Community Corner

Weird News: Lil' Panda in DC, Nude Dude in Traffic, 400 Missing Koi, Lorena Bobbitt Attack Turns 20

Plus, bikes strike back and that's not a dog hanging from your birdbath — it's a bear!

by Greg Hambrick

Editor’s Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn’t happening somewhere in the area. Here’s a look back at some weird goings on over the past week.

Red Panda Lost and Found: Rusty, a Red Panda, took in a bit of Washington this week when he decided to leave the cozy confines of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and get a little sightseeing out of his system. The disappearance set off a manhunt, of sorts, after caretakers at the National Zoo took to Twitter to track down Rusty. Locals spotted him in Adams Morgan and he was back at home by Monday afternoon.

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Naked in Traffic: Residents of greater Alexandria can thank a certain naturalist for shaking up their commute. Authorities believe narcotics led a man to get naked and jump in front of cars near Fort Hunt Road. Fairfax officers wrangled the nude dude and took him to a nearby hospital for observation. But not before he racked up charges for resisting arrest, assaulting an officer and indecent exposure.

Koi Kidnapping Kaper: Fairfax County Police are searching for two men who reportedly stole approximately 400 koi fish from a corporate office pond in Herndon over several days earlier this month. According to a news release, the men posed as pond maintenance workers.

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Backyard Bear Season: McLean residents had a new visitor this week. A woman thought she’d caught sight of a black dog in her yard. Nope. Upon closer inspection, it was a black bear. “I didn’t expect to see a bear in my backyard,” she said. “When I came back upstairs it was on the deck hanging on the birdfeeder.” Meanwhile, Old Town Alexandria residents were reporting their own unusual guest: a wild turkey.

Bobbitt Attack Turns 20: Manassas residents tell us the area was famous for more than historic battles two decades ago. That was when a troubled marriage reached a violent level, with Lorena Bobbitt cutting off her husband’s penis and throwing it off a bridge. She would go on to call 911. Doctors saved and reattached her husband’s member and a new level of weird was born. Bobbitt said she attacked her husband after years of abuse. She now runs a nonprofit in Prince William County to help victims of domestic violence.

Bicycle Hits Car (No, Not the Other Way Around): It’s a dangerous world out there for commuting cyclists as some motorists turn a blind eye to blind spots and bike lanes. This time, it’s the cars that have to worry. A Vienna driver stopped at a red light last week. As he was waiting to turn onto Maple Avenue, a bicycle traveling east on Maple allegedly struck the front left corner of the car. The cyclist then left the scene.

More Weird: Strip Clubs, Snapping Turtles and the Butt Slasher Pleads Guilty


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