Buzz
Here’s a roundup of some of the weirdest and most intriguing stories that made the news this week. If you missed the previous offbeat edition, you can check it out here.
This week, we delve into some unusual crimes, from chilling historical child sacrifices to a strange feud between the wives of two pastors. The Holiday Bandit has been caught, and a TV helicopter unknowingly uncovered a rooftop marijuana farm.
In non-crime news, scientists have discovered a new mineral and are in awe of a peculiar planet. Meanwhile, an island is on the hunt for a Napoleon lookalike, and a man spends a small fortune on a single beer.
10. Sacrifices for El Nino
Archaeologists in South America have made a chilling yet significant discovery in Peru—the world’s largest child sacrifice site.
Research teams have been excavating near the coastal town of Huanchaco since last year. During this time, they have unearthed the skeletal remains of 227 children, ranging in age from four to fourteen, and it seems more will be found. Chief archaeologist Feren Castillo from the National University of Trujillo described the situation as “uncontrollable,” noting that with every dig, another skeleton surfaces.
The victims were from the Chimu civilization. Experts believe these sacrifices were conducted in a desperate attempt to appease the gods during a time when El Nino ravaged the Peruvian coast. The remains were all positioned facing the ocean, and there is evidence suggesting they were killed during heavy rains.
The story becomes even more unsettling. Surviving tiny footprints suggest that the children were led to their tragic fate from the grand, ancient city of Chan Chan. Lesions on their breastbones indicate they were slain with a blade, possibly a ceremonial knife. Their rib cages were then dislocated, potentially to remove their hearts.
9. Bathtub Opera
Opera enthusiasts in Prague had a one-of-a-kind experience last Thursday evening—Mozart’s Don Giovanni was performed on the rooftop of the Lucerna Palace in the heart of the historic city center, with the audience enjoying the show while seated in bathtubs.
The idea was conceived by cafe owner Ondrej Kobza, known for his love of presenting culture in creative and unconventional ways. This particular concept came from a play on words—in Czech, “Don Giovanni” can be rearranged to “John do vany,” which translates to “John into the tub.”
The performance featured select arias rather than the full opera but was delivered by top-tier opera singers, including Vienna Opera soloist Adam Plachetka, who relished the chance to take part in something truly unprecedented. Attendees arrived in formal evening wear but were more than willing to get wet for this unique experience. Thankfully, the water was warm, and the weather cooperated with a pleasant evening.
8. Wanted: French Emperor. Suit Provided
The tourism board of Saint Helena is seeking a Napoleon lookalike to participate in several events leading up to the 200th anniversary of the emperor’s death in the coming years.
Saint Helena, a small British overseas territory in the South Atlantic with a population of just over 4,500, is best known for being the location where the renowned French emperor spent his final years in exile and passed away in 1821. Naturally, Napoleon is central to the island’s tourism, and officials are looking for a skilled impersonator to take part in events over the next two years, culminating in a grand bicentennial celebration.
The ideal candidate should be of shorter stature, male, well-groomed, and capable of interacting with people at all levels, including dignitaries. Additionally, the applicant must be able to fit into the Napoleon suit already provided by the tourism board. Saint Helena previously had a different impersonator, but he has since left the role. The deadline for applications is September 27.
7. The Holiday Bandit Is Caught
New York authorities have finally apprehended the notorious “Holiday Bandit,” a criminal believed to have been behind a decade-long series of burglaries targeting luxury apartments in Manhattan. The culprit has been identified as 81-year-old Samuel Sabatino from Florida.
As New Yorkers flocked to warmer destinations, Sabatino would drive up from Florida to target their empty apartments. He was cautious and methodical in his approach, staking out buildings before breaking in and always paying in cash to avoid leaving a trace. His main targets were affluent neighborhoods in the Upper West and Upper East Sides. After picking locks, he would steal small, high-value items like watches and jewelry.
Sabatino’s crime spree came to an end when he failed to slip past a doorman, who reported him to the authorities. Investigators believe he’s stolen around $400,000 in goods since 2014. Additionally, they suspect his involvement in other crimes spanning the last decade, and they’re continuing to connect him to multiple burglaries.
6. The Real Pastor Wives Of Oak Hill
The feud between two pastor’s wives took a dangerous turn when one of them was arrested after accidentally firing her gun during a heated argument.
Melinda Frye Toney (pictured above) is married to Earl Toney, the pastor at New Life Apostolic Church in Oak Hill, West Virginia. Lori Haywood is married to David Haywood, the youth pastor at the same church. For reasons unknown, these two women do not get along.
According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, the pastors thought it would be a good idea to bring their wives together at the church, hoping they could settle their differences in front of others.
However, this idea backfired when the women got into an argument—this time over the T-shirt Haywood was wearing. Annoyed, Melinda Toney stormed out of the church and went to her car to retrieve her handgun. As she was heading back into the church, her husband tried to intervene and take the weapon from her. During the struggle, the gun discharged once.
Melinda Toney was arrested, though the specific charges she may face remain unclear. While Haywood claims she was the intended target, the surveillance footage does not show the pastor’s wife aiming the weapon at her before it discharged.
5. I Spy With My Camera Eye
Catalan police seized several marijuana plants after a helicopter filming a cycling race inadvertently broadcasted images revealing a rooftop weed plantation in a residential area.
The Vuelta a Espana is underway, a 21-day race that takes cyclists through Spain, France, and Andorra. On Saturday, during the eighth stage, the racers were speeding through Igualada, a town northwest of Barcelona. A helicopter crew, capturing stunning aerial views of the race, also unknowingly filmed the surrounding buildings.
Sharp-eyed viewers quickly noticed that a rooftop was covered with large, bushy plants, which were unmistakably marijuana. Officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra regional force launched a raid and confiscated over 40 plants, although they are still working to identify the owner. The terrace wasn’t connected to any apartments, meaning multiple people could have had access to the roof.
4. Victory For Maurice
A French court ruled in favor of Maurice the rooster on Thursday, bringing an end to a two-year-long dispute over whether the bird’s early morning crowing was a nuisance.
The issue began in 2017, when Maurice was born to Corinne Fesseau, a woman who lives in the countryside on the island of Oleron. As expected, Maurice began crowing early every morning, which irritated Fesseau’s neighbors, an elderly couple from the city who had recently purchased a second home on the island. They complained about the disturbance to their peace and quiet.
Unable to reach an agreement, the two sides eventually went to court. The case became a symbol of the ongoing battle between urban and rural lifestyles, with supporters of Maurice arguing that a rooster’s crow is a quintessential sound of the countryside—a sound city dwellers must accept if they choose to live in such areas.
The court seems to agree. Not only did it rule in favor of Maurice, but it also instructed the plaintiffs to pay €1,000 in damages to the rooster’s owner. The defense attorney remarked that the plaintiffs lost the case because they failed to prove the crowing was a nuisance. There has been no indication yet as to whether the couple intends to appeal the verdict.
3. The Wacky Whiplash Planet
A newly discovered planet is baffling scientists, who describe it as unlike anything they’ve encountered before.
The planet’s peculiar characteristics are due to its egg-shaped orbit. Known as HR 5183 b, this enormous exoplanet is about three times the size of Jupiter and is located 100 light-years away, orbiting a star in the Virgo constellation.
While we’ve observed other planets with highly elliptical or eccentric orbits, none are as extreme as HR 5183 b. At its closest point (periapsis), it’s roughly the same distance from its star as Jupiter is from the Sun. But due to a “whiplash” effect, the planet speeds up as it nears the star, then slows down as it moves away, reaching its farthest point (apoapsis), which is even farther than Neptune’s distance from the Sun.
Lead researcher Sarah Blunt referred to this planet as “a wacky object.” Astronomers are still investigating the potential causes that could explain HR 5183 b’s unusual orbit. Possible theories suggest the influence of another massive object, such as a neighboring planet or even a secondary star, which might have deflected it into its extreme trajectory.
2. World’s Most Expensive Beer, Possibly
Australian cricket journalist Peter Lalor got the surprise of a lifetime when he discovered he had spent approximately £55,000 ($67,000) on a single bottle of beer.
Lalor had traveled to England to cover the Ashes cricket series and made a stop at the Malmaison Hotel in Manchester. Feeling thirsty, he decided to order a bottle of Deuchars IPA. He wasn’t wearing his glasses when he entered his payment details, so he didn’t notice the large sum. Unbeknownst to him, due to a mistake, he was charged £55,262.96, nearly 100,000 AUD.
Although he didn’t realize it at the time, something seemed off to him after he paid. He casually asked the bartender how much he’d been charged for the beer. After a brief silence, she showed him the bill, revealing that he had just bought the most expensive beer in history. His wife later called him in a panic, confirming that the amount had been withdrawn from their mortgage account.
The hotel manager assured Lalor that he would assist in resolving the issue with the card company, but it will still take some time before he gets his money back. Reflecting on the experience, the journalist remarked that while the beer was enjoyable, “it wasn’t worth that price.”
1. Scientists Discover Edscottite
Researchers analyzing the core of a meteorite have unearthed a mineral never seen before in nature, known as edscottite. It is believed to have originated from an ancient planet with a molten core.
While the mineral itself wasn’t entirely new to science—edscottite forms during the smelting of iron—this is the first time it has been found naturally. The discovery came from a team at Caltech, who were studying samples from the Wedderburn meteorite, which was discovered in Australia in 1951. The scientists were specifically investigating the meteorite for rare minerals.
By scientific convention, minerals can only earn an official name if they are found to form naturally. This gave the Caltech team the opportunity to name their extraordinary new mineral. They chose the name edscottite to honor Edward R.D. Scott, a pioneering cosmochemist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who conducted groundbreaking research on meteorites.
Planetary scientists believe the meteorite was once part of a planet's molten core. The intense heat and pressure inside the planet, combined with the presence of hot metal, likely led to the formation of edscottite. Eventually, the planet was destroyed in a collision, and fragments of it ended up in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. One of these fragments was knocked off its orbital course and eventually landed on Earth.
