It's as certain as the day is long that stupid people will do some pretty stupid things. This is the page that brings attention to those such people and their actions. Feel free to take in the laughter with us and read along for the "Nozzle of the Day!"
In a very big "oops," Mattel apparently accidentally left just one teeny, tiny, rather critical word off a URL printed on the packaging for some of its dolls-and the resulting URL directed customers to a porn website. As TMZ explains, the dolls involved are characters from the upcoming big-screen version of the popular Broadway musical Wicked, and the URL was supposed to point to the film's website, WickedMovie.com. Instead, the word "movie" was left off, and the resulting URL pointed to a very different, X-rated website. Mattel quickly apologized for the error and pulled the dolls from store shelves. By Sunday afternoon, the entire line of dolls had been pulled from Target stores, and Mattel was working on pulling affected dolls from other retailers. "Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the US, which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page," reads a statement from the toy company cited by the Guardian. "We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel customer service for further information." (Newser)
A Colorado couple has been hit with misdemeanor charges after authorities say they trespassed and swiped historical artifacts from an old-time cowboy camp at Utah's Canyonlands National Park. The Washington Post reports that the US attorney's office in the Beehive State announced this week that 43-year-old Dusty Spencer and 39-year-old Roxanne McKnight, both of Durango, were identified as the park visitors who breached barriers to get into the Cave Spring cowboy camp. "This historic camp was protected by fencing and clear warnings prohibiting visitors from entering the area, which McKnight and Spencer disregarded," a release from the US attorney's office notes. Per USA Today, the cowboy camp contains various artifacts from similar camps set up by pioneer cattle ranchers from the late 1800s to around 1975. "Many original items left by the cowboys remain," the park says on its website. Court documents say that Spencer and McKnight not only entered the camp without permission-they also allegedly touched antique cabinetry and horse tack that they weren't supposed to and swiped government property, specifically antique nails that had been displayed. McKnight tells the Post that the charges came as a "complete shock." She says she doesn't remember seeing any signage telling people to stay out of the camp, which she notes she'd visited many times as a kid with her dad. She also says she considers the place "sacred" and wouldn't have boosted any artifacts from it. "I can say with 100% confidence that I did not take anything from that site," she says. "In the past, I have been the one telling friends ... 'No, you can't take that shard, that belongs to the land.'" The couple has been charged with theft of government property of less than $1,000; possessing or distributing cultural or archaeological resources; and walking on or entering an archaeological or cultural resource. (Newser)
The pilot of a small plane in a fatal crash on California's Santa Catalina Island last month was not supposed to be flying at night, and a new NTSB report provides some answers on what happened. The Beechcraft 95-B44 airplane crashed shortly after taking off about 8pm on October 8, killing five, reports the Los Angeles Times. Nighttime takeoffs are not permitted from the island's tiny airport because it has no lights or air traffic controllers. The pilot initially planned on taking off before sundown, but the plane's right engine didn't have enough battery power, according to the National Transportation Safety Board report. Because the charging delay would push the takeoff to after sundown, "the airport manager advised him that, while he could not stop him, his departure would be unapproved and at his own risk," the report states. The pilot, 73, died along with the other four people on board. (Newser)
A man was criminally charged Sunday after he allegedly attempted to teach his 9-year-old son how to drive a vehicle and was run over, Toledo police said. According to a police report, 36-year-old Clejuan Williams was attempting to teach his 9-year-old child how to back out of a driveway at approximately 10:50 a.m. In a court document, authorities claimed Williams was intoxicated at the time of the incident. Williams was standing in the door jamb while his child sat in the driver's seat. The child did not know which pedal to press and pressed the gas pedal instead of the brakes, police said. Williams was knocked down and dragged beneath the car. First responders transported Williams to the hospital. His condition is unknown. Court records state Williams was charged with endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was also cited for traffic violations. (WTOL)
A New Jersey man is facing charges after calling 911 on someone who lit a scented candle indoors, according to police. Alfredo Gonzalez, 34, was charged on Wednesday with making false public alarm/misuse of a 9-1-1 emergency line by the Guttenberg Police Department, per a release. According to police, "Mr. Gonzalez expressed concern over the lighting of an in-door scented candle" to the Public Safety Office at the Guttenberg Police Department. Gonzalez also allegedly called 911, fabricating the need for a fire department response to a "non-emergency," and an EMS response for a mental health evaluation on the individual who had lit the candle. According to police, he had "fabricated mental health concerns to urge the response further." After the recorded 911 calls had been collected and reviewed, Gonzalez was investigated for the fourth-degree crimes of false public alarm/misuse of a 9-1-1 emergency line and a complaint warrant was issued for his arrest. Gonzalez continued making "non-emergent" complaints to 911 following the investigation, regarding his concerns over parking. Guttenberg police could then apprehend the 34-year-old on his active complaint warrant. (Fox News)
A 23-year-old woman living in Japan saw a convenience store robbery as an opportunity to subdue a shoplifter using a technique she learned from watching anime. On September 16, Karin Ryo walked into Tsurumi Ward, a convenience store in Yokohama, Japan, unaware that her shopping trip would soon make her a local hero. Shortly after entering the store, a man attempted to steal a six-pack of beer, resulting in a violent confrontation with the store clerk. Ryo, who has never trained as a fighter, instinctively intervened, grabbing the man's legs and bringing him to the ground. Then she swiftly put the thief in a headlock, a move she attributes to the many anime shows she watches. "I've never done martial arts. I took tea ceremony lessons," Ryo told Sora News 24. "I like anime, so I just sort of imitated what I've seen in it." During the struggle, the man tried biting Ryo's arm to escape her hold, but had little luck. Her grip never let up and Ryo was able to keep the man in that position until police arrived. "At the time, I wasn't scared, it felt like my body was just moving on its own," Ryo said. Following the altercation, the Tsurumi Police praised Ryo for her heroism in a letter of commendation, which they only send to thank individuals for courageous or helpful acts. (Latin Times)
A woman discovered her house had been broken into by a burglar who hung out her washing, put her shopping away and cooked a meal on her stove. Damian Wojnilowicz, 36, was jailed for 22 months at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday for carrying out the unusual burglary. The woman said she was was left too scared to stay in her own home after returning from work to find items had been moved in the garden and her recycling bin had been emptied. The burglar left her a note saying: "Don't worry, be happy, eat up and scratch." The court also heard the bird feeders had been refilled and plant pots had been moved. Inside the house, a pair of shoes had been removed from packaging, which was placed in the recycling bin. Prosecutor Alice Sykes said a meal had been cooked using items from the woman's cupboard. Shopping had been taken from a bag and placed in the fridge, which had been rearranged. Kitchen utensils had been placed in the bin, and new ones from the shopping bag had been laid out. And toothbrush heads had been replaced on toothbrushes, an empty bottle of wine had been placed in a rack having been drunk, and the floor had been cleaned with a mop and bucket left out. The victim also saw a bottle of red wine had been left out next to a glass and bottle opener, and there was a bowl of sweets on the living room table. In a victim personal statement, the female victim said: "Two weeks after the crime until he was caught, I was living in a state of heightened anxiety I had never experienced before. "I wondered if it was somebody who knew me, if it was going to turn into a stalking incident, if he knew I lived alone and if I had been targeted. "I was too scared to stay in my own home and stayed with a friend." (BBC)
Thinking before you speak publicly is an important skill. Idaho State Sen. Dan Foreman, a conservative Republican, apparently did not get the memo. As Boise State Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, reported on Thursday, a "meet the candidates" forum was held on Tuesday evening in Kendrick, a town with a population of about 300. Foreman attended, as did others running for District 6 state House and Senate seats. (Idaho has 35 legislative districts, each with one senator and two representatives.) After Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democrat running for a House seat, pointed out that discrimination and racism exist in Idaho, Foreman reportedly lost his temper and told her to "go back where you came from." Among the various problems with that statement, Carter-Goodheart happens to be a member of the Nez Perce tribe, which has a reservation smack in the middle of District 6. She was where she came from. Foreman, as the radio piece noted, was born in Illinois. (motherjones.com)
The man who found a $26,000 gold treasure hidden in western Massachusetts says he had a leg up on the competition: "meteorology skills." As a meteorologist, Dan Leonard says he paid close attention to readings of temperature and cloud cover visible on a live trail camera showing the gold trophy concealed somewhere in a deciduous forest, per WCVB. Video game developer Jason Rohrer and graphic artist Tom Bailey, creators of the treasure hunt dubbed Project Skydrop, announced the trophy was hidden within a 500-mile radius in the Northeast on Sept. 19 before narrowing the circle every subsequent day. Leonard used temperature readings to narrow his search to eastern Franklin County and northwestern Worcester County. Then, when the trail camera showed sunny conditions, Leonard would eliminate areas with cloud cover. And vice-versa. "You just do this over and over and over again and then pretty soon my circle starts to shrink really down," he tells WCVB. On Tuesday afternoon, Leonard took a fateful walk in Massachusetts' Wendell State Forest, initially passing within inches of the trophy without seeing it. "Then I saw it and I just said, 'Wow,'" he notes. "The gold of the trophy with the gold of the leaves that were on the ground, you had to really have a keen eye." The trophy, made of 10 ounces of 24-karat yellow gold, holds the key to a Bitcoin wallet worth $87,600, funded by participants in the hunt, though there's been talk that Leonard should be blocked from receiving the prize because of a possible rule violation. The meteorologist and new father didn't comment on that Thursday, though he did say, "It's the Bitcoin that's supposedly the real prize. But honestly, the trophy itself is amazing. I mean, it's just a beautiful work of art." Another 20 participants who submitted the closest guesses as to the trophy's location stand to receive a $100 prize. (Newser)
They say "you can't take it with you." But a local apartment complex says you better pay up before you go. It sent a bill to the family of one of its former tenants charging her for breaking her lease when she died. The woman's children received a bill from the apartment complex for $15,676 and a collection notice, despite a Texas law that says family members can cancel a lease if a loved one passes away. "The fact that they're attacking, coming after the next of kin, who quite honestly, we loved our mom and we're still grieving and all they care about is the money," said David Naterman, the woman's son. 91-year-old Sandra Bonilla died in late June and was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery next to her husband. For more than ten years she lived at the Lodge at Shavano Park Apartments. At the time of her death, Bonilla had almost a year left on her two-year lease. "We went to the apartment complex, spoke to the leasing manager and he told us that he would use the security deposit towards the cleaning and turning over the apartment and that they would terminate the lease," Naterman said. But later the family received this bill for $14,368 in "accelerated rent" and an $1,117 lease break fee. It even states the reason for her move-out as "deceased." Bill Clanton, an attorney who specializes in consumer and debt collection law, says a section of the Texas Property Code (sec. 92.0162) states a representative of the tenant's estate may "avoid liability for future rent" if they take two steps: Remove all property from the apartment and provide a written notice of termination. The landlord can only charge up to 30 days rent after the notice is received. "The landlord can charge for about 30 days once the lease is terminated, you can't get blood from a turnip and you certainly can't get rent from a dead person," Clanton said. (News 4 San Antonio)
A woman who faced eviction after complaints about noise from her three emotional support parrots has been awarded enough money to buy plenty of crackers for Layla, Ginger, and Curtis. The Rutherford, a co-operative apartment building in Manhattan, has agreed to pay $165,000 to Meril Lesser in what the Justice Department says is the largest settlement of its kind. Lesser moved into the Rutherford with two parrots in 1999, and there were no complaints until March 2015, five months after she bought a third parrot. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection visited the building 15 times in the year after the neighbor's complaint and found no violations. The co-op "never conducted any decibel testing or other objective evaluation of the alleged noise complaints," the Justice Department said in a news release. The Rutherford "never retained the services of a noise prevention consultant, architect, engineer, or anyone with qualifications or experience in soundproofing to address the neighbor's complaint." Lesser has anxiety and depression. In a federal lawsuit, prosecutors said the birds "soothe and comfort" Lesser, helping her deal with panic attacks, the Post reports. She included a letter from her psychiatrist in a March 2016 request to be allowed to keep the parrots, but the co-op began eviction proceedings in May that year. She moved out, sublet the apartment, and submitted a complaint to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She put the unit up for sale, but in what prosecutors said was an act of retaliation, the co-op rejected an application to buy it in 2019 for $467,500. Under the consent decree signed by a judge last week, the co-op has to offer Lesser $585,000 for her shares in the co-op. The co-op-which chose to go to court instead of settling the case--also has to "adopt a reasonable accommodation policy regarding requests for assistance animals" and halt eviction proceedings. The Justice Department said this is the largest monetary recovery the government has secured "for a victim of housing discrimination denied the right to an assistance animal." (Newser)
A Connecticut woman earned two Guinness World Records by covering 99.98% of her body in tattoos and having 89 body modifications. Esperance Lumineska Fuerzina, 36, of Bridgeport, was awarded the records for the most tattooed person (female) and the most body modifications (female). Fuerzina has 40 more body modifications than the previous record-holder, Maria Jose Cristerna, who set the record with 49 body mods in 2012. Fuerzina said she got her first tattoo, which has since been covered up, about 15 years ago, and her first body modification, a split tongue, 10 years ago. Her body modifications include several body piercings, as well as tissue-stretching mods and tattoos on her eyeballs gums. She said her journey is not yet complete. "In terms of my body being covered, it is still hard to imagine a set ending," she said. "For many years, now, I've been moving towards more cohesiveness in my suit and that is still an aim of mine." (UPI)
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