Weird News

Man attempts his own chainsaw

A Waitsfield, Vt., man was charged on Friday with domestic assault and unlawful mischief for damage to a vehicle among other charges after channeling his inner “Jason” and attacking his girlfriend’s car with a chainsaw.

The man, Brody Burke, 22, allegedly attacked his girlfriend’s car with a chainsaw in a convenience store parking lot while the woman was inside the car. Though the woman was unharmed, according to a prosecutor, Burke also struck a man who tried to intervene during the attack, and kicked two officers during his arrest.

Though Burke pleaded not guilty to domestic assault and other charges, he is currently being held on charges of violating an earlier probation order.

Professor punishes children with ants

In Jackson, Miss., an Alcorn State University professor appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded no contest to one count of felony child abuse for putting ants on his children.

The man, professor Festus Oguhebe, was charged last year with five counts of felony child abuse after disciplining his children, ages 7 to 15, by putting ants on them. According to Oguhebe’s attorney, Robert Smith, Oguhebe’s disciplinary actions had stemmed from his “concern” after his child had received a bad report from school. “He believes in academic excellence and was concerned about that,” Smith said.

Smith also said that in exchange for a no-contest plea, Oguhebe’s four other counts of child abuse were dropped. Oguhebe’s children are currently in the custody of his ex-wife.

Sword-toting robber forgets his loot

In Perth, Australia, a robber armed with an ornamental sword was caught by police on Friday when he returned to the service station he had just robbed after realizing that he had left the bag of money behind.

The 20-year-old man entered a service station in South Perth around 1:30 a.m., wielding an ornamental sword while demanding money and cigarettes. After the attendant placed the money from the till and cigarettes into a bag, the thief fled across the Canning Highway before realizing he had left his loot in the store. The robber then returned to find the door locked and pleaded with the attendant to let him back in to retrieve the bag. After the attendant refused, the offender fled again but was caught by police several streets away, still with sword in hand. He has been charged with two counts of armed robbery.

Children in the UK can’t find themselves

According to research done by National Geographic Kids, fewer than two thirds of children could correctly locate the U.S. Even more alarmingly, one in five British children cannot find the U.K. on a map of the world.

The magazine, which set out to highlight “gaps in children’s geographical knowledge” for its U.K. launch, questioned more than 1,000 6 to 14-year-olds, finding that several children in London did not know it was the capital of the U.K. The magazine’s statistics also revealed that boys had “slightly better” geographical skills than girls, with 65 percent being able to locate various countries around the world compared to 63 percent of girls.

National Geographic Kids also discovered that Scottish children were able to better identify countries on a world map, with 67 percent.

In response, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers have dismissed the magazine’s findings as “nonsense.”