By Amber Bass
COLUMBUS, Georgia. — A Georgia man said he went back into his burning home to save his beer after making sure his family was safe. Walter Serpit, who walks with a cane, made sure the six adults and two children who live in the home made it outside safely. He then went back in to get his beer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “I told them to get the kids out and everything, and me myself, being an alcoholic, I was trying to get my beer out,” Serpit said.
LONDON, England–A violin that was being played as the Titanic went down was sold for 900,000 pounds ($1.46 million) at auction on Saturday. Band leader Wallace Hartley played the instrument, trying to calm passengers as the ship slipped into the frozen waters of the North Atlantic in April 1912. When Hartley’s body was recovered more than 10 days after the disaster, the violin was found in a leather case strapped to him, according to the folklore that has grown up around the event.
CALIFORNIA — Poison control centers across the US are monitoring a recent increase in the trend of teenagers getting drunk by consuming hand sanitizer. Sixteen cases have been reported in California since March 1, according to the California Poison Control System. Hand sanitizer contains 62 percent ethyl alcohol and, when ingested, produces the same effects of consuming a 120-proof alcoholic beverage according to The US Food and Drug Administration.
AUGUSTA, Georgia– Alexander D. Smith walked into an Augusta, Georgia, bank and tried to open an account with a $1 million bill. Great idea, except there is no such thing as a $1 million bill. He was arrested for uttering a forged instrument.
OSTERNARKE, Sweden: A 56-year-old woman’s boldly dumb defense in her trial for drunken driving was that the alcohol did not affect her driving because she kept one eye closed to avoid seeing double. She was sentenced to two months in prison.
ABILENE, Texas—Six year old Keelan Glass finished fifth place in the 14-and-under category in “The Showdown Half Marathon.” Glass completed the run in 2 hours and 47 minutes, becoming one of a handful of 6-year-olds to finish that distance in under three hours.