1. The time a town elected a dog as mayor… and kept reelecting him
In the small town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, the mayor isn’t a man or a woman—it’s a dog. The first canine mayor, a black Labrador named Goofy Borneman-Calhoun, was elected in 1998 as part of a fundraising campaign for the local historical society. It was supposed to be a joke, but the tradition stuck. As of 2024, the current mayor is Boone, a Bluetick Coonhound who beat out several other pets, Madylin Goins of Fox56 explains.
This isn’t just a cute publicity stunt—the town treats it as a full-on community tradition. Each “election” helps raise funds for Rabbit Hash, and it draws national media attention every time. Locals take it seriously (well, kind of), and tourists flock to meet the four-legged leader. You’ve gotta admit, it says something about politics when the most beloved mayor is one who never says a word.
2. The Jetpack Guy spotted flying near LAX… multiple times
Since 2020, pilots flying into Los Angeles International Airport have reported seeing a man in a jetpack soaring near their planes, according to Greta Bjornson of PEOPLE. It’s happened at least five different times, often at altitudes as high as 6,000 feet. That’s well into commercial flight paths, which makes it both dangerous and bizarre. The FBI and FAA both launched investigations, but no one has definitively identified the so-called “Jetpack Guy.”
At one point, officials suggested it could have been a drone made to look like a person with a jetpack. But others argued the movement was too fluid to be mechanical. Some footage emerged, but it’s inconclusive. So yes, a real-life Rocketeer might be zipping around L.A., and we still don’t know who—or what—it is.
3. That time the U.S. accidentally dropped a nuke on North Carolina (and didn’t detonate it)
In 1961, a B-52 bomber broke apart over Goldsboro, North Carolina, accidentally dropping two nuclear bombs, Evan Sery of Spectrum News explains. Each bomb was 250 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima. One of them deployed its parachute and gently landed in a field; the other crashed into a swamp. Incredibly, three of the four safety mechanisms failed, and only a single switch prevented a catastrophic detonation.
This incident wasn’t declassified until decades later, when government documents confirmed just how close we came to disaster. Locals were told it was a training exercise at the time. To this day, parts of one of the bombs remain buried underground because it was too dangerous to retrieve. It’s one of the scariest “oops” moments in U.S. military history.
4. A guy built a rocket in his backyard to prove the Earth is flat
“Mad” Mike Hughes, a self-taught rocket builder and flat-Earth believer, made national headlines for launching himself in homemade rockets to prove the Earth wasn’t round, Avishay Artsy of WHYY explains. In 2018, he successfully reached 1,875 feet in altitude before parachuting back to Earth. But that wasn’t enough—he wanted to go higher. Tragically, in 2020, Hughes died when his rocket crashed during a launch in California.
What’s wild is that Hughes was both a stuntman and a fringe science advocate. He claimed NASA was faking photos of Earth and wanted “real evidence.” While most flat-Earthers stick to forums and TikTok, Hughes literally risked—and lost—his life for the cause. His story was even featured in an HBO documentary called Rocketman.
5. The day an entire town got Wi-Fi from a Taco Bell
In 2013, the town of Bethel, Alaska, was promised a Taco Bell opening… but it turned out to be an elaborate prank. When the company heard about the hoax, they decided to bring tacos to the people anyway. Taco Bell airlifted a truckload of ingredients into the remote town by helicopter, according to Tiffany Hsu of The Los Angeles Times. More than 10,000 Doritos Locos tacos were handed out for free.
That’s not all—Taco Bell also set up temporary Wi-Fi service at the event. In a town where internet access is limited and expensive, it was a huge deal. People lined up not just for the tacos but to check their email and post on Facebook. It was one of the weirdest, most delightful marketing moves ever.
6. A man hijacked a plane just to talk to the president
In 1974, a U.S. Army private named Samuel Byck tried to hijack a commercial airliner at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. His plan? Crash it into the White House to assassinate President Richard Nixon. He didn’t get far—he killed a pilot and a security officer before being shot by police. He died by suicide before they could apprehend him.
Here’s the twist: Byck recorded hours of audio explaining his motivations and mailed tapes to journalists and celebrities, including Leonard Bernstein. He believed the government was oppressing the poor and that Nixon had to be stopped. The entire plot sounds like fiction, but it’s 100% true and heavily documented. The story later inspired the film “The Assassination of Richard Nixon.”
7. When the CDC warned people not to wash and reuse condoms
Yes, this actually happened. In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a public statement reminding people not to reuse condoms. Apparently, enough people were rinsing and reusing them that it warranted an official warning. The tweet said, “We say it because people do it: Don’t wash or reuse condoms. Use a fresh one for each sex act.”
The internet exploded with disbelief, but the CDC stood by its message. Health officials clarified that some people were trying to be “frugal” or just didn’t understand proper usage. It’s funny at first glance, but it also shows a real gap in sex education. Let this be your reminder: condoms are one-time-use, folks.
8. The time a man stole a commercial airplane and did barrel rolls
In 2018, Richard Russell, a ground service agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, stole a Horizon Air Q400 plane and took it on a joyride. He wasn’t a trained pilot, but he managed to fly for nearly 90 minutes, performing dangerous stunts like barrel rolls. Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept him. Tragically, he crashed the plane on a remote island and died.
Russell didn’t try to harm anyone—he just wanted to do something big before ending his life. The recordings of his conversations with air traffic control are haunting and oddly calm. The whole event stunned aviation experts and prompted major security overhauls. It’s one of the strangest and most heartbreaking incidents in recent U.S. aviation history.
9. A whole town was taken over by tumbleweeds
In 2018, Victorville, California, was buried under a sudden invasion of tumbleweeds. Gusty winds pushed thousands of them into neighborhoods, piling up so high they trapped people inside their homes. Some residents couldn’t open their front doors. Others had to call emergency services for help digging out.
It looked like a scene from a cartoon or a Wild West movie, but it was very real. City crews worked for days to clear the dried-out plants, which posed a serious fire hazard. Officials said the tumbleweeds came from nearby vacant lots where they’d been growing unchecked. The incident earned Victorville the unofficial title of “Tumbleweed Town.”
10. The woman who gave birth while running a marathon
Amber Miller was 39 weeks pregnant when she ran the 2011 Chicago Marathon. She completed it in 6 hours and 25 minutes, then went straight to the hospital and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Technically, she only “walked and jogged,” but still—26.2 miles while nine months pregnant is no joke. The crowd went wild when they found out.
Miller had medical clearance and was already an experienced marathoner. Still, doctors were a bit stunned when she showed up post-race already in labor. Her story made international headlines and sparked debates about fitness and pregnancy. The baby’s unofficial nickname? “Marathon.”
11. When a monkey sued the photographer who took its selfie
In 2011, a crested macaque in Indonesia took a selfie with a wildlife photographer’s camera. The photo went viral, and animal rights group PETA filed a lawsuit claiming the monkey—named Naruto—should own the copyright. The case dragged on for years in U.S. courts. Eventually, a judge ruled animals can’t hold copyright under U.S. law.
The case was bizarre but raised big questions about intellectual property in the digital age. Who owns a photo taken by an animal using a human’s camera? While the lawsuit was dismissed, the photographer agreed to donate a portion of profits to wildlife charities. Yes, we literally had a landmark legal battle over a monkey selfie.
12. A government weather balloon started a nationwide panic
In 1947, the U.S. Army reported recovering a “flying disc” near Roswell, New Mexico. The news sparked UFO hysteria that still lingers today. The military quickly retracted the statement, saying it was a weather balloon. Decades later, declassified documents revealed it was actually a secret high-altitude surveillance balloon from Project Mogul.
Even though there was no alien cover-up, the original miscommunication launched the modern UFO conspiracy era. Roswell became a cultural phenomenon, complete with museums, annual festivals, and alien-themed fast food. The town has leaned into its extraterrestrial identity ever since. One bureaucratic oops turned into a cornerstone of American folklore.
13. When a pizza place got stormed over a fake conspiracy theory
In 2016, a man with an assault rifle walked into a Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant to “self-investigate” an internet conspiracy known as Pizzagate. He believed the basement held a secret child trafficking ring run by political elites. Spoiler: there was no basement. No ring. Nothing.
The man, Edgar Welch, fired shots inside but didn’t hurt anyone before surrendering. He later admitted he made a terrible mistake and was sentenced to four years in prison. The story showed just how dangerous misinformation can become. A bizarre online hoax turned into a real-world threat almost overnight.
