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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8 Hours of Wood Burning Enthralls 20% of Norway
8 Hours of Wood Burning Enthralls 20% of Norway
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 24, 2013 7:00 PM CST

8 Hours of Wood Burning Enthralls 20% of Norway

Primetime TV special also included 4 hours of wood chopping

(Newser) - Only in Norway: A primetime TV program featuring four hours of people chopping wood, then eight hours of that wood burning in a fireplace ran this month ... and 20% of the population watched some part of it. Not only that, but the program, called National Firewood Night, inspired quite a...

'Tiny Bubble' May Gobble Up the Universe

Higgs boson finding supports theory of 'vacuum instability'

(Newser) - Thanks, Higgs boson: Looks like the particle's tiny mass is proof that the universe will one day be vacuumed up and replaced by another universe, the BBC reports. That is, if the Large Hadron collider really has spotted the Higgs boson . Calling their discovery "Higgs-like" for now, physicists...

Palestinians Sneak Sperm Out of Israeli Prisons

Fertility doctor cooks up smuggling scheme

(Newser) - The wives of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are getting pregnant in an odd way—by smuggling out the prisoners' sperm, NBC News reports. But the families won't say how they get the sperm past a glass separation, body search, and an airport-style scanner. "If I told you...

Baby Born Outside Revives After Death Declared
Baby Born on Frozen Street Declared Dead, Revives
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 24, 2013 11:02 AM CST

Baby Born on Frozen Street Declared Dead, Revives

Girl was born on freezing Toronto sidewalk

(Newser) - Two alert police officers are credited with saving the life of a baby girl who was wrongly declared dead after being born outside in freezing temperatures in Toronto. The girl's mother had attempted to walk to a hospital in temperatures around zero Fahrenheit, but she didn't make it...

Priciest Ever? Guy Concocts $47.30 Starbucks Drink
Priciest Ever? Guy Orders
$47.30 Starbucks Drink
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 24, 2013 8:03 AM CST

Priciest Ever? Guy Orders $47.30 Starbucks Drink

Meet the 'Quadriginoctuple Frap,' which is basically undrinkable

(Newser) - Remember that $23.60 priciest Starbucks drink ever? Amateur hour. A Washington state man claims he has set a new record after doing "a lot of research on it." After being unable to find any proof of a beverage pricier than $23.60 having been ordered, Beau Chevassus...

Woman Quits Smoking on Her 102nd Birthday

 102-Year-Old 
 Woman: Fine, 
 I'll Quit 
 Smoking 
in case you missed it
Feb 23, 2013 8:08 AM CST

102-Year-Old Woman: Fine, I'll Quit Smoking

British great-great-grandma finally gives up the habit

(Newser) - Who says life stops at 102? On her 102nd birthday, Clara Cowell has given in to her family and agreed to stop smoking, the Daily Mail reports. The British mother of four, grandmother to nine, great-grandmother to 12, and great-great-grandmother to four conceded that after puffing on some 60,000...

Walmart Hits Oreo-Loving Worker With Felony Charge

63-year-old fired, accused of theft

(Newser) - Walmart is slapping a former employee with felony charges after she allegedly ate the store's Oreo cookies on the job, The Smoking Gun reports. Penny Winters, 63, admits to munching on Oreos at the Indiana store but says she noticed an open bag and considered them a gift from...

School Teacher, Nurse Charged in Murder Plot

Angela Nolen, 47, allegedly paid $4K for killing of hubby

(Newser) - A kindergarten teacher and a school nurse in Virginia are accused of trying to kill the teacher's ex-husband in a murder-for-hire plot, Fox News reports. The teacher—Angela Nolen, 47—allegedly conspired with 37-year-old Cathy Bennett at the elementary school where they work in Rocky Mount, Va. But they...

Monster Goldfish Invade Lake Tahoe

Invasive species could damage the ecosystem

(Newser) - Planning a vacay to Lake Tahoe? You may well encounter goldfish that are 1.5 feet long and weigh more than 4 pounds, Scientific American reports. Researchers trolling for invasive species encountered the massive goldfish and say pet owners may have dumped them. That act of good will, however, could...

Flowers Use Electricity to Talk With Bees
Flowers Use Electricity
to Talk With Bees
study says
Feb 22, 2013 9:00 AM CST

Flowers Use Electricity to Talk With Bees

By changing charge, flowers keep away bees until nectar refilled, says study

(Newser) - "Say it with flowers," went the old advertising slogan, but who knew flowers were this talkative? It turns out flowers give off electrical signals that bees can pick up on, telling potential pollinators whether a flower has plenty of nectar or has recently been tapped, reports NPR . According...

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Turns Up Off Irish Coast

It's an environmental danger: French group

(Newser) - An empty Russian cruise ship lost at sea for weeks has turned up some 1,300 nautical miles off Ireland's west coast, reports AFP via PhysOrg. The Lyubov Orlova was being towed from Canada to the Dominican Republic when a tug line broke in late January, setting it adrift....

Angry Egyptians Try to Send Prez Into Space

They enter him in Buzz Aldrin-backed contest

(Newser) - Egypt has found a new way to express political discontent. An opposition group has entered President Mohamed Morsi in a contest to win a space flight, the AP reports. It's a way of showing their desire to eject the leader, the April 6 Youth Movement says on its Facebook...

Boy Calls 911 to Avoid Bedtime
 Boy Calls 911 to Avoid Bedtime 
Feb 21, 2013 2:45 PM CST

Boy Calls 911 to Avoid Bedtime

Officer dispatched to tell him not to do that

(Newser) - Police in Massachusetts say a 10-year-old boy called 911 because he didn't want to go to bed. Brockton police say the boy called just after 8 last night and told the dispatcher he was calling to report his mother because he did not want to go to bed. There...

Murder Suspect Surrenders; Police Say, We're Closed

So Swedish fugitive goes to another station

(Newser) - A fugitive in Sweden sought for murder had to turn himself in twice this week to make it stick. The suspect had been on the run for 15 months before returning to his hometown police station in Malmo to surrender, reports the Local . When he found the doors locked, he...

New Zealand Has Another Wayward Penguin

'Happy Feet Jr.' is in rough shape after long journey

(Newser) - Another penguin has managed the amazing feat of washing up on the shore of New Zealand, reports AFP . This one has been named "Happy Feet Jr." after the original wayward penguin who captivated the nation in 2011. The juvenile royal penguin is in bad shape, unfortunately, though for...

Florida Stadium to Be Renamed— After Prison Firm

GEO Group's boss is alumnus of Florida Atlantic

(Newser) - A 29,000-seat university stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, will soon boast the name of a private prison company—a move that has critics shaking their heads, the New York Times reports. GEO Group "is a company whose record is marred by human rights abuses, by lawsuits, by unnecessary...

Cops Bust Guy in Bizarre Dali Theft, Return
 Bizarre Dali Theft Explained 
Feb 20, 2013 9:06 AM CST

Bizarre Dali Theft Explained

Greek publicist allegedly freaked, mailed drawing back

(Newser) - After a thief walked out of a New York gallery with a Salvador Dali drawing only to later return it by mail , observers were scratching their heads—but now they have an explanation, via prosecutors. Authorities arrested Greek fashion publicist Phivos Lampros Istavrioglou, 29, in the case; he has pleaded...

Next Up for USPS: Fashion Line
 Next Up 
 for USPS: 
 Fashion Line 
seriously
Feb 20, 2013 6:56 AM CST

Next Up for USPS: Fashion Line

Yes, we said postal service fashion line

(Newser) - Well, this is unexpected: The struggling US Postal Service's next venture ... is a fashion line. Of (it gets odder) "wearable electronics." Inspired by the unofficial USPS motto—"Neither snow nor rain nor heat..."—the line of apparel and accessories will be called "Rain...

North Korea's New Video Burns Obama, Troops

Video game theme accompanies images of troops on fire

(Newser) - Just in case North Korea's propaganda video of the US in flames left anybody in doubt about Pyongyang's feelings toward America, a sequel now shows President Obama and American troops in flames. The video—which plays the theme music from the videogame Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion—ends with...

Welcome to Physics, Class; Now, I Strip

Columbia professor's bizarre stunt gets his students' attention

(Newser) - Turns out, it is possible for a video of a quantum mechanics professor welcoming his freshman students to go viral. But as the Columbia Spectator explains, it requires said professor to strip to his skivvies to the backbeat of a Lil Wayne song while a montage of images of 9/11,...

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