Toilet Rocket, F-Bombs, Hugging Grocer and 11 Other Weird Michigan News Stories: 2014 in Review

Some people saw Jesus in this pierogi the day after a storm threatened the St. Andre Bessette Church Festival. Others saw a young Frank Zappa or Charles Manson. (Photo: St. Andre Bessette Church Facebook page)

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“Some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them,” author Dick Francis wrote in “To the Hilt.”

Ain’t it the truth?

Right up until a group of rocketry buffs thrust a throne – this isn’t for the sake of an analogy; they really did attack rocket boosters to a portable toilet and send it into FAA-managed airspace – Michigan news was punctuated with some stories that left readers scratching their heads in 2014.

We appreciate that it is rocket science and all that, but the creative thought process behind it gives it a special place in Weird Michigan lore. Who decides to send a portable toilet – the kind of thing most of us avoid if possible – into the air?

• It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s a … Flying Toilet?

If you ask some readers – and Patch did – that face that showed up in a pierogi after a storm blew through Downriver festival in August looked more like Frank Zappa or Charles Manson than Jesus.

• Do You See the Face of Jesus in This Pierogi?

A couple of people were surprised to learn of their own deaths. Dale Hopfinger found out he had died when he went to vote, and Jena David heard of her death on television.

• Man Told He’s Dead and Can’t Vote
• Woman Hears of Her Death on TV

And then there was this, about someone who really did die:

• Cross Country Trip with Corpse in Front Seat: Cops Ask, Crime or ‘Just Plain Stupidity’?

Do drugs make people do weird things? From the perspective of the driver, who was about to get busted and have his pot taken away from him, this may have been more pragmatic than weird.

• High-Speed Chase Ends with a Bong Hit

A Brighton teen waged his war against authority when, after being charged with dropping the F-bomb within earshot of impressionable kiddos. This story almost broke the Internet.

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Among those seizing a share of the bandwidth was a Libertarian candidate whose campaign was about as obscure as the law used to charge the cursing teen until he got some press with his “Effing BS” Rally.

• Dropping the F-Bomb in Michigan Town Could Cost You $200
• ‘Effing BS’ Could Be the Highlight of the Political Silly Season

We were reminded again in 2014 that love hurts.

• Woman Wasn’t Shooting Banks When Lover Failed Her

And that they just don’t write love stories like they used to.

• From Bible College to Bank Stickup Man: A Love Story

And that expressions of affection aren’t always perceived as harmless.

• Hugging Cashier ‘Creeps Out’ Customers, Loses Job

No words:

• Angler Catches Reputed ‘Testicle-Eating’ Fish in Michigan Lake
• Alleged International Smuggler Arrested at Border with 50 Turtles in Pants

Finally, this gun safety public service announcement:

• Woman Accidentally Shoots Herself to Make a Point

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