rocks

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Tourist Returns Stolen Rocks He Says Brought Him 'Bad Luck'
Tourist Returns Stolen Rocks
He Thinks Led to 'Tragedy'
in case you missed it
Oct 26, 2025 2:30 PM CDT

Tourist Returns Stolen Rocks He Thinks Led to 'Tragedy'

Canary Islands park urges visitors not to take rocks as souvenirs

(Newser) - A German tourist who swiped volcanic rocks from a famous Canary Islands park has had a change of heart—after claiming the stones brought him nothing but misery, People reports. In a handwritten note to Timanfaya National Park, the visitor confessed to pocketing a few rocks from the protected Montañ...

Cheaters Even Show Up in Rock-Skipping Contests

At least per organizers of an event in remote Scotland, with accusations of doctored stones

(Newser) - A decades-old stone-skipping contest on a tiny Scottish island made waves this year—not for record throws, but for a cheating scandal. The rules of the Easdale island contest are simple: A competitor can use only naturally formed stones from Easdale itself, and nothing wider than 3 inches, verified...

These Canadian Rocks May Be Earth's Oldest
These Rocks in Canada
May Be Earth's Oldest
new study
Jun 27, 2025 10:11 AM CDT

These Rocks in Canada May Be Earth's Oldest

Study puts them at 4.1B years old

(Newser) - Scientists have identified what could be the oldest rocks on Earth from a rock formation in Canada. The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt has long been known for its ancient rocks—plains of streaked gray stone on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Quebec—but researchers have disagreed on exactly how...

Video Catches 'Appalling' Act by Lake Mead Vandals

Authorities are seeking public's help in identifying suspects who toppled ancient Nevada rocks

(Newser) - Park rangers are asking the public to help them identify two men spotted on video vandalizing ancient protected rock formations at Nevada's Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The AP reports that the suspects appear in footage shot in the late afternoon on April 7, along the park's Redstone...

Alaska Has a Rock Shortage
Alaska Has a
Rock Shortage
Feb 4, 2024 6:50 AM CST

Alaska Has a Rock Shortage

Infrastructure projects are on hold in its northern reaches as the state struggles to find gravel

(Newser) - Alaska has a gravel problem, and it's affecting development in a region that needs it most. Per High Country News , long-term infrastructure projects in remote North Slope, the northernmost borough along the Arctic Ocean, are experiencing delays as the state struggles to find usable rock in the area. "...

Trader Joe's Cookie Recall: They're Way Too Crunchy

Two products may contain rocks

(Newser) - Trader Joe's is recalling two cookie products—because they may contain rocks. The recall impacts Trader Joe's Almond Windmill Cookies and Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies with "sell by" dates ranging from October 17, 2023 to October 21, 2023. According to Trader Joe'...

Huge Rock Slide Misses Village by a Whisker

Residents of Brienz, Switzerland, evacuated last month, just in case

(Newser) - Residents of the tiny Swiss village of Brienz had to evacuate last month because geologists feared a massive rock slide was imminent. The geologists were proved to be correct overnight Thursday, though the massive rock slide stopped short of the village by a matter of feet. Remarkable images show the...

3 Charged With Killing Woman by Throwing Rock at Windshield

Alexa Bartell died in random Colorado attack, with other cars targeted as well

(Newser) - Three teenage men have been arrested in the death of Alexa Bartell, a 20-year-old woman from Arvada, Colorado, who was killed on her way home last week by a landscaping rock thrown through her windshield. As CBS News reports, Joseph Koenig, Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak, all 18,...

Unprecedented Drought Leads to 'Rare Opportunity'

Scientists rush to study 'Spanish Stonehenge,' ancient rock circle emerging as water levels drop

(Newser) - "Spanish Stonehenge" is back. The Dolmen of Guadalperal, a circle of 150 stones in Caceres believed to be about 7,000 years old, was purposely submerged underwater in 1963, part of Spain's efforts to build the Valdecanas reservoir. Over the years, the rocks occasionally peeked out when weather...

Stonehenge Builders Made a Smart, or Lucky, Choice
Stonehenge Builders Made
a Smart, or Lucky, Choice
in case you missed it
Aug 21, 2021 6:30 AM CDT

Stonehenge Builders Made a Smart, or Lucky, Choice

Stone core is 99.7% quartz, and unlikely to succumb to erosion

(Newser) - Researchers have uncovered a secret to Stonehenge's everlasting survival, thanks to a long-lost core taken from the ancient structure. Stonecutter Robert Phillips got his hands on one of the three cores taken from a cracked sarsen stone as metal rods were inserted during restoration work in the 1950s . But...

China's Ambitious Moon Mission Off to Good Start

Probe lands, aims to bring back moon rocks

(Newser) - A Chinese robot probe launched to return lunar rocks to Earth landed on the moon Tuesday, the government announced. Assuming all goes well, the mission will be the first in 40 years to retrieve moon rocks. The Chang'e 5 probe "successfully landed on the moon in the preselected...

Ancient Stones Give Up Their Secrets
2M-Year-Old Stones
Baffled Experts—Until Now
new study
Apr 19, 2020 12:30 PM CDT

2M-Year-Old Stones Baffled Experts—Until Now

An international team analyzes stones from Qesem Cave in Israel

(Newser) - Ancient humans didn't exactly have kitchen supplies, but still had to eat—a fact that might help solve an old mystery. In a new paper , researchers say they can explain the small stone balls found in archaeological sites across Asia, Africa, and Europe dating back nearly two million years....

Breakfast Wraps, Now With Tiny Rocks

245K pounds of wraps are recalled over concerns the bacon might be carrying a little extra crunch

(Newser) - You want rocks with that? About a quarter-million pounds worth of frozen breakfast wraps manufactured in Texas are being recalled over concerns that they contain egg, potato, cheese, bacon, and tiny rocks, reports CNN . The wraps, which were produced by Ruiz Food Products and shipped nationwide, may also contain other...

Kid's Rock-Throwing Leads to Zoo Flamingo's Death

Bird in Illinois zoo had to be euthanized after 'truly unfortunate accident'

(Newser) - A young guest at an Illinois zoo apparently didn't mean any harm, but what a Bloomington city official is calling a "truly unfortunate accident" has resulted in one of the center's flamingos being put down. The Pantagraph reports the bird was hit by a rock that the...

District Upgrades Security Policy From 'Throw Stones'

Pennsylvania schools will get armed security, too

(Newser) - A rural school district in Pennsylvania that has armed teachers and students with rocks to ward off potential school shooters has arranged for armed security, reports the AP . Blue Mountain School District Superintendent David Helsel said in a statement posted on the district's website that "Starting tomorrow and...

School District Arms Students With Rocks

But official says it's only a 'last resort'

(Newser) - Active shooters in one Pennsylvania school district better watch out: the teachers and students are armed with rocks. David Helsel, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District in Schuylkill County, raised the plan at a state House committee meeting on education last week, the Hill reports. "If an armed...

Teens Accused of Throwing Deadly Rock Face Life in Prison

'I just hope they realize … how many lives they tore apart'

(Newser) - Five Michigan teens who allegedly killed a 32-year-old father with a rock thrown from a highway overpass will remain in custody. On Tuesday, a judge refused bail for the five teens, aged 15 to 17, who have all pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and other...

Part of Earth's Original Crust Found in Canada

4.3B years of history lie in new discovery

(Newser) - Remnants of the planet’s original crust have been unearthed in Quebec, according to a study in Science . The remnants date back about 4.3 billion years and were found embedded in younger granite near Hudson Bay, reports Live Science . While the granite itself is only 2.7 billion years...

$85 for a Rock? Maker Explains Cost of Weird Nordstrom Gift

It's all about that leather pouch

(Newser) - It's not a lump of coal, but one of Nordstrom's stocking-stuffer possibilities this holiday season is in the same ballpark—it's a rock in a leather pouch. And many are confused, per People , which reports on the $85 "Los Angeles-area stone" clothed in "rich, vegetable-tanned...

Group Wrecks Rock Formation, Calls It Justice

Authorities initially thought sandstone pedestal had been destroyed by erosion

(Newser) - Cops and park officials in Oregon would like to speak to a group of young people captured on video destroying a unique rock formation in the state's stunning Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. Authorities initially thought the 7-foot sandstone pedestal known as the "Duckbill" had been destroyed by...

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