Nichols hoped other birds would teach them some manners; when released, they'll go to separate areas so they can't encourage each other. [LincolnshireLive, 9/28/2020]