WEIRD NEWS
No Feet On the Dashboard
Audra Tatum of Walker County, Georgia, used to love to sit in the passenger's seat with her legs propped up on the dashboard while her husband was driving. He always told her it was dangerous but she ignored him. She soon learned he was right. When another car pulled in front of her husband, causing the couple's car to T-bone him, everyone else walked away with minor scrapes - except Audra. Because her feet were up on the dash, when the airbag came flying out - usually at speeds of 100 - 220 miles per hour - Audra got a broken femur, ankle, and arm! The mother of three says, "The airbag went off, throwing my foot up and breaking my nose. I was looking at the bottom of my foot facing up at me." Two years later, she's still recovering from her injuries and is not trying to get her story out to warn others. The Chattanooga Fire Department is helping, linking to her story and posting to Facebook about the dangers of riding with feet on the dashboard. The message: "While traveling this weekend, I noticed many passengers had their feet on the dashboard of their car. Airbags deploy between 100 & 220 MPH. If you ride with your feet on the dash and you're involved in an accident, the airbag may send your knees through your eye sockets." Audra adds, "If I can save one person from doing this and they're not going through it, that would be wonderful." (CBS News)
Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me a...Uh Wait!
Darlene Daggett is the former president for US commerce for the QVC home shopping channel. And while she may have been a success in business, her personal life was a little less than stellar. So she hired Kelleher International, an exclusive matchmaking service that she claims charged her $150,000 and then set her up with a string of highly incompatible suitors, including men who were married, mentally unstable, or felons! So she sued. Kelleher must have felt she had a case because they settled the lawsuit just hours after it was filed in federal court last week. Per the suit, the 62-year-old Daggett, a divorced mom of four, wanted someone to spend her retirement with and felt "social dating sites did not provide her with the degree of screening and privacy she was looking for." She said she paid the $150,000 for a "CEO Level" membership which turned out to be worthless. Her attorneys described one match as a disgraced New York judge who was censured for sleeping with an attorney. Another said he was waiting for his terminally ill wife to die before he began dating again. Another claimed he suffered from trauma that caused him to lie uncontrollably. Daggett said she later pursued a stalking complaint when that relationship turned sour, and that suitor is now awaiting sentencing on a $10.5 million federal bank fraud case. Kelleher CEO Amber Kelleher-Andrews, a former actress who appeared on Baywatch and Melrose Place, said in a statement that her company is responsible for thousands of marriages over the years. "It doesn't always work out," Kelleher-Andrews said, adding her company works to end courtships "fairly and reasonably." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
All in the Name of Friday Night Lights
Police in the Bronx say an 11-year-old girl suffered severe burns on her face and upper body after another girl at a sleepover poured boiling water on her while the victim was sleeping! Jamoneisha Merritt remains hospitalized with second-degree burns, while an unidentified 12-year-old has been charged with assault. As to motive, the reports are mixed. One theory is it might be connected to a disturbing "hot water challenge" trend among kids, but another says it appears to have stemmed from an earlier argument. A cousin of the victim told TV reporters, "Her and her friend got into an argument and she told her if she goes to sleep they were going to do something to her." Police say the assailant used a cup to pour the boiling water on Jamoneisha during the Sunday night slumber party. (Daily News)
Elevator Horror
Investigators aren't sure exactly when 82-year-old Isaak Komisarchik died - but they do know he was alone, trapped in an elevator, and probably scared to death after calling for help and getting no response. The Denver man, who had dementia, was found dead in an elevator at an apartment complex after residents reported a terrible smell. He had been reported missing almost a month earlier. Investigators found that Komisarchik pressed the emergency button in the elevator twice within 8 minutes on the morning of July 6 but received no response despite the city's requirement for emergency notifications to be closely monitored. The elevator led to a parking garage that was closed for renovations. Capt. Greg Pixley of Denver Fire said, "Something is not right, and police are going to make a determination on what that is." Police say the elevator company notified the apartment complex's management after receiving the distress call, but workers failed to check the parking garage elevator after checking two other elevators in the complex. Komisarchik had last been seen wearing pajamas at a nearby nursing facility on the afternoon of July 5, and police searched a wide area, including several ponds, after his disappearance. (Denver Post)
Always Have a Backup
Dave Deporis was a 40-year-old beloved musician from the San Francisco Bay Area. Tragically, he died after he made the unfortunate decision to chase after the guy who snatched his laptop. This went down in the middle of the day in an Oakland cafe but while Deporis was chasing after the thief, he was run over by the getaway vehicle. Witnesses say Deporis grabbed the side of the thief's red Audi SUV and was dragged before he slipped under the wheels. Friends say the laptop held all Deporis' music, including an unfinished new album. A close friend, Chris Vogel, said: "His friends and his music are everything to him, and that's probably why he was as gung-ho about getting his computer back as he was." No arrests have been made. Deporis, a singer-songwriter, had an unconventional style that associates likened to an experimental Bob Dylan. (San Francisco Chronicle)
What the What?
For all the jokes made about fruitcake, it may just be the food that can survive any environment. Conservationists have discovered a 100-year-old fruitcake in the Antarctic, of all places. And apparently, it looks and smells almost edible. Made by Huntley and Palmers, the fruitcake is described as being "in excellent condition" and still wrapped in paper. In fact, the cake itself held up better than the tin box it was kept in, which was deteriorating. The cake is believed to have been brought to the region by British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Scott and his party successfully made it to the South Pole on the Terra Nova expedition from 1910 to 1913, but all five died on the return journey to base camp. Lizzie Meek of the conservation group said, "It's an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favorite item on modern trips to the Ice." (Metro)
Audra Tatum of Walker County, Georgia, used to love to sit in the passenger's seat with her legs propped up on the dashboard while her husband was driving. He always told her it was dangerous but she ignored him. She soon learned he was right. When another car pulled in front of her husband, causing the couple's car to T-bone him, everyone else walked away with minor scrapes - except Audra. Because her feet were up on the dash, when the airbag came flying out - usually at speeds of 100 - 220 miles per hour - Audra got a broken femur, ankle, and arm! The mother of three says, "The airbag went off, throwing my foot up and breaking my nose. I was looking at the bottom of my foot facing up at me." Two years later, she's still recovering from her injuries and is not trying to get her story out to warn others. The Chattanooga Fire Department is helping, linking to her story and posting to Facebook about the dangers of riding with feet on the dashboard. The message: "While traveling this weekend, I noticed many passengers had their feet on the dashboard of their car. Airbags deploy between 100 & 220 MPH. If you ride with your feet on the dash and you're involved in an accident, the airbag may send your knees through your eye sockets." Audra adds, "If I can save one person from doing this and they're not going through it, that would be wonderful." (CBS News)
Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me a...Uh Wait!
Darlene Daggett is the former president for US commerce for the QVC home shopping channel. And while she may have been a success in business, her personal life was a little less than stellar. So she hired Kelleher International, an exclusive matchmaking service that she claims charged her $150,000 and then set her up with a string of highly incompatible suitors, including men who were married, mentally unstable, or felons! So she sued. Kelleher must have felt she had a case because they settled the lawsuit just hours after it was filed in federal court last week. Per the suit, the 62-year-old Daggett, a divorced mom of four, wanted someone to spend her retirement with and felt "social dating sites did not provide her with the degree of screening and privacy she was looking for." She said she paid the $150,000 for a "CEO Level" membership which turned out to be worthless. Her attorneys described one match as a disgraced New York judge who was censured for sleeping with an attorney. Another said he was waiting for his terminally ill wife to die before he began dating again. Another claimed he suffered from trauma that caused him to lie uncontrollably. Daggett said she later pursued a stalking complaint when that relationship turned sour, and that suitor is now awaiting sentencing on a $10.5 million federal bank fraud case. Kelleher CEO Amber Kelleher-Andrews, a former actress who appeared on Baywatch and Melrose Place, said in a statement that her company is responsible for thousands of marriages over the years. "It doesn't always work out," Kelleher-Andrews said, adding her company works to end courtships "fairly and reasonably." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
All in the Name of Friday Night Lights
It was a tough drill to say the least. Police say a group of football players from Sachem East High School in Farmingville, New York, were carrying a large log overhead during a pre-season work out drill. Unfortunately they lost control of the heavy log which fell on top of Joshua Mileto, hitting him in the head and killing him! The 11th-grader was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Sachem Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Graham posted a statement on the district's website extending condolences to the Mileto's family and friends and said support services will be offered "for as long as needed." (Newser)
Sleepovers Ain't What They Used to Be
Sleepovers Ain't What They Used to Be
Police in the Bronx say an 11-year-old girl suffered severe burns on her face and upper body after another girl at a sleepover poured boiling water on her while the victim was sleeping! Jamoneisha Merritt remains hospitalized with second-degree burns, while an unidentified 12-year-old has been charged with assault. As to motive, the reports are mixed. One theory is it might be connected to a disturbing "hot water challenge" trend among kids, but another says it appears to have stemmed from an earlier argument. A cousin of the victim told TV reporters, "Her and her friend got into an argument and she told her if she goes to sleep they were going to do something to her." Police say the assailant used a cup to pour the boiling water on Jamoneisha during the Sunday night slumber party. (Daily News)
Elevator Horror
Investigators aren't sure exactly when 82-year-old Isaak Komisarchik died - but they do know he was alone, trapped in an elevator, and probably scared to death after calling for help and getting no response. The Denver man, who had dementia, was found dead in an elevator at an apartment complex after residents reported a terrible smell. He had been reported missing almost a month earlier. Investigators found that Komisarchik pressed the emergency button in the elevator twice within 8 minutes on the morning of July 6 but received no response despite the city's requirement for emergency notifications to be closely monitored. The elevator led to a parking garage that was closed for renovations. Capt. Greg Pixley of Denver Fire said, "Something is not right, and police are going to make a determination on what that is." Police say the elevator company notified the apartment complex's management after receiving the distress call, but workers failed to check the parking garage elevator after checking two other elevators in the complex. Komisarchik had last been seen wearing pajamas at a nearby nursing facility on the afternoon of July 5, and police searched a wide area, including several ponds, after his disappearance. (Denver Post)
Always Have a Backup
Dave Deporis was a 40-year-old beloved musician from the San Francisco Bay Area. Tragically, he died after he made the unfortunate decision to chase after the guy who snatched his laptop. This went down in the middle of the day in an Oakland cafe but while Deporis was chasing after the thief, he was run over by the getaway vehicle. Witnesses say Deporis grabbed the side of the thief's red Audi SUV and was dragged before he slipped under the wheels. Friends say the laptop held all Deporis' music, including an unfinished new album. A close friend, Chris Vogel, said: "His friends and his music are everything to him, and that's probably why he was as gung-ho about getting his computer back as he was." No arrests have been made. Deporis, a singer-songwriter, had an unconventional style that associates likened to an experimental Bob Dylan. (San Francisco Chronicle)
What the What?
For all the jokes made about fruitcake, it may just be the food that can survive any environment. Conservationists have discovered a 100-year-old fruitcake in the Antarctic, of all places. And apparently, it looks and smells almost edible. Made by Huntley and Palmers, the fruitcake is described as being "in excellent condition" and still wrapped in paper. In fact, the cake itself held up better than the tin box it was kept in, which was deteriorating. The cake is believed to have been brought to the region by British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Scott and his party successfully made it to the South Pole on the Terra Nova expedition from 1910 to 1913, but all five died on the return journey to base camp. Lizzie Meek of the conservation group said, "It's an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favorite item on modern trips to the Ice." (Metro)
Comments
Post a Comment