The South China Morning Post reported on June 25 that a 64-year-old man underwent surgery in Anhui province to remove a toothbrush that he had swallowed when he was 12 years old. Mr. Yang had begun to feel a strange sensation in his stomach, so he sought medical help; he told doctors he had been too afraid to tell his parents at the time of the incident. He also thought the toothbrush would dissolve on its own. But 52 years later, the nearly 7-inch-long brush was lodged in his small intestine, and doctors worked for 80 minutes to remove it. Dr. Zhou said the brush was stuck in a crook of the intestine and hadn't moved for decades. [South China Morning Post, 6/25/2025]

The Hard Way

An unnamed Bristol, Connecticut, man was charged with burglary, trespassing and criminal mischief on June 22 after he tried to enter a public building through the chimney, the Associated Press reported. According to police, the man's dog was trapped in the building's restroom after the doors automatically locked, and rather than call for help, he tried to shimmy down the chimney but got stuck. Firefighters responded and had to remove parts of the chimney and building, causing $5,000 to $10,000 worth of damage. He was eventually freed and was unharmed. "If he had just contacted police in the first place, we might have been able to avoid the situation," said Erica Benoit of the Bristol parks and rec service. [AP, 6/23/2025]

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

A mother, father and adult son in Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic, have pleaded guilty to running a fake dental clinic in their home, the Associated Press reported on June 19. They all face up to eight years in prison for the ruse, during which the son would look up how to do procedures (including extractions) on the internet; the mother, a nurse, would assist, and the dad made prosthetic devices. They raked in about $185,000 before being caught after a patient consulted another dentist about complications following treatment. [AP, 6/19/2025]

The Passing Parade

Neighbors in one Indianapolis area flocked to North Pasadena Street on June 18 to see a remnant of the storms that had moved through: a large white dome deposited in the road. WRTV reported that people drove or walked by to see it and even had their photos snapped in front of it. The sphere is believed to be a radome, a weatherproof structure that protects radar antennae or other equipment. "We've not seen anything like this," said neighbor Kirby Jarvis. "Lock the doors, stay inside, aliens, you never know." [WRTV, 6/18/2025]

What's in a Name?

-- Police in Portland, Oregon, finally caught up with a man who had fired gunshots at them and led them on a high-speed chase on June 20, KATU-TV reported. The Milwaukie Police Department said they took Loony John Franklin Toon, 42, into custody on June 23 and charged him with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and fleeing from the police. That's all, folks! [KATU, 6/23/2025]

-- On June 19 in Silver Creek, Minnesota, a car that was "swerving and weaving" hit a curb and careened into a scissor lift, which workers were using to fix a light. The New York Post reported that the car then slammed into a tunnel wall and flipped. One worker, Benjamin Kidd, 27, sustained life-threatening injuries; another managed to hang on to the light fixture until first responders could help him down. Driving the car was none other than Patches Magickbeans, 34, of Wisconsin, who was allegedly intoxicated; police said he was babbling and reaching for objects in the air that weren't there. Officers found psilocybin mushrooms in his car. Magickbeans' bio on his Instagram page says he is a "womb wisdom keeper" and "corn juggler." [NY Post, 6/25/2025]

Repeat Offender

Jacky Jhaj, 39, has been on Britain's sex offenders list since 2016, but that didn't stop him from arranging a mock wedding to a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl at Disneyland Paris on June 21, the BBC reported. Police were alerted to the event by an actor who had been hired to portray the father of the bride; about 100 other extras were recruited to take part. On June 23, Jhaj was charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and identity theft. His other notable offenses include hiring hundreds of children to act like fawning fans at a fake film premiere in London in 2023. He films the escapades and uploads them to a YouTube channel. The fake wedding, which included a cake and musicians, took place at the Sleeping Beauty castle and was reported to have cost about 130,000 euros, but it's unclear how he funds the projects. [BBC, 6/24/2025]

It's a Mystery

The French Interior Ministry reported that about 150 people were pricked by syringe needles during a nationwide music festival, according to CNN. Over the weekend of June 21, French police detained 14 people in connection with the "spiking" incidents, which left some victims feeling unwell. Some were hospitalized for testing. One 22-year-old concertgoer said she went to the hospital and then filed a police report. "I told myself maybe it can have an impact," she said. [CNN, 6/25/2025]

Bright Idea

Out in ski country, employees at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado hit the slopes in early June for a completely different event: the Mountain Cleanup Day. KDVR-TV reported that 150 workers cleared about 780 pounds of debris off the mountains -- stuff that had fallen out of pockets or flown off skiers as they schussed down the runs. Unusual items included a hamburger flipper, a $2 Canadian coin, piles of ski poles and a message in a bottle, which turned out to be a COVID-19 vaccination record. The resort hopes the cleanup will remind people to "pack out what you bring in." [KDVR, 6/24/2025]

Freak Accident

A lifeguard in Asbury Park, New Jersey, was trying to set a chair umbrella in its holder on June 25 when it got away from her and ended up impaling her through her shoulder, WABC-TV reported. "She fell backwards off the bench and the umbrella came with her ... and landed on her arm," said lifeguard Joe Bongiovanni. Firefighters cut most of the pole away but left a piece about a foot long in her arm before she was transported to the hospital. She is in stable condition. [WABC, 6/25/2025]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

The Chongqing Forestry Bureau has sucked all the fun out of a gimmick at a hotel in Pengshui, China, according to United Press International. The bureau ordered the Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel to cease using red pandas to make wake-up calls to guests, UPI reported on June 25. For an extra charge, hotel guests could sign up for one of four red pandas to come to the room and climb onto the bed. They could linger with guests depending on their mood. The forestry bureau said the service could be considered animal abuse because the pandas are sensitive and their stress responses could endanger themselves or the humans. [UPI, 6/25/2025]

The Golden Age of Air Travel

The U.S. Sun reported on June 26 that a woman aboard Aeroflot flight SU734 from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Egypt finally had to be restrained after she launched into a tantrum about not being upgraded to business class. The woman screamed at flight attendants that she had "pain in my butt" and needed business class "because I was working." She then threatened to open the emergency exit and began to remove her shirt, presumably hoping that would help her cause, but no: Some burly passengers moved her to the back of the plane, where she was restrained until Egyptian authorities took her off after landing. [U.S. Sun, 6/25/2025]

A 42-year-old man contacted Beverly Hills, Texas, Police Chief Kory Martin on June 13 about a package he had received from his ex-girlfriend, KWKT-TV reported. Inside was a copy of a marriage certificate, indicating that the man was married. But he told Martin that while he had been in a relationship with the woman, Kristin Marie Spearman, 36, of Waco, and even obtained a marriage license, they broke up before the wedding. After investigating, Martin determined that Spearman had convinced a pastor to certify the marriage without the groom present, and then filed the certificate at the county clerk's office. Martin said he researched the law and found only one scenario that allows for an absentee spouse-to-be: "active military overseas, unable to make it." And even then, "You still had to have a proxy to stand in ... so (in this case) the groom should have been there." Spearman was arrested for third-degree felony stalking and taken to jail. [KWKT, 6/16/2025]

Saw That Coming

The Madison (Wisconsin) Fire Department responded to a boozy blaze on June 15, WMTV reported. Someone reported an oven fire around 6 p.m.; the caller told firefighters they had been cooking a turkey for about eight minutes when the oven door blew open. First responders removed the oven from the apartment, and the fire went out. They later learned the turkey had been marinated in tequila, and they believe the accumulated vapors from the alcohol were not properly vented from the oven, which caused the fire. No one was hurt (except the turkey). [WMTV, 6/16/2025]

News You Can Use

The Blue Ash (Ohio) Police Department is recommending that drivers in the area "keep the windows up for the next several weeks" after a cicada caused a crash on June 12. KKTV reported that no one was hurt when a driver veered into a pole after a cicada flew into their car; the car ended up on its side, and the cicada made a clean getaway. "These pesky cicadas don't respect personal space," police said. "A cicada attack can be dangerous." [KKTV, 6/16/2025]

It's Good To Have a Hobby

Samuel Lee Thomas, 72, of St. Petersburg, Florida, is a prolific 911 caller, The Smoking Gun reported on June 16. Just in the first five months of 2025, Thomas has called emergency services 3,400 times, bringing his five-year total to 16,000 calls. His latest call involved what he said was someone "shooting an AR-15 rifle in the roadway," but when police arrived, they found a family having a barbecue and kids at play. Anqunette Peterson, 34, who lives in the targeted home, has been the victim of his calls 647 times and said Thomas "frequently stops in front of their residence to yell obscenities at her and her family," police said. Thomas was arrested for stalking and false report of a crime. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $1,500 bond. [The Smoking Gun, 6/16/2025]

Compelling Explanation

Jose Manuel Perez, 24, was charged with aggravated battery on June 14 in Salt Lake City after he attacked the person he was having lunch with, Fox13-TV reported. As the assault played out, the victim tried to escape numerous times, but Perez put them in a chokehold and produced a "wooden stake with a nail in it," telling them that they were a werewolf and "he was going to pierce their heart." Eventually, Perez ran off with the victim's backpack, which was recovered when cops caught up with him. Police said Perez also had rocks in his pockets, which he carried out of fear the victim would attack him. He was held without bail. [Fox13, 6/15/2025]

Awesome!

When Gwyneth Griffiths of Swansea, Wales, turned 102 years old recently, she had just one wish for her birthday party: a stripper. Wales Online reported on June 16 that the Hawthorn Court Care Home where Griffiths lives was happy to oblige with a "butler in the buff." Griffiths, who has dementia, has become feisty and fun in her advanced years, spewing swear words when, her son Peter said, "She wouldn't say boo to a goose" as he was growing up. About the stripper, Griffiths told her son, "I hope I get a cheeky pinch of his bum!" The centenarian also has a weekly wedding to her imaginary friend "Dr. John," for which she gets her hair done and dons a tiara. When Peter told her she'd be turning 102 soon, she argued: "No I am not. Look at my t--s, not a wrinkle!" Party on, Gwyneth! [Wales Online, 6/16/2025]

Weird in the Wild

Say you're trekking through the Namib Desert in Namibia and you get a little thirsty. No problem! According to Oddity Central, about a 20-minute drive from the main road crossing the desert is an unexpected oasis: a pink solar-powered refrigerator full of cold drinks and a little table with two chairs. Drinks are provided free of charge, and the fridge is restocked several times a day. The government's tourist board installed the fridge in the spirit of hospitality, the website reported on June 16. So friendly. [Oddity Central, 6/16/2025]

Irony

At Difficult Campground in White River National Forest near Aspen, Colorado, camping is taking on a new look: The U.S. Forest Service has banned camping in tents or other soft-sided structures, The Aspen Times reported. Blame it on a black bear. During the night of June 9, a "curious" bear pawed at a tent with two children under age 12 inside, puncturing the material but failing to get inside. The children didn't tell their parents, who were sleeping in a tent next to them, until the next morning. "The kids were totally fine," a campground host reported. "They were not traumatized." Campers using tents were relocated to other campgrounds. The order was to remain in place for two months. [Aspen Times, 6/12/2025]

Questionable Judgment

The York Catholic District School Board in Vaughan, Ontario, has relieved a bus driver of their duties after inappropriate behavior, CP24-TV reported on June 17. It all started with a video posted to social media of a parent confronting the driver, who had placed a sign in the bus's front window that said "Lolita's Line." "Why do you call your bus 'The Lolita Line'?" the parent asked the driver, who was dressed in a schoolgirl's uniform. ("Lolita" is a 1955 novel about a professor who kidnaps a 12-year-old girl.) The bus driver responds that they "do this every week. And I don't think there's any problem." The school board, however, did perceive a problem and brought the incident to the bus company's attention, assuring parents that "the driver will no longer provide busing to and from the school." [CP24, 6/17/2025]

That Rule Doesn't Apply to Me

A 42-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound in his back on June 15 as he and friends rode bikes through the Central Catchment Nature Reserve in Singapore, AsiaOne reported. Nobody was hunting him; he was riding in an area restricted to the public and reserved for the Singapore Armed Forces live-firing activities. Several large signs read "Do Not Go Beyond This Point -- Living Firing Area -- Keep Clear!" and "Danger," illustrated with a skull and crossbones. At the time of the shooting, the SAF was conducting an authorized live-firing activity. The man underwent surgery to remove the slug and is in stable condition. [AsiaOne, 6/16/2025]

At Chicago's O'Hare Airport on May 17, a lost DoorDash driver made it past a security gate and onto the tarmac, driving a significant distance before being stopped by airport personnel, WKRC-TV reported. The 36-year-old driver stopped near a grounded aircraft and showed the food receipt and meal he was trying to deliver; he was released without any citations. However, the security employee at the gate was relieved of her duties after letting the car pass through her post. [WKRC, 6/7/2025]

That's Punny

In London's Brockwell Park, the annual Lambeth Country Show kicked off on June 7 with livestock competitions, sheep shearing and, most notably, a vegetable sculpture contest, the Associated Press reported. "Every year, this is what we get so excited about, is the vegetable sculptures," said fairgoer Maddy Luxon. "We love the political ones." And, her friend Marek Szandrowski added, "The puns." For example, one sculpture featured Catholic cardinals made of corn: "Cornclave." Another called "Cauli Parton" was shown in a scene from "9 to Chive." President Donald Trump was depicted in butternut squash form. [AP, 6/8/2025]

To Your Point

Lake of the Isles, a neighborhood in Minneapolis, marks the start of summer by sharpening a pencil -- a 20-foot-tall wooden pencil sculpted from a tree damaged in a storm several years ago. The Associated Press reported on June 7 that residents John and Amy Higgins wanted to give the tree new life, so they enlisted wood sculptor Curtis Ingvoldstad to fashion a No. 2 pencil. "Why a pencil? Everybody uses a pencil," said Amy. Every year, they sharpen it with a custom-made sharpener carried up to the point on scaffolding, taking off 3 to 10 inches. The Higginses know that one day, their pencil will be a stub, but they're OK with that. They just want the ritual to pull the community together. The party includes entertainment and music, and people dress as pencils or erasers. [AP, 6/7/2025]

The Golden Age of Air Travel

At Milan's Malpensa Airport on June 8, a Chinese woman went full-on toddler tantrum after being told her carry-on bag was too heavy to fly, news.com.au reported. The woman was boarding a flight when staff tried to check her carry-on suitcase, but when they told her it was over the weight limit, she hit the floor, rolling around, stamping her feet and yelling. Authorities eventually removed her from the flight, and she later rebooked after calming down. Videos of her antics have since gone viral, provoking comments such as "This is shameless and disgraceful behavior" and "This is so embarrassing." [news.com.au, 6/11/2025]

Questionable Judgments

-- Well, it's that time of year again, when people with less sense than animals head into the wild and carelessly approach large, dangerous wildlife. So it was in Yellowstone National Park this month, when 1) a 30-year-old New Jersey man was gored by a bison on June 10 after getting too close, and 2) bystanders caught a video of a woman walking a toddler right up to a grazing bison at the same park on June 2, according to KDVR-TV. The New Jersey man was treated at the scene for minor injuries. The bison, thankfully, ignored the adult and toddler. "Bison will defend their space when threatened and have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal," wildlife officials said. [KDVR, 6/12/2025]

-- Fox2-TV in Detroit reported on June 9 about a Zoom court hearing that went viral. The hearing was overseen by 36th District Court Judge Sean Perkins, who was talking with Asja Outerbridge about her misdemeanor open container violation. On the Zoom video, Outerbridge could be seen wearing a robe and making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while she spoke to the court. "Put whatever you're trying to prepare down," Perkins instructed her. "Put your proper dress on. I don't do robes." Outerbridge explained that her 3-year-old daughter was home sick from school and the sandwich was for her, then showed the judge that she was dressed in a T-shirt and pants. But he wasn't having it: "Bye, Ms. Outerbridge!" he said before booting her off the call. Outerbridge said she "could have came dressed better and more prepared. I do genuinely, with a serious face, apologize to the judge." [Fox2, 6/9/2025]

But Why?

A woman shopping "in aisle 18 at Sam's Club" in Orlando, Florida, got an eyeful on May 30 when she caught Patrick Mitchell, 70, urinating on two pallets of canned Spam and Vienna sausages, The Smoking Gun reported. Police said the witness snapped a photo and reported the incident to store employees, who confirmed that the pallets, worth $10,584.54, had been "contaminated with bodily fluids." After relieving himself, Mitchell strolled around the store and tested some patio furniture before checking out and leaving. Mitchell was arrested at his home in The Villages, a retirement community, and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. [The Smoking Gun, 6/11/2025]

Kindness Counts

A woman stopped an Osceola County (Florida) Sheriff's deputy on June 9 to report that her brother had been stabbed with a machete, WESH-TV reported. Oh, also, that the assailant was driving the victim to the hospital. Sure enough, officers found Angel Ramos-Arce, 35, at the hospital, where his truck yielded the victim's blood and the machete. The two men had gotten into an altercation over Ramos-Arce repeatedly harassing the victim's sister at the Circle K where she worked. He was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; it's unclear whether he'll get any Brownie points for transporting the victim to the hospital. [WESH, 6/10/2025]

Bright Idea

Tiron Alexander, 35, of Florida is facing up to 30 years in federal prison after being found guilty on June 5 of wire fraud and unlawfully entering a secure airport area under false pretenses. CBS News reported that between 2018 and 2024, Alexander falsely claimed to be a flight attendant with seven different airlines to take advantage of free flights. He created about 30 different badges and boarded 34 flights without paying. He will be sentenced on Aug. 25. [CBS News, 6/12/2025]

Heh, Heh, They Said 'Naked'

At a public bathhouse in Incheon, South Korea, stickers in the elevator direct guests to the men's or women's baths, which are on different floors. The Korea JoongAng Daily reported that on May 27, a woman in her 20s entered the elevator around 2 a.m. and pressed the button corresponding to the women's bath, but when she exited the elevator, naked, she entered the men's bath. CCTV footage showed two men, believed to be in their 20s, switching the stickers in the elevator around 11 p.m. Police said they are tracking the suspects. [Korea JoongAng Daily, 6/12/2025]