News of the Weird
Bright Ideas – On March 17, police at the Charleston, South Carolina, airport rushed to meet United
Airlines Flight 728 in response to a report that someone's ear had been bitten off on the plane, which had
been diverted there from its flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Miami, The State reported. Passenger John
Yurkovich Jr., 45, of New Jersey, had become "agitated" and "restless" after making a trip to the restroom,
police said, then "began to scream and thrash around," punching his seatmate and apparently biting the
man's ear, which later required seven stitches, an FBI report said. A doctor on board injected Benadryl into
Yurkovich's buttocks to help subdue him, and others bound him with zip ties and a belt. Authorities said
they found 1.5 grams of suspected meth in Yurkovich's pocket; he was arrested and faces state charges of
possession as well as federal charges of assault. [The State, 3/19/2021]
The Continuing Crisis – On March 17, police at the Charleston, South Carolina, airport rushed to meet
United Airlines Flight 728 in response to a report that someone's ear had been bitten off on the plane, which
had been diverted there from its flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Miami, The State reported. Passenger
John Yurkovich Jr., 45, of New Jersey, had become "agitated" and "restless" after making a trip to the
restroom, police said, then "began to scream and thrash around," punching his seatmate and apparently
biting the man's ear, which later required seven stitches, an FBI report said. A doctor on board injected
Benadryl into Yurkovich's buttocks to help subdue him, and others bound him with zip ties and a belt.
Authorities said they found 1.5 grams of suspected meth in Yurkovich's pocket; he was arrested and faces
state charges of possession as well as federal charges of assault. [The State, 3/19/2021]
The Entrepreneurial Spirit – When Damien Desrocher, 28, decided to "return to nature" in December, it
meant leaving his job as an air force computer technician and moving to the northern French town of
Wahagnies, where he started raising snails. But they're not for eating, Reuters reported. Desrocher harvests
"slime" from the snails and uses it to make bars of soap. A single snail will yield about 2 grams of slime.
Desrocher needs about 80 grams of slime to make 15 100-gram soap bars. "It's all in the dexterity of how
you tickle," he said as he demonstrated the harvesting technique. "I only touch it with my finger, you see
it's not violent, it's simple." Desrocher said snail mucus contains molecules of collagen and elastin, which
have anti-aging and skin-healing properties. [Reuters, 5/17/2021]
Silent But Deadly – In North Carolina, large stands of wetland forests along the coast have died, giving
the areas an apocalyptic appearance, CNET reported. Salt water from rising seas and storm surges is causing
the destruction of tens of thousands of acres. Researchers at North Carolina State University are studying
the "ghost forests" to measure their environmental impact, which includes emitting greenhouse gases --
carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -- that they call "tree farts." Graduate student Melinda Martinez
acknowledged that the trees don't emit as much as the soils, but, she said, "Even the smallest fart counts." [CNET, 5/14/2021]
No Good Deed – After Bryan Thayer, 34, finished up at his bar and grill in Metairie, Louisiana, on May 8,
he stopped off at the City Bar, where he and a friend bought a drink for another patron, Andrew Nierman,
32. The first drink they bought spilled on Nierman, so they furnished him with a replacement. But Nierman
evidently wasn't satisfied with that. "He grabbed my head and (bit) a chunk out of my nose," Thayer told
The Times-Picayune, then ran out and jumped in a car. Thayer, who was holding his nose together, and
other witnesses ran outside and flagged down a deputy, who stopped Nierman. He admitted to biting Thayer
but said he'd been "accosted" by him. Doctors patched up Thayer's nose, but he said his injuries will
preclude him from working at his own bar for a time. [Times-Picayune, 5/18/2021]
Bright Idea – Ever stepped off a curb unexpectedly or run into a pole while looking down at your phone?
Minwook Paeng, an industrial design student at London's Royal College of Art and Imperial College, has
invented a device that will alert you to obstacles in your path: the Third Eye. A small translucent case
shaped something like an eye affixes to the forehead with a thin gel pad, DeZeen reported, and "the black
component that looks like a pupil is an ultrasonic sensor for sensing distance," Paeng explained. When the
gyroscope senses the head angled downward, the plastic "eyelid" opens and warns the wearer of obstacles
in their path with a buzzer. Paeng believes humans are evolving into "phono sapiens," developing "turtle
neck syndrome" and a curved pinky finger from holding our phones. "I hope that the act of ironically
pointing out what we are doing with our smartphones can help people take time for self-reflection," Paeng mused. [DeZeen, 5/6/2021]
Ewwww! – Ana Cardenas of El Paso, Texas, woke up around 4 a.m. on 11 MAY and felt something
dripping on her face, KTSM-TV reported. When she turned on the light, she was horrified to see that it was
blood. Blood was coming in where her ceiling fan was attached to the ceiling, and the fan had spattered it
all around the room. Cardenas called 911, and officers determined that the man living in the apartment
above hers had died. "The firefighters knocked down his door and the body was laying exactly where my
fan is underneath," Cardenas said. "He had carpet but the blood seeped through to my ceiling." Police said
the man had died of natural causes and had been deceased for five to six days. Cardenas stayed at a hotel
for a few nights but now has to replace her damaged belongings. She said she was traumatized by the
incident: "It was awful, an awful impact." [KTSM, 5/17/2021]
