OFFBEAT NEWS

Most people aren’t big on the idea of gum on their shoe, but what about wearing shoes made of gum? Yep, it’s a thing. An Amsterdam company has created the world’s first line of sneakers made up recycled gum. Marketing organization Iamsterdam, designer Explicit Wear and a sustainability company Gumdrop have teamed up to create the Gumshoe. The sneaker’s sole is made up of a compound “Gum-Tec,” which is made of 20 percent gum.

Gumdrop uses around two-point-two pounds of gum in every four pairs of sneakers. The gum used is scraped straight from Amsterdam’s streets. Managing Director and Designer at Gumdrop Anna Bullus says, “We discovered gum is made from a synthetic rubber. And by breaking down these properties, we were able to create a new type of rubber.” So the question is, why gum?

Gumdrop says around 3.3-million pounds of gum make it on the streets of Amsterdam each year. “We started looking for a way to make people aware of this problem… That’s when the idea began to create a product people actually want from something no one cares about,” notes spokesperson Jonathan Van Loon. He adds that the rubber formed from the gum is just as strong as the average rubber and if you’re wondering, yes, it does smell of gum.

A brewing company in the UK has brewed a new beer made with wine. Curious Brewery has combined The Wild Beer Company’s sour beer with Chardonnay to create, Curioser & Curiouser. The taste is a mix of the acidic sour ale with flavors from the wine to create a citrus scent and combines it with toasted nuts and a bit of vanilla. Head winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire says “The brewing process involved topping barrels of our Chardonnay and Bacchus with sour beer from the Wild Beer Company, where it then settled for six months.” The beer is available in limited quantities as only 1,500 bottles of it have been made.

A police officer in Ohio has apologized with a cake for Tasing a firefighter. According to Hamilton Township Police Department, Officer Darcy Workman had been working with firefighter Rickey Wagoner on an EMS call. When they started struggling with their patient, Workman deployed her Taser, but accidentally Tased Wagoner. To apologize she brought him a red-frosted cake that read, “Sorry I Tased you.”

STUPID CRIMINALS

• An Ohio woman had the bright idea of using someone else’s urine sample for a drug test that ended up testing positive for drugs. Instead of submitting her own urine sample that would test positive for drugs Kiana Wallace, thought she could get away with handing in someone else’s sample that also tested positive. The reason for the drug test was not disclosed. She apologized to Judge Frank Fregiato, who called the idea “bizarre” and she’s been sentenced to 18 months in jail.
• A New Jersey state trooper has been accused of trying to date two women he’d pulled over. The incidents took place on separate occasions. In one case, Eric Richardson demanded a female drivers phone after pulling her over for having an illegal tint on her car windows. The woman reportedly said she had a boyfriend, but felt pressure to give him her phone. He then allegedly pulled the same woman over again in Atlantic City and asked is she’d gotten his texts. On the dispatch log he wrote that he’d stopped to “aid a motorist.” In another instance he threatened a female driver with handcuffs, saying he’d arrest her if she didn’t give him her phone number. Richardson has been indicted on six charges including second-degree official misconduct, second-degree wrong disclosure of information, third-degree criminal coercion, third-degree tampering with records, fourth-degree falsifying records and fourth-degree obtaining information from a motor vehicle record. He faces up to 33 years in prison and $350,000 in fines if convicted.
• A man in Florida has been arrested for DUI while wearing “breathalyzer” underwear. According to police, Daryle Campbell had been pulled over when his truck was moving in a “reckless driving pattern.” The deputy reports that Campbell’s eyes were bloodshot and he’d only been wearing underwear that read “breathalyzer” on the side and a shirt-no shoes. Campbell reportedly laughed when asked to perform sobriety exercises. Investigators say they also found condoms and binoculars in his vehicle. He’s been arrested on two DUI related charges.