I thought these two, true, stories would provide a fun interlude in my normal run of blogs. They make me smile and they take us away from the “normal”, if there is such a thing anymore. I might even begin to look for similar crazy stories, and establish a new type of blog once in a while.
Case Qwacked
Ship in the garden
Case Qwacked: Flying duck caught by Swiss speed camera is repeat offender.
Police say the duck was likely a repeat offender after being snapped in the same spot in 2018.
A duck has been caught speeding on traffic cameras in the town of Koeniz in central Switzerland.
Local police said the mallard – a wild duck – was snapped on radar images on 13 April clocking in at 52km/h (32 mph) in a 30km zone.
Adding to the mystery, authorities said the duck was likely a repeat offender and shared an image of a similar looking duck travelling in the same spot, at the same speed and on the same date in 2018.
There has been speculation about whether the “notorious racer” duck incident was a belated April Fool’s joke, but the police inspectorate said it is impossible to manipulate images on the radar system.
Authorities said traffic cameras are tested each year by Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Metrology and the photos taken are sealed.
In a Facebook post, Koeniz officials wished the public “a lot of fun” in making sense of the “curious coincidences” seven years in the making.
“We wish you a lot of fun sensing about curious coincidences, criminal machinations of animals and the maximum flight speed of ducks,” the post read.
Some comments have asked what the penalty will be for the “racer duck’s” transgressions.
Ship in the Garden: A man in Norway woke up to find a huge container ship had run aground and crashed into his front garden.
The 135m-ship (443ft) missed Johan Helberg’s house by metres at about 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Mr. Helberg was only alerted to the commotion by his panicked neighbour who had watched the ship as it headed straight for shore, in Byneset, near Trondheim.
“The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Mr. Helberg told television channel TV2.
“I went to the window and was quite astonished to see a big ship,” he added.
“I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal.”
“Five metres further south and it would have entered the bedroom,” he added. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Neighbour Jostein Jorgensen said he was woken by the sound of the ship as it headed at full speed towards land and ran into Mr. Helberg’s property.
“I was sure that he was already outside, but no, there was no sign of life. I rang the doorbell many times and nothing,” said Mr. Jorgensen.
“And it was only when I called him on the phone that I managed to contact him,” he told TV2.
The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship, the NCL Salten, had 16 people on board and was travelling south-west through the Trondheim Fjord to Orkanger when it went off course.
No-one was injured in the incident.
It is not known what caused the crash and Norwegian police are said to be investigating.
“It’s a very bulky new neighbour, but it will soon go away,” Mr. Helberg added.
The head of NCL, which chartered the ship, said it was a “serious incident” and “we are grateful that nobody was injured”.
“At present time, we do not know what caused the incident and are awaiting the conclusion of the ongoing investigation by the relevant authorities,” said managing director Bente Hetland.
According to reports, the ship had previously run aground in 2023 but got free under its own power.
