strange stuff

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

Stories 2921 - 2940 | << Prev   Next >>

How Spoons Tucked Into Underwear Fight Forced Marriage

 How Spoons in 
 Underwear Fight 
 Forced Marriage 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 18, 2013 7:30 PM CDT

How Spoons in Underwear Fight Forced Marriage

They serve as airport warning

(Newser) - A charity in Britain has devised a clever last line of defense against forced marriage, and it involves an unusual trick: packing a spoon in your underwear. The Karma Nirvana charity suggests the move to victims being taken out of the UK via plane: The spoon will set off the...

Woman Drives for 200 Miles&mdash;While Sleeping

 Woman Drives for 200 
 Miles—While Sleeping 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 18, 2013 10:07 AM CDT

Woman Drives for 200 Miles—While Sleeping

Police tracked New Zealand woman by her cell phone

(Newser) - A New Zealand woman drove overnight for nearly 200 miles and sent texts as she went—but was probably asleep the whole time. It all started when a concerned friend contacted police shortly after midnight Wednesday because the unnamed woman, who has a sleep disorder, took sleeping pills and drove...

Zoo Tries to Pass Off Dog as Lion
 Zoo Tries 
 to Pass Off 
 Dog as Lion 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 18, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

Zoo Tries to Pass Off Dog as Lion

And fox as leopard

(Newser) - It wasn't hard to figure out that the "African lion" at a Chinese zoo was no lion: The animal was barking, according to one mom whose son pointed out the apparent discrepancy. Turns out the zoo in the People's Park of Luohe had substituted a Tibetan mastiff,...

Booze Smugglers Built Pipeline in River

Kazakhstan entrepreneurs found a way around taxes

(Newser) - It's not your usual smuggling bust: Authorities found a pipeline in the river connecting Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan used to ship alcohol, reports the BBC . Police say smugglers laid the pipe on the bed of the river Chu to move booze out of Kazakhstan, where grains are plentiful and spirits...

Baby Has Randomly Gone Up in Flames 4 Times
Baby Has Randomly Gone
Up in Flames 4 Times
in case you missed it
Aug 17, 2013 7:35 AM CDT

Baby Has Randomly Gone Up in Flames 4 Times

Doctors say Rahul suffers from spontaneous human combustion

(Newser) - The first time baby Rahul went up in flames, at just nine days old, India villagers thought his mother, Rajeswari, "set him on fire deliberately," she says. She and her family were ostracized, but worse, Rajeswari found her baby burning three more times. The now 3-month-old infant is...

Pepsi-Flavored Cheetos Now Exist

But, sadly, only in Japan

(Newser) - Pepsi and Cheetos: a match made in snack-food heaven. But what about Pepsi-flavored Cheetos? If that seems like what you'd expect from a country salivating over breakfast waffles , we have some bad news for you: The Frito-Lay flavor does indeed exist as of last month ... in Japan. And the...

Villagers Mistake Google Driver for Government Spy

They let him go after he swears before Buddha statue

(Newser) - The hazards of driving around in one of those Google mapping cars: When residents of a remote village in Thailand saw the weird-looking vehicle with a camera on top tooling around, they blocked its path and hauled out the driver for questioning, reports the Bangkok Post . Was he a sneaky...

Seattle Cops' Job at Pot Fest: Hand Out Doritos

Bags will feature links to facts on legal marijuana

(Newser) - Who knew? Police have a sense of humor, at least in Seattle. Cops there plan to attend this weekend's Hempfest —where they'll distribute 1,000 bags of Doritos on Saturday. A note affixed to each bag will direct munchers to the SPD's "Marijwhatnow" FAQ , which...

Cops in 5-Hour Standoff With ... Quiche Thieves

'Apparently they were hungry,' cafe owner says

(Newser) - A couple of hungry thieves faced off against police for five hours after reportedly breaking into a cafe for a bite of quiche, the Guardian reports. The two men, aged 20 and 21, attempted the nighttime burglary in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England's northernmost town. But patrol officers noticed the break-in, and...

Cat DNA Database Helps Convict British Killer

Good news, though: Tinker the cat is OK

(Newser) - CSI Meow-i? A newly created DNA database of British cats has helped convict a killer. The University of Leicester today said its catalog of feline DNA buttressed the prosecution case against David Hilder, who was convicted of manslaughter last month at a court in the English city of Winchester. It'...

Abused Donkey Gets New Pair of Pants

Israeli animal sanctuary gives Haim a healing gift

(Newser) - A donkey in Israel is faring much better, thank you, after getting a brand new pair of pants. Haim the donkey was abused before finding a home at the Ramat Gan Safari, the Middle East's largest animal sanctuary, the Times of Israel reports. Haim's previous owner used to...

Missing Dog Found 2 Days Later, Up a Tree

Owner thinks he probably chased a squirrel

(Newser) - A 7-year-old border collie who was missing from his Iowa home for a few days didn't get very far—he only went up. Laddy the dog was found yesterday morning stuck up a tree two blocks from his Davenport home, the Quad-City Times reports. His owner says she believes...

Guy Needs Ride Home, Steals Ambulance

Police say he was heading home from ... the police department

(Newser) - Here's how you take your arrest on an open container charge and snowball it into something much, much worse: Steal an ambulance to get home from the police department. That's what Cesar Garcia is accused of doing after he received the misdemeanor citation yesterday morning and was released...

Tenn. Judge: Baby Can't Be Named 'Messiah'

She names child 'Martin' instead

(Newser) - According to one Tennessee judge, only one person in history deserves the name "Messiah"—so on Thursday she changed a 7-month-old's name to Martin instead. "The word Messiah is a title and it's a title that has only been earned by one person and that...

47-Story Skyscraper Forgets Elevator

Boondoggle in Spain set to open this year

(Newser) - It was supposed to be a symbol of economic might. Instead, a new skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain, is more likely to be the "laughingstock of the modern world," suggests International Design Times . That's because the 47-story structure, due to open in December, lacks a working elevator. Or...

Man Tweaks Credit Card Offer; Bank Doesn't Notice

Russian customer amended a mail-in credit offer, sues bank for ducking terms

(Newser) - Why not amend a credit card offer and send back your version? That's what one man did in Russia, and it kinda worked out for him, the Telegraph reports. Dmitry Argarkov, 42, scanned an offer from Tinkoff Credit Systems and changed the terms to his liking: no credit limit...

Church's Pet Cemetery Sparks Holy Row

Plan to house cremation urns upsets the devout

(Newser) - A plan to house pet cremations under a San Francisco church has sparked a theological debate about souls, sacred spaces, and the meaning of St. Francis, the Los Angeles Times reports. The notion didn't seem odd to church friars—after all, the church is named after St. Francis, patron...

Man Accused of Killing Wife, Posting Photo on Facebook

Miami murder allegedly started as domestic dispute

(Newser) - Unreal: A South Miami man reportedly posted a photo of his dead wife on Facebook—just after taking her life, CBS Miami reports. Derek Medina, 31, posted the photo of wife Jennifer Alfonso bent over backward in the kitchen of a townhouse with blood on her arm and face. "...

Scared Dad Seeks Asylum Over Moustache

Pakistani man: Extremists are threatening my life

(Newser) - Now that's a stache: Pakistani businessman Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Afridi sports a 30-inch moustache that he calls his pride and joy—but admits could get him killed, the Independent reports. "People give me a lot of respect," says Afridi, who spends $150 monthly to treat the...

Plane Crashes Into ... Cow
 Plane Crashes Into ... Cow 
Aug 8, 2013 11:26 AM CDT

Plane Crashes Into ... Cow

All humans OK after airliner skids off runway

(Newser) - No black box data needed for this plane accident: Blame the cow. An Indonesian passenger jet with more than 100 people aboard skidded off the runway after hitting a cow upon landing, reports the Guardian . Luckily, all the humans were fine. The cow didn't make it, however, reports the...

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