Tripping Hikers Mistakenly Report Companion's Death: Weird News & Oddities

It was one of those Mark Twain “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” moments that some day trippers in New York’s Adirondack Mountains may never live down.

And by day trippers, we mean the hikers had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms before their May 24 trek up a mountain, according to a news release from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The hikers were summiting Cascade Mountain in the Adirondack High Peaks when they called 911 to report a member of their party had died. They also told a steward on the mountains they were lost. The steward “determined the hikers were in an altered mental state,” then escorted them down the mountains to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital to be evaluated.

But what of the supposedly dead hiker? The person called authorities and gave them proof of life, then was escorted back to the campsite, where everyone was eventually reunited.

• Read the story: 1 Reason Not To Hike High Peaks While High

Mile-High Naked Dancing

A 41-year-old flight attendant on a British Airways flight out of San Francisco on June 1 was found naked as the day he was born dancing in a cabin restroom, according to multiple reports.

Other members of the crew of the flight bound for London noticed the steward was missing when it was time to serve meals. A search ensued the in-flight crew boss discovered the naked steward “jigging up and down” in the Club World cabin restroom.

The steward, who was given a spare pair of pajamas meant for first-class passengers, spent the remaining 10½ hours of the flight to London in luxury seating.

He was reportedly arrested when the flight landed in London.

• Read more: Flight Attendant Caught Dancing Naked On SFO Flight

Sir Hiss-A-Lot Finds A Home

A 9-foot reticulated python named Sir Hiss-a-lot took a walk-about — err, slither-about? — in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the other day, where the enormous reptile should never have been to begin with.

Because of their size, aggressive nature and potential to harm smaller animals, it’s illegal to possess these non-venomous snakes in Iowa. Burmese pythons are allowed but require a permit.

Officer Michelle Timm with Cedar Rapids Animal Control didn’t expect to have to wrangle a huge snake before having her morning coffee, but it was all in a day’s work. Animal control officers named the python Sir-hiss-a-lot, perhaps offering a glimpse into how the capture went. But Sir-hiss-a-lot was safely taken into protective custody and held until an honorable — and legal — home could be found.

Illinois is much friendlier than Iowa to people who want to keep reticulated pythons as pets. Sir-hiss-a-lot now has a home there with someone who knows things about snakes. The animal care staff in Iowa wished Sir-hiss-a-lot well in his new home, where he would have “plenty of room to stretch out all … alllll the way out.”

• Read the story: Snake On A Slither-About Gets New Home

‘Bueller? Bueller?’

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is one of those movies that connects generations due to its timeless themes of freedom, individuality, and the importance of savoring rather than rushing through life.

But would you pay $600,000 for the camel and chocolate brown sweater vest actor Matthew Broderick wore on the now infamous day off from school in Chicago on June 5, 1985? The archetypal piece of 1980s American film history is expected to sell in that range in a Sotheby’s auction. Bidding closes in a Sotheby’s auction at 2:01 p.m. ET on June 24.
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“Screen-worn by Matthew Broderick in his legendary title role, the present lot, a camel and chocolate brown sweater vest featuring an almost leopard-print-like pattern of interlocking geometric shapes, is both the most unique item in Bueller’s June 5th ensemble and is today possibly one of the most immediately recognizable film costume pieces from the 1980s,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.

• Read the story: Iconic Vest Worn In 'Ferris Bueller’s Day Off' Up for Auction

A Soirée For An Unlikely Reason

For months, drivers passing through New Jersey on I-80 have encountered traffic delays and detours due to a series of sinkholes that have developed since the collapse of an abandoned mine shaft in December.

Cause for celebration? The residents of a senior living community in Livingston weren’t celebrating the mine collapse at their “Sinkhole Soirée,” but the repair project and the gawkers it’s drawing.

They wore “construction chic” and played games such as Traffic Cone Ring Toss while sipping on Sinkhole Screwdrivers and Detour Daiquiris and showing off their safety savvy in OSHA quizzes.

“The soirée may have poked fun at the chaos, but it also served as a reminder of the resilience and humor that thrive in our community, no matter what’s happening just down the highway,” according to a statement.

• Read the Patch Exclusive: ‘Sinkhole Soirée’ Raises A Detour Daiquiri To I-80 Chaos

Insect Sex Party Underway

Millions of male Brood XIV of the scientifically interesting 17-year periodical cicadas are gleefully singing in 13 states, the refrain in their chorus to go forth and multiply before they die.

Not everyone likes them, which is understandable because they’re lousy flyers and randomly run into things and people in their quest for a mate, and their rotting corpses when their lives are spent leave a stinky mess.

But for others, the emergence of periodical cicadas provides an opportunity for celebrated chefs to experiment in the kitchen, citizen scientists to search for an elusive blue-eyed cicada and just enjoy the phenomena of nature.

They’re evolutionary superheroes. They really are. Scientists don’t fully understand their life cycles, but one theory is the clever bugs devised the evolutionary strategy to outwit predators with two-year life cycles.

• Read the full story: When And Where To See And Hear The Periodical Cicadas

Tourists Can Finally Flush

Lawrence Welk didn’t have a flush toilet where he grew up, but visitors to his childhood home in rural North Dakota now do.

The bandleader’s childhood family home marks the latest step in the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s nearly completed goal of installing flush toilets at its dozen most popular, staffed sites.

The North Dakota group’s goal of replacing pit toilets with flush units may seem like a humble aspiration to some, but it’s an important milestone, said Chris Dorfschmidt, a historic sites manager.

“A lot of our sites are kind of in the middle of nowhere. As I like to put it, history didn't happen where it’s convenient,” he said. “Because of that, if you’ve driven all the way out there, and that’s the best we can do to kind of accommodate you, it’s not the most pleasant experience.”

• Read more: Tourists Can Finally Flush At These Historic Sites

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that pythons are not venomous.