Odd News
Man unknowingly buys his own stolen car
A British man who paid more than $26,000 to replace his stolen car later discovered he had unknowingly bought his own vehicle back.
Ewan Valentine, 36, from Solihull, England, said he discovered Feb. 28 that his black 2016 Honda Civic Type-R had been stolen from its overnight parking space.
Valentine said he was distraught about the loss and hoped to replace the car with a nearly-identical vehicle.
The license plates and VIN were different from his stolen vehicle, so he didn’t think too much about the similarities until he had already paid more than $26,000 for the replacement ride.
“I started to notice some odd things when I got it home. I noticed a tent peg and some Christmas tree pines in the boot. I noticed the locking wheel nut was in a Tesco sandwich bag. I noticed some wrappers in the central storage section. All oddly similar to my stolen car,” he said.
Valentine decided to check the car’s on-board GPS and discovered it had previously been to his house, his parents’ house and even his partners’ parents’ house.
“A part of me felt sort of triumphant for a moment until I realized, actually, no, this isn’t some heroic moment; you didn’t go and get your car back; you’ve actually done something a bit stupid,” Valentine told the BBC.
He took the vehicle to a Honda dealership, where technicians confirmed the VIN was a fake and the car was indeed the one that had been stolen from Valentine.
“The first Honda technician, he pulled the physical key out, puts it straight in the door and unlocks it and he’s like, ‘Yes, it’s your car,’” Valentine said.
Valentine said he does not believe the garage that sold him the car knew it was stolen.
“The police and the Honda garage all said this was one of the best clone jobs they’d ever seen, so if it wasn’t for these little artifacts, no one would have ever known,” he said.
The car is currently being investigated by police for forensic evidence and will then be turned over to Valentine’s insurance company.
“The police are now handing the car over to my insurance company, who will either get it road legal again and in a position that it can be insured on my original policy again or pay out for the car if that costs more than the car,”
A 98-year-old British World War II veteran, Harry Heasman officially became the world’s oldest wing walker when he stood atop a flying plane in England.
He spent more than 9 minutes atop the plane at a height of over 1,000 feet on Saturday at Duxford Airfield in Cambridge.
A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on hand to officially certify Heasman as the world’s oldest wing walker.
“I have dreamed of doing this since I was a young child and to finally live that dream at 98 years old and to be a Guinness World Records title holder is beyond anything I could have ever imagined,” Heasman told Guinness World Records.
The nonagenarian said he spent 11 months working with a physical trainer to get his body and mind ready for the attempt.
His record attempt raised money for the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund and served as a tribute to his wife and son, who both died after battles with cancer.
“Harry is proof that it is never too late to chase a dream. At 98 years old, what he has achieved is nothing short of extraordinary. Over the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know him and seeing the determination behind this challenge,” said Lindsey Bidwell, a representative from the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund. Upi.com
Two old men are sitting on a bench. A truck passes on the road. It is pulling a trailer loaded with turf. One of the men says, “See, that’s what I will do when I win the lottery.””What?” asks the other one confused.”I will send my grass away for cutting!”
