Dateline: OhioInvestigators say a bank robber wrote his demands on a document that also listed his name and address. According to CNN, a man entered a US Bank in Cleveland, Ohio, and handed a note demanding money to a teller. The note read: “This is a robbery. Don’t get nobody hurt.” Surveillance footage of the incident shows that the man made no attempt to hide his face, although he wore a baseball cap. Special agent Vicki Anderson of the FBI’s Cleveland office told reporters that the man made an even bigger mistake than showing his face, however. “When the teller took the note and looked at it and looked at the other side, she saw his name,” Anderson said. “He had used a note that he had used earlier at the BMV and it had his name on it.” According to the document, the man’s name was Michael Harrell. His address was reportedly listed as well. The teller reportedly gave the man $206 and called him by his name. After he left the premises, police were notified and given his information. Harrell was arrested soon after. The teller claims he was a regular client at the bank. Anderson thanked Harrell for assisting in his own capture. “When you present a note that has your name already on it and address,” she said, “it helps law enforcement tremendously.”Dateline: IndiaA young boy had over 500 “tooth-like structures” removed from his mouth last week. NBC News reports that a 7-year-old boy in India was taken to the hospital to have a swollen area of his jaw examined. The swollen area had been a cause for concern since the boy was three, but he initially refused to cooperate with doctors. His parent were concerned that the swelling was cancerous, however, and took him to the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu. Surgeons there found a “well-defined bag-like mass” in his jaw and decided to remove it surgically. The procedure was a success, and the lesion was removed. Upon further examination of the interior of the mass, oral pathologists discovered “tooth-like structures” of varying size. It took doctors five hours to painstakingly remove 526 “teeth,” ranging from from 1mm to 15mm in size, from the bag. The hospital made a statement about the uncommon surgery last week: “In the pathologists’ own words,” said the statement, “’it was reminiscent of pearls in an oyster.’” The boy reportedly suffered from a rare condition known as “compound odontome.” Dateline: ChinaSome Chinese cities have banned what’s commonly known as the “Beijing bikini”—men exposing their midriff—because it is “uncivilized.” According to China Daily, Chinese men will often roll up the bottom of their t-shirts, exposing their stomachs, as a way to relieve discomfort caused by high temperatures. In traditional Chinese medicine, exposing the belly will shed excess heat. The act of a man exposing his belly is called a “Beijing bikini” or a “Beijing belly” by foreigners. The term’s origins came from a photo contest held four years ago by the Instagram group igersbeijing that solicited images of Chinese men exposing their midriffs. The Beijinger reports that Chinese media outlets chose not to defend the custom and sided instead with foreign criticism. Although the term had yet to be invented, Beijing Youth Daily reportedly published images of men with their shirts partially rolled up in an attempt to shame them in 2002. Recently, a number of local governments have banned the Beijing bikini, along with other actions deemed as “uncivilized behavior.” Jinan, a Chinese city in Shandong province, issued a notice last month that those caught practicing “unseemly” behavior will be issued a verbal warning by police. Banned behavior includes exposing one’s bare feet, spitting on the ground, cutting in line, bathing in bodies of water, littering from car windows, creating a public disturbance and practicing the Beijing bikini. Handan in Hebei province and Tianjin have also banned the act.Dateline: FloridaAuthorities have clarified a directive to kill all green iguanas “whenever possible” after a man was accidentally shot by an air rifle. USA Today reports that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has issued a statement walking back certain aspects of a directive given last month. In early July, the FWC encouraged homeowners “to kill green iguanas on their own property whenever possible.” Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida. According to the recent statement, they can do “considerable damage to infrastructure, including seawalls and sidewalks.” Residents were initially told they could kill the reptiles year-round without a permit. But issues immediately became apparent when an iguana trapper in Boca Raton accidentally shot a pool maintenance worker in the leg with an air rifle. According to emergency responders, the man’s wounds were only superficial. He did not press charges. In the latter statement, FWC Commissioner Rodney Barreto said, “This is not what we are about; this is not the ‘wild west.’ If you are not capable of safely removing iguanas from your property, please seek assistance from professionals who do this for a living.”
Compiled by Joshua Lee. Email your weird news to josh@alibi.com.
