Porn Mysteriously Appears In City Rec Guide: Weird News & Oddities

Authorities in Pomona, California, believe that sometime after city officials OK’d the final proof of the city’s summer recreation guide, a “rogue actor” swapped out the intended copy for adult content advertisements, and some copies made it into the mailboxes of residents.

You may well wonder how things like this happen. So do Pomona police and U.S. postal inspectors. The print shop has been cleared of any scurrilous actions, and the investigation is continuing.

City officials apologized.

“We recognize this incident has damaged public trust and are committed to transparency as we review the issue and implement corrective actions,” the city said in a statement.

• Read more: Porn Images Found In City Recreation Guides

Intruuder Has ‘Slippery Nature’

What recently happened to a Connecticut woman seemed ripped from the script of the Hollywood thriller “Snakes on a Plane.”

She was driving along Route 2 in the eastern part of the state when she discovered she wasn’t alone. A large snake was loose.

The woman called police for help, and a trooper “was able to wrangle the unwanted hitchhiker from the caller's car despite the slippery nature of the accused,” Connecticut State Police said in a Facebook post.

“I just died …not a little, but a lot,” someone said on Facebook.

• Read more: When A Bit Ol’ Snake Hitches A Ride

This Wasn’t On The Bingo Card

An emu on the loose caused a stir in Sussex County, New Jersey, brought out the laughs on Facebook, where the Hopatcong Animal Shelter asked who the flightless bird might belong to.

“I did not have a lost emu on my bingo card today, folks,” one person wrote.

In one of several references to the emu in the Liberty Mutual ad, another person observed, “He got tired of doing all those commercials and ran away.”

Other comments were more serious, with some people offering to help capture the emu themselves.

“Update, we no longer need help,” the animal shelter said in an update to its post. “We have found multiple experienced people to assist. Please do not go to the area to see it or attempt to catch it.”

Emus aren’t exactly mean, but neither are they petting zoo chickens. They’re big birds with strong legs and claws, but even a curious or pushy emu can hurt someone by kicking, charging or pecking.

• Read more: Emu Found Running Loose In North Jersey

The Price Of A Prank

A Rockland County, New York, corrections officer was recently indicted after prosecutors said he slipped a laxative into a fellow officer’s unattended coffee cup while both were on duty at the county jail.

Russell Thorne, 63, of Greenwood Lake, is charged with second-degree attempted assault, third-degree attempted assault, official misconduct, second-degree prison contraband, second-degree obstructing governmental administration and third-degree criminal tampering, according to Rockland County prosecutors.

The victim momentarily stepped away from her coffee during her shift at the jail, giving Thorne time enough to drop a laxative pill in her drink, prosecutors said. When the victim took a sip from her cup, she felt a small, hard object and spit it out. The pill was later identified as a laxative.

• Read more: It Wasn’t A Mickey One Corrections Officer Slipped To Another, Prosecutors Say

Bear A Repeat Offender

A notorious black bear that has broken into three Connecticut homes and is suspected in as many more was humanely euthanized earlier this month, according to state wildlife officials.

Bears that enter homes looking for food have lost their natural fear of humans and have learned to associate humans, houses and neighborhoods with easy meals, according to the state’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. They don’t scare easily.

“That can pose a significant risk to human life,” the agency said in an emailed statement to Patch. “In this instance, euthanasia was the necessary action in accordance with our bear response practices.”

Wildlife officials have responded to 110 nuisance bear calls since the beginning of the year, 96 of them since April 1. In 20 cases, bears have entered homes. Wildlife officials don’t relocate bears.

“Moving a habituated, food-conditioned bear simply transfers the problem to another location,” DEEP said. “It can also have negative impacts on bears, as placing a new bear into existing territories can cause disputes or increase the likelihood of more conflicts because the bear will have to learn new natural food sources and human-sourced food is easier to find and acquire.”

The best thing to do is remove food sources that are drawing bears into the neighborhood in the first place, the agency said.

• Read more: Black Bear Euthanized After Series Of Home Break-Ins