December 27, 2018
There was the woman who mistook bobcats for house cats, and the day Pennsylvania police needed to clarify that zombies don't exist. Pork-roll ice cream, the stranded groundhog, and the Philly Uber lost-and-found bin.
And my personal favorite: The incredible phenomena behind shrimp thieves. That's thieves, not thief.
It seems there is no shortage of what we call "Odd News" here at PhillyVoice, which never ceases to amaze us, disgust us, and doesn't really shock us.
We decided to round up the best and the not-so-brightest of 2018's Odd News. Strap in.
Remember when 7,000 animals went missing? Yep, that happened. $40,000 worth of insects and lizards were stolen in what police believed to be an inside job at the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion in Northeast Philly's Holmesburg neighborhood.
The robbery took place Aug. 22. and the number of animals stolen accounted for at least 80 percent of the Philadelphia Insectarium's entire collection. Among the missing insects was a six-eyed sand spider, one of the most venomous spiders in the world.
Security footage showed the thieves carrying plastic containers with the animals and loading them into cars in broad daylight, and insectarium staff found two, blue, employee shirts hanging from large knives that had been stuck into the wall.
The investigation into the heist has not resulted in any reported arrests, but those interesting in helping the Philadelphia Insectarium rebuild can donate to its GoFundMe campaign.
Paula Stanton, of Somers Point, Atlantic County, accidentally flushed her wedding ring nine years ago and decided to alert the public works department, just in case of a miracle.
Turns out, one of the employees she told was in a manhole earlier this month when he spotted something shiny.
“I was only in a manhole less than 400 feet away from their house when I saw something shiny sitting in the mud and debris. I realized it was a ring, and I remembered the woman who was looking for a ring,” the employee, Ted Gogol, told the Press of Atlantic City.
Update: Based on social media, it appears that Semyon has graduated from Temple's Klein College. Go, Blue Dress, go!
The Intern in the Blue Dress, @casssemyon, graduates in style. #GoBlueDressGo pic.twitter.com/ZDfX0INgt0
— David Boardman (@dlboardman) December 21, 2018
Ah, this summertime classic made many a headline this year. A superintendent in North Jersey was accused, later pleaded guilty to, and then absolutely was torn apart on the Internet for routinely pooping near Holmdel High School's athletic field.
By the way, there were so many strange fecal matter stories this year that our staffer Brian Hickey unofficially took on the "poop" beat this year (sorry, Hickey). See: "Memorable local moments from the poop files" and "NoLibs resident: An intoxicated woman pooped on my stoop on Friday afternoon" and "Philly Fire Department: Cleaning poop from your stoop is not our duty."
2018 was the year of the peacocks, the coyotes, the raccoons, and the groundhogs.
A fan-favorite was the story of the Snow Camel, which staff writer Adam Hermann lovingly named. The animal appeared on Rt. 309 South near Sellersville – about a 90-minute drive north of Philadelphia – during that unseasonable November snowstorm.
We learned that the camel's name is Einstein and he was headed to the Kimmel Center for an event by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Sadly, he never made it to Center City due to the snow and went returned to his home at the Peaceable Kingdom Petting Zoo.
Have you ever seen a camel in the snow? pic.twitter.com/RNBPclk5tH
— Deaf Gronk (@Tylerkio) November 15, 2018
Oh, and yes I will venture to say that the Eagles fan who actually ate horse poop during the Eagles Super Bowl victory parade is an animal.
This one I just don't get.
Never been to New Jersey, but I love Garden State <3 from r/newjersey
OK, four wings are $4.55, five are $5.70 and buying 80 instead of four will save you $1.90. But it's cheaper to buy 50 wings and then a separate order of 10 instead of 60.
theres gotta be a better way to convey this information pic.twitter.com/pHEswDU0TC
— sean (@seanposting) October 21, 2018
For some reason an organization called the Dysfunctional Veterans sells bags of penis-shaped candies and sent a package of them to the mayor of Hamilton Township in New Jersey. Her staff actually called the police and an investigator from the local major crimes division to investigate who sent it.
If you're an Odd News fan, you can read all of this content right here.
Fingers crossed 2019 is just as weird.
Follow Emily & PhillyVoice on Twitter @emily_rolen | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Add Emily’s RSS feed to your feed reader
Have a news tip? Let us know.
