Bizarre News - July 8, 2015

Greetings fellow Bizarros:

I'm starting to feel a little guilty printing these stories. After last week's story of a man accidentally killing himself with a firework comes another incident involving, you guessed it, an accidental death from playing with fireworks.

You can almost picture it in your mind: a backyard Fourth of July party in Maine. The state only legalized fireworks there two years ago, so they are still kind of novel.

There is some drinking going on and an adventurous (let's call him) young man decides to play the class clown by tying a mortar tube on top of his head. Maybe he was going to pretend to be a sparkler. But when he "pretended" to light the mortar things went very, very bad.

22-year-old Devon Staples died at the scene.

"I was the first one who got there. There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there," his brother, Cody Staples, said, adding that his brother accidentally lit the fuse by holding a lighter near his head.

"It was a freak accident... But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid. He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh."

Devon became the first person killed by fireworks in Maine since the state legalized them.

"He loved making people happy," his brother said. "Anyone who would want to give a tribute to Devon should go out and do something nice for someone. Show some love to someone you don't know."

Just don't do it by lighting fireworks on top of your head.

Bizarrely,
Lewis

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*-- 'Puppies' adopted by Chinese man turn out to be Asian black bears --*
KUNMING, China (UPI) - A Chinese man turned his pets over an animal rescue group after the two "puppies" he adopted two years ago grew up to be Asian black bears. Wang Kayui of Yunnan Province said he adopted the two "puppies" from Vietnam about two years ago and when the animals began to grow he discovered they were actually bears. Wang said the animals were very well behaved and he kept them at his home until he recently saw a leaflet about endangered animals from the local Public Security Bureau and discovered his pets were Asian black bears, a Category 2 protected species. The bears were taken June 30 to the Yunnan Wild Animal Rescue Center, where officials confirmed they were male and female Asian black bears, also known as moon bears. A spokesman for the center said both animals were in good health.

*-- Broadway audience member tries to charge phone on stage --*
NEW YORK (UPI) - An audience member apparently caught up in the illusion of live theater at a Broadway show stunned onlookers by trying to charge his phone on stage. Cast members and theatergoers at the July 2 showing of adult puppet play Hand to God said the man climbed on stage before the start of the show and attempted to charge his phone in an electrical outlet. Witnesses said the man's attempt failed, as the outlet was a non-functioning part of the show's set, and workers quickly arrived to unplug the phone and make an announcement about not using the set for charging. "Well, where can I charge it?" the man was quoted as saying by the blog Broadway Adjacent. Cast members Sarah Stiles and Marc Kudisch talked about the incident on Twitter. "A guy jumped on the stage and plugged his phone into the fake outlet on our set just before we started. @HandtoGodBway #fullmoon or #idiot?" Stiles tweeted. "Dear general audience, an electrical socket that's a part of the set of the play is NOT for you to charge your iPhone.....just an FYI," Kudisch wrote. Witnesses said the man was not kicked out of the play and was seen drinking at the bar during intermission. Some suggested the incident may have been a dare from someone attending the play with the man.


*-- READER COMMENTS --*
Lewis, I hope 'Urder' is a serious offense in Vermont. She's lucky they didn't charge her with premeditated 'murder'. -Joe

Does his stunt (firecracker guy) at least qualify him for the Darwin Awards? -Bill

Lewis, I think I'd have to say firecrackers are more dangerous. The danger posed by any kind of firearm depends on whose hands it's in, but a lit firecracker will explode the same no matter who is holding it (though the smarter people will not be holding one when it explodes). That's why fireworks are illegal in many states, whereas you can buy guns almost anywhere in the US (thanks to the second amendment). -Chris

*-- END OF READER COMMENTS --*
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