WEIRD NEWS

Walmart Sells A Lot of Stuff - But Not That!

In Port Orange, Florida, Tracy Nigh was sitting with her 8-year-old daughter on a bench inside Walmart when 81-year-old Hellmuth Kolb approached and asked Nigh if she was married. Nigh said, "It seemed like a friendly conversation. He didn't seem like a threat at first." But then Hellmuth started offering Nigh money for her daughter. Nigh said, "The first amount was $100,000, the second amount was $150,000 and then the final amount was $200,000." As Nigh got up to leave, Kolb allegedly grabbed her daughter and kissed her wrist. An arrest report stated Nigh left with her daughter and alerted store security. Fortunately the entire thing was caught on a surveillance camera and Kolb was identified through a credit card transaction and via social media. He's safely in jail now. (FOX News)

A Truly Staggering Level of Stupidity

The level of 28-year-old Brenton Thurman's stupidity is truly quite staggering. It might almost be admirable if it weren't so... well... stupid! In Naperville, Illinois, Mr. Thurman actually used stolen credit cards and bank information to pay court costs and fines he owned as well as the fines of other people. In all, it came to about $6,000. He's been rearrested and charged with felony identity theft. DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden set Thurman's bond at $100,000, and required that he show any money used for bail was not illegally obtained. In a release, State's Attorney Robert Berlin said, "The behavior alleged against Mr. Thurman is outrageous and, if proven guilty, will not go unpunished. In addition to allegedly victimizing several individuals, Mr. Thurman allegedly attempted to defraud our system of justice all while lining his pockets at the expense of others." (Chicago Tribune)

Plastic - Just Like the Real Thing!

Over in Shopshire, England, the Telford Exotic Zoo spent almost $78,000 building their new penguin enclosure. It finally opened and penguin enthusiasts were excited to come see the new penguins. Exactly six of them. Oh, and they're all plastic. Seems they never counted on a penguin shortage due to a national outbreak of avian malaria. Zoo owner Scott Adams said that he still had no idea when the real penguins would be arriving, if ever, and so has been forced to instead stock the pool with six plastic models. Of course there were lots of disappointed staff, as well as kids and visitors. Adams added, "We're still looking to secure the penguins. If anyone has any captive bred penguins we'd be happy to look at them." (Metro)

Please Can I Have a Do-Over Said the NBA Star

Kyrie Irving certainly made a name for himself as the NBA Rookie of the Year and a star of the Boston Celtics. But he got even more attention when he said he believed the Earth was flat. Now he's sorry he ever said it. The hoops superstar appeared at the Forbes Under 30 Summit and was asked if he still believes the world is flat. While he wouldn't go so far as to say he had changed his mind, he did apologize for ever bringing up the subject. Irving said, "I'm sorry about all that," adding that he is constantly dealing with angry science teachers who tell him, "You know, I gotta reteach my whole curriculum!" Irving first declared he didn't believe the Earth was round in February 2017 when he said, "This is not even a conspiracy theory. The Earth is flat!" Irving said his mistake was going public with it and that he didn't realize the effect his words would have. (ESPN)

16-Year-Old Gets 4.5 Years in Prison... For Kissing a 13-year-Old

In the Turkish province of Antalya, a 16-year-old boy is going to prison for 4.5 years - because he kissed a 13-year-old girl. The girl was identified as the boy's girlfriend and the boy was busted after a classmate videoed him embracing and kissing the girl in her schoolyard. A teacher heard about the video and told school police, who then referred their findings to prosecutors. Turkish law bans any sexual contact with kids under the age of 15 - apparently even by other kids. An expert report had recommended no punishment at all, but the harsh judge didn't agree. Other teens also went to trial in the case, including the person who shot the video of the kiss. That charge involved "using children in the production of inappropriate images." Also charged were four teens who received the video, for "sharing inappropriate images in which children were used." Those five were acquitted. The convicted teen's attorney says her client will appeal.(Hurriyet)

WTF Mexico?

Police in the Mexican resort city of Purto Vallarta reported at least 11 cases of people completely stripped of their clothes tied to lamp posts and with the letter ‘R' shaved on the back of their heads. So far, no one knows who orchestrated these attacks and why, as the victims all refuse to talk. Police started receiving calls about naked men being tied to lamp posts in different areas of Puerto Vallarta last Monday. On Tuesday, four men were discovered in similar circumstances. They had all been stripped naked, had bruises on their buttocks like they had been repeatedly slapped, they were tied to lamp posts at various intersections across the city and they all had the letter ‘R' shaved into the back of their heads. Six more people were discovered in similar conditions the following day. The victims aren't helping police. They either didn't want to reveal the names of the people who had done this to them, or said that they didn't remember anything, and one of them actually ran off as soon as he was freed. (Oddity Central)

Thank God for YouTube

A young system analyst from Brazil managed to save about half the cost of building a two-story brick house, by doing all the work himself. He had absolutely no construction experience but learned everything he needed to know from watching YouTube videos and getting a little advice from family and friends. Now, 33-year-old Evandro Klimpel Balmant and his wife Ane Caroline de Jesus Balmant, 34, live in a beautiful 1,300 square-foot house that they built themselves in Brazil. It took three long years to raise the house from the ground up, and they still have the upstairs to plaster, but they say it was worth the wait, especially since they manage to save around half what a house this size would have cost to build. There were a few things Balmant needed help with- like pouring the concrete pillars and the upper floor, for which he hired a professional. His father had some experience with building roofs, so he proved invaluable help. Interestingly, this isn't the first time someone built a house using YouTube videos. Cara Brookins, a mother of four from Little Rock, Arkansas, built a gorgeous two-story house the same way! (Oddity Central)

What the What?

A healthy, 31-year-old man checked into a New York clinic with an unusual complaint. Apparently he had taken large amounts of a drug for erectile dysfunction, which he purchased on the internet, and now everything he saw was red-a symptom that no treatment could remedy, even after a year. Doctors diagnosed him with retinal toxicity, an eye disorder that affects how a person sees color. Specifically, the man had irreversible erythropsia, which is characterized by red-hued vision. His symptoms appeared soon after he had taken sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in popular erectile dysfunction drugs, which he'd bought online and drank in liquid form "directly from the bottle," according to a medical report. The case is outlined in this month's Retinal Cases medical journal and Dr. Richard Rosen, the report's lead author and director of Retina Services at Mount Sinai Hospital warned, "People live by the philosophy that if a little bit is good, a lot is better. This study shows how dangerous a large dose of a commonly used medication can be." (Motherboard.com)

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