Quick Takes

Spaced out

A Russian government official has proposed an investigation into the United States 1969 moon landing to ascertain whether the event ever occurred. Writing in the Russian newspaper Izvestia on June 16, Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the nation’s official Investigative Committee, suggested a Russian investigation into the moon landings might put to rest decades of doubt in the former Soviet Union. In particular, Markin said he’d like to know what happened to the original footage of the lunar landing and also the rocks brought home from the moon.

Unwanted weed

The Twickenham Police Department would like a word with whoever left 16 large laundry bags littered alongside a street on June 23. According to officers in the United Kingdom hamlet, the bags were filled to the brim with marijuana. Nearby, the investigating officer found another 10 bags containing more cannabis, along with grow lights, bulbs, masks, and air fresheners. So far, no one has come forward to claim the lost goods.

One city’s trash ...

One Phoenix-area man in June was dumpster diving when he discovered where the city of Phoenix keeps some of its money. David Zorehkey found 14 checks made out to the city while digging through a recycling bin looking for usable cardboard boxes. The discarded and uncashed checks Zorehkey discovered ranged in amount from $50 to $57,000. In all, Zorehkey found the city had thrown away more than $70,000. “They’re always complaining about not having enough money for stuff,” he told KPHO. “I’m sure they’d be happy to have an extra $70,000.” Zorehkey turned the money over to city officials, who said they’d make no comments about the discarded money until after a police investigation.

Lack of focus lane

Aggravated by absent-minded texters, officials at Utah Valley University have modified stairwells at the school’s gym to create a dedicated walking lane for people texting and walking. The three lanes are named “Walk,” “Run,” and “Text,” and according to some students, the plan is working. “There’s nothing worse than walking behind someone who’s texting, and you can’t get around them and go anywhere,” student Tasia Briggs said. A school spokesman said the texting lane is a lighthearted attempt at encouraging students to pay more attention to their surroundings when they walk.

Video evidence

Police in British Columbia needed neither lasers nor radar to bust a speeding motorcyclist earlier this year. After pulling over the 27-year-old unidentified motorcyclist in Delta, B.C., going unusually fast, police noticed he was wearing a GoPro video camera. After seizing the camera and downloading the video, officers saw the biker had recorded his joyride—and his speedometer too. The speedometer showed the motorcyclist had been traveling 132 miles per hour—good enough for more than $800 in fines. On June 30, Delta police posted the video on their YouTube channel as a warning for errant drivers.

Special anniversary

Less than three weeks after Jeremy and Justice Stamper of Bristol, Tenn., got married, bride Justice was in a serious car accident on Aug. 20 that left her with short-term memory loss. And when the two reunited in the hospital, the couple was heartbroken when Justice Stamper couldn’t remember their Aug. 1 wedding. Her memory of her wedding day may never come back, but husband Jeremy has a new plan: a do-over that Justice will never forget. According to the couple, they plan to recreate their wedding event on their one-year anniversary, Aug. 1, 2015.

Costly trip

The cabbie should have known better. The rider should have known better. Police in Uniontown, Pa., arrested New York City resident John Williams Jr. on June 27 after the 35-year-old tried to welch on a $749 cab fare. According to police, Williams hailed the cab in Philadelphia and the driver delivered him nearly 300 miles across Pennsylvania in Uniontown so that he could surprise his fiancée. Problem: Williams didn’t have cash and his credit card was maxed out. After a phone call from the taxi driver, police arrested Williams on theft of services.

A personal arsenal

Some persons collect stamps. Others collect coins. A 78-year-old German man collected World War II weapons—and not just Luger pistols and Luftwaffe knives. Authorities in Kiel on July 3 said they had confiscated a 45-ton Panther tank, a torpedo, and an 88-mm flak gun from the underground garage of a man in Kitzeberg whom they did not identify. The man says he had demilitarized and properly registered the items, which authorities dispute. But the man had never made his arsenal a secret, speaking with reporters prior to his arrest about the Panther tank. Neighbor Kristin Schroeder told the Kieler Nachrichten newspaper that he used the tank to help neighbors plow snow during a particularly bad winter in 1978-1979: “It was well known, at least to all the older Kitzebergers, that he had a tank.”

Lost and found

Amber Pangborn chose the wrong time to chance getting lost. Pangborn, 35 and pregnant, dared to take an unfamiliar shortcut through a forest near her parents’ home in Oroville, Calif., on June 24. But the gravel road in Plumas National Forest led her into a wilderness where she lost cell reception and ran out of gasoline. Stranded on a seldom-used road, Pangborn went into labor. “I laid out a sleeping bag in the backseat, lied down, gripped the handle above the back window, and gave birth to my daughter,” she told KCRA. Pangborn and her newborn Marissa survived the next three days fending off mosquitoes and bees, living only on a soda, a bottle of water, and three apples. Finally on the third day, Pangborn set off a signal fire that quickly turned into a wildfire. That’s when U.S. Forest Service firefighters discovered and rescued the mother and newborn.