strange stuff

From strange crimes to strange celebrity deaths, read all of the latest weird and strange stuff news stories on Newser.com

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This Is One of the Stranger News Interviews We've Seen

Identical twins Bridgette and Paula Powers speak in unison while discussing Aussie carjacking

(Newser) - Reporters seeking witness statements about a carjacking in Australia got that and a lot more in interviewing identical twin sisters. Bridgette and Paula Powers, dressed in matching outfits, spoke in unison for a full minute uninterrupted as they told 7NEWS how their mother ran to help after seeing the carjacked...

Man Mired in Quicksand Leaves Beach With New Girlfriend

An unusual love story from the shores of Lake Michigan

(Newser) - A Michigan man who had a frightening day at the shore earlier this month at least has a new girlfriend to show for it. Mitchell O'Brien is now officially dating Breanne Sika after a two-year friendship, following their day trip to Van's Beach along Lake Michigan. On that...

Authorities: Teens Crammed 5K Ants Into Test Tubes

Belgium's Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijck are apparently part of a new trafficking trend

(Newser) - Two Belgian teenagers were charged Tuesday with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5...

Latest Gift to Trump: Bronze 7-Foot Statue of Himself

'Monument' bestowed by MAGA businessman will apparently reside at Trump's Florida golf club

(Newser) - A businessman and former GOP New York congressional candidate wanted to make an impression on President Trump, and he certainly has, with his "Defiance Monument": a 7-foot bronze statue in Trump's likeness, which Anthony Constantino says will now be a "permanent fixture" at the commander in chief'...

9-Year-Old Missed Bus, Drove Self to School in Family Chevy

Police in Maize, Kansas, decline to cite parents after son's successful commute to school

(Newser) - A concerned citizen reported seeing an individual who "appeared too young to drive" operating a pickup truck in Maize, Kansas, on Wednesday before police discovered a 9-year-old boy had driven himself to school, per Fox News . Maize Police found the white Chevy and its driver in the parking lot...

Brazil Judge Used Fake British Name for Entire Career

Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield was not who he seemed

(Newser) - A judge in Brazil went by the name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield for his entire career but it was only after he retired that authorities discovered it was fake. Investigators say his real name is Jose Eduardo Franco dos Reis, which the Guardian notes is "a...

In One Maternity Ward, 5 Nurses Have Brain Tumors

Boston-area hospital's investigation came up empty on cause of benign tumors; nurses' union steps in

(Newser) - A Boston-area hospital is stumped by a medical mystery: why five of its nurses, who all work on the same floor, have brain tumors. All five nurses from the fifth-floor maternity unit at Mass General Brigham's Newton-Wellesley Hospital have benign tumors—two of them being meningioma, the most common...

Fear an Alien Invasion? These States May Be Safe Havens

Virginia is most likely to survive an alien attack, per GIGAcalculator.com ranking

(Newser) - If you've ever watched a sci-fi film about an alien invasion and wondered how you and your family would fare if something that fantastical ever happened—well, maybe it depends on where you live. Citing stats analyzed by the folks who run the online calculator site GIGAcalculator.com , Mental...

It's the Most Famous Lemon in Spy History

New exhibit features 110-year-old fruit used by a German spy to write 'invisible ink' letters

(Newser) - It's the stuff of spy novels, except in this case it's the stuff of actual spycraft. A new exhibit opening in London features a 110-year-lemon—now desiccated, of course—used by a German spy to write messages in invisible ink about British troop movements during World War I,...

For Years, Exec Compiled List of People's Verbal Gaffes
For Years, Exec Compiled a List
of Co-Workers' Malapropisms
in case you missed it
Mar 30, 2025 3:00 PM CDT

For Years, Exec Compiled a List of Co-Workers' Malapropisms

'Board Words' became a lighthearted hit at Ford

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal reports on the retiring of a Ford sales exec whose farewell email to colleagues came with an unusual attachment—a list of more than 2,200 verbal gaffes he catalogued over the years during meetings and conversations, with details on who said it and when. It...

Behold, the 'Sharktopus'
Shark's Orange
'Hat' Leaves
Researchers
Stunned
in case you missed it
Mar 29, 2025 4:15 PM CDT

Shark's Orange 'Hat' Leaves Researchers Stunned

It was actually an octopus, making this a 'sharktopus' sighting

(Newser) - "One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea," writes Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland, who did not expect to come across an octopus riding a shark. That's exactly what researchers...

How'd Iguanas Get to Fiji? Looks Like a Raft Made of Plants
Mystery of How Iguanas
Got to Fiji May Be Solved
NEW STUDY
Mar 23, 2025 1:30 PM CDT

Mystery of How Iguanas Got to Fiji May Be Solved

Research suggests lizards floated to remote islands from North America on a vegetation raft

(Newser) - Researchers have long wondered how iguanas got to Fiji, a collection of remote islands in the South Pacific. They thought maybe they'd scurried there through Asia or Australia before volcanic activity pushed Fiji far away. But new research published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

'Fish Doorbell' Helps Out in a Jam
'Fish
Doorbell'
Helps Out
in a Jam
Mar 22, 2025 1:45 PM CDT

'Fish Doorbell' Helps Out in a Jam

Dutch city lets viewers of livestream sound the alert when fish need help at a river lock

(Newser) - The central Dutch city of Utrecht has installed a "fish doorbell" on a river lock that lets viewers of an online livestream alert authorities to fish being held up as they make their springtime migration to shallow spawning grounds. The AP explains:
  • Simple idea: An underwater camera at Utrecht'
...

Dead Fish, 'Unusual' Foam Cover Australia Beaches

Tests pending as microalgal bloom leaves surfers with cold-like symptoms

(Newser) - An Australian state closed two beaches after dead fish and an unusual off-white foam washed ashore while surfers reported feeling unwell, per the AP . A microalgal bloom created by unusual weather conditions was suspected to have sickened humans and marine life as well as creating the foam that has covered...

World's Ugliest Animal Gets Its Most 'Glorious Moment'

Blobfish, aka 'Mr. Blobby,' has been named New Zealand's fish of the year

(Newser) - Psychrolutes marcidus—you've come a long way, baby. The blobfish, a slow-moving, slimy-looking sea creature once deemed the ugliest animal in the world, has just experienced the ultimate redemption arc, ascending the species ladder to be voted New Zealand's favorite fish, reports NBC News . "Mr. Blobby,"...

Cop Delivers Pizza After Delivery Driver Spots Huge Gator

Unwelcome 8-foot reptile was lurking under customer's car in Bradenton, Florida

(Newser) - A pizza delivery driver in Florida had quite the scare last weekend when an unexpected interloper interrupted her workday. Per ABC News , police in Bradenton responded to a call on Sunday of an 8-foot-long alligator wandering around the River Isles neighborhood—and when an officer arrived on the scene, he...

Cops: Dog Shot Man in Bed With Girlfriend

Not an Onion headline, but a true story out of Tennessee; the man wasn't critically injured

(Newser) - Are pit bulls trigger happy? One Tennessee man may be inclined to say so, after his dog shot him as he lounged in bed (the man, not the dog). WREG reports that the Memphis Police Department responded to an accidental-injury call before dawn on Monday, where Jerald Kirkwood informed them...

Mystery of Body Caught in Fishing Nets Is Solved

It's thought the woman had been buried at sea

(Newser) - A fishing boat made a grim catch last Thursday some 40 miles off the Massachusetts coast, reports the Boston Herald : the wrapped body of a woman ended up in its nets. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday said it wasn't a case of foul play, but...

Severance Is Apparently Driving Dogs Crazy

Pet owners are scratching their heads over why their pups are freaked out by Apple TV's Severance

(Newser) - About a month ago, a strange post popped up on Reddit regarding one of Apple TV's most popular shows. "I think my dog is afraid of Severance" is the name of the thread, with pet owners detailing their pooches' odd reactions whenever the hit program starring Adam Scott...

Loch Ness Centre Reports 'Captivating' Sighting

It logs the first one of the year, amid plenty of skepticism

(Newser) - An "exciting mystery" has taken hold in Scotland, where the first reported sighting of the fabled Loch Ness Monster in 2025 has now been logged. The Loch Ness Centre, located near Inverness and the fabled Loch Ness body of water, announced Wednesday that a man on the shores of...

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