The Bear(s)
• Over the last year, 13 people have been killed by bears in Japan, with an additional 50,000 sightings recorded. The bears roamed near schools and broke into homes, supermarkets, and resorts. Now, Japanese company Ohta Seiki has come up with a unique solution to the country’s bear problem: robot wolves. Yahoo! News reported on May 13 that orders for the animatronic “Monster Wolf” are up by so much that the waiting list is a few months long. “We make them by hand,” company president Yuji Ohta said. “We cannot make them fast enough now. We are asking our customers to wait two to three months.” The “wolves” are made of pipe frames attached to speakers and covered with artificial fur. They can make up to 50 different sounds, including recorded human voices and electronic noises, and their eyes and tails flash with red and blue LEDs. Orders have come mainly from people who work in rural areas, such as farmers, construction workers, and golf course operators. The wolf apparatus starts at $4,000. [Yahoo! News, 5/13/26]
• Meanwhile, in Tennessee, Gatlinburg police were called upon to free a black bear that had locked itself in a bathroom at a downtown Quality Inn & Suites, Fox News reported on May 11. In the wee hours of the morning on Friday, May 8, a hotel employee called for help because they “observed a bear enter an exterior bathroom and lock itself inside,” according to the police report. When police arrived on the scene, one officer carefully opened the bathroom door while the other beat sticks together to draw the bear out. In the end, the bear ambled out, seemingly unbothered, leaving behind only minor property damage to the tune of $50. [Fox News, 5/11/26]
Seen This Movie Before
Kacy Claassen, 28, was arrested in New York for endangering the welfare of a child, trespassing, and criminal impersonation, Oddity Central reported on May 8. Her crime? Impersonating a 16-year-old and enrolling in Westchester Square Academy in the Bronx. Claassen, who went by the name Shamara Rashad and attended classes for two weeks before she was caught, recently moved to New York from Ohio. Acting on a friend’s suggestion, Claassen donned a teenage persona in hopes of qualifying for more social assistance. Her disguise was uncovered when school officials found her social media profiles, which showed her holding a baby that she referred to as her daughter, and listed Claassen’s birth year as 1997. Claassen was arrested and released and is pleading not guilty to all charges. She was expected back in court on June 15. [Oddity Central, 5/8/26]
Americans Abroad
Two grown women are facing federal charges after getting into a slap fight while on a Carnival Cruise in March, Fox 10 reported on May 13. During their return voyage from the Bahamas, Tonya Nelson, 58, and Lisa Horace, 51, were in line to settle their cruise accounts. Nelson told investigators that she was trying to be helpful when she suggested to Horace and Horace’s husband that they were in the wrong line. According to Horace’s statement, she ignored Nelson, but took action after Nelson kept touching Horace’s husband’s shoulder. Horace said that Nelson threatened to slap her, so she slapped Nelson back. The fight escalated from there, with crew members stepping in to separate the two. The women, who did not know each other before the encounter, were issued federal citations for simple assault. The women report that they have both been banned from Carnival cruises and have lost their Diamond member status. “Things happen sometimes on a crowded ship,” Buzz Jordan, Nelson’s attorney, said. [Fox 10, 5/13/26]
I’m Lovin’ It
Minor League baseball team the Charlotte Knights had an unusual celebrity lend their pipes for the national anthem at a recent game, Fox News reported on May 8. A May 1 Instagram post from the team shared a clip of fast-food chain mascot Ronald McDonald singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The beloved clown also threw the ceremonial first pitch before a Philadelphia Phillies home game against the Texas Rangers on March 28. [Fox News, 5/8/26]
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
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