Pterodactyl: A Friday Funny

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A recent live-streaming of Wild and Weird Radio made me remember a rather strange incident that happened back in 2007. When you think about the gravity of the situation (how this young man could have really hurt himself or someone else and the idea that there may be some underlying mental health issues involved) it isn't really THAT funny, but the whole incident is absurd enough to classify it as a Friday Funny. Plus, I'll admit that when I did first hear this story, I may have laughed just a little too hard. 

Anyway...

The date was Thursday, December 27th, 2007. A 29 year old man from Wenatchee, Washington was driving northbound on Wenatchee Avenue around 11:30pm. According to witnesses, the man drifted into the southbound lane, drove for a little less than a block while on-coming traffic pulled over to accommodate him... and then crashed into a street lamp. 

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries in this single-vehicle crash, and after being treated at Central Washington Hospital, the man was released into police custody, where he was charged with negligent driving. When police asked what caused the man to drift into the wrong lane and ultimately crash, he would only respond with a one-word answer: pterodactyl. 

Obviously, the man was given a breath-alcohol test on the scene, but according to Sgt. Cherie Smith, there was only a minimal amount of alcohol in the man's system. I've never seen a follow-up as to whether a full toxicology screen showed anything else in his system, and the press seemed to have dropped the matter after the initial story. 

So what happened? Did this guy really see a pterodactyl, or was this just a spur-of-the-moment excuse for the accident? There were witnesses to the incident and no one else reported a long-extinct flying reptile, or any similar creature, either on the scene or in the general area that night. However...

Washington State does apparently have quite a few sightings of pterodactyls/pterosaurs, reported before AND after this event, especially in the vicinity of Olympic National Park, according to crypto-researcher Loren Coleman.  That's interesting, but I'm not sure it's enough to prove that this guy really did see a pterodactyl anywhere outside of his own mind. Happily, no one was hurt and this story became just one in a long list of head-scratching, chuckle inducing WTF moments. 

*As far as I can tell, this story first appeared 28 December 2007 in the  Everett Herald in an article written by Rachel Schleif...which is where the info came from. Stay spooky ya'll...and keep your eyes on the skies, EXCEPT while trying to drive! 

Baby Monster

Saar Pioneer Cemetery is located in King County, Washington and is home to a rather unique tombstone that has gripped the Pinterest world in its clutches.  It is the tombstone of Baby Monster.

Baby Monster was born on October 23, 1888 and passed away on February 3, 1889, not long after his/her third month of life. One does not normally expect to see such a tombstone with the words BABY MONSTER spelled out so clearly, especially in such a quaint, older cemetery.  This is something creepy...this is something Halloweeny...this has to be a joke, right?

No, its nothing like that.  It's simply a sad reminder that death does not discriminate and at one point in our nation's history, the infant mortality rate was through the roof.  Frankenstein Jr. does not rest in the cemetery, nor does this stone mark the grave of a deformed or handicapped child.  The word, 'Monster,' is simply a surname.  This "shocking" revelation can be backed up by the fact that Baby Monster was buried with a man named John C. Monster.  The elder Monster was born in 1851 and died in 1890.  More than likely John C. is the baby's father as they share the same stone...in fact, his name is listed directly above the baby's...a clue that is conveniently cropped from most of the photos of the Baby Monster tombstone.

According to Find-a-Grave researchers, John C.'s wife was Anna Marie Nelson Monster.  Anna was born in 1861 and died in 1920.  She is apparently buried in the same cemetery, but in an unmarked grave.  However, she is memorialized on a public tombstone honoring others buried in the cemetery without markers.  Sadly, there are two more members of the Monster Family buried in unmarked graves.  One is a female born in January of 1912 without a death date listed.  The other is a male born 9 months later in October of 1912 who died at the age of 2 days old. 

Photo  by Find-a-Grave contributor, Billie Sorrels

It's an extremely sad circumstance and one is left wondering why Baby Monster wasn't given a proper name on his/her tombstone, even after three months of life.  It's possible that this tombstone was erected or carved well after the two people it memorializes had passed away...and the person simply didn't have a record of the name of the baby.  Or, it could have possibly been because the child had never been baptized, and thus, never had a Christian name given to it. With such a high infant mortality rate at that time, it wasn't unheard of to wait several months before giving a child a proper name.  Either way, if you find yourself roaming around Saar Pioneer Cemetery, stop by the Monster grave, not to gawk, but to pay your respects to a life taken so soon...and if you see anyone on social media freaking out about it, feel free to send 'em the link to this blog post!



Update October 2018:  This photo is making its rounds again, with some added misinformation.

Again, 'Monster' is a family surname; in this case it does not indicate whether or not the child was handicapped or deformed.  As I said before, if you see someone in a Facebook group or other social media platform sharing this graphic, feel free to refer them to this blog post...or at least let them know the truth.