Weird News
Family restrained thief for police
YORK, England (UPI) -- An English family says they stopped a burglar who was attempting to steal from their house, sitting on him until police arrived. Julie Broadway, 43, of York said she was awakened at about 2 a.m. by a sound that she initially thought was cats in the house but was revealed to be a burglar when a beam of light went passed her bedroom door, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday. "I was just angry. There was someone in my house that hadn't been invited," she said. Broadway said she pursued the thief and was soon joined by her husband Glen, a 226-pound former forestry worker who dragged the burglar back into the house and sat on him until police arrived. The couple said at one point, the thief attempted to reach for a knife, but their daughter, Megan, rapped him on the knuckles with an umbrella. Kevin Waddington, 40, who has 143 previous convictions for theft, pleaded guilty in York Crown Court to burglary. His defense attorney said he had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the incident.
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Man arrested after 10-year-old crashes van
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (UPI) -- Authorities in Sullivan County, Tenn., said a man was arrested after allegedly instructing a 10-year-old to drive his van because he was intoxicated. The Sullivan County Sheriffs Office said Randy Lewis was charged with drunk driving, reckless endangerment and child abuse after the 10-year-old boy, who was one of three children in the vehicle, crashed the Ford Windstar van at speeds exceeding 90 mph, The Smoking Gun reported Tuesday. A sheriff's office affidavit said Lewis admitted after the crash to drinking "at least 15 beers, along with some liquor." The affidavit said cocaine was found in Lewis' system and his blood alcohol content was found to be .26, more than three times the legal state limit for driving. Paula Evans, a female friend of Lewis' who was also in the vehicle, was charged with reckless endangerment and child abuse. All five occupants of the van were treated for their injuries at a local hospital.
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Man struck by lightning while pumping gas
VILLAGE OF BARKER, N.Y. (UPI) -- A Village of Barker, N.Y., man said he survived being struck by lightning, with only minimal injuries, while pumping gas into his car. William Hall said he was pumping gas at the K&K Food Mart when he was struck by lightning and knocked unconscious, WIVB-TV, Buffalo, N.Y, reported Monday. "Started pumping the gas, and I seen a very bright orange light, followed by a very bright white light, and then total darkness. I went out," Hall said. "I was very numb, shaky. Hard to catch my breath. My heart was beating really rapid." Hall said he was unconscious for about five minutes but he awoke to find himself uninjured, except for muscle soreness and some small blisters on his elbow. The incident was caught on film by K&K security cameras. "Everybody tells me I'm lucky, and I feel that way. I really do," Hall said.
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British cabbie well paid for long drive
PORTSMOUTH, England (UPI) -- A British cab driver says a man desperate to reach a friend's stag party paid nearly $4,000 to be driven from Portsmouth, England, to Munich, Germany. Cabbie Mick Hogan, 54, said a man named Dave, in his 30s, had missed his flight and had no other option than to be driven the 740 miles, The Mirror reported. "I thought he was having a laugh or it was one of my cabbie mates doing a wind-up -- but he was serious," Hogan said. "It felt surreal, but it was better and more profitable than being sat on the rank all day." Hogan said it took him 17 hours to drive through England, France, Belgium and Luxembourg before dropping David in the center of Munich, the Mirror reported.
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Honeymooners recycled for air miles
PETERSFIELD, England (UPI) -- A Petersfield, England, couple said they spent three months scrounging for recycling to gather free air miles for their honeymoon trip to the United States. John and Ann Till said they collected more than 60,000 pieces of recycling during their springtime scavenging to earn 36,000 British Airways miles by turning the cans and bottles in at Tesco grocery stores, The Daily Telegraph reported. "We would nip out to the pub and take a long route coming back," John Till said. "We soon found out where the best places were to pick up rubbish. It was mainly things like cans, Coke bottles and cans of lager." "At the very beginning we thought it was going to be impossible to do, but as we were getting more and more points and working it out in our heads as we went along we realized it was going to be possible," he said. The couple used the points to fly business class home from the United States after taking the Queen Mary 2 to New York on a honeymoon that included visits to Denver and Nashville.
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Man named Fox attacked by fox, crashes car
DOVER, Tenn. (UPI) -- A Tennessee man named Tommy Fox crashed his car while contending with an attack from a real fox whose tail he intended to cut off, authorities say. After the Dover man struck a red fox that had dashed in front of his sport utility vehicle last week, he said he thought the animal was dead so he retrieved it from the roadway, planning to cut off its tail for a souvenir, a state wildlife official told Gannett Tennessee. Fox said the animal regained consciousness in the back seat of his SUV and attacked him, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and flip it over into a ditch. Records indicated Fox was treated for minor injuries at the scene by Montgomery County, Tenn., paramedics. The fox was found dead in the vehicle, but Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife officer Dale Grandstaff said it wasn't clear if it had died from the initial collision or from the rollover. Gannett Tennessee said it was not known if Fox got to keep the fox tail.
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Waiting for the Plane"Daddy, why do we have to wait for our flight?""Our plane has been grounded.""Grounded?!? I didn't know planes had parents!"
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"The other night in Milwaukee, a brawl broke out among
people leaving a Celine Dion concert. Apparently, the
people leaving early were in the way of the people trying
to leave really early." -Conan O'Brien
***
"There's an asteroid heading toward the earth and we're all
going to die. There is! Scientists are saying there's a 1
in 45,000 chance of an asteroid hitting the earth in 2036.
Now an asteroid is a giant rock. It's headed toward the
earth. We should send up a giant piece of paper. We couldn't
send scissors; that would be impractical." -Craig Ferguson
***
"Here's some good news a woman in Milwaukee gave birth to
a 13 pound 12 ounce baby girl last week. Thirteen pound 12
ounces. Doctors say the baby will be walking before the
mother." --Jay Leno
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When we finished a personality assessment at work, I asked
my friend Dan if he would share the results with his wife.
"That would require me to go home and say, 'Hi, honey. I
just paid someone $400 to tell me what's wrong with me,'"
he said. "And based on that, considering we've been married
23 years, she'd hand me a bill for about $798,000."
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On my way to a picnic, I stopped at a fast-food place to
order a quart of potato salad. "We don't sell it by the
quart," the clerk snapped. "Okay, then give me two pints,
please," I replied.
I'm proud to say I held my tongue when she asked, "Do you
want it in one container?"
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Bad Eyesight
Arthur is 90 years old. He's played golf every day since his
retirement 25 years ago.
One day he arrives home looking downcast.
"That's it," he tells his wife. "I'm giving up golf. My
eyesight has gotten so bad that once I've hit the ball, I
can't see where it went."
His wife sympathizes and makes him a cup of tea. As they sit
down, she says, "Why don't you take my brother with you and
give it one more try."
"That's no good," sighs Arthur. "Your brother's a hundred
and three. He can't help."
"He may be a hundred and three," says the wife, "but his
eyesight is perfect."
So the next day, Arthur heads off to the golf course with
his brother-in-law. He tees up, takes an almighty swing, and
squints down the fairway.
He turns to the brother-in-law. "Did you see the ball?"
"Of course I did!" replies the brother-in-law. "I have
perfect eyesight."
"Where did it go?" asks Arthur.
"I don't remember."