News of the Weird: Mechanical glitch traps parked vehicle

In December 2022, Mark Lucas, owner of HCS Furniture in Buckinghamshire, England, parked his new work van in a stacked car park in central London, the BBC reported. It’s still there. In this type of structure, mechanical platforms and lifts are used to stack the cars on top of each other, saving space. When Lucas went to retrieve the van, he was told he couldn’t because “the stacking system had malfunctioned.” He and his co-owner, Steve Davies, rented another van, which they thought would be a temporary fix, but after a couple of years, “we gave the hired van back and took out another loan to buy a second van,” Davies said. In January 2024, Lucas was told that losses would be recoverable from the responsible party. But the partners can’t claim losses until the van is freed. “While we’re trying to grow the business, we can’t because we have all this,” Lucas said.

A reporter from WFLA-TV was embedded in a war zone on April 9 — not in the Middle East or Ukraine, but in Sarasota, Fla., where he went to report on a couple of fierce hawks. “It’s not often you have to go to a story wearing a riot gear helmet and carrying an umbrella on a sunny day for protection,” said reporter Jeff Patterson. Even so, an attacking hawk left a gash in the helmet. The hawks are nesting outside the business owned by Odalys Hayes, making it hard for clients to safely park and come inside. “The minute you go in the walkway here, you get attacked,” Hayes said. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer called to the scene was attacked, and both Hayes’ husband and son have suffered the hawks’ wrath. She said her husband was attacked eight times just while taking out the garbage. Unfortunately, the FWC informed her that the hawks are protected. “I can’t do anything while the nest is there,” she said. The nest can be removed when the fledglings are gone.

Here’s a little factoid you may have missed: There are 96 bags of human waste left on the moon from the Apollo space missions. In an effort to curb any more space contamination, NASA is offering $3 million to anyone who can figure out how to recycle feces and other human waste in space and on the moon, United Press International reported on April 9. Got an idea? Check out the LunaRecycle Challenge.

KFC has introduced a fried-chicken-flavored toothpaste. The New York Post reported on April 9 that the company says the toothpaste’s flavor is “inspired by all of KFC’s 11 herbs and spices. This toothpaste is irresistible, coating your teeth in flavor before leaving your mouth feeling fresh and clean.” KFC partnered with toothpaste manufacturer Hismile to produce the paste for a limited time; it’s available only on the Hismile website for $13. But wait! There’s more! You also can snap up the KFC-branded electric toothbrush, which will set you back $59.

An unnamed man in Chonqing, China, was admitted to a hospital after suffering a persistent cough, Oddity Central reported on April 9. Doctors noted suspicious shadows in his right lung on scans, and a bronchoscopy showed that he had a fungal lung disease. The man admitted that he had developed a habit of smelling his dirty socks when he removed them at the end of the day. Doctors tested some of his worn socks and found the Aspergillus infection that caused the lung disease.

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