Daily in Houston is a wild journey. In our Solely in Houston column, compensate for the strangest information that’s occurred within the metropolis just lately.
No Want for Pace
In a unusual quest to curb rushing alongside Chimney Rock Street, Houston resident Mark Gardner has turned his entrance yard right into a makeshift velocity lure, armed with a radar gun and a Wi-Fi-enabled dashcam on a picket stand. He created the DIY velocity zone to doc the daredevils breezing by way of his neighborhood at alarming velocity, importing the edited footage to YouTube. Appears Gardner goes the additional mile to place the brakes on reckless driving.
Canine Automotive-nage
In a story—or ought to we are saying, tail?—of automotive chaos, a dealership within the Cypress space confronted a ruff scenario when two stray canines went on a car-shredding spree, abandoning a hefty invoice of over $350,000 in damages. With the lovely canine culprits now in custody, the dealership crew appears ahead to a future the place the one scratches are on paperwork, not automobiles.
Drippy Drama
Discuss a leaky protection! The Houston climate determined to hitch the pre-game festivities at NRG Stadium earlier than the Nationwide Championship sport between Michigan and Washington in January, inflicting fairly a splash as rain leaked into the world. Twister warnings added a twist to the already eventful day, with some joking that even the climate was throwing a couple of twists into the storyline. Regardless of the watery chaos, Michigan managed to win the sport with a 21-point lead.
Cupid’s Cuffs
Love is within the air, however so are warrants in Brazoria County. In a not-so-heartwarming transfer, the native constable’s workplace is taking part in cupid with a Valentine’s Day particular for these with excellent warrants. They’re providing a “Wednesday Night time Particular” full with what the constable is asking “a enjoyable journey in a flowery automobile (with lights!),” a keep in “luxurious lodging,” plus a “fancy set of bracelets”—we’re curious who will likely be falling for that.
Ban Backlash
In an act towards the ban on cellphones at HISD’s Madison Excessive Faculty, college students staged a call-to-action by strolling out a number of days in early February. They had been united of their quest for a extra complete resolution to the underlying points with superintendent Mike Miles’s new insurance policies, decided to ring in change and never let their considerations be placed on maintain. The conflict left the college caught in a communication breakdown with no speedy decision in sight.
Bizarre Houston information from January 2024
Excessive-Finish Hell
Upscale residing turns into condominium chaos in a complicated Galleria townhouse haven as residents report wild intercourse events and violence at an Airbnb. The short-term lease property has led to neighbors coping with filth, blocked driveways, gun-toting weed people who smoke, and even balcony bonanzas within the type of Monday morning balcony sexcapades.
A Tiger’s Story
This one took us roaring down reminiscence lane: In spring 2021, a 9-month-old mischievous Bengal tiger named India took an informal stroll down a residential Houston road, inflicting a wild uproar and triggering a regionwide search. The large cat’s story had a paw-sitively wild twist: he was owned by a homicide suspect. Sadly we reached the tail finish of India’s journey in December 2023, as he handed away at a wildlife sanctuary in north Texas. One factor is definite: the once-roaming tiger undoubtedly left an unforgettable paw mark on Houston.
Set off-Sad New 12 months’s Eve
Getting ready to wrap up 2023, Houston officers fired up a plea: Please, for the love of God, don’t shoot your celebration into the air. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner warned towards trigger-happy antics, with officers, marked and unmarked, able to rain on the parade. From what we heard, it appeared not all Houstonians adopted these tips, however let’s hope for a bulletproof 2024.
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Covert Ghosting
Houston leaders discovered themselves at midnight as Greyhound’s plan to shut its downtown hub and relocate to a smaller terminal within the East Finish blindsided them. The transportation firm’s covert transfer, missing metropolis approval, irked officers, who deemed Greyhound “dangerous neighbors.” Marvel if vacationers knew in regards to the abrupt change or had been simply ghosted?
Bizarre Houston information from December 2023
Jazzed-Up Jubilee
Houstonians had been handled to an explosive thriller as dazzling fireworks lit up the sky on October 28, sparking a social media frenzy. The lavish affair turned out to be the grand finale of River Oaks Nation Membership’s Nineteen Twenties-themed centennial celebration. The soiree featured an elephant, a Champagne tower, a stay band, and extra.
Takeoff Meet-Cute
There was high-flying drama at Passion Airport as two non-public planes had a not-so-friendly tango on the tarmac on November 22. A taxiing airplane from Pennsylvania bumped as much as a parked jet from Down Beneath, leaving them in a nose-to-wing embrace. This rom-com sequel got here simply weeks after a earlier collision that turned Passion into a quick airport shutdown theater.
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Heavenly Hysteria
A Frontier Airways flight become a holy curler coaster on November 21 when a passenger claimed she’d been kidnapped and possessed. Chaos ensued at 30,000 toes with shouts, seat-climbing acrobatics, and even a mid-air gospel live performance. The heavenly harmonies didn’t pacify the unruly passenger, resulting in a diversion to Dallas for her dramatic exit. The airline remained tight-lipped in regards to the celestial disturbance, leaving passengers to marvel if flying had taken an sudden detour by way of the Twilight Zone.
Cat-astrophe averted!
In a purr-plexing story at Lake Conroe, a Kingswood resident reeled in additional than he bargained for. Wrapping up a day of catfishing on November 29, he noticed a feline good friend in a fishy scenario beneath the FM 1097 bridge. The poor kitty was floating and barely clinging to life. The savior rescued the kitty, who needed to have used up a few lives drifting alongside. Now, the little daredevil is recovering with the fisherman’s household, hoping to discover a without end house.
SMS Shocker
All aboard a wild eviction drama. Railway Heights Market took a detour and rebranded as Junction HTX, however the actual twist was the distributors getting an abrupt eviction textual content. The once-promising meals corridor hit a serious derailment, leaving distributors flipping out. In a bittersweet ending, a tenant hosted an eviction occasion, grilling burgers for the final hurrah. Is that this the top of the road for Junction HTX, or only a cease on the best way to extra culinary chaos?
Bizarre Houston information from fall 2023
Robo Roadblock
The beta testing of self-driving Cruise automobiles in Houston hit a velocity bump when malfunctioning visitors lights left a line of autonomous automobiles caught at a Montrose intersection. Whereas human-driven automobiles obeyed the police’s instructions, the driverless ones appeared oblivious, resulting in a humorous standoff. The automobiles ultimately cleared the intersection, but it surely appears the autonomous future nonetheless has a couple of quirks to work out.
Liquid Chaos
From a modest trickle of water emerged a totally fledged fountain on a Heights road, practically turning a couple of inland properties into waterfront properties. Metropolis employees took a whopping 4 hours after the geyser appeared to deal with this aquatic spectacle. Residents had been coping with this water line break for over every week, flooding the cellphone strains with reviews, but it surely took dialing the mayor and their native councilwoman to get it fastened.
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Caught Truck
A white Dodge pickup truck has been lodged in Buffalo Bayou since final November. The truck, which has since been spray-painted and even hosted an alligator gar, belonged to a then-missing particular person whose physique was later pulled from the water close by. Difficult entry and bureaucratic confusion delayed the truck’s elimination, leaving it as a particular fixture.
Thriller Prankster
Somebody in Houston unleashed their interior comic by reprogramming a digital signal on Westheimer and Montrose to show a, err, cheeky message: “Go Fuck Your self.” Social media customers, having fun with the humorous twist on their morning commute, couldn’t assist however applaud the boldness. It was the discuss of the city all day, leaving authorities perplexed as to who was behind this witty stunt.