Weird Iowa Rewind: Marion May Legalize Ducks, Don't Tase Me, UNI's Harlem Shake

The last installment of Weird News was compiled by Patch Editor Deb Belt. It runs on Saturdays.

Sign up for the Marion Patch News to have this and other weird news delivered to your inbox. Read last Saturday's version below:

 

Good kids turning bad is always a puzzle.

Children who watch educational programming are more likely to act aggressively toward their peers, an Iowa State University researcher in Ames found. Weird?

Producers often include bad behavior in such programs to teach lessons, but children between the ages of 2 and 5 misunderstand it, an ISU professor said. He recommends parents watch the shows with their children to explain the plot along the way.

Around Easter, some Marion businesses start selling ducks, and soon enough some local families wind up with web-toed pets. Problem is, they are not legal. So, the Marion City Council is discussing whether to change the rules for so called ". Last fall, someone asked the council to consider legalizing pet ducks, but as of yet there have been no requests for urban chickens.

Fans at University of Northern Iowa events in Cedar Falls love to bust out their dance moves. That's now weird, is it?

First there was the Interlude. Then Panthers were going crazy for Gangnam Style. Now, the latest dance craze has arrived at the University of Northern Iowa: the Harlem Shake. The latest craze was filmed Feb. 13 during UNI's 61-54 victory over rival Creighton and features T.C. Panther and a lot of students shaking it up.

While we're on the topic of dance moves, the Ankeny High School dance team recently went to nationals, but that didn't mean they didn't have a little fun on the side while they were there. Check out the

The Johnston vs Urbandale rivalry in every activity is one of the bigger matchups in central Iowa. So it's weird in an "Aw, they noticed" kind of way that the Dragons football playoff game versus the J-Hawks was named the "Game of the Year" in the 2012 Central Iowa Sports Awards. After two overtimes, the Dragons came up with a final touchdown to beat the J-Hawks, 58-55.

And, each week we have a few weird tidbits from police reports. One would think that having a police officer point a gun at you would convince you to do what they said.

Not so for a Tiffin man, who was in a standoff with police until they threatened to use a Taser on him. That prompted him to surrender. Weird?

According to an Iowa City Police criminal complaint, James Benjamin Christensen, 23, of Tiffin allegedly attempted to leave Paul's Discount Store without paying for five pairs of sunglasses and a pair of gloves in his pockets.while officers had guns pointed at him. It ended when the threat of a Taser was made.

This crime is weird in what thieves chose to vandalize as they invaded a house.

A West Des Moines woman and her son came home to find that someone had dumped a bucket a bucket of paint on the washer and dryer in her laundry roomand other possessions had been ruined or stolen. Also, the living room couch and two mattresses had been slashed, and tools and a computer had been taken from the garage, according to the report. The garage door had been left open overnight; there are no suspects.

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