News of the Weird: Novice sailor makes journey to Hawaii

Oliver Widger arrived in Hawaii on My 24, with his cat in tow, the Associated Press reported. But he didn’t fly there. Widger, 29, and Phoenix sailed from Oregon in a boat he bought without knowing how to sail. Widger was diagnosed four years ago with a syndrome that carries the risk of paralysis, so he quit his managerial job and used his retirement savings to buy and refit the boat. “You know, you’re grinding at your job all day long and ... everybody’s just trying to do enough to get by and that just wears you out,” Widger said. “I think people have seen that it’s possible to break out.” Upon reaching Hawaii after several weeks at sea, he didn’t have a clear plan for what’s next but said he might sail to French Polynesia.

Mount Athos is a self-governed monastic territory in Greece, where 20 or so monasteries coexist peacefully — one would think. However, on May 22, the Associated Press reported, one monk was hospitalized after allegedly being attacked by brothers of the Esphigmenou Monastery, whose members have defied court and church orders to leave the premises. The dispute began in the 1970s and has involved violent clashes, legal battles and supply blockades. According to police, the rebel monks used garden tools to injure the victim. However, the accused brotherhood denied the claims. “It is a well-known tactic for these perpetrators to play the victims,” they said. “They feigned injury in a performance worthy of an acting class.”

An East Shoreham, N.Y., homeowner who was uncovering his backyard pool for the summer on May 25 was shocked to find a man’s body in the water, NBC New York reported. The Suffolk County medical examiner has yet to identify the body or discover how he died, but officials said it may be Matthew Zoll, 23, who has been on the run since stabbing his father to death in November. Neighbor Paul Gawreluk said he wondered “why somebody would try to get under the (pool) cover. It’s not a smart thing to do.”

If you’re one of those impatient flyers who’s up out of the seat as soon as the wheels touch the ground, you’d better not fly to Turkey. The New York Times reported on May 28 that Turkey will now fine passengers about $67 for leaving their seats before the plane has stopped taxiing. The Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the banned behavior includes unfastening seat belts, opening overhead compartments and moving into the aisle before it’s your turn.

Researchers from the University of Florida have published a study identifying a new hybrid breed of termite, Gizmodo reported. “I was hoping never to find it,” said the study’s lead author, Thomas Chouvenc. The insects are the result of breeding between the Formosan subterranean termite and the Asian subterranean termite, both of which are voracious chewers of wood. The scientists found a colony of the hybrid termites in a park in Fort Lauderdale that they think may have been there for five years. “This may be a Florida story now, but it likely won’t stay just in Florida,” Chouvenc said.

On May 24, Forest Ranger Robert Praczkajlo responded to a 911 call from Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks, the Associated Press reported. Two hikers said that the third member of their party had died and that they were lost. Praczkajlo escorted them to an ambulance. Turns out the hikers had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms, and their friend wasn’t dead; he was just back at their campsite.

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