oddly enough

oddly enough

Off-duty officer scares pranksters

BARNSTABLE, Mass.

Two Massachusetts men planning to prank a stranger by springing from a box in a scary mask were thwarted by an alert off-duty police officer and are now facing charges.

Police in Barnstable on Cape Cod say the officer spotted the men passing through his yard just before 6 p.m. Thursday on their way to a neighbor’s house. One man, dressed in black, was wearing a scary clown mask with blood and scars. The other had the box.

The masked man hid in the box while the other man hid in the bushes with a camera.

The Cape Cod Times reports that the officer intervened. The men told him they were going to scare a stranger and post the video on YouTube. They were charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.

Man named ‘human’ mounts candidacy

ROCHESTER, N.H.

New Hampshire’s House of Representatives may be getting a little more human next year.

A candidate, who legally changed his name to “human,” was running against incumbent Democratic state Rep. Rose Marie Rogers in Tuesday’s primary.

David Montenegro changed his name to “human” in 2012. He made headlines this year when the state’s highest court ruled he could have a vanity license plate that reads COPSLIE. He had sued after the Division of Motor Vehicles said he couldn’t have the plate because it denigrated police officers.

Rogers first was elected in 2012 and represents Rochester, a city of about 30,000 residents.

Volunteers grill 100-foot bratwurst

BELLEVILLE, Ill.

About 50 people volunteered to carefully grill a 100-foot bratwurst without burning or breaking it at a bar in Illinois.

Silver Creek Saloon hosted the practice run last week to prepare for the city’s 200th anniversary celebration in which the volunteers will attempt to grill a 200-foot-long bratwurst, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. The Bicentennial Oktoberfest Weekend Celebration is set to be held Friday through Sunday in downtown Belleville.

On Tuesday, Larry Schubert, who made the 60-pound sausage, led the effort to unroll it onto a specially made 100-foot metal trough. Volunteers exercised more caution after practicing in August with a 50-foot bratwurst that broke in several places because it was turned too quickly and the grill was too hot. Organizers walked around to inspect and fix splits in the meat.

A nearby baking company will make a 200-foot-long bun to go with the bratwurst when it’s grilled at the event Sunday. Donations will be collected from people who want to eat a piece of the bratwurst. Proceeds will benefit local food pantries.

Associated Press