Brewery worker Del Hall of Newtown, Ohio, is taking an unusual approach to fasting for Lent this year. Hall, who works at the Fifty West brewery in Dayton, is going on an all-beer, only-beer diet until Easter. He told WKRC-TV that monks from the 1600s inspired him. "They would take a popular style of beer in Germany, bock beer, make it extra hearty and that would be their liquid bread, and that's what they call it," Hall said. He is, however, including all types of beer in his Lenten fast. "This seems very daunting," Hall noted. "I'm just curious if I'm up to the challenge." He is planning to check in with his doctor during the fast.

Going out in style

Drivers along southbound Interstate 880 in Hayward, Calif., were pleasantly surprised on March 4 when they saw $20 bills flying through the air. Some motorists stopped to collect as many as they could, but the mystery lay in where they came from. The next day, members of a family, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted to KTVU that they tossed $500 worth of bills into the air as they drove back from a funeral; the unexpected windfall was intended to honor their deceased family member. It's an "Oakland thing," one person explained.

Let's make a deal

In Granville County, N.C., Melissa Anne Godshall, 31, and her boyfriend, Robert J. Kennerley, 46, were panhandling at the side of the road when a car pulled over and Godshall received an unusual proposal: Levan Lomtatidze, 44, from the nation of Georgia, would pay her $12,000, give her a car and make rent payments for her if she would marry him so he could stay in the United States. She agreed, according to U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr., and Kennerley served as a witness at their nuptials. Alas, this romantic partnership was not to be: On March 7, Godshall and Lomtatidze were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud, visa fraud and making false statements in immigration proceedings, the Raleigh News and Observer reported. If convicted, the two face 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Best man Kennerley also faces prison time and fines for aiding and abetting marriage fraud.

Extreme fraud

In Ljubljana, Slovenia, an unnamed 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old relative were arrested for insurance fraud, police announced on March 11, after the young woman cut off her hand in order to collect almost 400,000 euros in insurance payments. Two other relatives were released in the case. The four had recently signed up with five different insurance companies for life and injury coverage. "With one of her accomplices, she intentionally amputated the hand at the wrist with a circular saw, hoping to stage it as an accident," said police spokesman Valter Zrinski, according to the Daily Mail. The group left the hand behind when they went to the hospital, intending to ensure a permanent disability, said police, but doctors at the Ljubljana University Medical Center were able to retrieve and reattach it. The woman and her accomplice face up to eight years in prison.

Crime report

Elysia Johnson, 21, apparently needed some alone time on March 9, so she took a full cart and a six-pack of Stella Artois beer into a dressing room at Target in Lathrop, Calif., where she hunkered down for more than an hour, according to police. Johnson finished all the beer and left the store — with about $200 worth of unpurchased merchandise. A loss prevention officer stopped her and she was taken to the San Joaquin County Jail, where she was held in lieu of $60,000 bail. Johnson also had three outstanding warrants, reported KTXL News.

News of the Weird is compiled by the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication. Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.