Posts filed under 'Cool Weird Stuff'
Cash raining down from the heavens might have seemed like a Christmas gift, but anyone in this western Massachusetts town who grabbed some of it is being asked to please give it back. The money, totaling $1,100 belonged to 83-year-old lady, Mary Olive Corbiere, who was banking on it to buy Christmas presents and lost it after a freak accident.
Corbiere had left a drugstore Tuesday and was putting her bags in her car when a wind gust pushed her shopping cart — still containing her purse and cane — into the back of a nearby delivery truck.
The cart somehow became stuck in a rear wheel well before the truck pulled away and disappeared into traffic. “Everything was normal, then I turned around and the cart had taken off,” said Corbiere, a retired English teacher and nurse.
The cart was dragged for blocks along one of the town’s busiest thoroughfares as the driver, oblivious to what had occurred, headed to the next delivery. Witnesses told police that when the purse finally burst open, strangers stopped and grabbed the fluttering currency, which Corbiere had withdrawn for holiday shopping and bills.
Officers found Corbiere’s tattered checkbook and cane — but little cash. They are urging people not to be Grinches and return any of the money they might have found. “We’re hoping people will do the right thing,” police Sgt. Charles Dodge said.
Corbiere, though, isn’t waiting around for the money’s return. She headed to the bank Wednesday to get a new checkbook and make another withdrawal. She didn’t even bother to retrieve the battered purse from police.
“That’s no use to me now,” she said. “What I really needed badly is my cane, and I am lucky I did get that back.” Well eventhough the season is upon us I don’t think much of this money will be returned.
November 30th, 2007
A competitive eater who has already triumphed at a famous hot dog eating contest swallowed 103 small hamburgers in 8 minutes Sunday to take home $10,000. Joey Chestnut, 23, of San Jose, Calif., surpassed the previous record of 97 Krystal burgers — 21/2 inches square — held by Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi, set at last year’s Krystal Square Off.
Chestnut beat 12 other contestants. Kobayashi, who won all previous Krystal Hamburger Eating Championships, didn’t compete this year because of lingering jaw pain from having a wisdom tooth extracted in June. The 29-year-old Kobayashi received chiropractic treatment before losing his hot-dog-eating belt in the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July tussle in New York. None of these competitive eaters are fat, go figure?
November 28th, 2007
Here is the holiday beverage you have all been waiting for, latke flavored pop to tempt your tastebuds, yuk! It will even be kosher, the company making it says.
Jones Soda Co., the Seattle-based purveyor of offbeat fizzy water, is selling holiday-themed limited-edition packs of flavored sodas. The Christmas pack will feature such flavors as Sugar Plum, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham. The Hanukkah pack will have Jelly Doughnut, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins and Latkes sodas.
“As always, both packs are kosher and contain zero caffeine,” Jones said in a statement. The packs will go on sale Sunday, with a portion of the proceeds to be given to charity, the company said. Jones’ products feature original label art and frequently odd flavors. Last year’s seasonal pack was Thanksgiving-themed, with Green Pea, Sweet Potato, Dinner Roll, Turkey and Gravy, and Antacid sodas.
For its contract to supply soda to Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, Jones came up with Perspiration, Dirt, Sports Cream and Natural Field Turf. The company — fortunately or unfortunately — prides itself on the accuracy of the taste. Jones also makes more traditional flavors, including root beer, cherry and strawberry sodas. My predictions are that these will sell quite well, then fizzle!
November 14th, 2007
Bathroom Break - More amazing videos are a click away
I guess this is his last day, eh? I bet every life guard dreams of this one.
November 8th, 2007
A 19-year-old German woman escaped from prison by hiding in a suitcase in Northwest Germany on Friday, according to the London Metro. A fellow inmate, 17, was being released from a youth prison and carried her friend out of the jail as her luggage.
Both inmates were serving time for theft and the 19-year-old was due to be released in two weeks. They are both still on the loose. I wonder if we will see this one on Prison Break?
November 7th, 2007
Wedgie-proof underwear earned 8-year-old twin boys a spot Friday on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Boy could I have used a pair of these bad-boys when I was in grade school. Using rigged boxers and fabric fasteners to hold together some seams, Jared and Justin Serovich came up with the “Rip Away 1000.”
“When the person tries to grab you — like the bully or the person tries to give you a wedgie — they just rip away,” Justin explained Thursday by phone from Los Angeles, where the TV segment was taped Wednesday.
The third graders from Gables Elementary School began brainstorming one day after they were horsing around, giving each other the treatment. Their mother’s partner sarcastically said someone ought to invent wedgie-proof underwear, the family said. The project got the boys to the finals of a central Ohio invention competition earlier this year, followed by the television appearance. And now on to untold riches I expect.
November 5th, 2007
Bobby Cave is the owner of a town called Albert and he decided this year to sell it, but how? Then a friend mentioned the online auction site eBay Inc. Now, with the click of a mouse — and at least $2.5 million — Albert could be yours. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up and restore the 13-acre town about 50 miles north of San Antonio, Cave said he’s ready to move on to his next venture.
Eric Meissner, Cave’s friend and co-listing agent, said Albert qualifies as a town, or at least was once a town, because it used to have a post office. Albert dates to the late 1800s and is now unincorporated. No one lives there permanently, but the tavern that Cave created from the frame of the old general store is open on weekends. There are also the “cleanest public restrooms in Texas,” built by Cave, and a pavilion, 85-year-old dance hall, tractor shed and three-bedroom house. All of that, plus peach and pecan orchards, come with the land.
Cave said he will even throw in his plan to turn the place into a tourist destination, including plans for a restaurant and cabins. The eBay auction closes Nov. 23. On Wednesday, about a week after bidding opened, offers topped $300,000. But that was still less than Cave’s “reserve price” of $2.5 million, the least he will take for the property.
Hani Durzy, an eBay spokesman, said listing an entire town for auction is very uncommon. Bridgeville, in northern California, was the first town ever put on the eBay auction block. The 83 acres were twice sold on the site, in 2002 (that deal fell through) and again last year. I can’t wait to drive through and try out those clean restrooms!
November 4th, 2007
Here is a bit of a weird spooky bit of trivia to usher in Halloween.
Florence Irene Ford Born: September 3, 1861 Died : October 30, 1871
Ten-year-old Florence died of yellow fever. During her short life she was very frightened of storms and whenever one rolled-in she would rush to her mother to find comfort.
Upon her death her mother was so struck with grief that she had Florence’s casket constructed with a glass window at the child’s head. The grave was dug to provide an area, the same depth of the coffin, at the child’s head, but this area had steps that would allow the mother to descend to her daughter’s level so she could comfort Florence during storms. To shelter the mother during storms, hinged metal trap doors were installed over the area the mother would occupy while at her child’s grave.
In this picture you can see the trap doors behind little Florence’s tombstone, which covers the stairway her mother used. They can still be opened today. In the mid 1950s a concrete wall was erected at the bottom of the stairway covering the glass window of Florence’s coffin to prevent vandalism. Kinda strange and spooky, eh?
October 27th, 2007
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