“An Arkansas woman finally has proof that she bought her mother a Christmas gift last year. The package Mary Beth Mauldin sent via the United States Postal Service last December finally arrived in Florida on Dec. 16 – one year and six days after it was mailed from Greenbrier, Ark. The Vero Beach Press Journal reports Mauldin visited the post office numerous times over the past year to try to track the package. The box contained a gift card and a flannel nightgown for her mother, Mary Lou Shelton. The women got an apology from post office officials, who say they aren’t sure what caused the delay.” w/ photo

“A series of pictures and YouTube video clips of some giant, tsunami-shaped clouds over Birmingham, Alabama, have gone viral after onlookers shared their experience of the amazing scenes with the world. Residents of the southern state’s largest city stood agape at the natural phenomenon, as the ‘waves’ rolled in from west to east during the morning. Commuters on highways took pictures and videos of the strangely-shaped nimbus, which saw local weather stations taking a high volume of calls to ask what was causing it. Some of a more pessimistic persuasion took it as a sign of extreme weather to come – potentially severe flooding via huge waves from the Gulf of Mexico. This topic remains a sensitive one, though.” w/ photos + video

“Relaxed and almost naked as he practices yoga on the ice, Wim Hof demonstrates why he has been dubbed ‘The Iceman’. The Dutchman is an eight-times world record holder for his ability to withstand sub-zero temperatures. The 52-year-old completed a half-marathon in Finland two years ago in -20C (-4F) temperatures while wearing nothing but shorts… ‘Wim has trained his body from an early age and he is a strong believer in mind over matter.” w/ photos

“If you visited Sherwood Uniting Church on Sunday you may have seen Suthakaran Sivagnanathurai hanging around. By his hair. The church was the venue for a unique stunt that redefined the term ‘hair raising’. In an attempt to set a Guinness world record, the 37-year-old performed an aerial act in which he was suspended by his long, black locks. For an astonishing 23 minutes and 24 seconds Mr Sivagnanathurai was literally hanging by his hair. The feat had previously never been attempted. Mr Sivagnanathurai, who weighs 125 lbs, said he was able to perform the feat through yoga and meditation. He has been practicing the discipline for almost 27 years.” w/ photo

“Couple David and Janean Richards have an incredible 331,038 fairy lights covering their property – smashing the previous world record. The illuminations have helped to raise money for the charity SIDS and Kids – an organization Mr Richards said helped his family during tough times in 2002. Although their entry into the Guinness World Records and the money raised for charity have obviously gone down well with the Richards, the household don’t plan to do the same thing next year.” w/ photo

“A South Carolina man died within an hour after eating cocaine that was hidden in his brother’s rectum, according to ABC4 News. The two brothers, 23-year-old Deangelo Rashard Mitchell and 20-year-old Wayne Mitchell, were taken into custody on allegations they had drugs in their car. While in the back of the police car, the older brother convinced the younger brother to eat cocaine, which he had hidden in his rectum. The in-car police video showed Deangelo pleading with his younger brother to eat the cocaine so that he could avoid a life-long prison sentence. His young brother eventually agreed, and died of a drug overdose shortly afterwards.” w/ photo + video

“He figured it was his house too, so when Terry Nowakowski’s ex-girlfriend locked him out Tuesday afternoon, he decided to break down the door. When he stepped inside, authorities said, he was greeted with antlers. His ex-girlfriend, Chelsea Harrison, armed herself with a mounted deer head and “began striking him in the face and body with the ends of the antlers until she lost her grip dropping it to the floor,” a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report states. Nowakowski, 20, managed to flee and call for help. He told deputies he and Harrison, 23, are broken up, but have a 3-year-old daughter together. They both own the home in Zephyrhills, so they live at the same residence for financial reasons and ‘for the good of the child,’ the report states. Their daughter witnessed the fight, authorities said. The argument started when Nowakowski walked outside and called his current girlfriend ‘which he believes angered Chelsea,’ the report states.” w/ photo

“The ginger moggy, who was named after the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, has taken to hopping on and off the public transport at the bus station near his home. The 15-year-old Tom even sits on bemused passengers’ laps as the bus makes up to 10 mile round trips from Bridport to Charmouth in Dorset. Dodger is such a regular customer that some of the drivers take tins of cat food to work with them to give to him. They even know what stop to let him off at. At the end of his journies the roving moggy returns to his home and owner Fee Jeanes. Mrs Jeanes, 44, believes Dodger first took a liking to the buses as they are warm like greenhouses when the sun is on them.” w/ photo

“Traffic police in China have come up with a cost effective way of slowing down speeding motorists – with a cardboard cut-out of a squad car. The cut-outs, which look like police vehicles from behind, are being used as a traffic calming technique in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province. One motorist, Liu Yuan, said: “I spotted what I thought was a police vehicle parked on the hard shoulder so I hit the brakes. “It when I went past it, I was stunned to see that it was just a thin piece of board painted to look like a cop car. “It was so realistic. It even had a solar panel to power a flashing light to make it look even more realistic at night.” w/ photo

“If Santa’s reindeer arrive a bit late this year, cut them some slack – they are probably tired from racing in the derby at Kempton Park Racecourse. On Friday Santa’s sleigh pullers were battling it out to receive the ultimate winning prize – a trophy full of carrots. Punters at the course were given a chance to have a festive wager on the outcome as part of Williams Hill’s annual Winter Festival. Father Christmas, the official race starter, was helped by a team of elves who cheered on the side lines. After a near tense challenge, Dasha, wearing number one, managed to edge past the competitors and was victorious, winning the trophy full carrots.” w/ photos + video