You’ll never guess the latest inductee into the Toy Hall of Fame or some of the names given to snowplows in Vermont. Drivers drive us crazy this week and if only we could pay up with peanut butter all the time in this week’s weird and wacky.
MISSING THE POINT
A man in Germany has discovered the hard way that it’s best to get a driving license first before trying to use it. Police in Bergheim, near Cologne, reported that the 37-year-old drove himself to his driving test, parking an Opel Zafira outside the test centre in front of an astonished examiner, telling him he had only driven because he wanted to make sure to get to the driving test on time. His test was immediately called off and the man now faces an investigation for driving without a license.
NUTTY BUTTY
New Mexico State University is offering anyone with a campus parking citation the chance to get out of their jam with some peanut butter. The university will accept at least 2,270 grams of peanut butter — the equivalent of five-six small jars — as payment for a citation for parking without a permit. All the peanut butter will go to Aggie Cupboard, a food pantry serving the campus community.
SNOW JOB
Captain Snowpants; Yo Bro, No Snow, and Jennifer Snowpez are among the names that will be on some of Vermont’s snowplows this winter. Vermont school students participated in the state transportation department’s Name a Plow contest to come up with names for the snowplows serving their communities. The entries ranged from “creative and clever, to cute and silly,” the agency said. Participating schools got a visit from their newly named plows last week.
GIVE A HAND FOR SAND
Sand, dubbed “perhaps the most universal and oldest toy in the world,” has been inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, NY. The geological substance was honoured for its “opportunities for tactical, physical, cooperative, creative, and independent free play,” according to the Hall. Joining sand in the Hall were American Girl dolls and the strategy board game Risk in recognition of their influence on the toy industry – all three chosen from a group of 12 finalists that included Battleship, The Settlers of Catan, Mahjong and billiards, Cabbage Patch Kids, Masters of the Universe, Fisher-Price Corn Popper, the toy fire engine, and the piñata. Anyone can nominate a toy but to be considered, they must have withstood tests of time and memory, changed play or toy design and fostered learning, creativity. or discovery. The class of 2021 joins 74 previous honorees.
JUG HEAD
A bear cub wandering around a North Carolina neighbourhood with a jug stuck on its head is running free in the forest again. Wildlife biologists with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission spent two days searching for the bear cub, which they believe likely got stuck while going through some trash and was wandering around an Asheville neighbourhood. The bear was anesthetized before the jug was taken off its head. Biologists performed a health check before relocating it to a remote area in western North Carolina.
GO HUSKERS
Milton Andrew Munson’s obituary recalled his life as an Air Force veteran, a pharmacist, husband, and father, and as a Nebraska football fan. That was evident in one line in the obit: “In lieu of flowers, please place an irresponsibly large wager on Nebraska beating Iowa.” The obit, written by Munson’s sons, caught fire on social media and reported on the radio. Once word got out, listeners and others pitched in and the total grew to nearly $5,000. The family said it will give some of the money to Big Brothers/Big Sisters but used some to bet on the Cornhuskers to beat the Hawkeyes on Nov. 26. Son Todd Munson wrote on Twitter that the Huskers would be getting some help from other places. “If the ghost of my old man can’t will the Huskers to victory on Friday, then they truly are a lost cause.” It seems they are: Nebraska blew a 21-6 lead to lose 28-21.
ONE LESS BRICK IN THE WALL
German police are looking for witnesses after burglars broke through the wall of a toy store to steal dozens of Lego sets. Police said Tuesday that the theft took place over the weekend in the western town of Lippstadt. The burglars left about 100 empty cardboard boxes behind, German news agency dpa reported. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the burglars had taken the instruction books.
CASH FOR CARS
Drivers on a Southern California freeway scrambled to grab cash after bags of money fell out of an armored truck recently. The incident occurred shortly before 9:15 a.m. on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad after several bags broke open, spreading money — mainly $1 and $20 bills — all over the lanes and bringing the freeway to a chaotic halt for two hours. Video posted online showed some people laughing and leaping as they held wads of cash. Two people were arrested at the scene, and warnings were issued that any others who are found to have taken the money could face criminal charges. Authorities didn’t immediately say how much money was lost however at least a dozen people had returned money they collected. “People are bringing in a lot,” police said. “People got a lot of money.”
The freeway was reopened shortly before 11 a.m.