On Feb. 23, Siriporn Niamrin, 49, discovered a large, waxy, oval-shaped lump that smelled of fish and weighed about 15 pounds along the beach near her home in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand, and was excited to learn it may be a rare substance called ambergris, or vomit produced by sperm whales. The Mirror reported ambergris is highly prized in making perfume, and it might be worth as much as $260,000. "If I really have the genuine ambergris, I can help my community once I find a buyer for it," Niamrin said. "I'm keeping it safe in my house" as she waits for expert confirmation of its authenticity. [Mirror, 3/1/2021]

Multitasking

Northern California plastic surgeon Scott Green surprised officials in Sacramento Superior Court on Feb. 25 when he appeared for a traffic trial via videoconference from what appeared to be an operating room, the Sacramento Bee reported. As clicks and whirs of medical equipment and suctions could be heard in the background, a courtroom clerk questioned his whereabouts, and Green, dressed in hospital scrubs, admitted, "Yes, I'm in an operating room right now. I'm available for trial. Go right ahead." Despite Green's repeated assurances, Court Commissioner Gary Link was skeptical: "I do not feel comfortable for the welfare of a patient if you're in the process of operating ... I don't think that's appropriate." The trial was rescheduled for later in March. California's Medical Board said in a statement it was investigating the incident. [Sacramento Bee, 3/1/2021]

Crime Report

Sharon Carr of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was arrested by officers responding to a residential burglary call on Feb. 26 when she stepped from the shadows in front of the victim's house. Investigators found a window screen removed and a window open, where they allege Carr entered the home but quickly left, leaving behind an empty Cheetos bag and a water bottle. Cheetos residue on Carr's teeth linked her to the crime, reported KTUL-TV, along with testimony from the victim. Carr was charged with first-degree burglary. [KTUL, 2/27/2021]

The Foreign Press

Diplomats and their families from the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea, worked around extreme COVID-induced travel restrictions by pushing themselves across the border in a rail trolley to reach their home country on Feb. 25, the BBC reported. The group of eight, including children, traveled 32 hours by train and two hours by bus to reach the Russian border, but trains and wagons cannot enter or leave North Korea, so the embassy's third secretary, Vladislav Sorokin, completed the last half-mile of the journey by pushing the trolley filled with the group and their baggage on train tracks over the Tumen River, where they were met by Russian officials at the border station. [BBC, 2/26/2021]

Animal Antics

EuroWeekly reported that on Feb. 24, a routine Sudanese Tarco airline flight from Khartoum to Doha, Qatar, was forced to turn around about a half-hour after takeoff when a stowaway cat caused a midair emergency. The cat gained entry to the cockpit and became aggressive, attacking the crew, who were unable to restrain it, prompting the pilot to return to the airport. Officials believe the cat got onto the airplane while it was parked overnight in a hangar in Khartoum. [EuroWeekly News, March 2021]

Inexplicable

Natasha Harris of Lillian, Alabama, called the Baldwin County Sheriff's office on Feb. 28 after her granddaughter's pet goat, Billy the Kid, returned home from one of his frequent adventures around their rural neighborhood painted from head to toe. Harris told Fox 10 News she suspected local teens had stolen and abused the goat, but investigators followed the goat's trail to Erica Farmer, who was visiting relatives nearby, and arrested her for theft of property and animal cruelty. Farmer has since apologized for dying the goat with colored shampoo and food coloring, and Harris now wants the charges dropped, telling the district attorney's office, "I'm really sorry for wasting your time." [Fox 10 News, 3/2/2021]

Just Desserts

In late February, Thangulla Satish, 45, was killed in Telangana state in southern India when the rooster he was preparing for an illegal cockfight panicked and slashed him with the 3-inch blade strapped to its leg. Police inspector B. Jeevan said Satish was "hit by the rooster's knife in his groin and started bleeding heavily," the Associated Press reported. He died on the way to the hospital. The rooster was removed to a poultry farm nearby. [Associated Press via ABC News, 2/28/2021]

Oops!

Mates Jackson Perry and Noah Palmer of Mandurah, Western Australia, planned a leisurely float offshore, drinking beer on a blowup air mattress on Feb. 27, but they wound up stranded in the Indian Ocean for nearly three hours after the wind blew them out to sea. "We couldn't paddle against the wind, and we just kept going further and further out," Perry told 7News, but they did manage to call a friend, who reached them on his jet ski just before their cellphones died. "We were kind of getting worried at that point," Perry said, but the beers helped with the anxiety. [7News, 3/1/2021]

Mystery

Police in Hertfordshire, England, received about 100 complaints over a three-day period from people parked at a Tesco store in Royston who reported their car alarms inexplicably went off, and they couldn't use their key fobs to lock or unlock their vehicles. Communications watchdog company Ofcom told the BBC in March 1 its investigators checked the area for signs of interference, but found nothing. No cars have been reported stolen, and police said they were not treating the incidents as malicious. [BBC, 3/1/2021]

Devil's in the Details

Amazon released a new icon for its shopping app in January with what was supposed to look like a jagged piece of tape on a package above Amazon's smiling arrow logo but instead reminded some viewers of Adolf Hitler's mustache, CBS News reported. After Twitter users commented on the resemblance, Amazon tweaked the art and rolled out a more squared-off version in late February. [CBS News, 3/3/2021]

Cliche Come to Life

Wendi Dale Hird, 56, was arrested at her home in Largo, Florida, late on Feb. 28 after throwing her cat in her 73-year-old male roommate's face, causing the cat to scratch him, according to arrest records. Police say she then struck the man in the face. Hird was charged with domestic battery on a person over the age of 65, reported The Smoking Gun. (Bonus: Hird was arrested in 2018 for allegedly battering the same man, described in court documents as a platonic roommate, but was not prosecuted.) [The Smoking Gun, 3/2/2021]

Shannon Stevens, along with her brother Erik and his girlfriend, snowmobiled to Erik's yurt in the backcountry near Haines, Alaska, on Feb. 13 and got the scare of a lifetime when she was attacked from below by a bear in an outhouse, the Associated Press reported. Erik heard his sister's screams and went out to investigate, opening the toilet seat to find "a bear face ... just looking right back up through the hole, right at me," he said. He shut the lid and ran back to the yurt, where they treated Shannon's wound with a first aid kit and determined is wasn't serious. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Management biologist Carl Koch said the bear probably swiped at her with its paw, rather than biting her. "She could be the only person on Earth that this has ever happened to," Koch speculated. [Associated Press, 2/19/2021]

Awwwwww

Reuters reported on Feb. 24 that a wayward sheep found in a forest in Australia, has been shorn of the more than 77 pounds of fleece he was carrying and is now recovering at Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary near Lancefield, Victoria. Named Baarack by his rescuers, the sheep was "in a bit of a bad way," said the sanctuary's Kyle Behrend. "Sheep need to be shorn at least annually, otherwise the fleece continues to grow and grow ... He was underweight and due to all the wool around his face he could barely see." [Reuters, 2/24/2021]

Family Values

On Feb. 10, prosecutors in Indianapolis charged Jeremy Farmer, 36, with murdering his father, Fred Farmer, 58, who disappeared in November of 2019. Without a body, a weapon or a murder scene, detectives based their case instead on evidence that Jeremy cleaned out his dad's bank account, used his truck and credit cards, and likely sent fake texts full of emojis that Fred never used from his father's cellphone to family and friends for two months after the disappearance, WXIN-TV reported. Police hope someone will come forward with information about the fate of Fred Farmer. [WXIN, 2/10/2021]

Government in Action

Leslie Pilgrim of Huntington Beach, California, waited more than two hours at the DMV in Laguna Hills in early February to get a REAL ID, an upgraded driver's license that will be required for airline travel starting in October. Staying compliant with COVID-19 safety rules, Pilgrim left her mask on throughout the process and was startled when officials took her photo while still wearing her mask, she told Fox 11. The clerk realized the error and took another photo, but when the new ID arrived in the mail, Pilgrim's masked-up face was on the license. The DMV advised her the license is valid, even with the mask, but Pilgrim is not taking any chances: She's getting a new one made. "(A)t the end of the day, this is funny," she said. "With all the things happening in the world right now, this is an incredibly minor inconvenience," she said. [Fox 11, 2/23/2021]

Lost and Found

Phoenix police were called to a home on Feb. 21 by homeowners who unearthed a duffel bag filled with rusted handguns and assault rifles while digging hole in their backyard to plant a tree, Fox News reported. Officers said the guns will be examined to determine if they were used in any crimes. The residents have lived in the house for four years; before that, it was a rental property. [Fox News, 2/24/2021]

Police Report

Brandon Soules, 19, was arrested by police in Coolidge, Arizona, on Feb. 17, for falsely reporting to police that he had been kidnapped in an apparent scheme to get out of work. On Feb. 10, police found Soules lying near a water tower with his hands bound behind his back and a bandana in his mouth, the Associated Press reported. Soules told officers two men had kidnapped him from his home, knocked him unconscious and driven him around in his car looking for money his father had hidden around town, but detectives could find no evidence of a kidnapping or assault, and when pressed, Soules confessed he made the story up to avoid work at The Tire Factory, which subsequently fired him. [Associated Press via KNXV-TV, 2/24/2021]

The Passing Parade

Mr. Friendly Auto Service in Warren, Michigan, is one of two auto repair businesses in the area targeted by a serial pooper, police say. The man, seen on surveillance video, entered parked, unlocked vehicles to do his business, leaving his deposit behind for workers to find the next day, Fox 2 reported. The man first struck in November and returned in January, said Chris Phillips, manager of Mr. Friendly. In February, police said, the man struck at nearby Twin Tire, going from car to car until he found one left unlocked because of an electrical problem. "Now we've got double padlocks on the gate," said Phillips. "The guy needs to be caught. There is something wrong with him." [Fox 2, 2/16/2021]

Smooth Reaction

Vidam Perevertilov, 52, chief engineer on a supply ship sailing in the South Pacific from New Zealand to Pitcairn Island, fell overboard after finishing his shift at 4 a.m. on Feb. 16. Alone in the dark and without a life jacket, Perevertilov nevertheless started swimming toward a spot that appeared on the horizon at dawn, The Guardian reported. The spot turned out to be an abandoned fishing buoy and Perevertilov spent the next 14 hours clinging to it before being rescued by his crew, who noticed his absence six hours after he fell and were able to determine where he left the ship. Perevertilov's son, Marat, said his father was unhurt, but exhausted, and he left the buoy in the ocean "so it could save another person's life." [The Guardian, 2/24/2021]

Bright Idea

The famed Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn, New York, is celebrating the easing of local COVID-19 restrictions with a hand from Madame Tussauds wax museum, whose celebrity wax figures will be mingling with restaurant patrons. On Feb. 26 and through the weekend following, “Mad Men's” suave Don Draper could be seen relaxing at the bar with a cocktail, joined by others, including Jimmy Fallon, Al Roker and Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly, the Associated Press reported. Restaurant vice president Daniel Turtel said it was a “fun, safe way to fill some of the seats that need to remain empty as we continue to fight the pandemic.” [Associated Press, 2/26/2021]

Math Is Hard

An unidentified Dunkin' Donuts customer was captured on video berating store employees on Feb. 15 and demanding she get 50 Munchkin doughnuts after ordering a dozen. "I need more," she forcefully told the clerk. "Fifty. Five, zero. That's what a dozen is." Upworthy reported that another customer tried to correct her, saying "Twelve is a dozen," to which the woman replied, "I want more than 12! I want 50!" and later continued, "You understand nothing! ... You're not understanding the English!" Or the math. [Upworthy, 2/19/2021]

Bill Dorris, a successful Nashville, Tennessee, businessman, was 84 years old when he passed away late last year, WTVF-TV reported, leaving $5 million to his beloved 8-year-old border collie, Lulu. Dorris, who was unmarried and traveled frequently, often left Lulu in the care of his friend Martha Burton, 88, who will continue to keep the dog and will be reimbursed for reasonable monthly expenses from the trust established for Lulu by the will. Burton was chill about the whole thing: "I don't really know what to think about it to tell you the truth," she said. "He just really loved that dog." [WTVF, 2/12/2021]

Annals of Education

Concordia University student Aaron Asuini wanted to ask a question in the online art history class he was taking, but when he tried to reach out to the lecturer, Francois-Marc Gagnon, he couldn't find any contact information in the school's portal. So he Googled the professor's name -- and found an obituary. The Verge reported Gagnon passed away in March 2019, and although the course syllabus listed someone else as the class's official instructor, it also noted that Gagnon would be the lecturer. A Concordia spokesperson expressed regret at the misunderstanding, but Asuini is still unsettled about it: "I don't really even want to watch the lectures anymore. ... I think it lacked tact and respect for this teacher's life." [The Verge, 2/4/2021]

Awesome!

Appalachian Bear Rescue is on the lookout for a wild mother bear to foster three newborn cubs found in the crawl space under a home in Sevier County, Tennessee, according to United Press International. Utility workers called to the home on Feb. 13 to repair a gas leak found the "ample caboose of a very large snoozing bear" when they entered the crawl space under the house, the wildlife agency said. "There was no way to safely repair the gas line while the bear was in residence," so wildlife officials tempted the bear out of her den but found three babies had been left behind. They will remain with Appalachian Bear Rescue until a foster mom is found. [UPI, 2/17/2021]

Neighborhood Watch

Homeowners in the Quail Hollow neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, have been frustrated by a mail thief since late 2020, so when Lacy Hayes spotted a car lurking near his mailbox on Feb. 11 and saw the driver, who appeared to be an elderly woman, reach inside it, he took action. Hayes reached through the driver's window and removed the keys from the ignition. The woman hit him with her cellphone, so he took that too, called 911, then took a picture of the driver and the tags, The Charlotte Observer reported. The driver got away, but neighbor Nicole Kern got online and, using Hayes' photo and facial recognition software, soon found a match -- a man, wanted in Greenville, South Carolina. Neighbors rejoiced when a man with the same name was booked into the Mecklenburg County jail on Feb. 13 on a fugitive extradition warrant and a charge of resisting a law enforcement officer. Police declined to comment on whether the man is also a suspect in the mail thefts. The unnamed criminal was held on $2 million bail. [Charlotte Observer, 2/15/2021]

Desperate Times

Police in the Ukrainian village of Hrybova Rudnya determined that the unnamed man who called them Feb. 13 and confessed to seriously injuring his stepfather, made the call in order to get the road in front of his house cleared of snow. Police spokeswoman Yulia Kovtun told the BBC the man insisted that officers would need special equipment to get to him because of the snow, but when police arrived, they found no assault or murder, and the road had already been cleared by a tractor. The man was charged with filing a false report and fined. [BBC, 2/15/2021]

Least Competent Criminal

Robert Joseph Hallick of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was arrested Feb. 11 and charged with perjury, forgery and identity theft after applying for a handgun permit using former President Barack Obama's name, according to court documents. The arrest report also said his application included a letter with a United States of America seal and U.S. Department of State letterhead, along with a $50 check, WTVC-TV reported. In November, Hallick had been denied a handgun permit under his own name due to an active warrant for his arrest in Michigan. [WTVC, 2/15/2021]

Weird History

In an auction in Chesapeake City, Maryland, that closed on Feb. 8, a white wooden toilet seat pilfered from Adolf Hitler's retreat in the Bavarian Alps sold for about $18,750, The Sun reported. Ragnvald C. Borch, a U.S. soldier who spoke German and French, was one of the first to arrive at the Berghof at the end of World War II. His senior officers told him to "get what you want" from the damaged property, so Borch grabbed a toilet seat and shipped it home to New Jersey, where he displayed it in his basement. Bill Panagopulos of Alexander Auctions said, "This was as close to a 'throne' as the dictator would ever get." Borch's son put the "trophy" up for auction; the buyer was not identified. [The Sun, 2/9/2021]

Family Values

Joanna Zielinski, 62, of Naples, Florida, was arrested Feb. 11 after stabbing her sister, Laura, 64, multiple times with an EpiPen, according to authorities. Investigators said the two had spent the evening drinking and taking drugs, and Laura fell asleep on the couch. "At some point," said police, "Joanna went crazy and attacked Laura with an EpiPen," because "I'm allergic to drunks," she told officers, and she wanted to sober her sister up. The Smoking Gun reported the EpiPen was prescribed to Joanna, but Laura wasn't affected by the medicine because it wasn't actually injected. Joanna was charged with domestic battery. [The Smoking Gun, 2/12/2021]

What's Old Is New Again

The Boston Globe reported on Feb. 15 about the newest hipster craze: typewriters. Manual, heavy, clunky "typers." Tom Furrier, the owner of Cambridge Typewriter, Boston's only remaining typewriter repair shop, first noticed the upward sales trend in April 2020. "I was busy beforehand, but COVID raised my business by 40%." While typewriters can't take the place of digital communications devices, they're attractive to young people for creative endeavors that have become popular during the lockdowns: "My customers use it for journaling, poetry, creative writing," Furrier said. "It's all about writing without internet distractions, about getting into a zone." With pandemic restrictions in place, Furrier brings typewriters out onto the sidewalk for customers to inspect, then disinfects them and returns them to the window. Customers "instantly get the typewriter bug," he said. [Boston Globe, 2/15/2021]