strange stuff

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

Stories 2981 - 3000 | << Prev   Next >>

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...

We Don&#39;t Sleep as Well During a Full Moon

 The Full Moon 
 Messes With 
 Your Sleep 
study says
Jul 26, 2013 3:46 AM CDT

The Full Moon Messes With Your Sleep

Even when we don't know about it: study

(Newser) - OK, you probably won't become a werewolf, but there is evidence that the full moon really does take a toll on people—even if they don't know it's out there. Scientists reviewed data in which subjects slept in a darkened room where they couldn't see the...

Police Pull Over ... a Swimming Pool

A BMW convertible 'of a slightly different kind,' say police

(Newser) - The "carpool" has finally gone literal: Four men decided to beat the heat in Eibenstock, Germany, on Sunday by taking a ride in a convertible—only this was "a convertible of a slightly different kind," according to police. Carved out, sealed, and filled with some 530 gallons...

$500K Fire Set by... Aspiring Firefighter

Joseph Brannen, 18, admits to arson

(Newser) - Firefighters who turned up to battle flames at a Florida library found a guy in firefighting gear was already on the scene. They asked Joseph Brannen, 18, where he'd gotten his protective clothing; he said he bought it on eBay, officials say. He added that he'd heard the...

More 'Vampires' Found in Poland

Number of skeletons buried in peculiar way now stands at 17

(Newser) - The four suspected vampires unearthed by archaeologists in Poland may have been in good company. Der Spiegel reports that the number of skeletons found buried with their head placed between their legs (so arranged to ensure that a possible bloodsucker couldn't find his head and come back to life)...

Woman Hits McDonald's Drive-Thru —on a Horse

...and then things get really weird

(Newser) - If you're on horseback and desperate for a Quarter Pounder, you are out of luck. A UK woman found this out the hard way over the weekend, when she tried to ride a horse through the drive-thru at a Manchester McDonald's. The restaurant said it couldn't serve...

World's Smelliest Flower Finally Blooms in DC

You have less than 48 hours to get a whiff of the 'corpse flower'

(Newser) - When we last reported on the titan arum, a flower known to smell like a "very dead elephant," Americans were pouring into the US Botanic Garden in DC in hopes of seeing the "corpse flower" in its stinky glory. The wait is finally over. The AP reports...

PayPal Makes Man a Quadrillionaire&mdash;by Accident
PayPal Makes Man a Quadrillionaire—by Accident
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 21, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

PayPal Makes Man a Quadrillionaire—by Accident

But Chris Reynolds' good fortune doesn't last long

(Newser) - It's not too often you see the word "quadrillionaire" in a headline. Actually, probably never, considering Chris Reynolds of Media, Penn., was the first man to ever be one—albeit very, very briefly. Reynolds opened his PayPal statement this month to find he had been credited $92,233,...

Man Wakes With Amnesia, Speaking Only Swedish
Man Wakes With Amnesia, Speaking Only Swedish
in case you missed it
Jul 20, 2013 2:00 PM CDT

Man Wakes With Amnesia, Speaking Only Swedish

Doctors are looking into the mystery of Michael Boatwright

(Newser) - Doctors are looking into the mystery of a Florida man who awoke speaking only Swedish, with no memory of his past, after he was found unconscious four months ago at a Southern California motel. Michael Boatwright, 61, was in February taken to a Palm Springs medical center where he woke...

Bookstores' Salvation: Whiffs of Chocolate?

Study finds shoppers linger, buy more in certain genres

(Newser) - Bookstores need all they help they can get in the age of Amazon, and Belgian researchers are obliging with a suggestion: Smell like chocolate. Their study found that people were twice as likely to linger and peruse multiple books if the shop had a subtle scent of chocolate working in...

Dubai Offers Flabby Citizens Gold to Lose Weight

Skeptics think the stunt won't have much of an effect

(Newser) - Dubai is, generally speaking, a fat nation. It also happens to be a very rich nation, and those two factors have combined to create an unusual weight-loss offer from the government: It will give people gold based on how many pounds they drop, reports Emirates 24/7 . The month-long initiative got...

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week
 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week 
Jul 19, 2013 11:40 AM CDT

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

From an allegedly brazen handyman to superhero teens

(Newser) - Among this week's craziest crimes, another candidate for "Parent of the Year":
  1. Mom Throws Infant at Deputy in Getaway Bid : How is it possible to rack up charges for shoplifting and child abuse at the same time? By tossing your infant daughter at the deputy coming to arrest
...

Guy's Shotgun Defense: Joe Biden Said I Could

He is charged after firing gun to chase away people

(Newser) - Call it the Biden defense. A man in Washington state is in legal trouble after he fired his shotgun into the air to scare away people he thought were breaking into his vehicles. His unusual defense? “I did what Joe Biden told me to do,” he tells KOIN...

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