Kathy Allen Duncan, 73, of Topeka, Kansas, passed away in September, The Washington Post reported on Dec. 17. But her husband, "Tuck," was determined for her spirit to live on this Christmas. Kathy was a collector of snowmen, with about 1,000 figurines that she displayed each year for five decades. At her funeral, he remembers thinking, "We need to build one more, one last one." So Tuck, 74, rented a vacant store in a shopping mall and recruited family members to create an exhibit of Kathy's "snowpeople." The family said they hoped to spread joy -- and they've been surprised at the response. Thousands of people have visited in person, and millions more have seen photos on social media. Tuck said the project cost him about $15,000 and was "worth every penny." The family will disassemble the display on Christmas Eve and split the figurines between them, to make new scenes in their own homes. [Washington Post, 12/17/2025]

Least Competent Criminal

Police in New Castle, Delaware, received a call on Dec. 10 from Kayonne Baxter, 21, who wanted to retrieve some items from a Hyundai Sonata that had been towed, Fox29-TV reported. Oh, and he had stolen the car the day before. Baxter was taken into custody on the same street where the Hyundai had been stolen; he was charged with felony theft of a motor vehicle. [Fox29, 12/12/2025]

About Time

Lady Justice, perched atop the Butte, Montana, courthouse, has been missing a key item since 1911: her scales. But no longer: Government Buildings Manager John Sullivan was able to find a set of scales on eBay for $50 and purchase them, KBZK-TV reported. "She has a spot for scales ... the hole was there," Sullivan said. The city borrowed a construction lift to install the new set on Dec. 11, fulfilling a to-do item on Sullivan's list. "She looked naked without a set of scales," he said. [KBZK, 12/12/2025]

The Litigious Society

Roy Marsh, 86, was in Lincolnshire, England, earlier this year when, as he rested on a bench, a leaf blew into his mouth, the BBC reported on Dec. 10. Marsh spit out the leaf, but "just as I got up to walk away, two guys came up to me," Marsh said. One of the littering enforcement officers told Marsh that he had been seen spitting, to which Marsh called him a "silly boy." Marsh ended up receiving a fine of $334.50, later reduced to $200.70, which he paid. But Adrian Findley, a county councillor for Lincolnshire County, said enforcement officers are "taking it too far. If it looks like a genuine accident, then give people the opportunity to apologize and pick it up." "It was all unnecessary and out of proportion," Marsh said. [BBC, 12/10/2025]

Animal Antics

This year's Grinch award goes to the camel that was participating in a "Christmas Spectacular" at the Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston on Dec. 13. The Houston Chronicle reported that as part of a retelling of the nativity, church performers were leading camels through the megachurch to the stage when one of the animals shot its rear leg out and struck a woman in the audience. She was treated at a hospital and released. A church spokesperson said the church "regrets that this happened. We then discontinued walking animals within the audience seating areas for the remainder of the shows." Good thinking. [Houston Chronicle, 12/17/2025]

Cat Burglar

Diane Huff-Medina of Lakewood, California, didn't even realize her pet cat, Piper, was gone until she looked at her doorbell camera video, KTLA-TV reported. On Dec. 11, an Amazon Flex driver delivered a package to Huff-Medina's front door, then stooped over to pet Piper, who was sitting on the porch. Then the man picked up Piper by her scruff and carried her off to his vehicle. An Amazon spokesperson called the act "horrible" and said the delivery person is no longer "eligible to deliver to our customers." Police said the driver had been identified and charges are pending -- but Piper is still missing. "I don't know where she is or if she's OK," Huff-Medina said. [KTLA, 12/17/2025]

Irony

The last three 1-cent pennies ever minted by the U.S. government sold at auction on Dec. 11 for $800,000, the Associated Press reported. The winning bidder also received the three dies that struck those coins. "I've been going to coin auctions for 40 years, and I've never seen anything like this," said John Kraljevich of Stack's Bowers Galleries, where the auction was held. The penny was introduced in 1793 and at that time could buy a biscuit or piece of candy. "I think for a lot of people, the ending of production of cents for circulation is an item of nostalgia," Kraljevich said. [AP, 12/16/2025]

News You Can Use

The first half of December was the darkest since 1934 in Stockholm, Sweden, Yahoo! News reported, with just a half-hour of sunlight in the first 15 days. Meteorologist Viktor Bergman said low-pressure systems with mild and humid weather have contributed to the gloom. The average number of hours of sunlight for the whole month is 33, he said. In more bad news for Stockholm, the chances of a white Christmas look slim, he said. [Yahoo! News, 12/16/2025]

Update

News of the Weird told in June 2023 of Cedric Lodge, 58, and his wife, Denise, who had been indicted for stealing and selling human body parts from the Harvard Medical School morgue. NBC News reported that both appeared in federal court on Dec. 16 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; Lodge was sentenced to eight years in prison, and Denise was sentenced to just more than a year for helping him. The Lodges offered a shopping opportunity at the morgue, where buyers could pick which donated remains they wanted. They would then take the items home and ship them through the mail. The parts included heads, brains, skin and bones. For example, Lodge provided a buyer with skin to be tanned into leather and bound into a book. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin said Lodge treated the human remains "as if they were baubles to be sold for profit." Lodge expressed regret in court. [NBC News, 12/17/2025]

Off the Shelf

At the Amble Links Primary School in Northumberland, England, naughty elves have taken their game up a notch, the BBC reported on Dec. 17. Some of their hijinks have included bricking up the school entrance, filling the head teacher's office with balls and getting a herd of sheep to block the school's entrance. For six years, community members have helped pull off the elves' pranks. Head teacher Paul Healey said, "There's just been so much community involvement, which has been tremendous. It does involve some very, very early mornings ... as it's trying to have things ready for when the breakfast club children start coming in." Healey loves doing the tricks for the joy it brings the children: "It's memories for them." [BBC, 12/17/2025]

Leavenworth, Washington, has become a tourist destination because of the Bavarian theme businesses have adopted there, NPR reported. One shop, the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, houses the world's largest nutcracker collection, thanks to 101-year-old Arlene Wagner. Wagner started the collection in 1976, and soon after, she and her husband were going to estate sales and auctions in the U.S. and Europe to find rare examples. Once they'd collected 7,000, Wagner said, "It was time to share it with people," and they opened the museum. The oldest nutcracker she has is a bronze device made between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. Now, Wagner is training a new "Nutcracker Lady," Michelle McMullen. [NPR, 12/9/2025]

The Aristocrats

On Dec. 7, The Washington Post reported, a drone flew over the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina, and dropped the ingredients of a swishy holiday dinner: steak, crab legs (along with a small container of Old Bay seasoning), two bags of marijuana and a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. The contraband was picked up by law enforcement before reaching its intended recipients, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said. Spokesperson Chrysti Shain said the prison receives "nightly attacks" of drones trying to drop drugs into the prison yard, "but this was a bit unusual, even for us. I'm guessing the inmates who were expecting this package are a bit crabby." [Washington Post, 12/10/2025]

Truth Is Stranger Than Netflix

When law enforcement questioned Calvin Johnson, 36, about the stolen BMW he had just crashed in Ormond Beach, Florida, they got an earful, The Smoking Gun reported. Investigators say Johnson took the car on Dec. 8 and drove it at speeds exceeding 100 mph before the crash, but Johnson had a different explanation. He said he was "teleported into the vehicle" and told officers, "You saved me from the aliens." He was charged with grand theft auto and driving on a suspended license. [The Smoking Gun, 12/9/2025]

"Bright" Idea

Officers stopped a speeding car on Dec. 5 in Door County, Wisconsin, WBAY-TV reported. The sheriff's office said the car was also missing a front headlight on the driver's side, but no worries: A handheld flashlight had been jerry-rigged in the spot where the headlight should have been. "A flashlight is not a safe or legal replacement for proper headlights," authorities said. [WBAY, 12/8/2025]

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

No one was seriously injured on Dec. 8 in Brevard County, Florida, when a small plane crashed into a moving 2023 Toyota Camry on I-95 around 5:45 p.m., Spectrum News 13 reported. The 27-year-old pilot was attempting an emergency landing, Lt. Tara Crescenzi said. He and his passenger remained at the scene. The 57-year-old driver of the car was taken to the hospital. Jim Coffey and his son, Peter, were in the car behind the Camry; Peter said, "I thought it might maybe aim around and not hit the car, but bam, the wheel just smacked right dab on the back of the car." [Spectrum News 13, 12/9/2025]

Animal Antics

Andrew Mackay, a politician in Sydney, Australia, was surprised in early December when he checked in on his dogs via a pet-cam, CBS News reported on Dec. 10. His dog Thunder nuzzled open a sliding glass door to get outside, but a couple of typically outdoor animals took advantage. A steer named Sue and a horse named Cricket soon appeared on the camera. "Over the next hour and a half," Mackay said, "they took turns playing inside, knocking things off cabinets. The fish tank has been drunk from." [CBS News, 12/10/2025]

Least Competent Criminal

A clumsy 20-year-old burglar bungled his own effort to break into a home in Spanaway, Washington, on Dec. 5, KIRO-TV reported. Homeowners called police because someone was banging on their front door, trying to get in. The intruder then moved to the back of the house and tried to break a window. As he attempted to escape, deputies said, he tried to crawl under a fence, but got his foot stuck. Law enforcement used bolt cutters to free his foot before arresting him on charges of residential burglary. [KIRO, 12/8/2025]

Weird in the Wild

Austin Dirks, a hiker in Arches National Park in Utah, found himself in a sitcom-worthy predicament on Dec. 7, CBS News reported. As he explored a small canyon on the second day of his backpacking trip, Dirks sank up to his thigh in quicksand. Fortunately, he had brought along an emergency satellite beacon, which was picked up by Grand County emergency responders. The team positioned a ladder and boards near him and slowly worked his leg loose. Once he was free of the quicksand, Dirks was able to hike out on his own and offer a few insights about the mythical substance. "In quicksand you're extremely buoyant," he said. "Most people won't sink past their waist in quicksand." Well, that's a relief! [CBS News, 12/11/2025]

Weird Science

In October 2024, an Idaho man was scratched by a skunk on his property, The New York Times reported on Dec. 6. Weeks later, he collapsed and died, presumably from a heart attack. The man's family donated several of his organs, and a Michigan man received a kidney. But a week later, he was hospitalized with fever, difficulty swallowing and fear of water -- symptoms of rabies. He died after a week in the hospital. Doctors believe the skunk that scratched the Idaho man had contracted rabies from a bat, but organ donations are not typically tested for rabies, according to the CDC. "Overall, the risk is exceptionally small," said Dr. Lara Danziger-Isakov, a board member of the American Society for Transplantation. [NY Times, 12/6/2025]

Awesome!

Among the 80,000 items that were traded in to GameStop for store credit during the retailer's first-ever "Trade Anything Day" on Dec. 6 were a goose, a framed dog portrait and a tiny Jesus, KENS-TV reported. But a store in Corsicana, Texas, may have received the weirdest item: a lounging taxidermic bobcat. A company spokesperson said the stores gave out about $400,000 in trade-in credit vouchers. "Our customers showed up with big imaginations ... We are very happy with the turnout." [KENS, 12/9/2025]

That's Bananas!

Cargo vessels have been in the news lately, but this fruity mishap has folks in southern England on high alert. On Dec. 6, eight containers full of bananas went overboard from a cargo ship, Yahoo! News reported. In West Sussex, rotting fruit has been washing up on the pebbled beaches, the U.K. coast guard said, adding that the public should avoid the areas littered with debris. They also discouraged the public from eating the floating fruits. [Yahoo! News, 12/9/2025]

Who Knew?

In Japan, millions of families will head to their local KFC on Christmas Day for chicken and fixins, Yahoo! News reported on Dec. 3. "Stores with the Colonel statue will dress him in Christmas attire," said Takuma Kawamura, a KFC marketing manager. Fans will indulge in special "Party Barrels" with chicken, side dishes and ice cream or cheesecake. Not a terrible idea ... [Yahoo! News, 12/3/2025]

Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, Texas, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, Texas, were indicted on Nov. 20 in U.S. District Court for a bizarre plot to carry out a coup on Gonave Island, near Haiti. The New York Times reported that the men hatched their plan in 2024; both were learning Haitian Creole, and Weisenburg joined the North Texas Fire Academy to learn "command-and-control protocols." He flunked out in February 2025. Thomas joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Maryland, and both men planned to recruit homeless people from around Washington, D.C., to assist in the coup. After sailing to and gaining control of the island, Weisenburg and Thomas planned to kill all the men and make the women and children sex slaves. The would-be conquerors could face up to life in federal prison. [New York Times, 11/22/2025]

Perspective (or Lack Thereof)

On Nov. 7 at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Corey Johnson, 35, of Alexandria, Louisiana, tried to exit the short-term parking lot, but he wasn't able to pay the fee. People magazine reported that Johnson at first refused to move his Jeep out of the exit lane but later agreed to pull aside while he worked out payment. Around 10 p.m., while Johnson was still stuck in the parking lot, the airport's Aviation Communications center received a threatening phone call, suggesting a bomb would be detonated if the operator did not "page Hassan." The center received another call around 10:35, saying he wanted "Hassan" "to bring the bomb to level three." Deputies pinged the phone making the calls and traced it back to Johnson; by 11 p.m., he was under arrest. On Nov. 20, Johnson was indicted for willfully conveying a bomb threat. He could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine -- way more than the parking fee. [People, 12/3/2025]

Raccoons Gone Wild

-- An ABC liquor store in Ashland, Virginia, had a break-in early on Nov. 29, but it wasn't a robber. The New York Times reported that a raccoon fell through the ceiling of the store, then set about trying a wide variety of alcohol: rum, moonshine, peanut butter whiskey, vodka and, of course, eggnog. "It broke several bottles and consumed the spirits," said Carol Mawyer, PR manager for Virginia ABC. When police and animal control responded, the blotto beast was passed out face-down on the floor of the bathroom. The raccoon woke up after about 1 1/2 hours and showed no signs of injury. It was released back into the wild. [New York Times, 12/3/2025]

-- No good raccoon deed goes unpunished, as a man in Cherokee County, Georgia, learned during Thanksgiving week. CBS News reported that the unnamed man saw the injured animal in the road and stopped to help it, wrapping it in his coat and holding it against his chest as he drove to the Chattahoochee Nature Center more than an hour away. At some point, the raccoon became loose and bit the man on his face and hands. At the center, employees urged him to go to the hospital; meanwhile, the raccoon was euthanized and tested for rabies. Result: Positive. "Please take a minute and assess the situation before attempting to capture wildlife without direction," the center posted. [CBS News, 12/1/2025]

Suspicions Confirmed

Police in Auckland, New Zealand, are holding a man in custody, presumably awaiting a certain biological development, after he was accused of swallowing a $19,000 Faberge egg pendant on Nov. 28, the BBC reported. Officers went to Partridge Jewellers and arrested the 32-year-old man, who has undergone a medical assessment. Talk about crap duty: "An officer is assigned to constantly monitor the man," Inspector Grae Anderson said. "At this stage, the pendant has not been recovered." The egg is set with white diamonds and blue sapphires and has an 18-karat-gold miniature octopus inside. [BBC, 12/3/2025]

Government in Action

Rankin, Pennsylvania, got its first snowfall this week, but it was less than prepared, KDKA-TV reported. Alas, Rankin has only one public works employee -- and that employee isn't licensed to operate a snowplow. Still, borough resident Marcus Clay cut them some slack: "They didn't do too bad. It was better than it was last year." Borough council member Walter Sewell hopefully noted, "We're working through it." The city subcontracted with some local businesses, and in the spirit of the season, even residents chipped in, shoveling and salting their own blocks. It takes a village. [KDKA, 12/2/2025]

Workers' Comp?

-- The perils of working ... outside. On Dec. 2, as Jessica Tyson, 32, filmed a segment for a current affairs show in Auckland, New Zealand, a low-flying bird struck her in the face, United Press International reported. Tyson shared the clip to social media, commenting, "POV Just trying to do your job when nature has other plans. Everything is fine, just got a little scar above my eye." She's looking forward to indoor assignments from now on. [UPI, 12/3/2025]

-- Utility lineman Werner J. Neubauer responded to a prickly situation in Cochise County, Arizona, United Press International reported on Dec. 1. A bear was stuck at the top of a utility pole and was in danger of being electrocuted, Neubauer said. He shut off electricity to the pole and used a bucket truck to get to the bear's level, where he poked at it with a fiberglass stick until it slid back down the pole. [UPI, 12/1/2025]

Bright Idea

Magician and molecular biologist Zi Teng Wang of St. Louis, Missouri, came up with a fun idea a few years ago: He implanted an RFID chip in his hand and used it to perform magic tricks, Yahoo! News reported on Nov. 28. But the tricks faded and other uses fizzled out, and Wang went on with his life. "When I went to rewrite the chip, I was horrified to realize I forgot the password that I had locked it with," he said. "I'm still locked out of my own body's tech, and that's inconvenient but hilarious." Ah, techie humor. [Yahoo! News, 11/28/2025]

Nope

Fox News reported that a sky-dining -- that's right, DINING, not DIVING -- attraction in Kerala, India, froze at its full height with two adults, two children and a staff member on deck on Nov 28. The dining experience involves a crane lifting a platform 120 feet in the air, allowing diners to enjoy a panoramic view. However, the hydraulic system powering the lift failed, leaving the riders with no way to get down. Instead, firefighters used ropes to climb to the platform, then put each person in a harness and lowered them to the ground. The whole operation took about four hours. No injuries were reported. [Fox News, 12/1/2025]

Wait, What?

Quick, get your Christmas order in before Dec. 11 for Mug Root Beer's limited-edition cologne, "Daddy's Home." Fox5 Atlanta reported on Dec. 3 that the company is for the first time detouring into personal care with the scent, which includes aromas of cedar, sandalwood, vanilla and caramel. "It's the kind of scent that whispers 'come to papa' to dogs and dawgs alike," the company said. The package includes a 1.7-ounce cologne and a 10-pack of MUG Root Beer mini cans for the low, low price of $15. "Daddy's Home by Mug Root Beer is for our die-hard MUG fans who believe root beer rules every sense, not just taste," a statement read. [Fox5, 12/3/2025]