Weird and Wacky News: Two Brown Bears
Least Competent Criminals
Twenty inmates of a prison in Maracaibo, Venezuela, didn’t get far after tunneling out of their cells on April 17, Metro News reported. Waiting at the outside wall of the tunnel were a group of police officers who had been doing a training exercise. They had to help the prisoners out of the tight space before returning them inside; the police commissioner said they are investigating the breakout with the goal of preventing similar situations in the future.
Boom!
Talk about explosive developments! In Holladay, Utah, authorities were summoned to a home on April 23 to advise a homeowner on how to dispose of “a lot” of explosives, including “ancient dynamite” that had been in the family for “generations and generations.” Capt. Tony Barker of the Unified Fire Authority said the collectors did not appear to have malicious intent. KUTV reported that multiple agencies descended on the home, where it was determined that they would have to conduct a controlled explosion. “The house will be uninhabitable at the end of this event,” Barker said. The homeowner was allowed to remove some possessions before the detonation. The neighborhood was evacuated, and the detonation took place after midnight on April 24, causing damage to some neighboring properties, including blown-out windows and minor fire damage. The former homeowner told police that her husband, who had recently died, had inherited the explosives from his father more than 40 years ago. The dynamite was estimated to be 60 to 80 years old.
Unclear on the Concept
A Scottish woman, Moira Gallacher, 72, and her friend, Charmian Widdowson, were touring Romania in April, enjoying a drive through the Carpathian Mountains, People reported. They happened upon two brown bears and stopped the car to get a picture with them. Then Widdowson turned the car around and pulled up to the bear for another photo op. “I went down the window; I thought he wanted to be friends,” Widdowson told STV News. “He started getting into the car and bit my friend.” She said she thought the bear approached because he heard the women talking about getting something to eat. “I think he ... decided he had to eat my friend.” Gallacher was wearing a thick jacket with two layers underneath; although the bear clamped down on her hand with its jaws, she escaped with minor wounds. “I’ve been very, very lucky,” she said.