Offbeats

A library book has been returned to Chantilly Regional Library after 36 years of international travel. Harry The Dirty Dog was originally checked out November 6th, 1989 by diplomats living in Washington D.C. Their son Dimitris recently discovered the overdue…

Dave Purchase, owner of On Toast sandwich shop in Gloucester, England, sang Christmas songs for 42 consecutive hours to break a Guinness World Record. Purchase, known as "Mr. Toasty," closed his store inside Warehouse 4 to attempt the marathon singing…

Wales residents Richard Davies and Faye Stevenson-Davies won £1,000,000 ($1,337,925) from the National Lottery's November 26th Lotto drawing. The couple matched five numbers plus the Bonus Ball for their second identical jackpot since winning the same amount through EuroMillions Millionaire…

The Powerball jackpot has grown to an estimated $1.5 billion following Wednesday night's drawing that produced no grand prize winner. The winning numbers were 25, 33, 53, 62, 66, and red Powerball 17. This marks the 44th consecutive drawing without…

A raccoon dropped through the ceiling at Grand Geneva Resort's Ristorante Brissago Sunday night around 7:30 p.m., biting a guest who tried to capture it. Walworth County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the Lake Geneva dining room incident. Wildlife control…

Hisako Sakai, age 92, won the Care eSports Association's 12th biannual tournament, defeating competitors in the fighting game Tekken 8. The Japanese grandmother topped eight senior participants ranging from 73 to 95 years old in virtual one-on-one matches. Sakai beat…

A KLM flight from Amsterdam to Aruba was forced to ground upon arrival December 10th after passengers spotted a rat in the cabin while flying over the ocean. The pilot could not turn back or make an emergency landing because…

A Brisbane CityGlider bus driver rescued a koala from busy traffic on Wiles Street at Camp Hill, bringing the animal aboard to await wildlife experts. The driver spotted the marsupial darting through traffic and attempting to climb a metal light…

Latoya Clark was arrested Wednesday morning while driving a stolen cargo van to her federal trial in Fort Pierce, Florida. A license plate reader identified the 2025 Ram ProMaster as stolen when Clark was pulled over by deputies around 8:30…

Joey Takeo Kainoa Arakaki was arrested at San Mateo County courthouse on Wednesday after security discovered three baggies of fentanyl and used foil in his possession. He told deputies he forgot the drugs were on him. A courthouse guard who…

Joe Hayden, a fourth-generation dairy farmer supplying milk for Baileys Irish Cream, uses the HerdPlus app to find perfect mates for his 230 cows. The "Tinder for cows" technology, developed by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, matches animals based on…

Attorney Amanda Reynolds and her eight-year-old golden retriever Finnegan Mary Reynolds filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York seeking to classify pets as legal dependents for tax purposes. Reynolds argues Finnegan relies entirely on her for food,…

Stack's Bowers Galleries sold the last pennies ever minted in America for $16.76 million on December 12. The California auction house handled 232 three-coin sets for the United States Mint, each containing a 2025 penny, a 24-karat gold penny from…

Fifteen passengers suffered injuries when a San Francisco cable car suddenly stopped Monday afternoon. The San Francisco Fire Department reported passengers were "tossed around inside the cable car" during the incident. Twelve people required hospital transport, with two suffering minor…

Students at St. Mary's Episcopal all-girls school in Memphis designed a custom wedding dress for Taylor Swift as part of a Cinderella-inspired STEM project. The third-graders completed the dress just in time for Swift's 36th birthday on December 13th. Three…

Roy Marsh, 86, received a $334.50 littering fine in Lincolnshire, England, after enforcement officers saw him spit out a reed that blew into his mouth during strong winds. "As I was sitting there, a gale blew a big reed into…

Naumai Johnson received six months home detention after admitting to 26 charges including theft, shoplifting, and threatening behavior worth thousands of dollars. Her crime spree included stealing a $270 adult toy from Hamilton's Peaches and Cream store and threatening a…

A raccoon discovered intoxicated in an Ashland ABC store bathroom on November 29th has broken into businesses multiple times, animal control says. "Supposedly this is like the third break-in he's had," animal protection officer Samantha Martin told a local podcast.…

A Washington, D.C. family has received more than 100 Amazon packages meant for the Arlo hotel during the past six months. Brittany, who requested only her first name be used, believes hotel guests mistakenly select her address instead of the…

Missouri authorities summoned cowboys Wednesday after a collision between two tractor-trailers on Interstate 70 in Oak Grove released 13 cattle onto the highway. The Missouri Highway Patrol confirmed the crash caused the bovines to escape from one truck, prompting officials…

Sharon Czaplinsky, 45, faces her second public indecency charge in three months after a November 30th incident at a Marathon Winn-Dixie parking lot. Deputies responding to a 911 call about public sexual activity found Czaplinsky with Marshall Lowery, 43, and…

Lawton Chiles Middle School in Oviedo entered a brief "Code Red" lockdown after an automated weapons detection system misidentified a clarinet as a gun. The AI system spotted a student carrying the musical instrument like a rifle, prompting the security…

Kourtney Stevenson faces four felonies after allegedly spraying a substance on a customer's food delivery in Evansville, Indiana on December 7th. Doorbell camera footage captured Stevenson using the spray during the delivery. When questioned by Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office detectives,…

A 22-year-old employee in Spain lost her job after consistently arriving early for work against company orders. The woman showed up between 6:45am and 7am for two years, despite her 7:30am start time. Her employer told the Social Court of…