Out of Place 

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Out of Place
When Jenn Ross returned home from the gym about 7 a.m. on Aug. 17, she found an unexpected guest in her Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, home: a young fur seal. Ross' husband, Phil, is a marine biologist, but unfortunately wasn't home to meet the interloper, the Guardian reported. "I really missed my time to shine," he said. He believes the seal came in through the cat door and spent some time in the guest room and on the couch, but thankfully didn't relieve itself inside. "I think that would have been pretty terminal for the furniture," he said. It's not uncommon for the young seals to range far and wide at this time of year, Ross explained. "I guess, like all teenagers, they don't necessarily make sensible decisions," he said.

Cultural Diversity
When traveling to Yokohama, Japan, make sure you have Unco Shop on your must-visit list. "Unco" in Japanese means ... poop. And yes, there's a whole shop devoted to products featuring coiled-up human waste—from clothing items to home accessories, Oddity Central reported. The shop is the brainchild of Akihiko Nobata, aka "President Poop," who trademarked a logo and gave up his job selling high-end men's clothing to start his online business in 2014. Last year, he dropped a brick-and-mortar retail destination, complete with a guestbook where visitors draw poops "and giggle while drawing them," Nobata said. "It transcends language and culture and creates universal laughter."

It's a Mystery
A hot spring in Yellowstone National Park is the site of an ongoing investigation after a park employee discovered a human foot, inside a shoe, floating on the surface of Abyss Pool on Aug. 16, Denver 7 TV reported. Officials believe the foot may belong to a person who died on July 31 at the same hot spring. "Currently, the park believes there was no foul play," a statement read. Law enforcement officers are still looking into the July death. The Abyss Pool is one of the deepest in Yellowstone, and its temperature can reach 140 degrees. Although park regulations and signage discourage visitors from getting too close to the pools, since 1890, at least 22 people have died from hot-springs related injuries.

Spooky
The owner of a "cursed fridge" in England has been posting fliers around London, offering the haunted appliance "free to collect" to anyone who can live with the "soul within," the New York Post reported. "My stepmother had a heart attack on our kitchen floor in the middle of an electrical storm," the poster explained, "and her soul was transferred into the computer unit of our smart fridge." The owner claims the fridge is judging them on "how many slices of cheese I've eaten or whether I've properly put the lid back on something. She has to go." In an even odder twist, however, the attached phone number rings not to an individual but to a kitchen showroom. Hmmm ...

Wrong Place, All the Time
Ray Minter of East San Jose, California, has lived in his home since 1960, he told KTVU-TV. But since 1972, Minter's house has been hit 23 times by cars as they exit the 680 South freeway. Despite steel poles, installed by his insurance company, and a chain-link fence out front, cars still slam into his home. "I've had four of the cars come through my house completely," Minter said. "All the other ones have torn up my fence, and I've lost three cars in the yard." Amazingly, none of his family have suffered serious injuries, although his niece had an arm broken and spent time in the hospital after one incident. Of the drivers, Minter said, "Most of them have been drunk. Like the guy in 2016. He hit (Minter's car) at 105 mph." The City of San Jose says it has no authority over the off-ramp but encourages drivers to slow down and obey traffic laws.

Police Report
Oh, that mischievous imp, Dennis the Menace. A 3½-foot-tall bronze statue pays tribute to the cartoon strip character at Dennis the Menace Playground in Monterey, California—except for when it's on the run. The statue, which was installed in 1988, was stolen—again— on Aug. 21, Monterey police told KSBW-TV. Thieves used a grinder to cut Dennis' foot and remove the 200-pound artwork, called "a symbol of the goodness and happiness of the city" by City Manager Hans Uslar. The statue was first stolen in 2006; a replacement statue was placed in the park a year later. In 2015, a Dennis the Menace statue was found at a scrap yard in Orlando, Florida, but it was determined to be a different piece than the Monterey Dennis. The kid gets around.

• Anthony Petty, 62, of Seminole, Florida, told Pinellas County cops on Aug. 18 that he was "just trying to celebrate his birthday" when he arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex at a St. Petersburg apartment. The Smoking Gun reported that Petty had been communicating with the "girl"—really an undercover police officer—on a chat app, sending her explicit messages and a video of him being his own BFF. Petty is being held in lieu of $12,000 bond.

Wait, What?
Cleveland, Georgia, is home to Babyland General Hospital, the Mirror reported, but don't go there with a broken finger or to deliver a human infant. The faux hospital is actually a toy store where fans of Cabbage Patch dolls can witness a "birth" as a nurse calls out "dilation" updates: "five leaves apart, seven leaves apart, nine leaves apart"—even announcing the necessity for a "leaves-iotomy" (like an episiotomy). "Finally," according to a Twitter post from Sarah Baird, a recent visitor, "the cabbage patch doll is born." Shoppers/visitors who want to adopt a new doll have to sign adoption papers, but the store's guarantee is comprehensive: If your doll becomes damaged, you can send it back, and if it can't be repaired, they'll send you a coffin and death certificate so you can lay it to rest. One Twitter user who visited as a child replied, "I am so glad to know it is just as odd and terrifying as I remember."

Suspicions Confirmed
Adrianna Belin, 23, and Montinique Zeigler, 20, were arrested on Aug. 24 in North Carolina for making multiple bomb threats against the Campbell Soup Co.'s facility in Maxton, WRAL-TV reported. It wasn't the lack of lobster in the lobster bisque, though, that motivated them. Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said Zeigler previously worked at the factory but was terminated—and was sending the threats while she was still an employee. Both women were charged with felony conspiracy and making a false report concerning a destructive device; they were each held under a $200,000 bond at the Robeson County Detention Center.

Work Ethic
Thieves broke into a Brink's security tractor-trailer in July and made off with millions of dollars' worth of jewelry—all while one of the drivers was asleep in the truck's bunk and another was inside a truck stop getting food, according to a lawsuit filed by Brink's against the jewelers who owned the baubles. The goods were on their way from San Mateo, California, to Los Angeles for the International Gem and Jewelry Show, the Los Angeles Times reported. The drivers had stopped at a Flying J truck stop along I-5, and the thieves made quick work of cutting the lock and removing 22 large bags of gems, gold and other valuables. The Brink's lawsuit is in response to an earlier suit filed by 13 jewelers, alleging that their merchandise was worth $100 million and that the drivers were "grossly negligent." Brink's argues that the value was $8.7 million, as declared on manifests signed by its customers. No word on the fate of the drivers.

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