10 Offbeat Stories You Might Have Missed This Week (5/4/19)

As another week nears its end, it is time to take a look at some of the noteworthy stories with a hefty dose of weirdness. Click here if you want to catch up on last week’s list.

In the world of animals, this week we have a beluga spy, a three-eyed snake, and even an alleged Yeti sighting. People draw penises on the ground and eat bananas in protest. Meanwhile, scientists solve a decades-old computer puzzle and attempt to find the remains of Leonardo da Vinci.

10Yeti In The Himalayas

Photo credit: Indian Army

The Indian army shared on social media several pictures alleged to depict footprints of the Yeti.According to the online post, the army presented its six million followers with “mysterious footprints” found by a mountaineering expedition team at Makalu Base Camp in the Himalayas. The footprints measure 81 by 38 centimeters (32 x 15 in). Soldiers actually made the discovery on April 9 but decided to wait until they’d compared it to previous reports of Yeti activity. In the end, army officials decided it was time to go public in order to “excite scientific temper and rekindle the interest.”[1]Suffice to say, many met the claims with skepticism and derision. This includes the Nepalese Army, which asserted that the prints simply came from the Himalayan black bear. The footprint is elongated because the bear does not put its hind paw completely over the print of the front paw. It places it slightly behind, thus creating the illusion of a single, long footprint.In reply, the Indian army said that they had turned over the evidence to “subject matter experts” and will await new developments.

9The Power Of The Willy

Photo credit: Teesside Connected

The people of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England, showed us the trick to getting potholes fixed quickly: Draw penises around them.The Fane Grove area of the city has had potholes for almost two years. Last week, an anonymous resident adorned them with phallus-shaped graffiti. A few days later, they had been patched, and the graffiti had been removed.A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council claimed that the repairs took so long because they are performed on a priority basis determined by the risk they pose to motorists. However, since a road-mending team was already in the area, it was also able to fix the Fane Grove potholes.At least one resident was not buying this story. Local Brad Nicholson attributed the quick repairs to “the power of the willy.”[2]

8One In A Hole

A man in Mexico had to be rescued after becoming trapped in a tunnel that he had dug under his former partner’s house so that he could spy on her.Authorities from the town of Puerto Penasco made an interesting house call. A woman found her ex-boyfriend on her property, inside a hole that he’d dug over the course of last week. At first, she heard various noises but assumed they came from cats. As the sound intensified, she decided to investigate, and that is when she discovered that her former lover had spent several days burrowing a tunnel so that he could lie in hiding and spy on her.[3] The woman had ended their 14-year relationship because he was too jealous. She also had a restraining order against him for domestic violence.The 50-year-old man required assistance in order to get out of the hole. He was severely dehydrated and seemingly intoxicated when he was released from his underground jail. Subsequently, he was taken to real jail.

7Leonardo Lives

This week marked 500 years since the death of Leonardo da Vinci. Two scientists are eager to find out if a relic purported to contain the Renaissance Man’s DNA can help us identify his final resting place.Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato, both expert scholars on da Vinci, obtained a lock of hair which could have belonged to Leonardo. For a long time, it has been in a private collection in the US, but this week, it was featured for the first time in an exhibition dedicated to the polymath in his hometown of Vinci. Obviously, its credentials are in doubt, but it also comes with documents which seem to attest to its provenance. Besides putting it on display, the scientists also attempted to collect a DNA sample from the hair.[4]We are not sure where Leonardo’s remains are buried, but they are thought to be located in a chapel in Chateau d’Amboise in France. This DNA sample, if genuine and viable, could be compared against the bones to check for a match.

6The Banana Protest

Photo credit: AP/Czarek Sokolowski

The people of Poland have taken to eating bananas in protest over the removal of a popular artwork due to alleged censorship.The 1973 video “Consumer Art” by influential artist Natalia LL had been a mainstay at the National Museum in Warsaw until last week. That is when new museum head Jerzy Miziolek had it removed shortly following a summons to the Ministry of Culture.The video shows a young woman eating a banana with great pleasure. It criticized the food shortage during communist Poland, but Miziolek believes that it “could irritate sensitive young people.”[5] Protesters see the move as censorship instituted by a conservative government. Miziolek denied these accusations and said that “creative changes” were necessary due to the limited space of the gallery.Many people took to social media and posted pictures of themselves eating bananas to object the removal of “Consumer Art.” Several hundred of them even staged a protest in person on Monday. They all gathered in front of the museum and ate bananas, and some wore the peels on their heads.

5A Case Of Meth-taken Identity

An elderly couple from Melbourne, Australia, called the police after taking delivery of the wrong parcel, which happened to contain 20 kilograms (44 lb) of methamphetamines worth approximately A$10 million ($7 million).The couple was not expecting a package but signed for it anyway. Inside, they found bags of white powder. Although they did not realize the full significance of the strange delivery, they still...

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