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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Store Robbery Foiled by ... Getaway Donkey

Bumbling thieves outed by a few 'hee-haws'

(Newser) - A trio of thieves nearly got away with robbing a convenience store in Colombia when their getaway donkey ruined everything, the Telegraph reports. The three had managed to steal tuna, sardines, rum, rice, and oil from a little shop in the town of Juan de Acosta when the donkey's...

Girl, 5, Suspended in Hello Kitty Threat

Told friend she'd shoot bubble gun: lawyer

(Newser) - Hello Kitty may be actually terrifying to some of us, but a 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl has been dubbed a "terrorist threat" and suspended from school over a Hello Kitty bubble shooter, the New York Daily News reports. The girl was waiting for the school bus when she told a...

Pics Show POWs Performing in Nazi Camp

Germany used Oflag VII-A to dupe the Red Cross

(Newser) - Photos have emerged from a Nazi POW camp that show officers performing theater and playing music—signs that Germany used the camp to help conceal the Holocaust, Der Spiegel reports. Reports of Polish officers enjoying some cultural life at Oflag VII-A, in Murnau, Germany, have circulated for years, but were...

Teacher Ducks Rape Charge by Saying 'I Do'

Leah Shipman marries 17-year-old former student

(Newser) - A former teacher in North Carolina has avoided statutory rape charges after marrying the alleged victim, the Wilmington Star-News reports. Leah Shipman, 42, was accused of sleeping with a 15-year-old student in 2009, but prosecutors reduced the charge to a misdemeanor after she divorced her husband of 19 years and...

Google: Let&#39;s Get Rid of Passwords
Google: Let's Get Rid
of Passwords
Jan 20, 2013 3:05 PM CST

Google: Let's Get Rid of Passwords

Googlers experiment with new forms of security

(Newser) - Want to log into Gmail by tapping a ring on your computer? So do Google executives who consider passwords a weak form of security, Wired reports. Google Vice President of Security Eric Grosse and engineer Mayank Upadhyay say that so far, the company is trying out USB sticks that log...

Lawyer Bills Client for Sex
 Lawyer Bills Client for Sex 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 20, 2013 2:41 PM CST

Lawyer Bills Client for Sex

Minnesota man suspended after affair comes to light

(Newser) - Legal tip of the day: If you feel the urge to have sex with your lawyer, make sure you're off the clock first. Otherwise, you might find out that your lawyer is like this one in Minnesota—suspended after having an affair with a client and billing her for...

Cat Picks Better Stocks Than Money Managers

Feline's portfolio rises by 4.2%

(Newser) - Investors, it's kitty-cat time: A contest that pitted stock-picking professionals against finance students and a cat named Orlando wrapped up last month—and Orlando won, the Guardian reports. Starting last January, each team invested an imaginary sum worth about $7,900 and was allowed to swap any stocks every...

US Marines Meditate, Practice 'Mindfulness'

New study could overcome stress and suicide rates

(Newser) - The US Marine Corps, known for turning out some of the military's toughest warriors, is studying how to make its troops even tougher through meditative practices, yoga-type stretching, and exercises based on mindfulness. Marine Corps officials say they will build a curriculum that would integrate mindfulness-based techniques into their...

Man Needing Health Care Threatens to Kill Obama

Stephen Espalin: I had 'no intent' to hurt him

(Newser) - A homeless Florida man says he only threatened to kill President Obama and his family in order to get better health care, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Stephen Espalin, 57, told a judge in West Palm Beach yesterday that he made the threat because he had chest pains and had been kicked...

The Trick to Winning Nobel Prizes: Milk?

Neurologists link milk consumption to prizes

(Newser) - Got milk? Then you may have a better chance of winning a Nobel Prize, according to a letter published in Practical Neurology. In the letter, two neurologists speculate about a study last year that linked a nation's chocolate consumption to its Nobel-Prize stockpile. But what if it's really...

Warp Speed Would Not Look Like This

Han Solo would have to wear sunglasses, students say

(Newser) - Sorry, Trekkies and Star Wars fans: People traveling at warp speed wouldn't see stars morph into those cool beams of light. British physics students say it would look more like a general bright glow caused by the background radiation of the universe, LiveScience reports. That's because of the...

British Professor Admits Relatively Polite Vandalism

Etched phrases such as 'very silly' into pricey cars

(Newser) - A British professor who specializes in cities and urban life has been convicted of damaging luxury cars with graffiti that was surprisingly polite. Stephen Graham was found guilty yesterday of using a screwdriver to scrawl words such as "very silly," "really wrong" and "arbitrary" into the...

Explorer's Long-Lost Scotch Is Returned to Antarctica

Shackleton's stash is going home

(Newser) - Talk about whisky on ice: Three bottles of rare, 19th-century Scotch found beneath the floor boards of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackelton's abandoned expedition base were returned to the polar continent today. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key personally returned the Scotch to Antarctic Heritage Trust officials at a ceremony...

Utah Smoothie Shop Charges Liberals More
 Utah Smoothie Shop 
 Charges Liberals More 
in case you missed it
Jan 19, 2013 7:26 AM CST

Utah Smoothie Shop Charges Liberals More

George Burnett says he wants to bring awareness to US problems

(Newser) - A Utah businessman is winning both fans and foes in his community with an interesting rule at his smoothie shop: Liberals must pay an extra $1. George Burnett, who first became famous in Vernal by walking around with a sandwich board reading, "Honk If You (Heart) Drilling" to advertise...

Canadian Botanists: $20 Bill Has Wrong Leaf

They say Bank of Canada used a specimen from Norway

(Newser) - Canada has spiffy new $20 bills made of polymer instead of paper, but botanists are more focused on a design element: They say the Bank of Canada adorned the bill with a maple leaf from Norway instead of Canada, reports the CBC . "It's a species that's invasive...

Driver Locks Up Drunk Police Officer

Apparently, it was the cop's birthday...

(Newser) - Quite a role reversal in South Africa on Sunday night, when a driver saw a police van crazily swerving before driving into oncoming traffic. When the van finally stopped, motorist Russell George got out of his car and confronted the driver. But the officer drove off and George pursued, while...

Empire: Obama Chicken for Killing Death Star Plan

It's 'obvious cowardice': Star Wars blog

(Newser) - Did the White House just make a grave mistake? After the Obama administration rejected a petition to build a Death Star, the Empire—or its tongue-in-cheek representatives here on Earth—offered a statement, Space.com reports: "The overwhelming military superiority of the Galactic Empire has been confirmed once again...

Worker Outsources Own Job to China ... Makes Profit

Until the tech folks finally caught on

(Newser) - Lots of us sneak peeks at Facebook or the web while at work, but one worker at a US company took the habit to a whole new level. A software engineer identified by the Register only as "Bob" outsourced his own work-from-home job to a Chinese subcontractor, then spent...

Brothers Stole Dad&#39;s Body Hoping for Resurrection
Brothers Stole Dad's Body Hoping for Resurrection
police say
Jan 16, 2013 2:28 PM CST

Brothers Stole Dad's Body Hoping for Resurrection

They could be charged with disinterment

(Newser) - Two adult brothers, one of whom was having difficulty coping with the loss of his parents, allegedly stole their 92-year-old father's body from a cemetery ... and police say the men may have believed they could resurrect him. Clarence Street's "intact and unharmed" corpse was found yesterday morning...

Brits, Irish Flip After Horse Meat Found in Burgers

DNA tests reveal supermarket 'beef' burgers up to 29% horse

(Newser) - Queasy consumers in Britain and Ireland are chucking out frozen hamburgers after learning that they could contain horse meat. Food safety experts conducting DNA tests found that around a third of burgers from major supermarket chains contained horse DNA, the Telegraph reports. The levels of horse DNA were fairly low...

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