ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

UK police hunt shoplifter who looks like Schwimmer

LONDON

British police are hunting a shoplifter who bears a striking resemblance to Ross Geller, the character played by David Schwimmer on the TV show “Friends.”

Facebook users noticed the similarity when police posted surveillance-camera footage of a man carrying a carton of cans from a restaurant in Blackpool, northwest England.

The actor responded with a Twitter video that showed him scuttling furtively through a convenience store clutching a carton of beer.

Schwimmer wrote: “Officers, I swear it wasn’t me. As you can see, I was in New York.” He wished police well with the investigation.

Lancashire Police later confirmed that “David Schwimmer was in America on this date.”

Britain’s Daily Star newspaper ran a story about Schwimmer’s lookalike under the headline “I’ll Beer There for You,” a play on lyrics from the “Friends” theme.

Dead fin whale pulled ashore on beach, cause probed

BRUSSELS

A dead fin whale has been pulled ashore on Belgium’s North Sea coast, drawing onlookers undaunted by the putrid smell.

It has been two decades since a similar whale has hit the Belgian beaches.

Fin whales, which can weigh up to 49 tons, are the second-largest animal in the world. It was being cut into pieces recently, with the meat carried off before it rotted further on the De Haan beach.

Professor Thierry Jauniaux of Liege University says scientists will try to establish a cause of death for the whale. He says its “fat is too low and the animal is suffering from emaciation. There is also evidence of some trauma.”

He says the whale could have been hit by a passing ship.

Blowtorch used on spiders may have started house fire

FRESNO, Calif.

Authorities say a man apparently set a California home on fire while using a blowtorch to kill spiders.

KFSN-TV reports 29 firefighters were called to a Fresno housing development recently to put out a two-alarm blaze.

Authorities say a man was house-sitting for his parents when he tried to kill black widow spiders with a blowtorch. He got out safely, but the home’s attic and second story were damaged.

Although the exact cause of the blaze is under investigation, firefighters believe the blowtorch was to blame. There’s no word on what happened to the spiders.

Fresno firefighters tweeted, “Please don’t use a blowtorch to kill spiders.”

Associated Press