strange stuff

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

Stories 2941 - 2960 | << Prev   Next >>

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...

NYC Subway Passenger: Dead Shark

Another passes out outside a bar in Nantucket

(Newser) - NYC subway riders got a taste—and smell—of what Shark Week is all about in the wee hours of yesterday morning when they found a dead shark riding the Queens-bound N train. The creature, described by CNN as 1.5 feet in length and no more than 10 pounds,...

Lawmaker Sued Over Months of Taser Attacks

Tasings at Houston office were posted online: lawsuit

(Newser) - Most people can accept being the victim of an office prank—but Tasing seems a little much. In that spirit, a Texas man has filed suit against a GOP state lawmaker and her husband over months of alleged Taser attacks while working at their Houston car dealership, KHOU.com reports....

Meet 'Mini Lisa,' Thinner Than a Human Hair

Georgia Tech creates tiny copy with nanotechnology

(Newser) - Leonardo da Vinci used oil-based paint to create his Mona Lisa. The folks at Georgia Tech used ThermoChemical NanoLithography to create their version, dubbed the "Mini Lisa," reports the Christian Science Monitor . The result? An almost indescribably small gray-scale copy. Think one third the width of a human...

ABC Newsman Switches Back From Female to Male

Don Ellis suspects females hormones led to his confusion

(Newser) - An ABC News editor who announced he was transgender—and wore a little black dress to match—now says a bout of amnesia has made him a man again, the New York Post reports. Don Ellis became a full-time female in May, when he declared his 17-year marriage kaput and...

Escape Artist to Free Self From Coffin, While Skydiving

Anthony Martin expects to escape after 40 second of free fall

(Newser) - Imagine the terror of being handcuffed, chained, and locked inside a wooden casket ... that is subsequently dropped from an airplane. That's the scenario Anthony Martin faces later today when he takes to the sky over Serena in northern Illinois. The escape artist has a long history of impressive feats...

Ancient Shark Sported Devil Horns

"Devil Tooth" also had spikes on its fins

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered a never-before-seen prehistoric shark in a piece of Arizona limestone, and the creature had a rather frightening feature: a pair of "devil horns." The shark, dubbed the Devil Tooth or Diablodontus michaeledmundi, probably used the horns either to defend itself or to attract mates, Discovery...

Pepper-Sprayed Pizza Lands Cop in Court

Juan Tavera is accused of secretly spraying teen's dinner

(Newser) - Pepperoni, green peppers, and... pepper spray? That's the topping a teen allegedly got on his pizza, unbeknownst to him, during a routine traffic stop in Orange County, Calif. The 19-year-old and his buddies got sick from eating the pie, which prosecutors say was sprayed by sheriff's deputy Juan...

4-Year-Old Elected Mayor —Again

Bobby Tufts actually has an agenda

(Newser) - Robert "Bobby" Tufts hasn't made it to preschool yet, but the mayor of a tiny tourist town in northern Minnesota has already been elected twice. Mayor Tufts' name was picked yesterday during the annual Taste of Dorset festival to be mayor of Dorset for a second term. The...

Court Says &#39;Pastafarian&#39; Has Right to Wear Strainer Hat
Court Says 'Pastafarian' Has Right to Wear Strainer Hat
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 4, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

Court Says 'Pastafarian' Has Right to Wear Strainer Hat

Even in his official license photo

(Newser) - A Czech Republic court has struck a blow for religious freedom—ridiculous, ridiculous religious freedom. Lukás Novy, 29, successfully argued that he should be allowed to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his official, government-issued ID photo, because he was required to do so by his "...

Man Steals ... a Road?
 Man Steals ... a Road? 
Aug 3, 2013 10:25 AM CDT

Man Steals ... a Road?

Alas, he doesn't get far in Russia

(Newser) - We've heard of people stealing a bridge , but stealing a road? Such is the case in Russia, where a resident in the city of Syktyvkar confessed to doing just that and now faces two years in prison, reports RIA Novosti . He probably didn't have much of a choice...

Man Pays Legal Settlement With 4 Tons of Quarters

Father has to return money he got from accident that killed son

(Newser) - A southern Illinois businessman has paid off part of a court-ordered legal settlement with nearly four tons of quarters packed into dozens of bags. Roger Herrin of Harrisburg was ordered by an appellate court to repay $500,000 in insurance money related to a 2001 car accident in which his...

Drunk Lady Passes Out, IKEA Lets Her Sleep It Off

After she vomited on a couch first

(Newser) - If you're going to get really drunk and pass out in public, aim for an IKEA. An apparently intoxicated woman recently stumbled into one of the furniture stores in Israel, vomited on a couch, and then passed out on a bed (after politely removing her shoes first). The employees...

Guy Gets Rid of Demons By Setting Closet on Fire

Or at least that was Adam Glenn Hamilton's idea

(Newser) - If you're convinced your bedroom is beset by demons, what is there to do but set your closet on fire? That's the tactic Adam Glenn Hamilton used, according to police. The 30-year-old Arizona man is accused of wandering around near his Avondale home on July 20, reciting Bible...

Man Goes to Jail for Catastrophic Diarrhea

Amazing testimony compares aftermath to both 'spaghetti sauce' and 'chunky peanut butter'

(Newser) - If you have delicate sensibilities, stop reading now. A court has upheld a conviction against a man who spent a week in jail for ... leaving the bathroom of a federal courthouse in Maine covered in poop. The cleaner who found the mess says 75% of the floor was "covered...

Wild Race Runs Around One NYC Block—for 52 Days

The 3,100-mile race requires runners to loop block 5,649 times

(Newser) - It almost defies belief: A dozen runners are in the midst of a race that will take them around a single Queens, NY, block ... 5,649 times. That makes it a 3,100-mile race or, in this case, "spiritual journey." The event began June 16, and participants have...

Cops Kill 95-Year-Old With Bean-Bag Gun

...Because he refused to get medical help

(Newser) - When a 95-year-old at a Chicago senior living community refused medical treatment, police were called in—and wound up killing the man with a bean-bag gun, the Chicago Tribune reports. Officers were called in Friday night to help a private ambulance crew deal with a "combative" resident being "...

US Hiker Mauled by Polar Bear

Matt Dyer in stable condition in Montreal: wife

(Newser) - A hiker from Maine was in his tent in northeastern Canada when a polar bear hauled him out and proceeded to maul him on Wednesday. Fellow hikers were able to stop the early-morning attack using flares that frightened the animal, CBC reports, causing it to release victim Matt Dyer. The...

Utah Train Wreck Survivor Has Cheated Death Twice

Stephen Ward nearly died while undergoing a bone marrow transplant 4 years ago

(Newser) - Seconds before the Spanish train he was aboard lifted off the tracks "like a roller coaster," Mormon missionary Stephen Ward said he glanced up from the journal he was writing in and noticed a backpack tumble from a rack. Moments later, the 18-year-old from Bountiful, Utah, blacked out...

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