Odd news this week: Maggots in sandwich, bear in kitchen
Welcome to our inaugural odd news column. Each Saturday, we will bring you a digest of strange and curious news from around the world. Plus find some of the best, can't-miss videos on the Internet. We hope you enjoy.
Report: Fake officer stopped real police agents
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Authorities say a man driving a truck with police lights on top made a crucial misstep during a bogus police stop in northern New Mexico.
Police say the two men he pulled over for speeding were real state police agents in an unmarked vehicle.
According to New Mexico State Police, 26-year-old John Shelton, of Logan, was arrested Wednesday following the sham traffic stop in San Miguel County.
Investigators say Shelton had a pistol on his hip and told the agents he was a member of the New Mexico State Police Search and Rescue and a trained law enforcement officer — something officials later discovered wasn't true.
Shelton is facing charges of impersonating an officer.
It was not clear if Shelton had an attorney.
‘Frankenfish' hooked in Virginia a world record
SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. — A Virginia man who caught a fish known as “Frankenfish” has set a world record.
Caleb Newton hooked the 17-pound, 6-ounce northern snakehead in a creek in northern Virginia during a fishing tournament June 1. The “Frankenfish” gets its nickname because of its appearance and adaptability. The invasive species native to Asia is able to breathe air and survive in very shallow waters or mud.
The Free Lance-Star (http://bit.ly/140IvhG) reports the International Game Fish Association confirmed the record catch. It beat a snakehead caught in Japan in 2004 by 2 ounces.
Newton is a 27-year-old plumber in Spotsylvania County. He has said it only took him about a minute to get it into the boat, and the 3-foot long fish barely fit into his cooler.
Man finds maggots on sandwich at Atlanta airport
ATLANTA — A restaurant says it has switched vendors after a customer found a cluster of maggots on his sandwich at Atlanta's airport.
Weekly traveler Joel Woloshuk told WSB-TV Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1895s6l) that he bought a sandwich from Café Intermezzo and realized the white specks on top of it were maggots — not Parmesan — when they began moving.
In a statement to WSB-TV, Café Intermezzo's president said the case was isolated and the problem could not have originated at the restaurant. He says the restaurant switched bread vendors and “not a single crumb” from the original bakery remains.
Atlanta Department of Aviation officials say they're distributing ultraviolet lights to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport restaurants so they can better inspect food shipments.
The Clayton County Board of Health says it found no citable violation at the location that it inspected.
Black bear breaks into Idaho kitchen
KETCHUM, Idaho — A black bear in search of a late-night snack broke into an Idaho house and licked leftover Chinese food from a cast iron pan on the stove.
David Edwards of Ketchum tells the Idaho Mountain Express (http://bit.ly/135R68N) that his dog's barking awakened him around 3 a.m. Monday.
When he went to investigate what had his dog so upset, he saw the bear on its hind legs, paws on the stove, licking a pan.
Edwards' wife, Sara, had fallen asleep on the couch, so he woke her up and led her into the bedroom without telling her about the furry dish washer.
He says she would have “lost her mind” because she gets upset over spiders.
Edwards went back into the kitchen to find the bear gone and the pan clean.
4-year-old mayor is re-elected in northern Minn.
DORSET, Minn. — A 4-year-old has been re-elected as mayor of the tiny tourist town of Dorset in northern Minnesota.
Robert “Bobby” Tufts' name was picked Sunday during annual Taste of Dorset festival.
Bobby was only 3 when he won election last year as mayor of Dorset (population 22 to 28, depending on whether the minister and his family are in town).
His mother, Emma Tufts, said she and her son got choked up when his name was pulled for re-election.
Emma Tufts said her son plans to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley in Fargo, N.D., and a new welcome sign for Dorset, which has no formal city government. They planned to eat dinner and then go fishing or have a bonfire to celebrate.
Cardboard officer cuts crime at Mass. subway stop
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The burly officer watching over the bike racks at a Boston-area transportation hub is a real stiff.
As part of an effort to cut crime at the Alewife MBTA subway and bus station in Cambridge, transit police placed a cardboard cutout of a police officer in the bicycle cage. Hundreds of people use the racks daily.
Deputy Chief Robert Lenehan says the fake cop, along with video cameras and a new lock, has cut bike thefts by 67 percent.
It's also a money saver. Lenehan estimates it would cost $200,000 a year to have an officer watch over the cage full-time.
The cutout is actually a picture of real MBTA Officer David Silen.
Silen says the split second thieves take to glance at the cutout is enough to discourage them.
Francis Bacon's brushes among oddities in auction
LONDON — Art lovers who can't afford a painting by Francis Bacon can bid on the late artist's paintbrushes at an auction of unusual items.
The eight brushes — given by Bacon to fellow artist Clive Barker in 1978 — are in a paint-splattered butter bean tin inside a clear box. They have an estimated price of 20,000 pounds to 25,000 pounds ($31,000 to $46,000).
Bacon's paintings have sold for as much as $86 million at auction.
Also among the 150 lots in Christie's Out of the Ordinary sale: a rocking horse as tall as a house; a flying machine from Steven Spielberg's “Young Sherlock Holmes”; a stuffed ostrich; and a Triceratops skull valued at between 150,000 pounds and 250,000 pounds.
The sale will be held Sept. 5 in London.
Ga. man's wallet found, returned after 24 years
ACWORTH, Ga. — A Georgia man who lost his wallet while water skiing in North Carolina now has it back — 24 years later.
Burton Maugans of Acworth tells WSB-TV (http://bit.ly/15H6V3J) that he received a call from a stranger who knew his age, his name and his birth date. Maugans says he realized fairly quickly the stranger had found his wallet because it's the only one he'd ever lost.
The Georgia man says he was 18 when he went into the water with his wallet and it disappeared somewhere near Holden Beach in North Carolina. North Carolina resident Jim Parker found it recently and searched the Internet for its owner.
The wallet arrived in the mail in Georgia on Thursday. It still contained Maugans' high school identification from 1987, a library card and even an old bank card.
Former Redneck Olympics under way in Maine
HEBRON, Maine — Despite being forced to changes its name, the event formerly known as the Redneck Olympic Games continued its tradition of holding unorthodox competitions like lawn mower races, mud runs and tire burnouts.
A full day of events was on tap during the Maine Redneck “Blank” Games. Organizer Harold Brooks changed the name under pressure from the International Olympics Committee, but noted that “everyone knows what the `blank' stands for.”
Friday's events included a wedding and a demolition derby. Other events over the weekend included bobbing for pigs' feet, toilet seat horseshoes and a greased watermelon relay race.
The idea behind the event, Brooks said, was to have what amounts to a great big outdoor picnic and pig roast for hardworking people who've earned the right to blow off some steam.
Being a redneck, he said, isn't about living in a trailer, or getting drunk.
“A redneck is someone who works hard. They say their neck is red because they work outside. A redneck can make fun of himself and have a good time,” said Brooks, who's a general contractor.
The Redneck Olympic Games kicked off three years ago. But the name was changed after the International Olympic Committee came after him, telling him he couldn't brand his event as an Olympic event.
That still doesn't sit well with Brooks because he doesn't think anyone should own the rights to a word.
“The word was around before they were around,” he said, pointing to the Olympics' origins in ancient Greece. “If they want to complain, then they should have the Greeks call and tell me to stop using it.”
Pa. sideburns contest celebrates 1813 battle hero
ERIE, Pa. — A sideburns contest honoring a U.S. Navy commodore known for his impressive facial hair is marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie.
The Erie-Times News (http://bit.ly/183gwCe) reports that the winner of the Perry Burns contest will be named this week. Judges will decide who sports the sideburns most like those of Oliver Hazard Perry, who defeated British forces in September 1813. He is considered a War of 1812 hero.
Historical portraits suggest that Perry wore long mutton-chop sideburns that extended toward his lips.
Erie residents say the town had a beard-growing contest marking the battle's 150th anniversary in 1963.
Participant Kevin Kantz says he's been growing out his sideburns since July. He says he was inspired by the 1963 contest, which he attended at age 11.
Michigan couple welcomes 12th son
DETROIT — A Western Michigan family welcomed their 12th child. And, shocker, it's a boy — just like the other 11.
Jay and Kateri Schwandt of Rockford believed the latest baby might break the gender streak, especially after Kateri, known as Teri, was nine days past her due date. That was unusual for her pregnancies. But as it turned out, it was hardly a game-changer as a nurse at a Grand Rapids hospital announced delivery of another boy.
Tucker was 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
“Of course. There was a chuckle in the whole room,” Teri, 38, said told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I looked at my husband, and we exchanged a knowing smile. When they say it's a boy, I think, OK, no problem. I've got this. We know what we're doing.”
Tyler is the oldest son at 21. When the school year starts, three Schwandt boys will be in high school, while five brothers are in lower grades. That leaves three more at home with Teri.
The Schwandts, who live north of Grand Rapids, consider themselves devout Roman Catholics who don't believe in using birth control and put the size of their family in God's hands. Teri comes from a family of 14 kids. But she's not the only member of her own family committed to the cause.
She has a sister in the Detroit area, Kate Osberger, who has 10 children of her own. Yep, all sons.
“That's amazing. This is a miracle,” said Dr. Bob Barbieri, who researches fertility issues and is chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. “It appears there is some type of genetic determination in some families that have a lot of girls or a lot of boys. It's not well understood. It's more than a statistical oddity.”