Dateline: New ZealandA student production of the musical Sweeney Todd got a little too real when two teenagers had their throats accidentally slashed by a prop. The boys, both aged 16, were treated at Auckland City Hospital after the opening night incident at St. Kentigern College. One was treated for serious injuries, the other for moderate injuries. Both were later released. The well-known musical tells the story of a demented Victorian barber who kills his customers by slashing their throats with a razor. Stephen Cole, the head of the private college, told TVNZ that it was an “unfortunate and isolated” incident. Cole described the prop straight razor as being “covered in all sorts of duct tape, foam and silver paper.” The same prop had allegedly been used in rehearsals without incident. Asked by a reporter whether a plastic prop blade should have been used instead, Cole replied, “In hindsight that may be a reasonable point.” Police and health-and-safety officials are investigating.Dateline: AustraliaA motorist has been charged with several offenses after police in West Australia say he used a seatbelt to secure two cases of beer while leaving his children unrestrained. Kimberley District Police posted a photo on their Facebook page showing two 30-packs of beer (Emu Export and Victoria Bitter, to be precise) buckled into the passenger seat of the man’s car. The photo was captioned, “Priorities?” According to the police department “a suspended driver had children laying on adult’s laps and seated in foot wells, while cartons of beer were seat-belted into position.” One of the children was less than a year old. The driver was given two liquor offenses, two summons for misuse of Drugs Act offenses, five summons for no authority to drive, three summons for no seatbelts, seven speeding offenses and four “other cautions.” Kimberley District Superintendent Allan Adam told ABC News Australia that the incident was symptomatic of a larger problem. “It shows some of the attitudes of some of our road users,” the superintendent was quoted as saying. “We are doing our best to stamp it out through enforcement, but we are also about to embark on public education, which is obviously needed in remote communities.”Dateline: TexasA United Airlines flight attendant evidently had enough of her job, deploying a plane’s emergency slide and bailing out on a flight packed with passengers at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Security footage obtained by NBC affiliate KPRC shows the flight attendant tossing a bag down the slide, then riding it expertly to the bottom. She then reclaims her luggage and calmly walks into the airport. United spokesperson Charlie Hobart said officials are still investigating why the unnamed flight attendant inflated the slide from the side of the plane following the early morning flight from Sacramento, Calif. The flight attendant has been removed from her flying duties while airline officials investigate the incident. “We hold our employees to the highest standards,” the airline said in a statement. “This unsafe behavior is unacceptable and does not represent the more than 20,000 flight attendants who ensure the safety of our customers.” The plane was put back into service after a new emergency slide was installed and the aircraft was inspected.Dateline: FloridaGood news, Floridians: It’s now legal for you to live with one another in sin. On Wednesday, April 6, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill to repeal the state’s generally unenforced prohibition against cohabitation. The law has apparently been on the books since 1868 and prevents a man and woman from living together without being married. Until now unhitched couples could have been fined $500 and locked up in jail for 60 days. The new law repeals the long-standing stature covering unmarried (or married, for that matter) men and women “engaging in open behavior that is gross, lewd or lascivious.” Now you can be gross all you want, Florida.Dateline: CaliforniaA man who wanted to propose to his girlfriend in the worst way did just that. Michael Banks, 27, had to be rescued by the California Highway Patrol and ended up being arrested on multiple charges after he scaled the southern face of the 591-foot high Morro Rock off California’s Central Coast. According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Banks used the towering backdrop to propose to the love of his life via iPhone’s FaceTime app. Fortunately, she said yes. Unfortunately, Banks got trapped on the rock’s sheer face. A witness heard him yelling for help around 8:30am on the morning of Thursday, April 7, and called 911. A CHP helicopter was eventually dispatched to winch the man off the face of Morro Rock. To make matters worse, Banks was cited for trespassing, since climbing Morro Rock is prohibited. The romantic rock climber was also arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and in possession of methamphetamine. Banks was being held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of posting $10,000 bond. The City of Morro Bay later released a statement saying that Banks, “will be billed for the chopper ride and other related costs.”
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
