Weird News: Don’t Bug Me

Don’t Look in the Trunk

Zimbabwean opposition lawmaker and poet Desire Moyo, 45, lost his life in a bizarre accident in the early morning hours of Oct. 10, the BBC reported. As Moyo and four others drove along the Bulawayo-Gweru highway, they crashed into an elephant. The other occupants of the car were injured; one of them said the elephant was struck on its backside, after which it turned around and started fighting the car. It is believed the elephant’s reaction did the most damage and led to Moyo’s demise.

Recovered Relic

When Erin Scott O’Brien sold her home in New Orleans in 2018, she left behind a marble tablet given to her by her grandparents, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 11. The “cool-ass piece of art” in her garden was covered by weeds until the current owner, Daniella Santoro, was cleaning up and found it. Santoro alerted her colleague at Tulane University, anthropologist Susann Lusnia, who identified the slab as a 1,900-year-old grave marker of a Roman sailor, Sextus Congenius Verus. He had died at age 42 after more than two decades of service in the imperial navy. More research revealed that the marker had been missing from the National Archeological Museum in Civitavecchia, Italy, since World War II. Now, the FBI is working with Italian authorities to send the tablet home.

A Pointed Argument

Congregants at Legacy Faith Church in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 28 were confronted by their pastor, Phillip Thornton, wearing and wielding an assault-style rifle to illustrate his points during his sermon. WHP-TV reported that Thornton used the firearm to symbolize “clearing the room,” or using spiritual violence against unbelief. At times, Thornton pointed the gun at the congregation, with a laser bouncing off church members. The church released a statement after concerns were brought to light, saying the gun was “disabled (firing pin removed), cleared and publicly shown to be ammo free.” But Thornton also said, “I could get you, any one of you.” The statement closed with gratitude for bringing “great attention” to the church. After all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Don’t Bug Me

First of all, apparently in the United Kingdom, ladybugs are called ladybirds. Regardless, one woman is fighting an epic battle against the cute spotted beetles in Hertfordshire, the Daily Star reported on Oct. 10. Lois Mallett-Walker’s home has been invaded by “around 300” ladybugs, where they’re covering her curtains, windows and walls. And, she said, “One peed on me and it stank.” The 35-year-old tried to shoo the bugs outdoors but ended up vacuuming up some of them. “I love ladybugs, but it was far too many in my house for me.”