Truth Is Stranger Than Netflix
On July 19, 36-year-old Stephen Blasetti allegedly stole a boat and took it for a joyride on the Hudson River in New York, WABC-TV reported. Blasetti, notably, wasn’t wearing any clothes when he committed the theft, for which he was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and reckless endangerment. He was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia in New York for a psychiatric evaluation, but early on July 23, Blasetti slipped out of his handcuffs as the police officer guarding him slept, borrowed a doctor’s lab coat, and left the hospital. He was last seen on surveillance video walking down a sidewalk, barefooted. [WABC, 7/23/2025]
Ewwwww!
Leanna Coy, a flight attendant based in Connecticut, couldn’t help but share the yuck factor after she made a discovery on the floor of a plane, the New York Post reported on July 24. “Those are toenails,” she captioned a TikTok post. “The passenger clipped their toenails mid-flight and left them.” Commenters had no empathy for the long-in-the-toenail flyer: “No-fly list!” said one. “What dirtbag did this?” asked another. [NY Post, 7/24/2025]
Great Art
People magazine reported on July 24 that 33-year-old Jane Labowitch of Maryland is making a living, and a name for herself, with her Etch-a-Sketch art. Labowitch’s subjects include Russia’s St. Basil’s Cathedral and Grant Wood’s American Gothic. She said when she was little, her grandmother wouldn’t let her watch TV as much as she wanted, so with her Etch-a-Sketch, she just “started from staircases.” She hopes the classic toy “isn’t going anywhere. I think that it’s got a lot left to give the world.” [People, 7/24/2025]
Suspicions Confirmed
On July 23 in Tallahassee, Florida, police took a famous mouse into custody: Chuck E. Cheese. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Mr. Cheese, aka Jermell Jones, had been fingered as the person who stole a patron’s credit card in June and made fraudulent purchases with it. When police arrived at the famous restaurant, Jones, wearing his giant costume mouse head, was handcuffed and escorted out the front door in front of patrons young and old. Officers found the stolen credit card in his possession. [Tallahassee Democrat, 7/24/2025]
Fine Points of the Law
When a certain intern started her summer job at Sidley Austin in New York City, she made her mark by biting another employee — for which she was not immediately fired, Inc. magazine reported on July 28. Nope, the law firm tolerated the behavior through five victims, presumably because the biter was “otherwise personable and there was some reluctance to elevate the matter.” However, employment attorney Dan Schwartz said that even if she has a disability that compels her to bite other people, “The ADA does not protect an employee at the expense of another employee.” Vampire lawyers, indeed. [Inc., 7/28/2025]
Wait, What?
As Albert Cutler was driving home from church on July 27, he noticed a bald eagle flying over the highway in Okauchee Lake, Wisconsin. The eagle was carrying a fish — until it wasn’t, and as Cutler watched the fish fall, he wondered if he had hit it with his car, Fox6-TV reported. Upon arriving home, Cutler’s daughter located the fish, stuck in the grill of his truck. The largemouth bass went into the family’s fridge, and Cutler said it’s the “biggest bass” he’s ever caught. [Fox6, 7/27/2025]
Irony
The U.S. Coast Guard’s newest recruiting office is open — in Omaha, Nebraska. KETV reported on July 19 that the USCG’s goal is to increase its workforce by 15,000 over the next few years, so they’re heading inland. The Omaha office will serve a landlocked region including parts of Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas. “If we’re not here, then [people] have to travel hundreds of miles, sometimes get on a plane to go to a recruiting office,” said Gregory Watson, recruiter in charge. [KETV, 7/19/2025]
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
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