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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iPad App Gives You Access to... Einstein's Brain

Scanned images available for researchers and regular people alike

(Newser) - Want a look at Einstein's brain? For $9.99 it's yours, as long as you have an iPad. A new application launched today includes detailed scans of the genius' brain: After he died, his brain was removed, sliced up, and turned into almost 350 slides, and a medical...

Is Castration Linked to Longevity?
 Castration May Be 
 Linked to Longevity 
study says
Sep 25, 2012 4:32 AM CDT

Castration May Be Linked to Longevity

Male sex hormones 'decrease lifespan,' says researcher

(Newser) - Here's something no one will want to think about too carefully: Is castration linked to longevity? Some researchers think it's possible, especially after discovering that a group of eunuchs, castrated men, lived up to 20 years longer. The study examined records of 80 eunuchs from the Chosun Dynasty,...

Wall Street Traders Turn to ... Astrology?!

Thousands subscribe to star-based finance newsletter

(Newser) - Wall Street is a sophisticated place full of smart, savvy professionals who make decisions based on rational criteria … like whether or not Mercury is in retrograde. An astrology-based financial newsletter has drawn a couple thousand subscribers, Marketplace.org reveals. Another has at least 300 traders subscribed, for the low-low...

Imposter Pilot Nabbed After Europe Flight

Man had fake uniform, fake friends, fake Facebook page

(Newser) - It's Catch Me If You Can all over again: Italian cops have arrested a man who's been posing as a pilot for months or longer. The unnamed man sure seemed like a pilot—down to fake flight crew buddies in his Facebook photos—and he managed to ride...

Cops Catch Burglar Asleep on the Floor

Apparently nodded off while robbing house

(Newser) - No car chases necessary: Police picked up a burglar curled up on the kitchen floor of the Oregon house he was trying to rob, they say. The homeowners called police after spotting the 20-year-old sleeping man. He had apparently entered the home through an unlocked door before searching for valuables,...

Thieves Try to Bust ATM, Blow Up Bank Instead

Entire branch in Germany destroyed

(Newser) - Thieves in Germany attempted to bust open a cash machine last night … but the resulting explosion ended up destroying the entire bank instead, der Spiegel reports. The blast in the small town of Nottuln-Darup sent debris flying as far as 260 feet. "Damage to the building is likely...

Daring Divers Pull Off Rescue ... of Sex Doll

Turkish team heard warnings of floating body

(Newser) - Locals in northern Turkey were frantic when they saw a woman's body floating in the Black Sea, so they called in help and watched as officials cordoned off the beach and a team of divers made their daring rescue. So everyone was less than thrilled to find that the...

Botched Fresco Restorer: Pay Up
 Botched Fresco 
 Restorer: Pay Up 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 23, 2012 12:03 PM CDT

Botched Fresco Restorer: Pay Up

Image has brought church $2.6K in donations

(Newser) - Spain's botched restoration of a fresco of Jesus has developed quite a fan base —and it's brought in $2,600 in donations for the church that houses it. Now, the elderly woman who created the monstrosity wants to cash in, NPR reports: She's asking the church...

Facebook Party Invite Goes Viral, Sparks Dutch Melee

Thousands descend on Haren, along with riot police

(Newser) - Oh, the importance of privacy settings. A Dutch girl sent out an invite via Facebook to her 16th birthday party, which ended up getting viewed by about 30,000 people. Last night, a crowd estimated at 3,000 showed up in the small town of Haren, and the ensuing vandalism,...

Clerk Foils Robbery With Beer

Thief decides his knife is no match for hurled cans of Natty Light

(Newser) - Here's another reason to love beer: Apparently, it makes a great projectile weapon. Steven Larson found that out earlier this week when he allegedly tried to rob a convenience store in Florida. Security footage shows a man threatening a cashier with a knife, the New York Daily News reports....

Grenade Livens Up Soccer Game in Iran

Player chucks it aside, and it explodes

(Newser) - And you thought fans who threw beer were bad. A video is circulating on the Internet in which an Iranian soccer player finds a grenade (or something like it) lying on the pitch, picks it up, and then casually tosses it out of bounds—where it explodes, reports Opposing Views...

Smitten Traveler Goes 4K Miles Looking for Lost Love

Canadian returns to Ireland to find woman who gave him directions

(Newser) - A Canadian dentist is on a quest to find a woman he spoke with for maybe two minutes in a cafe in Ireland last year. As Travelers Today explains, 34-year-old Sandy Crocker visited County Clare last summer and asked a young woman for directions to the Cliffs of Moher. They...

SpeechJammer, Ponytail Physics Win Ig Nobels

One weird science winner found brain activity in dead fish

(Newser) - Teams that scanned the brains of dead fish and studied the physics of coffee sloshing and ponytails were among the winners at this year's Ig Nobel celebration of strange scientific research. The acoustics prize went to the Japanese inventors of the SpeechJammer , a device that repeats a speaker's...

Floridians Urged to Stop Crashing Into Post Offices

USPS offers handy hints to Floridians

(Newser) - The US Postal Service has asked the people of Florida to please stop crashing their cars into its post offices. There have been eight such incidents so far this year in central Florida alone, and the USPS has released some tips to help drivers avoid crashing into postal facilities, reports...

56 Cremated Remains Found in Home

Former owner in Dayton also owned funeral parlor

(Newser) - Contractors were in for a big—and not pleasant—surprise while cleaning out a foreclosed home in Dayton, Ohio, Tuesday: Stuffed into one of the closets were the cremated remains of 56 people, dating as far back as 1982. It appears the remains, all of which were contained in black...

Myanmar Learns Democracy ... From West Wing?

Generals turn to US show for tips

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton yesterday recounted a bizarre conversation with a Myanmar official on her recent trip there, notes the AP :
  • He "said to me, 'Help us learn how to be a democratic congress, a Parliament. He went on to tell me that they were trying to teach themselves by
...

Man With 'Microwave Popcorn Lung' Awarded $7M

Fake butter fumes sickened man who ate 2 bags a day

(Newser) - A jury has awarded $7 million to a Colorado man who contracted a chronic lung condition from a different kind of two-pack-a-day habit. Wayne Watson sued a supermarket chain and a popcorn maker after becoming ill with "microwave popcorn lung," CBS 4 reports. A lung specialist testified that...

Coming Soon: Leather From a Lab?

And someday ... lab-grown meat, too?

(Newser) - Love the look of leather jackets, but can't handle how they're made? Within five years, you could be donning a leather jacket that was grown in a lab, according to one company. Modern Meadows is developing lab-grown leather and even lab-grown meat, but is focusing on leather right...

Lion and Liger Welcome World's First Liliger

Kiara born in Siberian zoo

(Newser) - We all know that a lion mating with a tiger produces a liger —but a zoo in Siberia has taken it one step further. The Novosibirsk Zoo mated a lion, Sam, with a liger, Zita. The result? An adorable liliger cub named Kiara, ABC News reports. She was born...

Retiree Wrestles Gator, Saves His Dog

Mild-mannered Florida man dove in, and won

(Newser) - In some crazy alternate universe called "Florida," a mild-mannered retiree dived into a pond and fought a 7-foot gator that was making off with his terrier—and the retiree won. Seems 66-year-old Steve Gustafson was trimming an oak tree at his home in a retirement community when he...

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