Weird News ε' - The fifth column

London library forced to briefly close after fox 'made itself comfortable' inside

Twickenham Library staff were surprised to find the curious animal cuddled up on a chair inside the building on Tuesday.

Quick-thinking librarians immediately closed the building while the animal was safely removed.

Fox-Twickenham-library.jpeg
 

Man wearing heavy metallic necklace dies after being sucked into MRI machine​

A 61-year-old man has died after he was sucked into a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at a medical centre while he was wearing a heavy metal necklace.

The man, who has not been identified, entered a room at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, on New York's Long Island, without permission as the MRI machine was running, Nassau County Police Department said.

A patient at the facility told local media her husband was the one who died. She said she had called him into the room after she had a scan on Wednesday.

Officials say the incident "resulted in a medical episode" and the man was taken to the hospital, where he died on Thursday. MRI machines use a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images.

Patients are typically asked to remove metal items and change out of their clothes before undergoing MRI scans or going near the machine.

"The male victim was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck causing him to be drawn into the machine, which resulted in a medical episode," said Nassau County Police Department, which is investigating the incident.

Though police have not named the victim, Adrienne Jones-McAllister told local television station News 12 Long Island that it was her husband, Keith, who died.

"He waved goodbye to me and then his whole body went limp," she said tearfully.

Ms Jones-McAllister told the outlet she was getting an MRI on her knee and asked her husband to come in to help her get up afterwards. She said he was wearing a 20lb (9kg) chain with a lock that he used for weight training.

"At that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI," she said.

Ms Jones-McAllister said the technician had tried to pull her husband away from the machine.

"I'm saying, 'Could you turn off the machine?" she told the outlet. "Call 911. Do something. Turn this damn thing off!'"

The BBC has contacted Nassau Open MRI for comment.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, MRI machines have magnetic fields that will attract magnetic objects of all sizes - keys, mobile phones and even oxygen tanks - which "may cause damage to the scanner or injury to the patient or medical professionals if those objects become projectiles".

In 2001, a six-year-old boy died of a fractured skull at a New York City medical centre while undergoing an MRI exam after its powerful magnetic force propelled an oxygen tank across the room.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n39dvp0po
 
National park rangers blame sneaky fox for theft of 32 pairs of shoes

"WANTED" posters have been hung up in Grand Teton National Park to warn visitors that they may be visited by a sneaky thief if they aren't careful.

A shoe-stealing fox has snatched at least 32 shoes from campers and other visitors to the Wyoming national park in the last several weeks.

The thefts prompted park rangers to hang "WANTED" posters warning campers about the fox — whose aliases include "Sneaker Snatcher," "The Midnight Mismatcher” and "Swiper the Fox" — and advising them on how best protect their footwear.

Screenshot-2025-07-15-at-10-41-30-AM.png

Screenshot-2025-07-15-at-11-34-11-AM.png
 
There are so many levels of weird:
  • Mike Johnson claimed to be the Dean of a law school that never existed
  • It did not exist because of financial impropriety, infighting and being rubbish
  • The school was named (the name used by Mike Johnson is claiming to be the dean when it never existed) after someone who's paedophilia was high profile in the christian community
Why would someone do that? Why is this not mentioned every time he comes up in liberal media? Imagine if Nancy Pelosi had done that, how much Fox News would have talked about it!

Spoiler More details :
1753635856209.png
1753635868116.png
 
A Fish Falls From the Sky and Sparks a Brush Fire in British Columbia (Avoiding Paywall)

A small brush fire and power outage in British Columbia started on Wednesday not with lightning or a careless camper, but with an airborne fish, according to fire officials.

The authorities believe an osprey flying overhead dropped its catch midflight.

The fish struck power lines, producing sparks that landed on dry grass and ignited the blaze, which took up less than an acre.

The closest river, the likely place where the osprey caught its prey, is about two miles from the fire scene.

1754169637147.png
 

This car has more than 1.2 million km on it — and it's still going strong​

1985 Toyota Tercel has travelled the equivalent of 1.5 round trips to the moon

If you were to spot Andy Campbell's ride on the road, you might not think too much about it.

Maybe you'd think it's a bit dated — a throwback to an earlier time when cassette tapes were all the rage and backup cameras were just a glimmer in a car designer's eye.

But if you took a closer look, you'd see that there's something special about Campbell's 1985 Toyota Tercel.

It's not just that it runs perfectly, or that it's practically in mint condition.

The only thing wrong with this Tercel is that the odometer doesn't go up high enough.

It reads 253,070. But it's missing a one. As in, one million.

This car has 1,253,070 kilometres on it — and counting.

That's more than three times the distance to the moon, or enough kilometres to drive around the Earth 31 times.

And Campbell has the photos to prove it. When it turned over from 999,999 kilometres to 000,000 kilometres in September 2017, he pulled over to the side of the road to snap some photos. Now, he keeps them in his glove compartment as proof in case there are any doubters.

Campbell bought the '85 Tercel in Halifax around 1990, paying $2,500 for the vehicle with about 125,000 kilometres on it.

Since then, he's used it as his daily driver, putting on at least 120 kilometres a day driving from his home in Wyses Corner, N.S., to Halifax and back each day of his working life.

Now retired, he still uses it to run errands or boot around the Maritimes, or even as far afield as Newfoundland.

Although the Tercel is old enough to qualify for antique plates, Campbell doesn't want them, as they would restrict his ability to use it for everyday purposes.

"You go to a car show and the people drive the cars to the show and they polish it and take it home and put it in the garage and cover it over," he says. "That car is for me to use. If I gotta get up in a snowstorm and go to Halifax or Elmsdale or whatever it might be, I can go with it."

His own best mechanic​

Over the years, nearly everything on the vehicle has been replaced or repaired, and Campbell says the only original part is likely the body, and even that has had work done on it.

Aside from the front-end alignment, he does all the work himself, relying on his sizable stash of parts, most of which are no longer available from Toyota. He's got three more Tercels up on blocks at the back of his property, just in case he needs something.

"It looks like junk and to most people, it probably is," he says.

But to him, it's gold.

He says the key to keeping a car running for a long time is to do regular maintenance such as oil changes and lubrication, and to undercoat the vehicle. A heated garage doesn't hurt, either, he says.

Campbell acknowledges that Tercels have a reputation for being "rust buckets," but says his secret is to fill all of the crevices with grease. "They've got pumped every one of them right full."

Backup ride​

If his Tercel is temporarily out of commission for maintenance, Campbell does have a backup.

"Would you like to see my new car?" he asks.

The garage door opens, and an identical Tercel pulls out.

"This is my new one — '86," he says, grinning.

Campbell says he's not really a car guy. He's not a Toyota guy, or even a Tercel guy.

He's a his Tercel guy.

He's passionate about his vehicle because it's practical, great in the snow, easy to maintain and cheap to operate.

"Everybody can pass me on the road but I get to pass them at the service station," he says.

Campbell is not the only Tercel long-hauler in the province.

Jim George of Kentville also has an '85 Tercel, but it's a mere babe in the woods compared to Campbell's, with only 534,000 kilometres. The two men also know a third Tercel owner in Nova Scotia whose vehicle has over one million kilometres.

George, who at one point owned 10 Tercels in varying states of roadworthiness, says the vehicles are often a conversation piece.

"If you don't like talking to people, don't buy one," he says.

Most of the stories George hears run along these lines: "My dad had one and handed it down to me when I went to school and me and my friends beat the living crap out of it. That's the biggest one. Everybody got the hand-me-down one."

Campbell says strangers often stop to take photos of his car and share their own stories of long-gone Tercels.

Sometimes, the tire-side chats come with an offer to buy Campbell's ride.

"Not a chance. It's not for sale now, next week or ever," he says. "You can go to Halifax and pick the best car out in Halifax — Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls Royce — and bring it out and I won't trade you. I don't want it."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/1985-toyota-tercel-high-mileage-1.7597168
 

This car has more than 1.2 million km on it — and it's still going strong​

1985 Toyota Tercel has travelled the equivalent of 1.5 round trips to the moon

If you were to spot Andy Campbell's ride on the road, you might not think too much about it.

Maybe you'd think it's a bit dated — a throwback to an earlier time when cassette tapes were all the rage and backup cameras were just a glimmer in a car designer's eye.

But if you took a closer look, you'd see that there's something special about Campbell's 1985 Toyota Tercel.

It's not just that it runs perfectly, or that it's practically in mint condition.

The only thing wrong with this Tercel is that the odometer doesn't go up high enough.

It reads 253,070. But it's missing a one. As in, one million.

This car has 1,253,070 kilometres on it — and counting.

That's more than three times the distance to the moon, or enough kilometres to drive around the Earth 31 times.

And Campbell has the photos to prove it. When it turned over from 999,999 kilometres to 000,000 kilometres in September 2017, he pulled over to the side of the road to snap some photos. Now, he keeps them in his glove compartment as proof in case there are any doubters.

Campbell bought the '85 Tercel in Halifax around 1990, paying $2,500 for the vehicle with about 125,000 kilometres on it.

Since then, he's used it as his daily driver, putting on at least 120 kilometres a day driving from his home in Wyses Corner, N.S., to Halifax and back each day of his working life.

Now retired, he still uses it to run errands or boot around the Maritimes, or even as far afield as Newfoundland.

Although the Tercel is old enough to qualify for antique plates, Campbell doesn't want them, as they would restrict his ability to use it for everyday purposes.

"You go to a car show and the people drive the cars to the show and they polish it and take it home and put it in the garage and cover it over," he says. "That car is for me to use. If I gotta get up in a snowstorm and go to Halifax or Elmsdale or whatever it might be, I can go with it."

His own best mechanic​

Over the years, nearly everything on the vehicle has been replaced or repaired, and Campbell says the only original part is likely the body, and even that has had work done on it.

Aside from the front-end alignment, he does all the work himself, relying on his sizable stash of parts, most of which are no longer available from Toyota. He's got three more Tercels up on blocks at the back of his property, just in case he needs something.

"It looks like junk and to most people, it probably is," he says.

But to him, it's gold.

He says the key to keeping a car running for a long time is to do regular maintenance such as oil changes and lubrication, and to undercoat the vehicle. A heated garage doesn't hurt, either, he says.

Campbell acknowledges that Tercels have a reputation for being "rust buckets," but says his secret is to fill all of the crevices with grease. "They've got pumped every one of them right full."

Backup ride​

If his Tercel is temporarily out of commission for maintenance, Campbell does have a backup.

"Would you like to see my new car?" he asks.

The garage door opens, and an identical Tercel pulls out.

"This is my new one — '86," he says, grinning.

Campbell says he's not really a car guy. He's not a Toyota guy, or even a Tercel guy.

He's a his Tercel guy.

He's passionate about his vehicle because it's practical, great in the snow, easy to maintain and cheap to operate.

"Everybody can pass me on the road but I get to pass them at the service station," he says.

Campbell is not the only Tercel long-hauler in the province.

Jim George of Kentville also has an '85 Tercel, but it's a mere babe in the woods compared to Campbell's, with only 534,000 kilometres. The two men also know a third Tercel owner in Nova Scotia whose vehicle has over one million kilometres.

George, who at one point owned 10 Tercels in varying states of roadworthiness, says the vehicles are often a conversation piece.

"If you don't like talking to people, don't buy one," he says.

Most of the stories George hears run along these lines: "My dad had one and handed it down to me when I went to school and me and my friends beat the living crap out of it. That's the biggest one. Everybody got the hand-me-down one."

Campbell says strangers often stop to take photos of his car and share their own stories of long-gone Tercels.

Sometimes, the tire-side chats come with an offer to buy Campbell's ride.

"Not a chance. It's not for sale now, next week or ever," he says. "You can go to Halifax and pick the best car out in Halifax — Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls Royce — and bring it out and I won't trade you. I don't want it."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/1985-toyota-tercel-high-mileage-1.7597168
That is pretty good, but not close to Ive:

Irvin "Irv" Gordon purchased his Volvo P1800S in June 1966 from Volvoville, a dealership in Huntersville, New York. He had owned two new Chevrolet Corvair models, but was dissatisfied with their reliability. At the time, Gordon's daily commute was around 125 mi (201 km).

Gordon performed much of the car's routine maintenance personally, such as the changing the engine oil and filter and servicing the car's brakes. Other mechanical work was generally carried out by mechanic Nino Gambino, who first worked on the car in 1979. He had driven 3,260,257 mi (5,246,875 km) by October 2018, a month before his death. He had driven the car across all 49 of the continental United States, Canada, and much of Europe.

Spoiler Volvo P1800 in the UK :
1920px-Volvo_P1800_mfd_1965_1780cc_Essex.JPG
 
Back
Top Bottom