strange stuff

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

Stories 2961 - 2980 | << Prev   Next >>

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...

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 "...

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