strange stuff

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

Stories 921 - 940 | << Prev   Next >>

Exploding Star Likely Wrecked Life on Earth
Scientists Find New Cause
of Mass Extinction Event
study says
Aug 22, 2020 3:30 PM CDT

Scientists Find New Cause of Mass Extinction Event

University of Illinois researchers point to possible supernovas

(Newser) - A mass extinction event that struck Earth 359 million years ago still has scientists scratching their heads. Was it volcano eruptions? Meteorites? Gamma-ray bursts? A new paper looks at another possible culprit: exploding stars. Researchers at the University of Illinois argue that evidence hidden in rocks coincides with the effect...

University Handing Out Grants for Doing Nothing

German school to dole out 3 'idleness grants' of $1.9K each

(Newser) - Getting a university grant sometimes requires an extraordinary amount of work. In this case, not so much. The University of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany, is handing out three "idleness grants" of $1,900 each, reports UPI . The name is accurate: The university will pay four people to do...

It's a Zombie Attack, but With Social Distance

Company in Tokyo gets creative during pandemic with drive-thru scares

(Newser) - It’s a living nightmare—but a socially distanced one, per the AP . "Zombies" attack vehicles, smearing them with artificial blood. But the customers inside the cars are safely separated from their stalkers by the windows. Production company Kowagarasetai, roughly translated as "Scare Squad," has launched a...

If Cher Can't Get a Volunteering Gig at the Post Office, Who Can?

Turns out no one, as the star discovered after offering her services to 2 sites in Malibu

(Newser) - First a big TV personality from the '80s floated a plan to help the beleaguered US Postal Service . On Wednesday, Cher jumped into the fray, and her proposal suggested even more direct involvement, starting with a question on Twitter : "Can ppl volunteer at post office!?" A few...

In Japan, People Do a Weird Thing After a Night of Drinking

Officials worry 'road sleeping' is going to lead to more people getting hurt in Okinawa

(Newser) - There's a strange phenomenon that has overtaken the Okinawa prefecture in Japan, and police can't figure out a way to stop it. "Road sleeping," or rojo-ne in Japanese, seems to be what people like to do there after a night of drinking, and it means that...

Like Something Out of Willy Wonka: Cocoa Snow

It came down around a Swiss factory after a glitch

(Newser) - Residents of a Swiss town got a bit of a shock when it started snowing particles of a fine cocoa powder after the ventilation system at a chocolate factory malfunctioned. The Lindt & Spruengli company confirmed local reports Tuesday that there was a minor defect in the cooling ventilation for...

Cops: 'Woman' Who Left Dead Animals on Grave Was No Woman

Joseph Stroud has been arrested in connection with carcasses left at foe's Arkansas gravesite

(Newser) - At the end of May, the family of Fred Allen McKinney, who died in 2015, started making some strange finds at his gravesite in Bentonville, Ark.: the carcasses of various animals, which the family initially believed had died after nibbling on fake flowers left in McKinney's memory. According to...

Boy Blows His Nose, Finds Long-Lost Lego

Piece had been up there for almost 2 years

(Newser) - When a boy in New Zealand told his parents a piece of Lego had somehow become lodged up his nose, they took him to a doctor, who assured them it would most likely make its way through his digestive tract. The family soon forgot about the incident—until the tiny...

A Coveted Phone Number Sells for $325K

It has 5 consecutive 8s, which is seen as lucky in China

(Newser) - There's a reason the 2008 Olympics in Beijing started at 8:08 on the eighth day of the eighth month, notes ChannelNewsAsia . In China, the number eight is considered lucky because it sounds much like the word for "prosperity." All of which might help explain why somebody...

How Very 2020: &#39;Reverse Waterfalls&#39; Caught on Camera
Now Waterfalls
Are Flowing the
Other Way
in case you missed it
Aug 16, 2020 10:20 AM CDT

Now Waterfalls Are Flowing the Other Way

At least off the coast of Australia, where high winds wreak havoc with flowing water

(Newser) - Aerial footage out of Australia shows something bizarre—waterfalls pouring over cliff edges and flying back up from whence they came, LiveScience reports. In one magical case, a rainbow even forms amid the spray. There's an explanation, of course, which involves strong winds and heavy rains that have...

Cows With &#39;Butt Eyes&#39; Ward Off Deadly Attacks
Experts Paint Eyes on
Cow Butts—and It Works
in case you missed it
Aug 15, 2020 2:40 PM CDT

Experts Paint Eyes on Cow Butts—and It Works

Researchers find a low-cost way to save cattle in Botswana

(Newser) - Want to save cattle from predatory attacks? First, paint eyeballs on their butts. Then see what happens. That's pretty much the gist of a new study out of Botswana—and it worked, Happy Mag reports. Researchers at the University of South Wales painted the eyes on cow butts to...

Mansion Renovation Turns Into a Murder Investigation
Mansion Renovation Turns
Into a Murder Investigation
in case you missed it
Aug 15, 2020 7:40 AM CDT

Mansion Renovation Turns Into a Murder Investigation

Corpse from 30 years ago found in abandoned site in Paris

(Newser) - It's not the usual problem you'd expect from the sale of a $41 million mansion in a swanky part of Paris: Renovation workers found a corpse in the basement. And now work has been suspended while police conduct a murder investigation, reports the Guardian , which rounds up the...

Bald Eagle, 1. Drone, 0
Bald Eagle, 1.
Drone, 0
Aug 14, 2020 1:13 PM CDT

Bald Eagle, 1. Drone, 0

Bird sends government device into Lake Michigan

(Newser) - A bald eagle in Michigan made it very clear he's not happy about government drones in its territory. The eagle attacked a $950 drone being used to map shoreline erosion on Lake Michigan and sent it to the bottom of the very lake it was studying, reports MLive . The...

Cops Had to Rescue Lost Singer on His Own Property

In Kane Brown's defense, he has a pretty big 'yard'

(Newser) - It's funny now, not so much at the time. Country singer Kane Brown is poking a little fun at himself by recounting how he "got lost in my back yard" and had to be rescued by police. It's a quite a tale. Brown explains that he recently...

Beetle Has Brilliant, Gross Method of Escape
Beetle Has an Amazing
Way of Escaping Death
new study
Aug 4, 2020 1:59 PM CDT

Beetle Has an Amazing Way of Escaping Death

After being swallowed, insect tricks frog into pooping and, voila, freedom

(Newser) - Once upon a time, a water beetle was swallowed by a frog. The intrepid insect survived the journey through the frog's mouth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines, then found itself at what scientists call the frog's "vent"—in other words, its anus. So close to freedom. The...

5-Month Pandemic Honeymoon Is One for the Ages

It included 3 months with elderly aunt, 1 month at sea

(Newser) - Honeymooners Feeonaa and Neville Clifton planned to spend two weeks visiting family in the Falkland Islands before heading to South America. Instead, they spent four months stuck in the Falklands—three in isolation with an elderly aunt—and another month crossing the ocean in a fishing boat to get back...

In This Nation, Hello Kitty 'Flight to Nowhere' Offers an Escape

Taiwanese citizens will be able to fly around for 3 hours with no destination on Saturday in Dream jet

(Newser) - We've heard of cruises to nowhere—but a "flight to nowhere"? That's the plan behind EVA Air's latest gimmick to appeal to Taiwanese citizens who haven't been able to travel outside the country during the coronavirus pandemic. Per CNN , to celebrate Father's Day...

Tax Refund Checks Bear Odd Signatures

Mickey Mouse signed off on them in Rhode Island, as did Walt Disney

(Newser) - Well this is a little goofy. Recipients of government checks in Rhode Island this week were surprised to see they were signed by none other than Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney, reports WJAR . It seems the state's Division of Taxation uses those dummy signatures for tests, and a glitch...

Police: Students Scammed Into Kidnapping Themselves

Scam is targeting Chinese young adults studying in Australia

(Newser) - A scam that ends with people tying themselves up in a hotel room and sending photos of it to their family? Outlandish but true, say Australian police, who are warning Chinese students in Sydney of a surge of "virtual kidnapping" cases in the country. Police say they have this...

Those Strange Seeds You Got in the Mail? Don't Plant Them

Officials in several states warn unsolicited packets may be from China, other overseas locations

(Newser) - "Do not plant seeds from unknown origins." That's the warning issued by Mike Strain, Louisiana's agriculture commissioner, after people in his state and several others say they've received unasked-for packages of seeds in the mail, which officials say may have come from China or other...

Stories 921 - 940 | << Prev   Next >>