strange stuff

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

Stories 461 - 480 | << Prev   Next >>

High School Is Unable to Shut Its Lights Off

They've been on for more than a year at Minnechaug school in Massachusetts

(Newser) - NBC News reports on an unusual problem at a high school in Massachusetts: Nobody can turn the lights off. As a result, every light at Minnechaug Regional High School has been burning around the clock since August 2021. The problem is a software failure. The school had a 7,...

BBC Broadcast Interrupted by 'Sexual Noises'

Network apologizes after moaning could be heard during live soccer broadcast

(Newser) - "Sexual noises" interrupted live BBC television coverage of a soccer competition in what the presenter later referred to as an "amusing" form of "sabotage." The BBC apologized after the incident, which took place as Gary Lineker was covering the FA Cup and moaning could be heard...

Husband-Calling Contest Is a Hit on TikTok

It's a real thing at the Iowa State Fair

(Newser) - An odd video of a husband-calling contest is going viral on TikTok, with one common question: Is it real? The answer is yes, reports the Des Moines Register . The clip actually dates back to 2017 from the Iowa State Fair, and it shows a group of women going up to...

Accountant Holds One of the Weirdest World Records

Italy's Michele Santelia has typed 81 books backward

(Newser) - An Italian accountant has become famous in a small-scale way for the books he types. To be clear, Michele Santelia is not the author of these books. He retypes the works of others, usually famous works in history. But as Lit Hub notes, it's the way he does so...

Brewery CEO&#39;s &#39;Willy Wonka&#39; Contest Goes South
Brewery's 'Willy Wonka'
Contest Costs CEO Big-Time
in case you missed it
Jan 15, 2023 7:00 AM CST

Brewery's 'Willy Wonka' Contest Costs CEO Big-Time

James Watt made three ill-advised tweets

(Newser) - A Scottish brewery dreamed up a Willy Wonka-style competition in late 2020, and it ended up costing it big-time, or so wrote CEO James Watt on LinkedIn over the weekend. He explained that Brewdog turned to a goldsmith to craft 50 cans made from 24-carat gold, which were to be...

Moment of Passion Leads to Odd Car Insurance Claim
Unusual STD Case Takes
a Turn in Geico's Favor
UPDATED
Jan 12, 2023 2:45 PM CST

Unusual STD Case Takes a Turn in Geico's Favor

For now, ruling that insurer owes woman $5.2M is overturned

(Newser) - Geico is at least temporarily off the hook in a bizarre case involving an STD. A woman in Missouri sued the company after she contracted HPV, human papillomavirus, in the car of a man who was insured by the company. This week, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned a lower court'...

Driver Crashes Into Bobcat Hung From Bridge With Rope

The impact smashed Andrew Noble's windshield

(Newser) - As far as car accidents go, this has to rank among the strangest: A New York man drove into a dead bobcat that had been hung from an overpass on Monday night. Andrew Noble, his fiancee, and his 10-year-old son were traveling home on Interstate 88 in Schoharie County around...

In a First, 'Robot Lawyer' Is Arguing in Court

Artificial intelligence bot will try to get someone out of a speeding ticket

(Newser) - In what is being billed as a world first, a "robot lawyer" will attempt to defend a client in court, reports New Scientist . Much of the details are being kept under wraps, but it will work like this: A defendant trying to get out of a speeding ticket will...

Man Finds Surprise Guest Hibernating Under His Deck

Connecticut family is letting black bear 'Marty Bearnard' stay until his monthslong rest is over

(Newser) - Looking for a comfy place to hunker down for the winter is the prime goal for many creatures as the temperatures start to dip. For one black bear on the East Coast, the perfect spot emerged in Connecticut—under Vinny Dashukewich's deck. The Plainville man tells the New York ...

Author Emerges Years After Apparent Suicide. It Doesn&#39;t Go Well
Author Emerges Years
After Apparent Suicide.
It Doesn't Go Well
in case you missed it
Jan 8, 2023 4:10 PM CST

Author Emerges Years After Apparent Suicide. It Doesn't Go Well

'Let the fun begin,' Susan Meachen apparently wrote on Facebook, to fans' horror

(Newser) - For more than two years, the Facebook page of self-published author Susan Meachen has served as something of a shrine, used to promote her romance novels and share posts about suicide prevention. In October 2020, a person claiming to be Meachen's daughter posted from Meachen's account, announcing the...

The Masters Makes Comical Invitation Gaffe

Invite sent to the wrong Scott Stallings, instead of the pro golfer

(Newser) - Scott Stallings of Tennessee is the 54th-ranked golfer in the world. Scott Stallings of Georgia appears to be more of your garden-variety weekend duffer. The first Scott Stallings played well enough this year to earn an invitation to the Masters, but it was the second Scott Stallings who actually received...

Jeremy Renner in Critical Condition After Snow Plow Incident

Actor is in critical but stable condition, rep says

(Newser) - Avengers star Jeremy Renner is being treated for serious injuries that happened while he was plowing snow, the actor's representative said Sunday. Renner, 51, is in critical condition although he is stable, the actor's representative said. No further details on the extent of Renner's injuries were available,...

Bringing Raccoon Into Bar Was Costly Move for Woman
Bringing Raccoon Into Bar
Costs Woman, Big-Time
in case you missed it
Jan 1, 2023 7:01 AM CST

Bringing Raccoon Into Bar Costs Woman, Big-Time

Erin Christensen of North Dakota gets a year of probation, must pay more than $1K

(Newser) - Bringing a wild raccoon into a bar will cost one North Dakota woman, quite literally. Erin Christensen, 38, pleaded guilty last week to charges of false information to law enforcement, evidence tampering, and unlawful possession of a furbearer, all misdemeanors. She was sentenced to a suspended six-month jail term and...

She Was Hit by a Meteorite. Things Went South From There
She Was Hit by a Meteorite.
Things Went South From There
in case you missed it
Dec 31, 2022 7:04 AM CST

She Was Hit by a Meteorite. Things Went South From There

Revisiting the story of Ann Hodges of Alabama

(Newser) - At first, the theory was that an Alabama housewife had the misfortune of being hit with a part of an airplane that had fallen from the sky, barreled through the roof of her Sylacauga home, bounced off her radio, and hit her in the hip. She'd been napping under...

Homage to Meat-Packing Magnate Is Beheaded

Charles Swanston was an early Sacramento pioneer and settler

(Newser) - The statue of a 19th-century Northern California rancher and meat-packing magnate was decapitated earlier this week, leaving investigators in the state's capital city scratching their heads to find a motive behind the vandalism. Tipsters could receive a $1,000 reward for information about what befell the nearly century-old granite...

You Won't Find Stranger World Records Than These

UPI rounds up the weirdest Guinness World Records achievements of 2022

(Newser) - It's that time of the year when we look back fondly (and not so fondly) at the best and worst of what went down over the past 12 months. The only guarantees we had going into 2022 were death, taxes, and a new set of achievements recognized by Guinness...

South Korea Lightens Up on Sex Dolls

Nation relaxes ban on foreign, full-size dolls after confiscating them for years

(Newser) - Seoul has joyous tidings for South Koreans who found their Christmas haul lacking a little je ne sais quoi: After years of being stymied by customs, the AP reports that citizens are now free to go online and order themselves an imported sex doll. The move ends years of debate...

Emily St. John Mandel Ran Into Odd Snag After Divorce

Wikipedia still said she was married, and she couldn't change it herself

(Newser) - On the Wikipedia page for Emily St. John Mandel—the bestselling Canadian author of Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and Station Eleven, the last of which was adapted into an HBO Max miniseries—it's noted under the "personal life" section that she separated from executive recruiter Kevin...

Principal Waited Years to Release Snow Day Video. It&#39;s Here
Principal Announces
Snow Day in Most
Unexpected Way
in case you missed it
Dec 25, 2022 3:40 PM CST

Principal Announces Snow Day in Most Unexpected Way

Wisconsin's Jack Knaack has been preparing for this moment for years, he says

(Newser) - Although an intense winter storm is wreaking havoc across the nation, it was somewhat surprising that a Wisconsin school shuttered on Friday, as its principal notes they haven't called a snow day in "many years," per NBC 26 . Even more surprising, however, was the way Jack Knaack...

Literary Mansion Sells for $3.8M, but Tenants Won't Go

Evelyn Waugh lived at Piers Court for 19 years

(Newser) - The author Evelyn Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited in an eight-bedroom mansion he lived in for 19 years in the UK's Cotswolds region, and what's happening at the home now is entirely plot-worthy. Former BBC Worldwide/Sony Entertainment exec Jason Blain bought Piers Court in 2019 for £2.9m...

Stories 461 - 480 | << Prev   Next >>