xxxNews Of The Weirdxxx
Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.
Dutch artist Iepe created the sport of chess boxing, which began in earnest in Amsterdam in November with several matches of six four-minute chess rounds alternating with five two-minute boxing rounds, with victory coming by knockout, checkmate or, if the match goes the distance, judges’ scoring of rounds. Both the Dutch Chess Federation (KNSB) and the Dutch Boxing Federation (NBB) have endorsed the sport, and cards of matches have been scheduled for Berlin and Moscow.
Recent Alarming Headlines:
“Mentally Disabled Taught How to Vote” (a Mainichi Daily News report on how employees at a nursing home in Yokkaiichi, Japan, have for years instructed residents how to print out names of their favorite candidates on ballots) (November).
“Woman Gets Probation for Chasing Kids With Dildo” (a Pottstown, Pa., Mercury report about Linda Schultz, 36, engaging in inexplicable conduct in front of three small children and being referred for psychological counseling) (October).
A man miraculously survived an accidental fall from a ladder onto an 18-inch-long auger bit firmly locked into his drill, penetrating his right eye, nudging his brain, and exiting above his ear (Truckee, Calif., August).
In October, San Francisco artist Jonathon Keats, 32, registered his brain as a sculpture and began selling futures contracts on its 6 billion neurons, offering buyers the rights to any creative products it might produce if science learns how to keep it alive after his death. He also wrote a prospectus for investors, with MRI scans showing the idea-fertility of various brain areas. For now, he is selling inexpensive options ($10) to buy a million neurons for $10,000 when he dies; he sold 71 the first day.
Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla. 33679 or [email protected]
Copyright © 2001 by Chuck Shepherd
NEWS OF THE WEIRD