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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Shoplifting Bust Ends in Siblings Admitting to Affair

Woman allegedly admits to 'sexual relationship' with her brother

(Newser) - All Charlene Ellet wanted to do, authorities say, was shoplift at a Walmart—but her day went downhill from there. While officers detained the 25-year-old, her brother, Cameron Beck, showed up looking for her, and in his backpack deputies found a "cut pen with a crystal substance on it"...

'Dead' Man Wakes Up —in Body Bag

Walter Williams kicked as workers prepared to embalm him

(Newser) - Funeral home workers preparing to embalm a 78-year-old in Mississippi this week were startled when the man's body bag ... started moving. It turns out Walter Williams, um, wasn't as dead as he was supposed to be and was kicking to be unzipped, WAPT reports. Williams was pronounced dead...

Parrot Helps Catch Owner's Murderer

It screeched whenever dead owner's nephew was near

(Newser) - The title of "man's best friend" might no longer go to dogs after this one: A parrot reportedly led detectives to its owner's murderer, the Times of India reports. Neelam Sharma, 45, was found stabbed to death along with her dog in the Indian city of Agra...

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week
 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week 
Feb 28, 2014 8:07 AM CST

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

Including a shooting at a famous Long Island castle

(Newser) - Sloppy police work and a wayward rocker make this week's list:
  • Teen Wrongly Jailed Over Name Confusion : A Florida teenager spent 35 days in jail on sex-assault charges because it apparently never occurred to his arresting officers that two people might have the same name. Cody Lee Williams, now
...

Leopard Terrorizes India Hospital

Spends 12 hours inside before bursting out through window

(Newser) - Patients in an Indian hospital yesterday received an unusual—and pretty frightening—visitor: a leopard that had turned up in the northern city of Meerut, injuring seven people, per the Hindustan Times . After being teased by "mischievous elements" in a warehouse, the animal headed to the hospital, where it...

Family: Rat Baked Into 96-Year-Old's Birthday Cake

It wasn't such a happy birthday for Joseph Vallenti

(Newser) - It's tough to think of a less appetizing way to celebrate one's 96th birthday. Joseph Vallenti's request for his big day was a slice of his favorite German apple cake, made by King Kullen supermarket. What Vallenti's family recalls the Commack, NY, man saying after taking...

Uh-Oh: Clown Shortage Looms in US
 Uh-Oh: 
 Clown 
 Shortage 
 Looms in US 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 23, 2014 10:39 AM CST

Uh-Oh: Clown Shortage Looms in US

It's no laughing matter, say clown organizations

(Newser) - Good news, coulrophobes : A "national clown shortage" may soon be upon us, the New York Daily News reports. It seems as older clowns are dying, not nearly as many younger clowns are joining the ranks to replace them—leading to a drastic decrease in membership at the country's...

Nicaragua Puts 3 on Trial Over 2-Banana Theft

Bananas were worth 32 cents each, and the trial will cost $600

(Newser) - A court's decision to hold three men for trial for the attempted theft of two bananas is drawing surprise and ridicule from lawyers in Nicaragua. The bananas stolen are valued at 32 cents, while the trial is expected to cost at least $600. Prosecutors said in preliminary proceedings yesterday...

Salvation Army Donation: Big Bag of Pot

Pennsylvania outlet working with police to find owner

(Newser) - How ... generous? An act of charity may end badly for one donor to a Pennsylvania Salvation Army outlet. Sugarcreek Borough police say they were called when workers found a large plastic bag of marijuana among some donated clothes earlier this week. Police Chief Matt Carlson tells the Oil City Derrick...

'Viking Apocalypse' Due Tomorrow

Ready to Ragnarok?

(Newser) - Viking apocalypse—or British weather? Experts from the Jorvik Viking Center, which is currently running its annual Viking festival in northern England, claim that the end of times as predicted in Norse mythology will be upon us tomorrow, when gods including Thor, Odin, and Loki will fight an epic battle...

HOA to Family: Take Down Sailor's Welcome Sign

Attorney says sign can only be up 2 weeks before, after leave

(Newser) - Anthony Marsiglia is in the Navy, currently deployed on an aircraft carrier, but coming home in the next few weeks. His family had a "welcome" sign hanging outside their Louisiana home for him—until their Lafayette homeowner's association instructed them, via attorney, to take it down. The Frenchman'...

One Monkey Controls Another, Avatar-Style

Brain, spine implants link animals' movements

(Newser) - In the movie Avatar, a paralyzed soldier uses a computer to control a body remotely. In a new study, scientists have moved a little closer to making that story a reality, LiveScience reports. US researchers installed electrodes into a "master" monkey's brain and an "avatar" monkey's...

Hunter Mistakes Man for Deer, Shoots Him —Twice

Tampa man may have suffered permanent damage in shooting

(Newser) - A hunter in Tampa, Fla., mistook a man practicing turkey calls for a deer Sunday night and shot him—twice—with a high-powered rifle. Amazingly, he survived, Opposing Views and the New York Times report. Clint Galentine, 37, was walking with a friend in a wildlife management area when the...

Man Tries to Feed Himself to Tigers

Incredibly, suicide plan does not work

(Newser) - A 27-year-old Chinese man chose what has to be one of the most painful-sounding ways to attempt suicide: On Sunday, Yang Jinhai climbed a tree at the Chengdu Zoo and lowered himself into the tiger enclosure, where he "performed exaggerated movements" for 20 minutes, trying to get the tigers...

What It's Like to Have 'Auto-Brewery' Syndrome

It's nowhere near as fun as it might sound

(Newser) - Matthew Hogg's body produces its own alcohol, which sounds kinda fun, until you actually hear what it's like to have "auto-brewery syndrome" (also known as gut fermentation syndrome) from Hogg himself. If he eats any sugar or carbohydrates, he feels drunk—or just goes straight to hungover....

Woman Expecting Triplets Births 4 Babies Instead

The pregnancy was a surprise for Kimberly Fugate, 42

(Newser) - Pretty much everything about Kimberly Fugate's pregnancy was surprising. The Mississippi woman had no intention of getting pregnant again, only to learn, at age 41, that she was expecting. The day before she turned 42 came the second shock: She was expecting triplets. But when Fugate gave birth at...

Lonely Inmate Busts Out for Valentine Rendezvous

It ends badly; in Georgia, meanwhile, a sheriff called the whole day off

(Newser) - Two Valentine's Day extremes, with a law-enforcement theme:
  • The dedicated: An Arizona inmate scaled a 12-foot fence, crawled through razor wire, and climbed yet another wire-topped fence to escape from jail and visit his girl yesterday, reports the Arizona Republic . Joseph Dekenipp, 40, made it to the Gallopin' Goose
...

How Giant Rats Could Someday Rule the Earth

Bank on it after the next mass extinction, says scientists

(Newser) - The future could belong to rats—perhaps enormous ones. So say scientists in Britain, based on a thought experiment. Geological historian Jan Zalasiewicz notes that some of his colleagues fear the planet could be headed for its next mass extinction in the next several centuries, thanks to humans' detrimental effects...

Woman Cancels Brother's Wedding, Goes to Jail

Today in the Department of Bad Ideas...

(Newser) - We've heard of not getting along with your in-laws, but one UK woman took things exceptionally far: She didn't like her brother's fiancee, so she pretended to be the woman, called up the Plymouth Registry Office, and canceled the wedding. Needless to say, things did not end...

Doctors Find 44-Year-Old Fetus in Woman, 84

Brazilian woman says she became pregnant decades ago

(Newser) - In a story as bizarre as it is deja vu-ish , a 44-year-old fetus has been found in an 84-year-old Brazilian woman. The Daily Mail reports by way of G1 that the discovery came last Friday, when the woman's intense stomach pains landed her in a hospital in Tocantins state...

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