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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Ohio Woman Charged With Raping Cab Driver

Brittany Carter indicted on two felony charges in alleged attack on 29-year-old

(Newser) - It's the story of a 4:25am taxi ride and an alleged rape, but one that doesn't go the way you might expect. A 23-year-old Ohio woman was last week charged with raping her male cab driver, who was allegedly being held at knifepoint by one of the...

Jenna Bush Spills 'Wait, What?!' Secret on Grandma Barbara

Former first lady apparently only has 8 toes

(Newser) - If someone were to ever put together a biography on former first lady Barbara Bush entitled Everything You Never Knew (and Didn't Necessarily Want to Know) About Barbara Bush, it would now have to include a rather odd factoid supplied by her own granddaughter. The Hill reports that Jenna...

Calif. Cops Need Help IDing &#39;Mermaid&#39; Woman
She Says She's a Mermaid.
Cops Need Help IDing Her
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 9, 2017 5:33 PM CDT

She Says She's a Mermaid. Cops Need Help IDing Her

'Joanna,' found wandering wet and nearly naked in Fresno County, has webbed toes

(Newser) - She says she's a mermaid named Joanna, but California police are now trying to find out the real identity of a woman they found wandering in the middle of the street not far from a local casino, KFSN reports. KTLA notes the barely clothed woman with wet hair was...

Oregon May Ditch Its 172-Year-Old Ban on Dueling

Lawmakers seem to think it's unnecessary

(Newser) - The Oregon Legislature may have an unusual request for voters in the next election that harkens back to that fateful day in 1804 when a bitter rivalry between Vice President Aaron Burr and the nation's first treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, was settled with a fatal gunshot. Should ongoing discussions...

SD Man Busted for Not Having Snake on a Leash

'He was literally asking me to put a rope around my snake. I was like, 'Dude, no.''

(Newser) - "It was April Fool’s Day, so I thought he was playing a joke," says Jerry Kimball. Alas, no joke: Kimball was fined $190 for allowing his pet snake to slither freely in a South Dakota park, what an animal control officer called "animals running at large....

Girl Found Living With Monkeys, Walking on All Fours

Police are reviewing missing children cases in an attempt to identify her

(Newser) - Unbelievable as it may sound, authorities in northern India say they've rescued a young girl who appears to have been living with monkeys. Villagers first spotted the naked child looking "very comfortable in the company of monkeys" in January in the Katarniya Ghat forest range, a police officer...

Her Son Went Missing. 4 Hours Later, He Was Found ... Hiding

He didn't want to go to school, mom says

(Newser) - Michelle Dinning called police Tuesday morning when she couldn't find her 9-year-old son, Josh, last seen in his bedroom the night before. For nearly four hours, a search party roamed the area looking for the UK boy; the police force put dozens of officers, search dogs, and even a...

House Explodes After Fight About Stacking Firewood

Body found inside

(Newser) - A condemned house exploded after a dispute between neighbors over stacking firewood, and a body was found in the basement, police said Tuesday. The body was seen through a basement window; police hadn't gone inside yet. Investigators found items on the Salem, New Hampshire, property such as boards with...

Comedian in Hot Water After Kangaroo Stunt

Things got out of hand, Mike Epps says

(Newser) - Not a good idea: bringing a kangaroo onstage for your comedy show and manhandling it. Mike Epps danced around onstage with a kangaroo during a show Friday night in Detroit; video of the incident shows another man on stage picking the animal up and carrying it around, the AP reports,...

Condoms an Integral Part of the Process at Cuba Winery

They cover jars, inflate as wine ages

(Newser) - The sweet smell of fermenting fruit fills the streets around the modest Havana home where Orestes Estevez and his family fill glass jugs with grapes, ginger, and hibiscus, then slip a condom over each glass neck to start the unusual process of winemaking in a land famed for rum. From...

Mystery of the &#39;Crooked Forest&#39; Puzzles, Decades Later
Mystery of the
'Crooked Forest'
Puzzles, Decades Later
in case you missed it
Apr 2, 2017 4:25 PM CDT

Mystery of the 'Crooked Forest' Puzzles, Decades Later

Was it witchcraft or warfare?

(Newser) - The trunks all bend toward the ground in the same direction, extending three to nine feet, before curving upward and stretching toward the sky, taking the shape of an upside-down question mark. But almost a century after the 400 pine trees were planted in what is now known as Poland'...

In Vermont, Drivers Asked to Let Frogs Cross the Road

Frogs, salamanders active on spring nights, vulnerable to vehicular slaughter

(Newser) - It's that time of the year in which the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife is warning motorists to drive with caution, but not because of weather: Rather, it's the seasonal migrations of frogs and salamanders, reports the AP . "Frogs and salamanders become active on rainy spring...

Guy Sues After Asking for Butter, Getting Fake Butter

He won a settlement against Dunkin' Donuts owners

(Newser) - A Massachusetts man who sued a pair of Dunkin' Donuts owners because he said he was given a butter substitute when he asked for real butter on his bagel has won a settlement, the AP reports. The Boston Globe reports that Jan Polanik's suits name two companies that together...

Shark Found in Middle of Australian Road

It was washed in by Cyclone Debbie

(Newser) - Emergency crews traipsing through the Australian town of Ayr after Cyclone Debbie made landfall came across a rather odd sight Thursday: a shark roadblock. The 5-foot-long bull shark, surrounded by little more than a puddle, had washed up on a road and died, reports the West Australian . And it wasn'...

10 of the Oddest Things Ever Left in an Uber

How do you forget an elf cut-out?

(Newser) - A cellphone? Sure. But a lobster? That's just one of the odd things left behind in an Uber—and there are plenty, according to the company's Lost and Found Index published Wednesday. It notes that small items like wallets, keys, and phones are among the most commonly forgotten...

After $1.4M Home Becomes Nightmare, Couple Sues Town

Derek, Maria Broaddus can't sell home, are suing Westfield, NJ

(Newser) - A New Jersey family who wants to demolish their home after they claim they were stalked by an anonymous creepy-letter writer known as "The Watcher" has filed a lawsuit against their town. Derek and Maria Broaddus filed the suit against Westfield after its planning board rejected their plan to...

Out-of-Control Exotic Cat Found Roaming NJ Streets

African Savannah cat had to be tranquilized

(Newser) - Authorities in New Jersey say they captured a large exotic cat that was wandering Paterson streets, the AP reports. Officials say residents called Animal Control to report the cat Thursday morning. Animal Control says officers arrived and were forced to tranquilize the animal because it was out of control. The...

Student Discovers Ride-Sharing With Gators Not Legal in Maine

Or keeping gators at all without a permit, as taxi passenger finds out

(Newser) - A cab driver transporting a college student in Maine discovered he had five other surprise passengers: a handful of baby alligators. Per CentralMaine.com , Frank Folsom says on Tuesday he picked up a 20-year-old IDed as Yifan Sun, a student from China who's studying at the University of Maine...

Campus to Hold Funeral for Beloved Squirrel

White-tailed squirrel was said to bring good luck

(Newser) - Spying a glimpse of his snowy white behind was said to bring luck, a good grade on a tough exam, or even just a fun weekend. With news of his death on Monday, the University of Houston plunged into grief, the Houston Chronicle reports. Emotional tributes poured in on social...

Woman Dies After Drinking Toxic Tea in SF

Yu-Ping Xie had been hospitalized for weeks

(Newser) - A medicinal tea apparently had the opposite effect on a San Francisco woman, who died Saturday after weeks in critical condition. Yu-Ping Xie, 56, initially fell ill in February after consuming a medicinal tea blend she'd purchased from Sun Wing Wo Trading Co. in San Francisco's Chinatown. Within...

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