strange stuff

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

Stories 3921 - 3940 | << Prev   Next >>

Mountain Lion Tries to Sneak Into Casino

Cat's OK after being caught near Harrah's in Reno

(Newser) - An underage mountain lion has been caught after trying to slip into a casino in downtown Reno, ahead of the breakfast rush. Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says the young male cat's behavior was "almost the equivalent of being a stupid teenager." Healy says coming-of-age...

Bird 'Bermuda Triangle' Claims Hundreds of Pigeons

British pigeon racers distraught

(Newser) - There's a new Bermuda Triangle—but this one's for the birds. Racing pigeons, who are supposed to rush home when released far away, are disappearing in northern England, the Telegraph reports. Just 13 of 232 birds released in North Yorkshire last weekend made it to their destinations, and...

16K Dried Seahorses Seized in Peru

Police seize cache destined for Asia

(Newser) - Some 16,000 dried seahorses have been seized in Lima, Peru. The endangered creatures were destined for Asian markets, where powdered seahorses are used in folk medicine in China, Japan, and elsewhere to treat various ailments and as an aphrodisiac. The illegal cache could have fetched up to $250,000,...

Farmer Bites Snake to Death
 Farmer Bites Snake to Death 
Aug 24, 2012 12:04 AM CDT

Farmer Bites Snake to Death

Fangs a lot, says cobra

(Newser) - That's one gutsy farmer. A Nepalese man bitten by a cobra in his rice paddy turned the tables on the creature and repeatedly bit the snake. "A snake charmer told me that if a snake bites you, bite it until it is dead and nothing will happen to...

Judge: Tax Hike Needed to Fight UN in US Revolution

Texan warns of 'civil war' if Obama is reelected

(Newser) - The freedom-loving people of Lubbock County, Texas, could be crushed under the heel of the United Nations if they don't approve a 1.7-cent rise in the tax rate, warns a local official. Judge Tom Head told a local radio station that the extra funds are needed to prepare...

Ma Barker's Florida Hideout for Sale

Jeffrey Dahmer's Ohio home also on market

(Newser) - Two houses now on the market are getting attention thanks to previous occupants:
  • Ma Barker: The lakefront hideout in Ocklawaha, Florida, where the FBI gunned down her and a son in 1935 is up for sale for $1 million, reports Reuters . It's even got bullet holes—along with 11
...

Hot Fudge Disagreement May Mean Jail Time

Tennessee man punches McDonald's employee over sauce

(Newser) - A Knoxville man punched a McDonald's employee during an argument over a $1 hot fudge sundae. Now he faces more than $1,000 in fines and up to 364 days in prison, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel . "It had chocolate on the bottom," James Wilson explained to...

As Corn Prices Jump, Cattle Fed Candy

...at least that's what one Kentucky rancher is doing

(Newser) - If you're wary of the antibiotics and hormones fed to America's cattle, brace yourself: Some of them are also being fed candy. WPSD reports on one Kentucky rancher's "solution" to the exploding price of corn. The owner of Mayfield's United Livestock Commodities explains that "...

Cops: Woman Gets Robbed Twice in Hours

The second time, it was on her way to police station

(Newser) - Police say a western Pennsylvania woman had her checkbook stolen, and as she went to the police station to report the crime, her purse was swiped. Seventy-two-year-old Harriet Sweger says she was first robbed by a woman who bumped into her and grabbed her checkbook at a grocery store. The...

Horseless Detroit Department Employs ... Horseshoer

Job description last revised in 1967

(Newser) - Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department doesn't have any horses—but if it ever gets any, it's totally prepared. The city employs a "horseshoer," whose job it is "to shoe horses and to do general blacksmith work ... and to perform related work as required,"...

'Legitimate Rape' Was a Medical Theory ... in 1200s

But several modern-era lawmakers share it

(Newser) - If you found Rep. Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" positively medieval, you're right—quite literally. As far back as the 13th century, a British legal text notes that "without a woman's consent, she could not conceive," the Guardian reports. Centuries later, in 1814,...

Lottery Player Gets Wrong Ticket, Wins $1M
 Lottery Player Gets 
 Wrong Ticket, Wins $1M 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 19, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Lottery Player Gets Wrong Ticket, Wins $1M

He asked for one game, but distracted clerk gave him another

(Newser) - When a store clerk gave a Massachusetts man a different kind of scratch-off lottery ticket than he asked for, he didn't make a big deal about the mistake; he said he just "rolled with it." It was a good decision: He won $1 million. Richard Brown of...

NASA So Cool, It Has Own LMFAO Spoof

Of course, the coolest kids work for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

(Newser) - They sport mohawks. President Obama called them cool . And now they're the subject of an MTV-worthy video. The polo-shirted crew at California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory found quick fame after Curiosity's victorious landing, following its famed seven minutes of terror on Aug. 5, in part "because they...

Clown Wound Up With Steve Jobs' Stolen iPad

He unwittingly received it from his burglar friend

(Newser) - When his buddy gave him a 64GB iPad, Kenny the Clown immediately began using it in his act. "I didn't notice anything special or anything like that. It was silver; it looked normal," he tells the San Jose Mercury News . He loaded it up with songs he'...

Belgian Mayor May Sue Over ... Weather Report

Says dreary report has hurt tourism

(Newser) - The mayor of a seaside town in Belgium is fuming over ... a weather report. He says a seasonal weather report for this summer was downright unfair, and he might sue. A private weather forecasting firm said the country would only have two weeks of sunshine this month. "We all...

Driver Swerves to Miss Moose, Hits Bear

Bear injured in late-night collision; driver and moose OK

(Newser) - An unlucky Norwegian man driving on a country road at night swerved around a moose in the road only to hit an even unluckier bear. Wildlife officials say the bear, one of only around 150 in the country, was injured in the crash, Reuters reports. They have found traces of...

eBay: No More Magic for Sale
 eBay: No More Magic for Sale 
Aug 16, 2012 5:09 PM CDT

eBay: No More Magic for Sale

Auction site bans sale of spells, hexes, psychic readings

(Newser) - Call it a War on Hogwarts—eBay has announced it will no longer allow the sale of hexes and potions, reports the Los Angeles Times . Starting next month, the site's new guidelines also will prohibit the sale of blessings, enchantments, psychic advice, "and other metaphysical readings & services....

Museum Discovers Picasso Work in Storage

Glass artwork had been mistakenly labeled

(Newser) - An Indiana museum plans to sell a work of glass art by Pablo Picasso that sat unnoticed in storage for nearly 50 years. The Evansville Museum says the piece titled "Seated Woman with Red Hat" was donated to the museum in 1963. Museum officials say it was cataloged as...

Key to Avoiding Skin Cancer: Shark Lotion?

Sharks tan, but don't get the disease

(Newser) - We're gonna need a bigger bottle of lotion. Researchers think that the key to curbing skin cancer may lie deep under the sea, among the sharks. The giant fish, honored this week by the Discovery Channel, are able to tan, but apparently they are impervious to skin cancer. Scientists...

'Who's Your Daddy' Truck Sells DNA Tests on Road

New York City vehicle sees 'constant drama'

(Newser) - A truck has hit the streets of New York selling DNA tests to passersby. The "Who's Your Daddy" truck caters mostly to men who aren't sure their children are their own, CBS News reports. "They flag us down, they pull us over, they talk to us,...

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