Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction, sauna rescue, Cold War rocket discovery, suspected pigeon spy & tank protest

By Gavin Steele, Staff Writer

Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring this year. On Groundhog Day, the infamous groundhog did not see his shadow in front of thousands of spectators in the annual tradition. Punxsutawney Phil has guessed an early spring 36% of the time from 2013-2023, and historically has only been correct around 39% of the time (Feb. 2). 

Patrons aboard a floating sauna rescued two people after their car plunged into a fjord in Oslo, Norway. A witness reported that the car was stationary before it accelerated quickly and ended up in the water. The driver and passenger climbed onto the car’s roof as the vehicle sank, and the sauna raft sped over to help. Several sauna guests who were only wearing towels helped pull them into the raft (Feb. 2). 

An inert Cold War era rocket was found in the garage of a deceased Bellevue, Wash. resident after an Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio had called to report an offer to donate the item, which was allegedly purchased at an estate sale. The local police department’s bomb squad determined that the object was a Douglas AIR-2 Genie with no warhead or rocket fuel attached. According to the Air Force Armament Museum Foundation, the unguided air-to-air rocket was used by the U.S. and Canada to carry 1.5kt. W25 nuclear warheads during a period of the Cold War when the interception of Soviet bombers was a concern (Feb. 3). 

Indian officials released a pigeon suspected of being a Chinese spy. After being held for eight months, the bird was found to be an open-water racing bird from Taiwan. The bird was originally suspected of being a Chinese spy because of a message written on the pigeon’s wings in words that appeared to be Chinese (Feb. 4). 

Paul Gibbons, an unhappy customer of the Wickes home improvement store in the United Kingdom, parked a tank warning customers of the “poor-quality” work. The company completed a $31,000 kitchen installation for Gibbons in Feb. 2023, which allegedly had mold issues and a cabinet collapse. The tank held a sign that said, “Warning Incompetent Complacent Kitchen Equipment Supplier.” He moved the tank yesterday but says that the “battle is not over” (Feb. 6).