A suspect thought Mountain Dew could save her from being fingered as a killer. Fox35-TV reported that on Aug. 5, Nichole Maks, 35, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 79-year-old roommate, Michael Cerasoli, who was discovered beaten and stabbed in the home they shared in Daytona Beach, Fla. Officers tracked down Maks at a restaurant, where she had blood on the side of her leg. As they approached, she dropped the knife and hammer she'd been carrying and poured a can of Diet Mountain Dew over her body and hair, hoping to eliminate any evidence on her person. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work, and her DNA was found on the knife used to kill Cerasoli. She currently resides at the Volusia County Jail.
Hard-hitting
Street performer Lino Tomasen, 32, of Havana, Cuba, has retired from boxing and now beats on himself to collect tips, Reuters reported. Billing himself as the Ironman, Tomasen uses a sledgehammer to slam his wrists, elbows and forearms for horrified onlookers, but seems to be unharmed by the abuse. "I want to be remembered as someone who pushed the limits of what was possible," Tomasen said.
The tech revolution
The California Public Utilities Commission voted in early August to allow Cruise and Waymo to offer paid driverless rides to customers during the day, the New York Times reported. On Aug. 15, a Cruise vehicle in San Francisco drove into a city paving project and got stuck in wet concrete. Onlookers thought it was funny, but city officials weren't laughing. Rachel Gordon with the San Francisco Department of Public Works said, "That portion of the road has to be repaved at Cruise's expense." Paul Leonardi, a professor of technology management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, chalked up the experience to a teaching moment for the driverless car: "It needs to experience a diverse set of use cases so it can learn, and driving into wet concrete is one of those use cases."
Keep your shirt on
At Stoke Fruit Farm on Hayling Island in England, the sunflowers have been in full bloom for several weeks. The colorful fields offer a perfect background for photo shoots, but, the BBC reported, the farm has seen an "increase of reports of naked photography taking place" since July 28. "People are having fun and taking pictures for their Instagram but we just ask that they keep their clothes on," said Sam Wilson, who runs the site. One commenter said her son "got a right eyeful" after stumbling across a woman wearing just a thong. "Should have seen his face!"
Questionable judgment
An unnamed man called his dangerous stunt "a joke" after being arrested in Ostrobothnia, Finland, Sky News reported on Aug. 9. The man allegedly stored 26 pounds of dynamite in his friend's two cars before calling the owner and telling him. The owner alerted police, who evacuated nearby buildings. "In addition to the dynamite, detonators were also confiscated from the cars," said Tony Rauma, detective chief inspector with the Ostrobothnia Police. Police have ruled out terrorism, but stupidity is still in play.
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