News of the Weird: Ho-ho-ho-no: Santa left hanging six stories up

One of Santa’s helpers had to be rescued off the side of a building, reported USA Today on Dec. 10. Firefighters were called to the scene of the Holiday Extravaganza in Norwalk, Conn., when a man dressed as Santa Claus got stuck 60 feet off the ground. The man was rappelling down the 13-story building when part of his costume became entangled in the rigging. The rescue crew pulled him to safety through a 6th-floor window; no injuries were reported.

A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, who lives at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, laid what experts believe to be her 60th egg recently, her first in four years. Wisdom is 74 years old, the Associated Press reported on Dec. 6. “We are optimistic that the egg will hatch,” said Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at the refuge. Eggs typically incubate for about two months.

Someone in Bend, Ore., has been putting googly eyes on public artwork, reported the Sacramento Bee on Dec. 8. At least eight statues and sculptures have been “enhanced” so far, and city officials are none too pleased. “While the googly eyes placed on the various art pieces around town might give you a chuckle, it costs money to remove them with care to not damage the art,” read a Dec. 4 post on the city’s Instagram page. The city claims to have spent $1,500 on repairs so far. However, the comments on the city’s post were decidedly pro-whimsy: “These googly eyes give me the hope to move forward each day,” read one. Others included: “Let us have some fun” and the hard-to-argue-with “LONG LIVE GOOGLY EYES!”

An organized crime investigation in Italy yielded 24 arrests, but one suspect stands out: Sister Anna Donelli. The BBC reported on Dec. 4 that a sting operation by the Italian police caught the nun using her position as a volunteer at a prison to relay messages and info between the notorious ‘Ndrangheta mafia and its incarcerated members. Donelli surely will have company as she awaits trial; the police operation, which involves hundreds of officers, is ongoing across northern Italy.

Here’s some news to help you replenish your stock of nightmare fuel. The Indian Express reported that a man in Stellenbosch, South Africa, found a surprise under his bedroom pillow when he returned home in late November: a live cape cobra. The man called Stellenbosch Snake Removals, who posted a video clip on Nov. 24 on Facebook of the removal by snake wrangler Emile Rossouw. The company called the highly venomous snake “by far our most dangerous cobra,” and said “with the Black Mamba it accounts for the majority of fatal snake bites in South Africa.” Sleep tight.

A Chicago middle schooler brought some goose droppings to science club -- and landed in the middle of a biomedical breakthrough. The club is supervised by researchers from the University of Illinois as part of an initiative to “involve young learners in the search for new antibiotics,” reported ScienceAlert on Dec. 5. Students were instructed to “explore their neighborhood for new bioactive compounds.” Hence, goose poop from a park. With the help of the pros, the student safely isolated a bacterium from the droppings that showed antibiotic activity — an incredibly rare and important feat, say the experts. Not only that, but the bacterium also produced a never-before-seen compound that, in lab tests, slowed the growth of certain cancer cells. The student is now listed as a co-author of the peer-reviewed paper on the discoveries.

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