On Jan. 14, as Spaniards gathered for the Official Carnival Groups Competition in Cadiz, 12 men dressed as scientist Stephen Hawking performed a choreographed musical number in motorized wheelchairs, the New York Post reported. The men were wearing wigs and outfits typical of the disabled genius, who died in 2018 of ALS, as they performed. "Don't be offended, this is just for laughs," said Miguel Angel Llull, who wrote the lyrics to their songs. After the competition, the group planned to donate the dozen wheelchairs to ALS patients in need. "They are real chairs that cost us 400 euros each," Llull said. [NY Post, 1/17/2026]

Recent Alarming Headlines

-- Police in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, wrapped up a months-long investigation with the arrest on Jan. 6 of Jonathan Gerlach, 34, who was accused of robbing graves in the Mount Moriah Cemetery & Arboretum. The Reading Eagle reported that Gerlach was caught red-handed as he returned to his car from the cemetery carrying a "burlap bag, crowbar and other assorted items." In the bag were "human remains to include two mummified remains of small children, three skulls and other assorted bones," the arrest affidavit states. Gerlach later admitted to stealing about 30 sets of human remains from the cemetery, some of which were in his basement, while others were in a storage unit. Authorities haven't determined what Gerlach was doing with the remains. He faces a total of 574 criminal counts and is held on $1 million cash bond. [Reading Eagle, 1/9/2026]

-- Bus passengers traveling from New York City to Washington, D.C., had a memorable ride on Jan. 19, Fairfax Now reported. The driver was supposed to take passengers from Penn Station to Union Station and Dupont Circle, but instead, he dropped everyone at the Vienna Metro station after police intervened. One passenger said the driver was going really fast and wouldn't listen to reason; "he screamed that he doesn't get paid enough and is refusing," the passenger said. When representatives of the bus company tried to call him, he repeatedly hung up and told passengers he "has family to go home to and doesn't have time to stop in D.C." "I'm the captain of this ship," he said. Passengers stranded at the Metro station were picked up by another bus and refunded their bus fare. [Fairfax Now, 1/20/2026]

Irony

Spending too much time staring at your phone? Olivia Yokubonis would like a word, the Associated Press reported on Jan. 18. Using her screen name, Olivia Unplugged, Yokubonis urges people to stop their mindless use of social media. "People will comment and they'll be like, 'Oh, it's ironic that you're posting.' And I'm like, 'Where else am I supposed to find you, Kyle? Outside? You're not outside. You're here,'" she said. Yokubonis actually works for a screen time app called Opal, which people use to "reclaim their focus." "It's a fine line and a balance of finding a way to be able to cut through that noise but also not adding to the noise," she added. [AP, 1/18/2026]

Unclear on the Concept

As a boat captain in the Florida Keys, Bradford Todd Picariello, 65, is well-placed to (allegedly) find huge amounts of cocaine just floating in the sea. So it was no surprise that Picariello had the goods; his mistake was in selling a kilogram to an undercover officer from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. According to CBS12-TV, Picariello was arrested on Jan. 19 after meeting with the cop, whom he told to bring a cooler to "make it look like he was getting fish." He also bragged he had another 100 pounds of cocaine for future buys. Officers also found $8,000 in cash and a handgun. Picariello faces three felony counts. [CBS-12, 1/20/2026]

That's Creative

On the morning of Jan. 13, a woman in Nassau, New York, found a stray dog, WNYT-TV reported. She took the dog to a veterinarian, who noticed that a GPS monitoring device had been attached to the dog's collar. But the dog wasn't a criminal: The ankle bracelet was assigned to Lamont Alexander Holmes, 47, of Albany, who had been charged with felony possession of a loaded weapon and was scheduled to appear in court that morning. Holmes is still on the lam; no word on the pup. [WNYT, 1/15/2026]

We're Gonna Need a New Category ...

Another robot bites the dust. On Jan. 15 in Miami, a food delivery robot met its ignominious end on a Brightline train track after becoming stuck, Fox5Atlanta reported. Witness Guillermo Dapelo took video as the train struck the robot. "I was walking my dogs ... and that's when I saw the food car standing on the train tracks," Dapelo said. RIP. [Fox5Atlanta, 1/16/2026]

Goals

For the low, low price of $250,000, you can be one of the first to reserve a room at a luxury moon hotel, The Philippine Star reported on Jan. 21. GRU Space, a startup founded by Skyler Chan, hopes to deploy the hotel to the moon by 2032. It will be built on Earth. "The hotel offers views of the lunar landscape and Earth, along with ... surface experiences including Moonwalks, driving, golfing and other activities," GRU claims. The first hotel, which is expected to last 10 years, will be an inflatable habitat. After that, a more permanent and expanded facility will be placed. "We live during an inflection point where we can actually become interplanetary before we die," Chan said. GRU believes likely customers will include adventurers, couples looking to honeyMOON in an exotic locale and recent spaceflight participants. [Philippine Star, 1/21/2026]

The Continuing Crisis

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is nothing if not helpful. On Jan. 20, the group sent a letter to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel, offering to donate a "state-of-the-art" 3D groundhog projection -- a hologram -- for the big event coming up on Feb. 2. "Let Phil and his family retire," the group said, according to Fox News. "Pixelated pop stars are headlining concerts and long-departed celebrities are attending conventions, so why not put that technology to good use: on a hologram that lets the real Phil hibernate in peace," PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk reasoned. "Give Gobbler's Knob a glow-up with a phantom prognosticator." PETA noted that groundhogs are naturally shy and avoid humans. "Every year, this terrified little animal is subjected to loud announcers and noisy crowds." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro responded with a post on X, featuring a "Don't Tread on Me" flag, but with Phil replacing the snake. [Fox News, 1/21/2026]

News You Can Use

A German practice is making its way to the United States, NBC Los Angeles reported on Jan. 21. "Luften," which translates to "airing out" but is also called "house burping," involves opening doors and windows even in the dead of winter to bring in fresh air. Air quality professional Tony Abate is a fan. He said outside air can decrease concentrations of mold, contaminants and carbon dioxide build-up. Optimal times to burp the house include first thing in the morning, after showering or cooking, and after having visitors. And it doesn't take long: "Ten minutes, no more than that is really necessary," said Abate. [NBC Los Angeles, 1/21/2026]

In the 1970s, the United States made a half-hearted effort to join the rest of the world in using the metric system. You know how that story ends. But one highway between Tucson, Arizona, and Nogales, New Mexico, is hanging on. Interstate 19 still displays mile markers and distances in kilometers, Central Oregon Daily News reported. "It's just kind of a cool little quirky fact about us," said Alejandro Aguilar, who lives in Tubac, Arizona. Now, the U.S. Department of Transportation has declared that "When you're driving in the United States, it should be unmistakably American." As a result, that stretch of interstate may get new signage, although the Arizona DOT has not received direction from the feds. Teacher Elaine Webber isn't on board. "Show me the harm. How many accidents have happened? How many people have been harmed by this?" [Central Oregon Daily News, 12/23/2025]

Nope

The musical duo Bootleg Rascal kicked off their new tour in Brisbane, Australia, on Jan. 10 with a sweet-turned-awkward moment, Metro News reported. Carlos Lara said their manager had informed them that someone wanted to propose on stage during the third song, and sure enough, a man climbed up to take the microphone. He called his partner, Jamie, to the stage and told the crowd they had seen the band two years before and it was their favorite band. "And I thought today, why not, maybe today is the time," the man said. Then he got down on one knee ... and that's when it all went wrong. The woman started shaking her head and trying to pull him back up, then ran off the stage. Lara said, "I don't think I've ever felt that awkward on stage in my life." The spurned boyfriend stayed on his knee until someone in a Scooby-Doo costume ran up to help him get on his feet and hugged him. Lara said they checked in with him after the show, and he was "definitely searching for a few beers." They gave him some free merch so he wouldn't go away completely empty-handed. [Metro News, 1/12/2026]

Bright Idea

In Duffel, Belgium, on Jan. 2, police were conducting a sobriety checkpoint when a car crept up to the officers, Oddity Central reported. The driver seemed unusually short and young, which follows because he was, in fact, the 12-year-old son of the front-seat passenger, his dad. "I had drunk too much and so I entrusted the car to my son to drive home," Dad told the police. Mom and two siblings were in the back seat. The boy was fined for driving without a license; Dad was charged with entrusting the car to someone not fit to drive it. After the traffic stop, Mom drove the rest of the way home. [Oddity Central, 1/9/2026]

Don't Try This at Home

Brazilian bodybuilder Arlindo de Souza, 55, passed away on Jan. 13, the Daily Mail reported. De Souza became known as the Brazilian Popeye after injecting mineral oil and alcohol into his biceps, resulting in huge, bulging muscles that measured 29 inches around. He had been hospitalized since December for renal failure. Ironically, the injections didn't make him any stronger. De Souza said he had stopped the injections about 10 years ago, adding, "I advise no one to take this oil." [Daily Mail, 1/15/2026]

Government in Action

As if there aren't more pressing issues in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul has taken on ... dancing in restaurants. The New York Post reported that in Hochul's Jan. 13 State of the State address, she promised to direct the State Liquor Authority to create "a new hybrid restaurant-tavern license," according to her policy book. Under this license, bars and taverns would automatically have the right to showcase dancing, which has been prohibited under earlier licenses. "It creates new opportunity by cutting through red tape," said Restaurant Association CEO Melissa Fleischut. [NY Post, 1/13/2026]

Shop Till Ewe Drop

Shepherd Dieter Michler had no real answers for why 50 members of his flock split from the 500-sheep herd and made their way into a Penny supermarket in Burgsinn, Lower Franconia, Germany, on Jan. 5. Shoppers and employees quickly took to higher ground, climbing atop the conveyor belts of the checkout lanes to make way for the ovine interlopers, who left broken bottles, droppings and strewn products in their wake when they were eventually removed from the store. Michler told the Main-Post newspaper that he suspected the wandering sheep became distracted by acorns as he led the herd across the industrial area, and, after losing contact with the rest of the group, meandered into the store's parking lot. [Main-Post, 1/6/26]

Petty Theft

Arianna Moss, 29, coveted a co-worker's 40-ounce light blue Stanley insulated cup, The Smoking Gun reported -- so much that she "was observed on video surveillance looking at a cup numerous times" before nicking it and hiding it in her lunchbox. Moss told a witness earlier in the day that the cup "would be great to hold my breast milk." She quit her job three days after the incident in late December and was arrested on Jan. 11, charged with petit theft under $100. She was released on $150 bond. The Stanley cups retail for about $45. [The Smoking Gun, 1/12/2026]

Smooth Reaction

On Jan. 7 in Phoenix, a passenger in a Waymo self-driving car had to make an unplanned exit, KPHO-TV reported. The car drove onto the tracks of the light-rail system and continued toward an oncoming train on the adjacent track, stopping just before the train got close to it. The passenger, shown on video from a bystander, ran away from the car. A Valley Metro spokesperson said, "Light rail operations staff responded to the scene and Waymo was contacted." They said the scene was clear within 15 minutes. [KPHO, 1/11/2026]

Unconventional Weaponry

As Fort Walton Beach (Florida) Police officers responded to reports of a battery at the Palms of Emerald Coast Massage Parlor on Jan. 13, employee Fang Wang became hostile, WJHG-TV reported. When they tried to detain Wang, she began "defecating towards officers to evade arrest," they said. She was arrested for battery and resisting arrest and was held in the Okaloosa County Jail without bond. [WJHG, 1/13/2026]

Lucky!

Skip Cunningham, 70, was asleep on his couch on Jan. 13 when a car crashed into his home and landed on him, WWNY-TV reported. "I woke up and blood running down my head and a car laying on top of me," Cunningham said. "The guy's running around saying, 'Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.' I says, 'Well, call 911.'" An ambulance took Cunningham to the hospital, where he got 13 staples in his head. But on the way, trying to play out his amazing "luck," he asked the ambulance driver to stop so he could buy a lottery ticket. "But they wouldn't stop," he said. Cunningham has lived in the house for 50 years and said cars have run into his home five times. [WWNY, 1/14/2026]

A Marion, Louisiana, resident called police in November to report a trespassing incident on her property, WKRC-TV reported on Jan. 8. When deputies arrived at the home, Elizabeth Sutton, 41, was swimming nude in the resident's pond. At first, Sutton refused to exit the pond, telling officers she was "trying to be a mermaid." When she finally complied, medics evaluated her (because of the cold weather) and tried to lead her indoors. At that point, Sutton charged at a deputy, causing them to use their Taser. She kicked and punched the deputy before being subdued and taken to a hospital. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and on Jan. 6, she surrendered and was charged with several crimes. [WKRC, 1/8/2026]

The Tech Revolution

-- Everything's up to date in Heber City, Utah, where the police department has been trying out an AI program that writes up reports based on body camera footage, Fox13-TV reported on Jan. 4. "I'm saving myself about six to eight hours weekly now," said Sgt. Rick Keel. But one report went a little sideways: The AI said an officer had shape-shifted into a frog. "The body cam software and the AI report writing software picked up on the movie that was playing in the background, which happened to be 'The Princess and the Frog,'" Keel said. "That's when we learned the importance of correcting these AI-generated reports." So much for all that saved time. [Fox13, 1/4/2026]

-- Many hospitals single out the baby born closest to midnight as the new year turns over, as did Lifebridge Health's Carroll Hospital in Westminster, Maryland. WMAR-TV reported that Hudson Oakley Winkler was the star this year, born just after midnight on Jan. 1. Hudson's parents didn't have any problem agreeing on a name for their new son; "Hudson's name was generated and selected using ChatGPT!" the hospital announced. Hudson's parents work in the county's police department and public school system. [WMAR, 1/4/2026]

The Litigious Society

In the new year's oddest legal twist, the National Rifle Association is suing the NRA Foundation, its own charitable arm, for trademark infringement and unfair competition. NBC News reported that on Jan. 5, the NRA alleged that the foundation passed "itself off to donors and the public as the NRA or an authorized NRA affiliate" and "misappropriat(ed) the many millions of dollars that NRA supporters contributed." The lawsuit reveals ongoing internal turmoil within the NRA and its foundation. [NBC News, 1/5/2026]

Buried Treasure

About 500 miles north of Perth, Australia, local Quoin Sellenger got a tip last week from a friend who was diving in the crystal-clear Indian Ocean: There was a safe in the seabed. So, ABC News reported, Sellenger and his daughter headed up to the site. They lifted the heavy box onto the back of their Jet Ski and took it back to land, where he posted a photo on Facebook in search of the owner. Sellenger then recruited his friend Brad to help break into the safe, which was emitting a strong smell. "I was hoping there was like a big gold bar in there, I guess," Sellenger said. But alas, the only treasure was an expired and pungent package of beef jerky. "It's a very well-known reef in Shark Bay, and someone has put it there with the intention of it being found, I believe," Sellenger said. He has handed over the safe to the Western Australia police. [ABC News, 1/6/2026]

Need a Job?

Smithsonian magazine reported on Jan. 7 that the British Museum has a job opening: dedicated treasure hunter. In 2023, the museum revealed that 1,500 of its Greek and Roman artifacts had been stolen, were missing or had been damaged. The items include gems, glass and jewelry dating back to between the 15th and 19th centuries B.C. "We want to get as much staffing as we can to try and push ahead," said Thomas Harrison, head of the museum's Greek and Roman collections. About 600 pieces have been recovered already after being listed on eBay or coming up for auction. No information on the qualifications for such a position, although owning a fedora and whip couldn't hurt. [Smithsonian, 1/7/2026]

Bright Idea

A Chinese shopping center has solved its problem of people smoking in the restrooms, Oddity Central reported on Dec. 31. The Shuibei International Center posted signs reading, "Smoking makes the glass transparent." And sure enough, when smoke is detected, the special doors become see-through. "Resist the urge to smoke, unless you want to become internet famous!" reads another sign. When the glass clears, a loud announcement rings out: "This is a public place where smoking is prohibited. For your own health and the health of others, please do not smoke here." One social media commenter posted, "Smoking in men's restrooms in China is practically ubiquitous. I think this is a great idea." [Oddity Central, 12/31/2025]

Wait, What?

Folks in Camden, New Jersey, head to Donkey's Place for their famous cheesesteaks, but it's another of their icons that has the restaurant in the news. NJ.com reported on Jan. 7 that someone pilfered their walrus baculum -- that'd be a penis bone -- and owner Rob Lucas Jr. wants it back. Lucas said it's a conversation piece and he often lets people guess what it is. Here's how it went down: "The bartender handed it out for them (customers) to figure out what it was," Lucas said. "She went to the back to do something else and then one dude stole it. We got his picture, but I don't think he's from around town." Lucas said he doesn't want to press charges. "We just want the thing back." [NJ.com, 1/7/2026]

Fish Story

Popular Japanese sushi chain Sushizanmai made news on Jan. 5 when its parent company paid $3.24 million for a single bluefin tuna, Reuters reported. It was the highest price ever paid at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo. "I thought that (the winning bid) would come in a little bit lower," said Kiyoshi Kimura, the company's CEO, who is also known as the Tuna King. The 536-pound fish was transported to the chain's headquarters, then sliced up and distributed to its restaurants. [Reuters, 1/5/2026]

The Way the World Works

A 19-year-old girl identified as Pim sought the wisdom of a fortuneteller in Pataya, Thailand, early on New Year's Day, the Independent reported. The sage, 38, told her that she would meet with misfortune and lose something valuable, and he suggested she pay him to avert the bad luck. She declined and walked away -- then realized her iPhone was missing. Pim went back to the spot where the fortuneteller was working and confronted the man, who said the missing phone was proof of his accuracy. Bystanders stepped in and found the phone in the fortuneteller's bag, and police were called. Pim's phone was returned to her, and the shyster was taken into custody. [Independent, 1/2/2026]

Well, This Is Awkward

CTV News reported on Jan. 6 that a Toronto-based sex toy store received a return of "adult items" accompanied by a letter from the U.S. Department of Defense. It seems the products had ended up on a U.S. naval base in Bahrain -- a big no-no. "Please notify the sender that pornographic materials or devices are not allowed in the Kingdom of Bahrain," the letter read. "We didn't even know it was going to Bahrain until it came back to us months later," said Bonjibon owner Grace Bennett, 34. "It just kind of unraveled this whole hilarious moment." She wonders if the soldiers stationed there know that such products are off-limits. "This sounds like a you problem," she said. "I'm sad they didn't get their order." [CTV News, 1/6/2026]