Weird News

Scientists give robots a little life

Scientists are making new developments on robots, in an attempt to humanize them just a little bit more. The latest breakthrough in humanized robots is George, a robot reprogrammed at the Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence. Though scientists are still working on giving George more capabilities, he is currently able to play hide-and-seek. Alan Schultz, a scientist assisting in the development of George, said that though George “doesn’t hide very well, and it takes him longer to find Schultz than vice versa,” the fact that he can play the game at all makes him different than any other robots made before. Scientists also predict that 10 years from now, robots will “roam the health care system,” as well as assist in our homes, making such chores as cleaning a cinch.

Missing woman’s body found behind bookcase

In New Port Richey, Fla., a woman’s body was found wedged upside-down behind a bookcase in the home she shared with relatives after she went missing Nov. 9. Officials from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said Mariesa Weber’s death was “not suspicious.” Weber’s sister found the woman’s body after searching her bedroom and catching sight of the woman’s foot behind the bookshelf. Her family members believe that Weber, 38, who was 5 feet 3 inches tall and 100 pounds, may have fallen headfirst while trying to adjust the television plug behind the 6-foot-tall shelf. The sheriff’s office said that Weber “appeared to have died because she was unable to breathe in the position she was in.”

Man is assaulted with a gumball machine

A 27-year-old man was knocked unconscious Friday night when he was struck with a gumball machine during a fight at a Salinas, Calif., restaurant. According to the Salinas Police Department, numerous gang members got into a fight around 11:13 p.m. Friday during a birthday party being held at Taquitos Mexican Restaurant on Main Street. Authorities said that several people began beating the victim before one of the suspects hit the victim on the head with a gumball machine. The victim was flown to South Valley Medical Center for treatment of head injuries but police say that none of the victim’s injuries are life-threatening.

Creator of LexisNexis Dies

H. Donald Wilson, 82, the developer of the commercial database service LexisNexis, died on Nov. 12 at his home in Mitchellville, Md. Wilson was the first president of Mead Data Central from 1969 to 1973, the company which developed LexisNexis. The database introduced electronic research to law firms and news organizations and though first met with reluctance, it has become the standard for many lawyers’ research. Officials reported that Wilson died from a heart attack in front of his computer.