Quick Takes: Heist in reverse

MOST MUSEUM CAPERS involve a burglar sneaking off with a famous work of art. But what if someone instead smuggled in a painting and hung it in a gallery? On April 9, officials with a Munich, Germany, museum announced it had cut ties with a technician after discovering earlier this year the 51-year-old employee placed one of his own works on a floor featuring modern art. The Pinakothek der Moderne museum houses more than 20,000 pieces that include works by Pablo Picasso and other modern masters, but the ambitious employee won’t be one of them. The museum fired the man, removed his artwork, banned him from the facility, and reported the incident to police. A spokesperson told The New York Times, “You can’t really have a person like that guarding the high-security wing.”

Drunk without drink

A Belgian man insisted he hadn’t been drinking when police in Bruges pulled him over in April 2022, citing him for driving with a blood alcohol content level four times the legal limit. Yet on April 22, a Belgian court acquitted the unnamed driver. That’s because the man’s lawyer proved he ­suffered from a rare condition known as auto-brewery syndrome, in which contents of the gut ferment into alcohol that gets absorbed by the body. Prior to the 2022 incident, the man did not know he suffered from ABS despite another run-in for drunk driving when he also insisted he hadn’t been drinking.

Goose raided

A wild goose chase has ended with the return of waterfowl to their rightful public park. A citizen of Allen, Texas, witnessed a woman pilfer two geese from Bethany Lakes Park in broad ­daylight April 12 and reported the incident to authorities. The witness snapped a picture of the culprit and recorded the woman’s license plate details. Allen Police and Allen Animal Services took the lead and soon located the ill-gotten geese. Despite the ­ruffled feathers, police officials said they won’t press charges.

Timeout, tow truck

Minding their own business at a stoplight in San Francisco April 9, a California couple looked up and saw a yellow tow truck trying to latch on to their vehicle. The tow truck and the 2017 Toyota Corolla then engaged in a cat-and-mouse game as the sedan’s driver attempted to back away. Harry and Joanne—who did not reveal their last name out of fear of reprisal—said they eventually evaded the aggressive tow truck when the car behind them moved and provided room for them to escape. According to Joanne, there shouldn’t be a reason for their car to be towed, even if it was parked. “I definitely paid off my car,” she told KGO-TV. “I paid my registration.”

A disposal gone south

What could slam through a house’s roof with such velocity that it also damages the floor? According to a NASA statement released April 15, the answer is space junk. The American space agency confirmed that the object that flew through Alejandro Otero’s Naples, Fla., house in March was part of a cargo pallet that had been cast off the International Space Station in 2021. It should have burned up during its descent through the atmosphere—but one piece didn’t. Otero, who was not home when the 1.6-pound hunk of metal struck his house, told WINK-TV he was “super grateful that nobody got hurt.”

Concessions inflation

Irked that his beverage fell short and left him thirsty, a Texas man filed a federal lawsuit against Cinemark claiming the theater chain repeatedly gave him less than he paid for. According to the April 16 filing, Shane Waldrop grew suspicious of Cinemark’s practices when his putative 24-ounce drink—a draft beer—seemed too small. So he took the cup home and found only 22 ounces of liquid fit in it. The ­lawsuit claims Cinemark engaged in deceptive business practices by mislabeling the drinks.

In the passing lane

Usually, runners don’t slow down and wave at their competition to pass. But that’s what happened at the recent Beijing Half Marathon in China when a trio of African professional distance runners appeared to let Chinese runner He Jie win the race and the $5,500 grand prize. Video of the April 14 race spurred an investigation, and by April 19 race officials had revoked medals and prizes for all four athletes, saying the trio—which included a former world record holder—purposefully slowed down to let China’s most prominent distance runner take the win. A sports equipment ­company that sponsored He admitted to hiring the three Africans as pace setters.