News of the Weird

Compiled and Ridiculed by Joel Frady

Bowl of chili
When two men broke into the home of 58-year-old Wanda Bray of Tazewell, Tenn., they were probably looking for something more valuable than a bowl of chili. But chili was all the men got, however, as Bray confronted the men and began to throw kitchen items.

According to the Claiborne County Sheriff's Department, Bray began throwing items at the men - including a bowl of chili - and then chased after the men with a broom.

The men fled, but police later arrested three men and charged them with both the bungled home robbery and a convenience store hold-up. Police noted that the men demanded drugs from Bray - but probably wanted more than the bottle of blood pressure pills they obtained.

Bray told police that she believes the chili is what saved her.

"People always think it's just so funny when someone gets whacked with a bowl of chili," she said. "Then I hit them with one, and now they know that it's just hot, painful and high in protein."

Headless president
On Thursday, May 14, a sandstone statue of James Garfield, 20th president of the United States, was dedicated at Hiram College in Ohio. By Friday morning, the statue had lost its head.

Police said they hope to recover the head but currently have no leads. Garfield was a student at the school in the mid-1800s and later became the school's principal.

Police also said that it will be hard to establish leads in the case since anyone with a grudge against Garfield is long gone, but noted that they believe that the crime was perpetrated by either fans of The Simpsons or disgruntled Heathcliff supporters

Held at banana-point
17-year-old John Szwalla entered 109 Biz Center in Winston-Salem on Thursday, May 14, and asked owner Bobby Ray Mabe for a Mountain Dew. He then showed Mabe what appeared to be a gun underneath his shirt and demanded cash.

Mabe wasn't interested in Szwalla's offer, and he instead grabbed the would-be robber with the help of a customer. They held Szwalla down until police arrived.

During the wait, Szwalla got hungry - and ate the banana. Police on the scene joked about charging the teenager with destroying evidence in addition to the count of attempted armed robbery he already faced.

When asked about the case, Szwalla's attorney said "a banana might have caused this trouble, but he's in quite a pickle."

Sour deal
Authorities in Daytona Beach, Fla., reported that two men called 9-1-1 on Monday, May 18, to report that they had been robbed. Not an unusual call - until they went into the details of the robbery.

The two men told police that they were robbed as they tried to purchase 20 pounds of marijuana, claiming they went to a home with $12,000 to make the purchase. When they arrived at the home, two men jumped them and drove off with their money.

The victims then entered their vehicle in an attempt to follow the vehicle, at which point one of the men called police. Authorities visited the house, arrested a 34-year-old man and charged him with robbery.

Daytona police said that these type of calls aren't as rare as one would imagine, citing a 2007 incident in which a hit man called police after he was shot by his target.