Weird Iowa: 'Bamboozled' on Homosexuality, Paintball Stick Up, Mudsliding Away, How Flexible is Gabby Douglas?

It's been a challenging week for our country, so we hope a little dose of Iowa's beautiful weirdness can bring a smile to your face.

Let's start with Iowa weird weather, which frankly is always weird. But this truly stands out. Eastern Iowa was hammered with rain this week causing flooding that closed roads, destroyed basements and otherwise rankled life. 

But, that's not weird. That's terrible, right? Here's the weird part.

How often do you hear about a mudslide in Iowa? 

In Iowa City, the heavy rain loosened the ground, causing tons of mud to slide down a steep hill next to University of Iowa's Mayflower Residence Hall. The mud dumped 5-feet deep in some part of the parking lot, covering some cars.

Next up, gold medalist Gabby Douglas' flexibility. Follow this link to see for yourself, but fair warning, some may find this a little, well, weird. Here's a teaser: the gymnast who trained in West Des Moines is nimble like a cat.

As far as we know, this video isn't doctored.

More video weirdness: staff at Jethro BBQ, which has locations in Ankeny, Waukee, West Des Moines and Altoona, jumped on the Harlem Shake bandwagon. Harlem Shake is always weird, and pretty funny, too.

Click to see Jethro's staff do the Harlem Shake.

This next piece is weird on multiple fronts.

Exhibit A: comparing homosexuality to second-hand smoke. Exhibit B: the word "bamboozled." Doesn't that word just sound weird?

An Iowa state senator used his platform and time on the Iowa Senate floor to explain why, in his opinion, the media has "bamboozled" the public into accepting homosexuality. This is causing the public, particularly youth, to not recognize major public health risks that should be attributed to homosexuality, in Sen. Dennis Guth's view.

There's many parallels to the risk of second-hand smoke, he said.

And, then there's weird crime. There never seems to be a shortage there.

A Cedar Falls man is accused of breaking into a home

Getting your home broken into and valuables stolen at gun point is no doubt a traumatic experience. It would have to be just a little frustrating, though, if later you discovered the gun was a fake.

That's what happened in Cedar Falls where a man is accused of using a paintball gun at a stick up at a mobile home unit. He is among several arrested, although the only to have used a paintball gun.

Finally, there's lots to learn at the library. That's why an arrest at the Ames Public Library is just a little curious.

A 27-year-old homeless man was arrested at the library with syringes in his pockets, brass knuckles and a hammer in his waistband, police said.

He also had the ingredients for the "one pot" methamphetamine manufacturing method, police said. So what was this guy doing at the library? Maybe looking for a recipe.

Read more weirdness from Iowa:

Weird Iowa: Couple Throws Blows After 'Jerry Springer Show;' Pot and Pills Found After Nap at Family Video