strange stuff

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

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Illinois Sinkhole Swallows Golfer

But Mark Mihal is OK

(Newser) - Florida isn't the only state dealing with sinkhole troubles : On an Illinois golf course Friday, golfer Mark Mihal suddenly dropped into one. "I was standing in the middle of the fairway," he tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . "Then, all of a sudden, before I knew it,...

Muslims Slam Iran Prez for Touching Chavez's Mom

Photoshopped version of image sparks online debate

(Newser) - So much for comforting the grief-stricken: A photo of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad consoling the mother of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sparked political controversy in Iran, the BBC reports. Conservatives, already irate over the president's eulogy for Chavez, said he had committed a sin by touching the...

Treasure-Hunting Woman Gets Lost in Cold Forest

Author's 'emeralds, diamonds, and rubies' drew her to NM

(Newser) - Police rescued a treasure-hunting Texas woman this weekend who was lost in the mountains of New Mexico in below-freezing temperatures, ABC News reports. Chanon Thompson, 33, had come in search of treasure that an author says he buried in the Santa Fe National Forest. Thompson's boyfriend reported her missing...

Giant Mosquitoes May Strike Florida

'Gallinippers' are mean and bite hard, experts say

(Newser) - As if deadly sinkholes and Burmese pythons weren't enough, now Florida may find itself contending with another summer of giant mosquitoes that pack a ferocious bite, LiveScience reports. Dubbed gallinippers, the quarter-sized mosquitoes hatch after a flood or rainstorm, and saw a bumper crop after Tropical Storm Debby struck...

How Gals Helped Nuke Japan Without Knowing It

Young women played a big role at WWII atomic plant

(Newser) - Many young women helped build the A-bomb at a secret atomic research facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.—but didn't know what they were making, the Daily Beast reports. Denise Kiernan's new book, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World ...

Teacher Gets Fired for Letting Kids Taste Blood

Students pass plate around during 'sharing time'

(Newser) - A Norwegian school teacher put a new twist on show and tell by bringing a blood sample to class and letting students taste it, Gawker reports. The unnamed teacher brought a vial of her blood from a doctor's visit, and poured it on a plate for students to touch...

Dust Mites Reverse Evolution, Shock Scientists

Parasites de-specialized in order to survive, study says

(Newser) - Think our evolutionary progress is irreversible? Researchers at the University of Michigan say tiny house dust mites evolved from organisms that specialized and later de-specialized in order to survive over millions of years, Phys.Org reports. The large-scale genetic study, published in Systematic Biology , challenges one of the basic suppositions...

Phone Thief Posts His Pic on Victim's Facebook Page

... by mistake, smoking dope

(Newser) - Talk about dopey: Cops say a New York man stole a woman's cell phone, photographed himself smoking dope with it, and posted the pic on her Facebook page by mistake. She had apparently set up the phone to post photos automatically on Facebook. He allegedly grabbed the 27-year-old victim'...

Drunk Driver Sues Friend, 2 Restaurants

New Mexico man killed two teen sisters after drinking

(Newser) - A repeat drunken driver convicted in a crash that killed two teenagers is suing his drinking buddy and two Santa Fe restaurants that served him alcohol. James Ruiz filed suit in New Mexico District Court this week, seeking monetary damages from the friend he was out drinking with as well...

Netflix Gives Free Year of Service to Fan With Tattoo

It all takes place over Twitter

(Newser) - The world has learned nothing from Romney tattoo guy , apparently. Someone on Twitter with the handle @TheRealMyron says he loves Netflix so much that he branded himself with a tattoo—and tweeted a photo , reports the Daily Dot . Netflix was so impressed, it bestowed a year of free service, via...

Ahmadinejad: Chavez Will Rise Again With Jesus

He'll be back on resurrection day, says Iran's president

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins the crown for praise of Hugo Chavez, declaring in a letter to the Venezuelan people that Chavez will be resurrected with Jesus and a revered Shiite imam, reports the Guardian . “I have no doubt he will come again along with all the righteous people and the...

Mom Offers $500 Reward to Get Daughter a Job

Linda Smith is handing out resumes to drivers

(Newser) - A mother in Southern California is on a one-woman mission to get her daughter a job. Linda Smith took to holding up a sign at a busy intersection in Menifee on Friday, offering $500 to anyone who takes her daughter's resume and gets her employed, reports the Press-Enterprise . “...

Cops: No-Pants DWI Suspect Tries to Flee in Toy Truck

She was 3 times over the legal limit, say police

(Newser) - Police say a 29-year-old woman in Jonesboro, Arkansas, smashed her car into a mobile home while she was three times over the legal limit. Nobody got hurt, luckily, and the case would have quietly disappeared into the police blotter if not for one awesome detail: Police say Jamie Craft got...

Artist's Clothing Line Protects Wearers From ... Drones?

Items reflect heat, making it tough for enemy craft to zero in

(Newser) - A New York artist is standing against spy drones—with his own clothing line. Shiny silver " Stealth Wear " contains fibers that reflect heat, making it tough for drones to spot the wearer using thermal surveillance, the Daily Beast reports. Among the offerings are a hoodie, a burqa, and...

Pirate Bay's New Partner: North Korea

File-sharing site now routed through country

(Newser) - North Korea has been getting some odd guests lately. First it was Dennis Rodman ; now, controversial file-sharing site Pirate Bay is making a home in the country, PC Magazine reports. "Today we can reveal that we have been invited by the leader of the republic of Korea, to fight...

Guy Fakes Kidnapping to Avoid His Girlfriend

Law enforcement source calls him 'a total moron'

(Newser) - Talk about sad: A man bound himself with duct tape and claimed he'd been kidnapped only to avoid facing his girlfriend, the New York Post reports. New York police say they found Rahmell Pettway, 36, bound and looking beat up last week between two parked cars in Brooklyn. At...

Vatican Boots Fake Priest Who Got Past Security

Phony in black fedora showed up with fake entourage

(Newser) - The Vatican today kicked out a phony bishop who got past security and nearly entered a meeting of cardinals who will pick the next pope, USA Today reports. Identified as Ralph Napierski, a German, the man showed up with an entourage of fake assistants and posed for photographs with an...

GOP Lawmaker: Bicycles Pollute Worse Than Cars

Washington state Rep. Ed Orcutt takes a stab at science

(Newser) - All that sweaty cycling can kick up a lot of carbon dioxide—right? So said House Republican Ed Orcutt in an email as he defended a bike tax proposed for Washington state, reports the Seattle Bike Blog . Writing a constituent, Orcutt wrote that bicyclists emit more CO2 than car drivers...

Underworld Skeleton Saint Now Trendy in US

La Santa Muerte gaining in popularity

(Newser) - A follower in New Orleans built a public shrine in her honor. An actor in Albuquerque credits her with helping him land a role on Breaking Bad. She turns up routinely along the US-Mexico border at safe houses, and is sighted on dashboards of cars used to smuggle methamphetamine through...

Brit 'Batman' Drops Bad Guy Off to Cops

Costumed man hauls suspected burglar to station

(Newser) - It seems Batman has moved beyond Gotham City. The superhero caught a suspected burglar in Bradford, north England, Reuters reports, and helpfully dropped the him off at the police station. "The person who brought the wanted man into the station was dressed in a full Batman outfit," said...

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