News of the Weird: Week of 10/01/26

A Bat for Breakfast

Dr. Krista Edelman of Virginia woke up around 6 a.m. on August 20th to find a bat attempting to get inside of her mouth, WWBT reported. “I was dreaming that there was a little mouse trying to get into my mouth,” Edelman said. “And then in my dream, I was reaching up to my mouth. And when I did, I grabbed something and ultimately, I had folded the bat’s wings back.” She began screaming, waking her husband, who — armed with mittens, a plastic net and a bucket — captured the bat. After the ordeal was over and animal control had whisked the bat away, Edelman cleaned her mouth and went to work seeing patients. However, after speaking to an infectious disease doctor about the risk of rabies — which is fatal if untreated — and learning about the high incidence of it in her area, she went to St. Mary’s Hospital, where she started a vaccine series. When the bat tested negative for the illness a few days later, Edelman ended her treatment. [WWBT, 8/26/26]

Operation Care Bear

Can we all agree that it’s been unbearably hot this summer? That could be what sent a mother bear and her cubs into a large water storage tank in La Verne, California, on August 29th, as reported by KABC. Officials say the animals were probably seeking water when they squeezed through a 1-foot opening in the concrete structure, only to get trapped inside for at least 12 hours. Three nearby residents found the animals after hearing whimpering sounds during a morning run. “We climbed up top (of the tank), and there’s a small hole and right away we see a bear staring at us, kind of holding on to the walls because it was full of water,” said Jamie Kirk, one of the runners. State wildlife officials drained water from the tank, then city and county firefighters cut a larger hole in the structure and lowered a ladder for the bears to climb. “They were exhausted, so it took a few minutes,” said Keith Navarre with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Ultimately, “Operation Care Bear” was successful, with mom and cubs making their way back into the wild. [KABC 7, 8/30/26]

The Case of the Disappearing Island 

A floating mass of trees in the Williston Reservoir in British Columbia has sparked speculation of a disappearing island. The mass — estimated to be almost as large as two American football fields — was first spotted by satellite imagery in July, then seemed to disappear. On September 1st, CBC reported that according to imagery from August 15th, the mass had reappeared and was resting along shore near where the Ospika River flows into the reservoir. Electric utility company B.C. Hydro has been keeping tabs on the mass and says the floating trees are intact and not causing any trouble. “We will monitor this just to see what happens, whether it breaks apart and if we then have a debris field instead of one big chunk, that may cause us to take some other action,” spokesperson Bob Gammer said. [CBC, 9/1/26]

Caught on Camera

Kiante Matlock of Houston had a rude awakening when he checked his Ring camera on August 24th, Fox 26 reported. Matlock was playing a video game when he got a notification that his DoorDash order had arrived. When he checked his Ring camera, he saw his delivery driver was in his birthday suit. In the buff. Naked as a jaybird. Matlock threw his food away and asked DoorDash for a refund, which they promptly issued. In a statement, a DoorDash spokesperson called the driver’s behavior “vulgar and completely unacceptable.” “What this consumer experienced was abhorrent, and we’ve reached out directly to offer our support,” they said. “Our team permanently removed [the driver’s] access to our platform. We do not tolerate sexual harassment or misconduct of any kind, and we stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation.”
[Fox 26, 8/27/26]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
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