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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Nazi Goebbels' Descendants Are Secret Billionaires

Slave labor helped build a sprawling business empire

(Newser) - In the dying days of Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda killed their six children with cyanide in Hitler's underground bunker and committed suicide. Goebbels' step-son, Harald—then a prisoner of war in Benghazi—survived the war, and like his half-brother Herbert became one of the most...

Paris Women Now Legally Allowed to Wear Pants

Minister of women's rights revokes archaic law

(Newser) - No more skirting the issue: A French official announced Friday that women are legally allowed to wear pants in Paris, Global Post reports. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the minister of women's rights, revoked a little-noticed 200-year-old law banning the practice: "This law is incompatible with the principles of equality between...

A Man and His Dog Uncover Whale Vomit Worth $68K
A Man and His Dog Uncover Whale Vomit Worth $68K
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 3, 2013 7:03 AM CST

A Man and His Dog Uncover Whale Vomit Worth $68K

Ambergris actually isn't a smelly rock...

(Newser) - One British man is poised to become $68,000 richer thanks to his dog's interest in stinky garbage—which, in this case, turned out to be a soccer ball-sized lump of whale vomit, reports the AP . Ken Wilman was walking his dog Madge along a beach in northern England...

Missing Developer Found With 'Thief' Carved on Face

Kevin McGeever says he can't remember what happened

(Newser) - An Irish millionaire who vanished eight months ago has turned up disheveled on a country road saying kidnappers held him for ransom, the Guardian reports. Barefoot with the word "Thief" carved in his forehead, 68-year-old Kevin McGeever told Irish police that he couldn't remember what had happened or...

Guys Play Complex Game of Tag— for 23 Years

Old school buddies stay in touch ... literally

(Newser) - Imagine hiding in the trunk of your friend's car as part of a game of tag—and doing it as an adult. That's exactly what Sean Raftis, a priest, did in the 1990s to tag his old school buddy Joe Tombari. When the trunk opened, Raftis jumped out...

Viagra&#39;s Hidden Uses: Diet Pill, Cancer Fighter?

 Viagra's Hidden 
 Uses: Diet Pill, 
 Cancer Fighter? 
in case you missed it
Feb 2, 2013 12:54 PM CST

Viagra's Hidden Uses: Diet Pill, Cancer Fighter?

In mice, drug shows potential beyond ED

(Newser) - Viagra may have a future well beyond erectile dysfunction. Someday, we could perhaps see it prescribed for weight loss—or even to combat cancer, in combination with green tea. Scientists know that mice have lower rates of obesity, despite fatty diets, when they're on the drug. Now, researchers in...

New Workout Trend Uses ... High Heels

Wall Street Journal says 'heel hop' is catching on

(Newser) - It might seem a little more logical for women to slip off their heels to do some dancing, but the Wall Street Journal says a new fitness trend requires precisely the opposite. Called things like "heel hop" or "stiletto fitness," the classes are offered in a handful...

County Clerk Issues Epic 6-Page Dress Code

Employees bewildered by detailed doc

(Newser) - One Florida county clerk has some very specific ideas about how his 160 employees should dress. Osceola County boss Armando Ramirez has issued an incredibly detailed six-page dress code prohibiting everything from ankle-high boots (when worn with dresses and skirts, that is) to sequins to stirrup pants, the Orlando Sentinel...

Pastor Sorry After Tip Snub Costs Waitress Her Job

Applebee's fires server who posted receipt online

(Newser) - A St. Louis pastor tells the Smoking Gun she is "heartbroken" over the brouhaha that erupted online this week over a tip she refused to leave. It was a "lapse in my character and judgment," Alois Bell says of the incident that resulted in an Applebee's...

Court: Iceland Teen Can Use Her Own Name
 Iceland Teen Can Use 
 'Unapproved' Name 
says court
Feb 1, 2013 5:00 AM CST

Iceland Teen Can Use 'Unapproved' Name

'Blaer,' meaning 'light breeze,' wasn't on list of OK names

(Newser) - An Icelandic 15-year-old whose name had been, for all official purposes, just "Girl," has won a lawsuit to keep her given name. Iceland's government had held that she couldn't use the name Blaer because it wasn't on the country's approved-name list, which rules out...

Internet Saves This 'Gay' Dog

Facebook campaign goes viral, prevents euthanasia

(Newser) - The Internet came together to save a dog after his owner dumped him at a Tennessee shelter ... because he thought the dog was gay. A picture of the bulldog, who was in danger of being euthanized, was posted to Facebook in an attempt to find an adopter. "He hunched...

Homeland Security Tip: Fend Off Shooter With Scissors

Video provides advice on protection in a mass shooting

(Newser) - The Department of Homeland Security has released a video advising Americans on how to deal with a mass shooting—and some of its tips have the New York Post scratching its head. For instance, the video suggests that "if you are caught out in the open and cannot conceal...

Artist Hides $12K Check in Gallery

Find it, and reap the riches

(Newser) - This is one way to fund the arts. A British artist has hidden a check in the amount of about $12,600 in an art gallery in the town of Milton Keynes, with the "To" line blank. Find it by March 1, and your name will be inserted, reports...

Giant Sinkhole Eats Buildings in China

No injuries, but deep hole is still growing

(Newser) - This brings new meaning to the phrase "shop 'til you drop." Five stores and one building were swallowed by a giant sinkhole in Guangzhou, China, yesterday, and the collapse was caught on video, reports the Christian Science Monitor . All of the approximately 300 people inside were evacuated...

America's Most Fascinating Nickel Set to Fetch Millions

Liberty Head was illegally cast, deemed fake. Now it's for sale

(Newser) - A humble five-cent coin with a storied past is headed to auction a century after it was mysteriously minted, and bidding is expected to top $2 million. The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known to exist, but it's the coin's back story that adds...

Man Murdered After GPS Takes Him to Wrong House

Phillip Walker Sailors thought it was a home invasion: lawyer

(Newser) - There are wacky GPS mistakes and then there are tragic ones. A Georgia man died after being shot in the head Saturday night after his GPS reportedly directed him to the wrong house. WSBTV reports that Rodrigo Abad Diaz, 22, was driving three passengers to a friend's house, where...

DA: Ex-49er Savagely Beat Ex-Boyfriend Over Underwear

Kwame Harris charged with domestic violence

(Newser) - Former 49ers and Raiders offensive lineman Kwame Harris appears to have been outed as gay in spectacularly bad fashion, Deadspin reports. Harris has been charged with domestic violence and assault after allegedly beating up an ex-boyfriend in a dispute that started over food and ending up with Harris giving the...

Manholes Spout Fire in Downtown Omaha

Electrical fire causes underground explosions

(Newser) - Talk about pyrotechnics: Several manhole covers in downtown Omaha popped their lids and spouted fire last night after an electrical blaze caused underground explosions, Gawker reports. What's more, a local resident somehow snapped a photo of the moment. Omaha public workers were still trying to restore power downtown this...

Boy Survives 9 Weeks in Wild; Has Leeches All Over

Matthew Allen, 18, had gangrene when hikers found him

(Newser) - An Australian teenager who wanted to "run away from his life" survived nearly 9 weeks in the bush near Sydney before being discovered by hikers, Perth Now reports. Matthew Allen, 18, was highly disoriented, partly blinded, covered in leeches, and suffering from gangrene when first responders winched him to...

North Koreans Eating Their Own Kids: Reports

Cannibalism on the rise amid food shortage, informants say

(Newser) - Rumors of cannibalism are emerging from North Korea during a food shortage that may have killed 10,000 people last year, Global Post reports. In one gruesome tale, authorities allegedly executed a father for killing and eating two of his kids: "While his wife was away on business he...

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