Angry bird

What was designed to be a majestic and romantic gesture during a wedding turned into a Hitchcockian horror when an owl designated to fly the rings to the altar instead attacked a groomsman. Mark Wood hired the barn owl and his handler for his nuptials with Jeni Arrowsmith in March at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, U.K. The owl successfully flew from the back of the church to the best man’s outstretched arm to deliver the rings. But when the man had trouble untying the pouch, the owl became disturbed and began attacking a nearby groomsman, who fell out of his chair. Both the guests and the wedding party eventually took the kerfuffle in stride. “Absolutely hilarious,” the bride told The Guardian.

Bumpy ride

An Uber driver in San Francisco followed directions a little too well and ended up stranded. The ride-sharing company confirmed that an Uber driver attempted to navigate down a nine-step pedestrian stairway on March 26 while carrying two passengers, and the car became stuck on the stairs. The driver blamed the accident on Uber’s navigation software, claiming the program told him to drive down the pedestrian walkway. Police say there were no injuries.

Let the children play

Parents in Utah can loosen up a bit. Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law a bill that changed the state’s child neglect law. Previously, the law had declared letting children play outside alone or walking home from school alone to be illegal. Now parents who aren’t constantly monitoring children don’t need to fear prosecution for neglect. The bill’s champion, author Lenore Skenazy, who coined the term “free-range children,” said the law helps curb the creeping definitions of child neglect.

Goalie for a day

On March 28, Scott Foster was a 36-year-old accountant living in the Chicago suburbs. The next day, Foster was between the pipes tending goal for the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL. With both starters injured ahead of a game against the Winnipeg Jets, the Blackhawks signed minor league goalie Collin Delia to make the start. But since every team needs an emergency goalie, the team reached out to Foster, who currently plays in a recreational league. The team pointed to Foster’s record in collegiate hockey, where he was a standout nearly 15 years ago. In the third period, it happened: Delia suffered cramping and had to leave the game. “The initial shock happened when I had to dress,” Foster said. “You just kind of black out after that.” Foster blocked all seven shots the Jets directed at him, helping seal a Blackhawks 6-2 victory.

The cat came back

Two days after a family in Herefordshire, U.K., held a funeral in its honor, the cat came back. Caterina Robinson said her family’s cat, a tabby named Willow, went missing Feb. 26 during a snowstorm. After searching for 10 days, the family found the remains of a dead cat nearby that resembled Willow. The family took the body to their veterinarian who said he couldn’t make a positive identification of the corpse. Regardless, the family held a memorial service and buried the remains in their garden. Two days later, Robinson’s 7-year-old son Josh discovered Willow hiding in a shed. “We obviously have someone else’s cat buried in our garden,” Robinson said. “We can at least say that they had a nice burial.”

Mystery man no more

The mystery of the Massachusetts judge (see Quick Takes, March 17) is solved. More than 40 people answered an appeal from employees of the Supreme Judicial Court for help in identifying the man in a portrait that hangs outside the chief justice’s chambers. Most were educated guesses, but Assistant Chief Court Officer Keith Downer went the extra mile to find the answer. Downer reportedly performed light tests on a wood panel attached to the canvas. Those tests revealed an inscription, “LS,” which led to the conclusion that the man in the portrait is Lemuel Shaw, chief justice of Massachusetts from 1830 to 1860. Current Chief Justice Ralph Gants called the interest in the portrait “an example of civic engagement at its best.”

Changing circuses

A group many Americans regard as a bunch of clowns may soon have a real one as a member. Democrat and former circus clown Steve Lough of Camden, S.C., is running for Congress in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District, a seat held by Republican Ralph Norman. Lough, who worked as a clown for the Ringling Brothers circus, juggled his way through his March 11 announcement video. “They joke that the president and Congress are all clowns,” Lough told The State. “Well, in my professional opinion, they are the worst clowns I’ve ever seen.”

Finding Philip and Kay

Challenged to deliver the seemingly undeliverable, employees with the New Zealand Post found a way. The package arrived in a New Zealand post office addressed only to a Kay and Philip who lived on “a farm, situated up a long driveway with cows, opposite a pub or thereabouts” in Cust, New Zealand. There are countless pubs and cows in Cust. Rather than return the package, Tammie McGrath, manager of the post office, decided to solve the mystery. She posted an image of the parcel on the agency’s Facebook page on March 13 asking if anyone knew Kay and Philip. Hours later a man named Philip appeared at the post office armed with evidence that the package belonged to him.

Unfriendly visitor

Florida has an estimated 1.3 million gators, and one of them showed up in a backyard swimming pool on March 30. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reported that the gator, one of three found recently in homeowners’ yards, measured 11 feet in length, and a trapper had to remove it. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says gators become more active in the spring and advises treating gators with “caution and respect.”