Weird News: Washed Up Sturgeons, Nudeness No More

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to inspiring tales of community brotherhood. But some stories are just plain weird. Here are some of the stranger headlines from the past seven days.

Is There a Sturgeon in the House?

Patch reader Nancy Norton Wilson snapped the above photo in Hampton Bays of a fish that washed up on the beach, hoping folks could help identify it. Most commenters agreed, it's an Atlantic Sturgeon, an endangered animal. Click here to see the photo.

Federal park officials sent a message to nude sunbathers: Put your clothes back on.

Fire Island National Seashore officials said they will begin enforcing laws that prohibit nude bathing on Fire Island, after many reports of sex and other incidents of public lewdness on the beaches.

Officials also said Hurricane Sandy had damaged many sand dunes that had provided a buffer so onlookers couldn't peep on bathers from afar.

Have You Seen This 'Yarn Bomb' in Rocky Point?

If you stop at the corner of Lincoln Drive and Park Drive right off of Broadway in Rocky Point, you'll notice one of the most colorful and unique stop signs you'll see.

Patch reader Bre Candela snapped a photo of the stop sign, which was apparently hit with a 'yarn bomb' to make it look a bit like a very large flower.

Vineyard Launches 'Weird Grape' Kickstarter Effort

Regan and Carey Meador are betting on something weird, and are hoping others on the North Fork will be interested as well: weird grapes.

The married couple, who purchased 23 acres on Route 48 in Southold last June for $800,000, are in the process of planting their first crop of offbeat grapes this spring, and started a Kickstarter campaign this week to help raise funds to get the vineyard – Southold Farm & Cellar – off the ground.

Or rather, to get the plants at the vineyard in the ground.

'Billboard Rock' in Wading River Deposited by Glaciers

According to local historian Ken Brady, large boulders were carried down by glaciers during the last ice age and deposited on Long Island. Geologists, says Brady, call them "erratics."

One locally famous example of this can be found in Wading River off of North Country Road. Last week we asked readers to tell us what people in the area called this particular erratic boulder.