strange stuff

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

Stories 301 - 320 | << Prev   Next >>

This Lady Says She Can See Into Your Future, Via Cheese

Jennifer Billock tells fortunes using the art of tyromancy

(Newser) - How accurately can that provolone in your fridge predict the future? How good of a soothsayer is that wheel of Stilton? You may not have the answers to those questions, but Jennifer Billock thinks she does. That's because the Chicago native is a self-proclaimed expert in tyromancy, described by...

He Heard the Word 'Guilty,' Ate a Poisoned Snickers Bar

76-year-old has since recovered sufficiently to return to court

(Newser) - A 76-year-old Australian man returned to court Monday after a hospital stay of his own making. After being found guilty of committing decades-old child sex offenses in June, he bit into a Snickers bar that he had laced with rat poison in an attempt to die by suicide. The Canberra ...

In This Tiny European Town, an 'Alcoholic Flash Flood'

Distillery's storage tanks burst, sending 600K gallons of red wine into streets of Portuguese town

(Newser) - There's too much wine in Europe, if that can be believed—and some of that excess ended up flowing through the roads of a Portuguese town over the weekend. NBC News reports on the "alcoholic flash flood" on Sunday in Sao Lourenco do Bairro, where a river of...

2 Miles Deep in the Ocean, a 'Delightfully Strange Find'

'It's like the beginning of a horror movie,' one scientist said of odd 'golden egg' found off Alaska

(Newser) - An underwater mission in the Gulf of Alaska to explore deep-sea habitats led researchers to make an unexpected discovery: a strange gold-colored orb submerged 2 miles deep on the ocean floor. Per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , the find was made Aug. 30 when the Okeanos Explorer found, "...

Mystery Plant Thief Turned Out to Be a Koala

Claude was nabbed after he ate so much he couldn't move

(Newser) - At the nursery he owns in Australia, Humphrey Herington grows plants to restore koala habitats, but he was still surprised when the animal that had been chowing down on his seedlings turned out to be a koala, a species not known for intrepid behavior. Herington tells the BBC that when...

Cops Race to 'Mass Murder,' Find Yoga Class Instead

False alarm causes a stir in the UK

(Newser) - The horrified dog-walkers meant well. But when they called police to report what appeared to be a "ritual mass murder," the responding officers found only a yoga class in session, reports the BBC . It seems the two dog-walkers peered inside the windows of the Seascape Cafe in Lincolnshire,...

Best, Worst Cities for Zombie Apocalypse
Where to Run When
the Zombies Come
Sep 7, 2023 1:35 PM CDT

Where to Run When the Zombies Come

Residents of Houston are safest in this ranking

(Newser) - Another Walking Dead spinoff debuts on AMC this week, notes Yahoo Entertainment . Which, of course, prompted the company Lawn Love to ponder which cities would best be able to fend off a zombie apocalypse. Among the factors: proximity to military bases, gun stores, supermarkets (to stock up on supplies), helipads,...

Man Who Keeps Trying to 'Run' Across the Ocean Is Arrested

Is there nothing a Florida man won't do?

(Newser) - The US Coast Guard has arrested a Florida man who was attempting to "run" across the Atlantic Ocean in a large hamster wheel. Marathon runner Reza Baluchi was found about 70 nautical miles east of Georgia's Tybee Island on Aug. 26 in what officials described as a "...

Denver Zoo's Tilting Angelfish Gets a CT Scan

Turns out to be too much gas; jokes about critter having better health insurance than most ensue

(Newser) - A fancy-looking French angelfish that was found one day with a funny float has its buoyancy back after taking some time from its tropical trappings to get a CT scan at the Denver Zoo. A zoo worker recently noticed the blue-and-yellow fish was swimming with a tilt, prompting a visit...

This Is Now the Most Famous Bull in America
This Is Now the Most
Famous Bull in America
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 4, 2023 9:13 AM CDT

This Is Now the Most Famous Bull in America

Nebraska man pulled over with a giant bovine in passenger seat of specialized car

(Newser) - You might think this is what traffic stops are like in Nebraska, but even the police in this one were bamboozled. "We didn't have a full understanding of it until we saw it," says Chad Reiman, police captain in the city of Norfolk. "It" was a...

Beekeeper Says &#39;I Hope to Never Experience It Again&#39;
Beekeeper Says 'I Hope
to Never Experience It Again'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 3, 2023 7:03 AM CDT

Beekeeper Says 'I Hope to Never Experience It Again'

5M bees fell off a truck in Canada on Wednesday

(Newser) - "I hope to never experience it again," says a beekeeper who was asked to come to the rescue on Wednesday morning after 5 million bees toppled off a truck in Canada. Police phoned Michael Barber, owner of Tri-City Bee Rescue, and requested he assist at the scene in...

In First, Doc Pulls Live Worm From Human Brain
In First, Doc Pulls
Live Worm From
Human Brain
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 2, 2023 6:30 AM CDT

In First, Doc Pulls Live Worm From Human Brain

Australian neurosurgeon was as grossed out as you are

(Newser) - The call went out to Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases physician at Canberra Hospital in Australia, from a neurosurgeon who'd just performed brain surgery. "Oh, my god, you wouldn't believe what I just found in this lady's brain," Dr. Hari Priya Bandi said, according...

Ever Wanted to Race Through a Bog? No? Keep Moving
Well, This Is an
Unusual Contest
Aug 29, 2023 11:25 AM CDT

Well, This Is an Unusual Contest

Ever wanted to snorkel your way through 120 yards of a Welsh peat bog?

(Newser) - If slogging through mud potentially infected with bacteria doesn't seem like a good idea to you, this will probably also fail your survival test: Intrepid athletes donned snorkels and slithered through slime over the weekend during one of Britain's quirkiest sporting events, the World Bog Snorkeling Championships. The...

Mall Evacuated After Suspicious Toilet Found

Note left with painted toilet outside California mall claimed it was a bomb

(Newser) - A person was taken into custody in Glendale, California, on Thursday night after a suspicious toilet triggered an evacuation of the Americana mall. The Glendale Police Department says the toilet, painted with numerous designs and symbols, was left outside the mall's movie theater with a note claiming it was...

Austrian Climate Minister Pushes Public to Get Tattoos

Or, one specific climate-related tattoo, in exchange for a free train pass

(Newser) - The Austrian government isn't just encouraging tattoos—it's rewarding those who get them, or, at least, one specific tattoo. Climate officials set up pop-up tattoo shops at two festivals, where the first three people willing to get inked with the word "Klimaticket" landed a free year of...

This Baby Might Be World's Only Giraffe Without Spots

She was born at a Tennessee zoo last month

(Newser) - A spotless giraffe may be the only one of her kind on the planet, according to the zoo where she was born. The baby with no spots was born July 31 at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, WJHL reports, and zoo officials say that since spots are able to be...

NJ Power Outage Had Unlikely Culprit


NJ Power
Outage Had
Unlikely Culprit
Aug 21, 2023 12:45 PM CDT

NJ Power Outage Had Unlikely Culprit

A fish fried a transformer, was likely dropped by a bird

(Newser) - A power outage that cut electricity to a New Jersey community a week ago was due to an unlikely culprit—a fish that was apparently dropped by a bird and landed on a transformer, officials said. Sayreville police said Jersey Central Power and Light Company workers working on the Aug....

You've Probably Never Seen a Bat Like This

Bryson Stott of the Phillies uses one painted like a No. 2 pencil in Little League Classic

(Newser) - The Nationals beat the Phillies 4-3 on Sunday, but the game is more notable for the unusual gear used by players from both teams. Like the bat custom-painted to resemble a No. 2 pencil by the Phillies' Bryson Stott, per the AP . On the opposing side, Joey Meneses wielded one...

This Is Not What You Want to Find in Your Toilet

Tucson woman discovers a snake in her bathroom after 4 days away

(Newser) - Like a scene out of a horror movie, Michelle Lespron returned to her home in Tucson, Arizona, to find a snake had set up camp in her toilet. "I'd been gone for four days and was looking forward to using my own restroom in peace. I lifted up...

Cold-Case Investigators Find 32 Cars in Florida Lake
After Citizen's Tip, a Big
Find in a South Florida Lake
in case you missed it
Aug 13, 2023 3:30 PM CDT

After Citizen's Tip, a Big Find in a South Florida Lake

Investigators looking into missing-persons cold cases find 32 vehicles submerged in Doral

(Newser) - Divers in South Florida on the hunt for evidence tied to missing-persons cold cases have hundreds of sites on their "to search" list—but they may have just hit the motherlode at one location. CNN reports that a diving team from the nonprofit United Search Corps found 32 cars...

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