Dateline: Sri Lanka Depending on how you look at it, 24-year-old Janaka Basnayake either failed miserably or succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in his attempt to break the world record for being buried alive. According to local news reports, Basnayake buried himself with the help of friends and family in a 10-foot deep trench in the town of Kantale, located about 137 miles north of Sri Lanka’s capital city. He was covered with dirt and wood starting at around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Police say that when he was brought to the surface at 4 p.m. he was unconscious and not breathing. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The exact cause of death was indeterminate, and medical investigators are conducting a more thorough post-mortem. Basnayake’s mother told the Lankadeepa newspaper that her son enjoyed performing unusual stunts and had been buried alive on two previous occasions. Before Saturday’s seven and a half-hour marathon, his longest time underground was six hours. Dateline: Michigan A suburban Detroit man is suing his local movie theater because the snacks are too expensive. The Detroit Free Press reports Joshua Thompson filed a class action lawsuit early this month in Wayne County Circuit Court. The suit accuses the AMC theater chain of violating Michigan’s Consumer Protection Act by “price gouging” for popcorn and other snacks at their concession stands. Thompson is seeking refunds for all customers who were overcharged as well as a civil penalty against the theater chain. According to the paperwork, the suit was motivated by a Dec. 26 visit to the AMC Livonia 20 theater in which he paid $8 for a Coke and a box of Goobers. Asked about the case, Eastern Michigan University law professor Gary Victor told Detroit Free Press , “It’s a loser.” Dateline: Minnesota A part-time ice rink attendant has been charged with driving a Zamboni ice resurfacer at a peewee hockey game while intoxicated. Police in Dakota County, south of the Twin Cities, say 34-year-old Joel Bruss’ blood alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune , Bruss was caught on cell phone footage drunkenly steering the large red Zamboni during a period break at Hayes Ice Arena on Jan. 30. Players can be heard on the footage commenting on Bruss’ ice grooming skills. “Are you kidding me?” says one of the young players. “Look at how bad this is!” Dateline: Washington The newly crowned Miss Seattle is already in hot water, defending herself against a December Twitter post in which she insulted Seattle and all the people in it. Jean-Sun Hannah Ahn was crowned Miss Seattle on Saturday, March 4, and was almost immediately forced to defend herself against the December posting in which she told her Twitter followers, “Ugh can’t stand cold rainy Seattle and the annoying people.” Ahn, a former Miss Phoenix who graduated from Arizona State, said she was having a “bad day” last December and was missing the sunshine. “I really do love Seattle … the summers are to die for,” she tweeted the day after taking the crown. Ahn will represent the city in the Miss Washington Pageant this summer. Dateline: Nebraska A Dakota City woman sold a three-year-old Chicken McNugget for more than $8,000 on eBay. Unfortunately, the high bidder has backed out and the owner is combing through runner-up bids to see if any of them are serious. Rebekah Speight says any cash she does receive will go toward sending children to a summer church camp. The old fast food item sparked a bidding war because it faintly resembles the profile of President George Washington as seen on the 25-cent piece. Speight’s auction was originally taken down because of eBay’s policy against selling “expired food.” However, the online auction site told Speight it was “willing to make exceptions to help your cause.” Speight and her children spotted the unusual McNugget three years ago during a visit to McDonald’s and decided to preserve it in the family freezer.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
