Weird news that is no longer weird

Back in 2003, pioneering weird news curator Chuck Shepherd made a list of stories that were once weird but became so common that they don't impress him anymore. I agree with most of his picks, but there's always a place on Boing Boing for Africa's magically vanishing penises. From Chuck Shepher's "No Longer Weird" list:

31. postal worker hoards mail because he's behind in delivering it
32. bank robber hails taxi or municipal bus for getaway
33. the annual student cheating riots in Bangladesh
34. criminal on the lam goes on national tv talk show and mentions that he's wanted
35. dog steps on gun, shooting the master
36. pack of animals breaks into liquor cabinet or fermenting vat, get drunk
37. a loved one died at home, but the relative never gets around to burying him or her
38. school zero-tolerance policies for "weapons" that are purely, obviously ornamental

"NO LONGER WEIRD"

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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http://www.facebook.com/people/Ender-Wiggin/100000885624281 Ender Wiggin

…i’ll admit this is interesting, but an updated 2012 version would be more so.
- Jay Converse
  
  Agreed, I check his site every Monday at lunch, I’m positive he has posted dozens of updates to “no longer weird”.
mformby

Chuck Shepherd is a national treasure and I dread the day that he no longer delivers weird news to us all.
Mike Norman

I was sitting in a credit union lobby the other day, waiting for a friend to finish an errand. There’s a flat-panel on the wall displaying silent news blurbs. This one caught my eye:

“Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told troops in Fort Benning, GA, not to participate in offensive behavior such as urinating on corpses or posing with dismembered body parts.”

It was so surreal and absurd to see that blurb over the heads of the tellers, each conducting her own mundane business, that I laughed out loud.
- relawson
  
  Individual limbs/parts are “disembodied”… a torso would be “dismembered” if it was missing limbs/parts…
  
  A head by itself is “disembodied”… a body missing a head is “beheaded” or “decapitated”…
  
  Just as Disemboweled = Disemvoweled :D
  
  Time for bed now! g’night everyone! ;)
BarBarSeven

What about guys getting their johnson’s cut off by angry dames all in a huff?
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  She’d have to do something creative with it. Perhaps grill it and serve it in a hotdog bun to the local monsignor. Otherwise, it’s old hat.
  - BarBarSeven
    
    No, I understand that cutting off a penis is passé. So why isn’t it on that list?!?!?
  - $19428857
    
    They plump when you cook them!
    - Antinous / Moderator
      
      But they shrivel up when you threaten to.
http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo

22. DUI tickets for “driving” a bicycle

Why the quotes?

When you think about it, it’s the only serious vehicle you actually do drive. All the rest, you ride, pilot, control, whatever, but actually drive? Pah.

I totally drive a bike.

I only “drive” a car.

IMO this is likely to be more than just an issue of semantics; my feeling is it subconsciously robs cyclists of their deserved high ground when it comes to motorist versus cyclist.