strange stuff

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

Stories 641 - 660 | << Prev   Next >>

She Thought She Was Training to Be DEA Agent. Cops Say It Was All a Dupe

Man now facing federal charges for impersonating narcotics agent

(Newser) - An Oregon woman trained to be a DEA agent for a year ... with a man who, police say, was an impostor. His strange alleged scheme unraveled last week when a sergeant with the Portland Police Bureau saw the man and woman standing near a silver Dodge Charger with red and...

Woman Found Dead in Chair Had Been There Since 2019

Body of 70-year-old Italian woman Marinella Beretta found Friday

(Newser) - The residents of Como, Italy, have been invited to the funeral of a woman who died two years ago—and whose body was just discovered. CNN reports the decomposed body of Marinella Beretta was found sitting in a chair in her living room on Friday. The local fire brigade discovered...

Rescued Woman Says She Floated on Air Mattress for 2 Days

'Connie' was spotted on the shores of Lake Texoma in Oklahoma by crew members on a passing train

(Newser) - Crew members on a train zipping past an Oklahoma lake were treated to a strange sight last week, and it turned out to be one lucky sighting. KRMG reports that a BNSF Railway train was headed south along Lake Texoma on Thursday when conductor Cristhian Sosa and engineer Justin Luster...

Cookbooks May Be Lost at Sea
Cookbooks May
Be Lost at Sea

Cookbooks May Be Lost at Sea

Authors take news in stride on Instagram

(Newser) - Two new cookbooks may be literally lost at sea, and now fans will have to wait a few more months to dig into them, People reports. Containers collapsed on a cargo ship headed to New York, presumably sending new copies of Melissa Clark's Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy ...

Alleged Scheme With Dead Man Is 'Like a Hitchcock Movie'

Irish police probe claim that deceased man was taken to post office

(Newser) - Police in Ireland are investigating reports that the body of a dead man was brought to a post office in an attempt to collect his pension. The Irish Times said a 66-year-old man was dragged into the post office in the town of Carlow around 11am on Friday, propped up...

Cops: Woman Tries to Buy Baby at Walmart

Rebecca Taylor is accused of offering $500K for another customer's infant

(Newser) - Walmart may be a one-stop shop for virtually everything, but police say one woman took that idea too far and tried to buy a live baby in Texas. Rebecca Lanette Taylor, 49, of Crockett, was arrested last week over the alleged Jan. 13 incident, reports the Messenger . Taylor is charged...

19-Year Fight Over Loud Toilet Is Finally Over
19-Year Fight Over Loud
Toilet Is Finally Over
in case you missed it

19-Year Fight Over Loud Toilet Is Finally Over

Couple wins lawsuit over owners of neighboring apartment

(Newser) - Back in 2003, somebody flushed a toilet in the middle of the night in Italy and the couple in the neighboring apartment thought, boy that was loud. Nineteen years later, that couple near La Spezia has finally won their legal case against the neighbors for too-loud flushing at night, reports...

2 Monkeys Headed to Lab Escape After Crash
Lab-Bound Monkeys That
Escaped Have Been Caught
UPDATED

Lab-Bound Monkeys That Escaped Have Been Caught

3 were euthanized

(Newser) - Update: The remaining monkeys that escaped when a truck carrying a trailer packed with 100 of them crashed on Friday in Pennsylvania have been captured. The AP reports a CDC rep on Saturday night confirmed all 100 of the cynomolgus macaque monkeys were accounted for and that three had been...

No, Missouri, the Joker Isn't on the Loose

Highway patrol accidentally sends out a fake alert

(Newser) - This week, people in Missouri got an emergency alert on their phones about a suspicious vehicle with the license plate "UKIDME." The message that buzzed on their phones read: “GOTHAM CITY MO PURPLE/GREEN 1978 DODGE 3700 GT MO UKIDME," per Fox News . There is no Gotham...

Woman Rescued After Driving Onto Frozen River, Taking Selfie

Witnesses say she was speeding along for as many as 18 miles before ice cracked

(Newser) - A woman drove onto a frozen river in Canada on Sunday, a move that perhaps predictably ended up with a rescue. Witnesses say the woman sped onto the frozen Rideau River near Ottawa, Ontario, and her vehicle cracked the ice. She climbed out and was seen taking smiling selfies atop...

His Bizarre 1970s Plan Involved Elvis, Plastic Surgery

'Rolling Stone' has the story of 'rogue '70s promoter' Danny O'Day

(Newser) - If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Danny O'Day is ... well, he was in a category all his own. In a lengthy piece for Rolling Stone , David Browne digs into the "rogue '70s promoter," who decided to try to make a living by putting...

Maine&#39;s Spinning Ice Disk Returns
Maine's Spinning
Ice Disk Returns

Maine's Spinning Ice Disk Returns

It formed over a vortex in the Presumpscot River

(Newser) - Maine's famous rotating ice disk is back. The disk has begun to form in the Presumpscot River, where it partially formed in 2020 but failed to draw a worldwide audience like in its first appearance in 2019. Westbrook city officials shared photos of the formation Wednesday on Facebook , encouraging...

In N. Korea, a 'Battle for Manure' Is Underway

Kim Jong Un wants citizens to meet poop quotas to help fertilize crops

(Newser) - The pandemic has wreaked havoc on North Korea's food supply, the result of a domino effect of sorts: With the nation's borders closed, it can't import the manure it needs for its crops from China. The hunt for that stinky commodity has now reached "crisis level,...

In Norway, 'Challenging' Times Lead to Odd Ask on Underwear

Conscripts asked to turn in socks, undies when leaving military so they can be reused

(Newser) - Conscripts in Norway have been ordered to return their underwear, bras, and socks after the end of their military service so that the next group of recruits can use them. The Norwegian military said Monday that it's struggling with dwindling supplies, in part due to the pandemic, per the...

Badger Unearths Stash of Ancient Roman Coins

Archaeologists in Spain are grateful

(Newser) - Archaeologists in northern Spain have discovered the largest stash of ancient Roman coins ever found in the region. And they're giving all the credit to a hungry badger, reports the Guardian . Researchers found more than 200 coins, dating back to between the third and fifth century AD, in the...

Candles and COVID: There's an Odd Correlation

Negative reviews of scented ones have risen amid the pandemic

(Newser) - It might be the weirdest red flag for a public health crisis ever: It seems that negative reviews for scented candles correlate with a spike in COVID cases, notes IFLScience.com . The apparent reason is that COVID sometimes causes people to lose their sense of smell, meaning that a person...

Man Says Ex-Boss Paid Him in 500 Pounds of Gross Pennies
He Paid Up in Pennies,
Now Faces Lawsuit
updated

He Paid Up in Pennies, Now Faces Lawsuit

Federal government sues owner of body shop who gave worker last payment in the coins

(Newser) - Update: The US Department of Labor agrees that an auto body shop shouldn't have settled up with a former employee in pennies. So it filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 30 against Miles Walker and his A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City, saying the dump was retribution after Andreas...

He's Running for President in S. Korea. Bald People Love Him

Lee Jae-myung is pushing government to pay for hair loss treatments

(Newser) - South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung isn't bald. But he is enjoying the support of many bald voters over his push for government payments for hair loss treatments. Since his proposal was disclosed earlier this week, hair loss has emerged as a hot-button topic ahead of March's presidential...

Meteor Likely Exploded Over Pittsburgh on New Year's Day

Happy 2022!

(Newser) - Residents of suburban Pittsburgh were startled on the first day of the new year by a large boom, which even shook homes. It was heard and felt throughout much of western Pennsylvania, CBS Pittsburgh reports. After much speculation (earthquake? bomb? thunder? demolition?) the National Weather Service tweeted later on Saturday...

Fixing His Tesla Would Cost $22K. So He Blew It Up
Told His Tesla Needed a $22K
Battery, He Blew It Up Instead
in case you missed it

Told His Tesla Needed a $22K Battery, He Blew It Up Instead

Finnish man Tuomas Katainen teamed up with a YouTuber to get the job done

(Newser) - The first 932 miles were good miles for a Finnish man and the used 2013 Tesla Model S he bought. That's when a series of error codes began popping up, which led Tuomas Katainen to take the car to a Tesla dealer for repairs. The news he got was...

Stories 641 - 660 | << Prev   Next >>