HOUSTON – It’s been a weird, wild year, y’all!
From a simultaneous snake-hawk attack to a “missing” man, the Houston area did not disappoint in the weird news department this year.
Without further ado, here are some of the Houston-area headlines that made us do a double take in 2023.
- Two unaccompanied goats wandered into a Target store in Spring.
- A radiographic camera, which contains radioactive material, disappeared in the Houston area.
- A woman was arrested and barred from shopping at any of the Harris County H-E-B stores after reportedly slapping an employee who confronted her for violating the “Ten Items or Fewer” self-checkout lane policy.
- A man wearing a vest reading “Police K-9″ was arrested for allegedly trying to impersonate a cop in order to gain entry to Megan Thee Stallion’s March Madness concert in Houston.
- The case of Rudy Farias, who was reported missing as a teenager in 2015 and found alive in July, took an unexpected turn when police revealed it all was a hoax.
- A pilot survived after a small plane clipped the top of an 18-wheeler while making an emergency landing on Grand Parkway.
- In reaction to a report of a deceased woman and suspicions of foul play, law enforcement personnel from Harris County rushed to a wooded area in north Houston. However, upon arrival, they found that the distorted body in question was, in fact, a sex doll.
- More than 230 people were arrested on various charges during the annual “Go topless” Jeep weekend on Crystal Beach.
- A Houston woman was featured on an episode of “My Strange Addiction: Still Addicted?” for growing out her fingernails and toenails to extreme lengths.
- The FBI provided a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the apprehension of the “Sticky Note Bandit.” This individual, disguised as a woman, targeted four banks in Houston within a span of two weeks, handing threatening sticky notes during the robberies.
- A grandmother from Montgomery County shared images of herself baking bread inside a brick mailbox in scorching 100-degree temperatures. After the photos gained widespread attention, she confessed that they had been staged.
- Sassy Trucker, a female influencer from Harris County, came back to her hometown from Dubai in July after facing detention in May for shouting during a dispute at a car rental agency.
- An influencer from Houston traveled to Ukraine to contribute to the war effort by providing emotional support through work as a stripper.
- A serpent descended from above, coiling itself around the limb of a woman from Silsbee. Subsequently, a hawk swooped in, attacking the snake and causing injury to the woman.
- Tony Buzbee, the defense lawyer with a notably sun-kissed complexion representing Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleged that news organizations manipulated photos to portray his skin as an unnatural shade of orange.
- In Houston, six Cuban nationals faced indictments for purportedly engaging in the trafficking of over three hundred songbirds. These avian species hold significant value among gamblers who place high-stakes bets on competitions, evaluating birds based on the intricacy and musicality of their tunes.
- A Minnesota Twins fan rented 45 Houston billboards during the MLB playoffs to troll the Astros, Mattress Mack.
- Someone in Houston reprogrammed a digital sign located at Westheimer and Montrose, causing it to show an explicit message: “Go f*** yourself.”
- While swimming at Huntsville State Park, a Girl Scout troop narrowly avoided an encounter with a 14-foot alligator.
- Tomball’s police and fire department responded to a situation where two bald eagles found in a family’s front yard were unable to take flight. The eagles’ talons had become entangled during a skirmish over a piece of food.
- Harris County deputy constables conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle along U.S. 290, and discovered over $1,000 worth of meat that was stolen from four nearby supermarkets.
- Rice University suspended on-campus parties through spring 2024 after an underwear-only party ended with more than two dozen students requiring medical treatment.
- After a Houston woman’s landlord disappeared, she allegedly began renting out his room. In 2023, she was charged with his murder.
- Houston steakhouse Taste of Texas was the site of an unusual gender reveal in October: Local artist Bailey Hill and her husband Travis passed a sealed envelope to their server. The Hills told him to order them steak if the ultrasound read male, and lobster if it read female.
- A car dealership in northwest Houston captured footage of two dogs mauling vehicles on their lot multiple times in November, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.