News of the Weird: Shipping mishap will test students' patience

College dreams were scattered across a highway in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 28 when a UPS truck lost its load of SAT tests that had been completed on Oct. 27 at El Paso High School, KTSM-TV reported. Senior class vice president Santiago Gonzalez said the school called a meeting to discuss the lost tests. All but 55 of them were recovered; the College Board is working with those students to set a retest date. Not only will those students have to retake the high-stress test, but the lost tests pose identity theft dangers, student body president Zyenna Martinez said. "[The tests] have all of our identification and information ... where we live, our address, our date of birth ... and it stinks because our identity is out there right now."

Nurse Mary K. Brown, 38, of Durand, Wis., faces multiple charges after she amputated the foot of a man under her care and told coworkers that she planned to put it on display in her family's taxidermy shop, WQOW-TV reported. Brown was working as a hospice nurse at Spring Valley Health and Rehab Center, where she cared for a patient suffering from severe frostbite on his feet. Brown, who is not authorized to perform surgery, took it upon herself to remove the victim's right foot — without a doctor's order or the patient's permission. Another nurse, who held the victim's hand during the procedure, said he was moaning and squeezing her hand, and he told a third nurse that he could feel the surgery and it hurt very bad. Brown has been charged with several crimes, including performing an illegal operation and elder abuse, and is due in court on Dec. 6.

German collector Alexander Smoljanovic is on the hunt for a special item to complete his collection, Metro News reported. Smoljanovic wants a purple Sulo 240-liter wheeled trash can, available only in the United Kingdom, to round out his collection of more than 100 full-size wheeled cans. "I have miniatures and real wheelie bins from USA, Australia, France, U.K. and Germany," he said. He hopes for a donation, but he's willing to pay for the elusive purple wheelie.

Dustin Procita lives in rural Northern California among cattle ranches and farms. On the evening of Nov. 4, Procita "heard a big bang" and went onto his porch to find it engulfed in flames," he told KCRA-TV. Procita believes the fire was caused by a meteorite landing on his house. Video taken by people nearby shows a bright ball of light falling from the sky; the Taurid meteor showers were happening in that area when the fire occurred. Procita said he might have to buy a lottery ticket: "They said it's a 1-in-4 trillion chance" of a meteorite hitting his house.

Two unnamed thieves stole merchandise from the Ross Dress for Less store in Springfield, Mo., on Nov. 5, KY3-TV reported. They apparently then hopped into separate cars to make their getaway — and crashed into each other, leaving neither car operable. They'll face misdemeanor theft charges.

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