Monopoly game breaks out in mayhem

A get out of jail free card won't be of any help to two men who were arrested when a Monopoly game got out of hand in Belgium on April 2, Sky News reported. Four people were playing the game outside their home when a neighboring man and his son, apparently annoyed by the players, came outside with a stick and a Japanese samurai sword in a sheath. A scuffle ensued, and the sword came out of its sheath; police said two men — one of the players and the son — were injured by the weapon. The Monopoly player was later discharged from the hospital, but the son was reported to be in critical condition. Both men have been arrested.

Over the past several months, Don and Nancy Powell have been puzzling over uninvited inhabitants of their fancy mailbox in Orchard Lake, Mich. USA Today reported that in August 2022, two small dolls, a miniature couch and a small table appeared in the mailbox, which is custom-built to resemble the Powells' home, with windows and a solar-powered interior light that comes on at night. The dolls were accompanied by a note: "We've decided to live here. Mary and Shelley."

Powell thought a neighbor was behind the prank, but after exhaustive investigatory work, he's no closer to knowing the source of the figures. Over time, the home gained a four-poster bed, a dog, a rug and art for the wall. At Halloween, Mary and Shelley were replaced by skeleton dolls dressed in black, and at Christmas, tiny, wrapped gifts appeared. Powell is thinking of writing a children's book about the mailbox mystery. "I think it creates a novel story," he said.

Northern Railway in England has made an unusual appeal to its riders: Please stop watching porn on the train. The Mirror reported that Northern provides "Friendly Wi-fi," which meets (apparently the bare) minimum filtering standards. Tricia Williams, chief operating officer, said people should remember that "some content is not suitable for everyone to see or hear — particularly children." Commuters were told they should "wait until you get home" to call up such things.

Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, told CNN on April 18 that a toddler was able to breach the fence around the White House, setting off security alarms. The "curious young visitor" crawled through the fence posts on the north side and was quickly apprehended by Secret Service police officers, who reunited him with his parents. Perhaps he's considering a bid for 2052.

A batch of ale originally brewed to celebrate King Edward VIII's coronation in 1937 will hit the auction block, Sky News reported. Edward abdicated the throne before his coronation in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The Coronation Ale went into storage until it was uncovered in 2011. Several crates of the 86-year-old beer will be auctioned off to mark King Charles III's coronation next week. The brewer, Greene King, says the beer is no longer drinkable and the bottles will just be collectors' items.

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