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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Falling Fish Causes Wildfire
Falling Fish Causes Wildfire
Aug 4, 2025 5:23 PM CDT

Falling Fish Causes Wildfire

Fire department in Canada says 'rather tired' bird dropped it onto power line, igniting brush fire

(Newser) - It's not every day that a fish starts a wildfire, but that's what authorities say happened in British Columbia last week. In a Facebook post , Ashcroft Fire Rescue said a small brush fire was ignited when a fish fell onto a power line around two miles from the...

Let Them Eat Bunny: Zoo Wants You to Donate Your Small Pets

'If you have a healthy animal that needs to be given away for various reasons, feel free to donate it to us'

(Newser) - A zoo in Denmark is asking for donations of small pets as food for its predators. The story goes a little like this, per the AP : The Aalborg zoo says it's trying to mimic the natural food chain of the animals housed there "for the sake of both...

There's Never Been a Marathon This Deep

Runners will tackle 26 miles in a Swedish zinc mine

(Newser) - Bear Grylls' company, BecomingX, is adding a new twist to marathon running: going deep—literally. On October 26, the world's deepest marathon will be held 4,300 feet beneath Earth's surface in the Garpenberg zinc mine in Sweden. Sixty runners—decked out in hard hats, high-visibility gear,...

'Karaoke Camper' Spurs 911 Calls With Nickelback Songs

Man was 'singing his heart out to the trees' in BC's Boulderfields, not in any kind of distress

(Newser) - The "karaoke camper" has been rescued, though he apparently didn't need to be rescued from anything other than arguably questionable taste in music. The Vancouver Sun reports that the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue team in British Columbia was engaged in training exercises on Thursday when a 911...

Buffalo Airport Witnessed a Strange Joyride

Police say 'visibly intoxicated' Wyoming man took airport cart, drove it on people mover

(Newser) - Things got a little hairy in Western New York this week when a man decided to appropriate a motorized cart at a local airport and go on a joyride. The now-viral incident went down in the early hours Monday at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, when a Wyoming resident identified by...

Woman Throws Shoe at Gator; Gator Scores Woman's Shoe

At least she didn't try to scare it off with something valuable

(Newser) - Today's edition of how not to interact with wildlife comes to us courtesy of, why yes, Florida. As Fox35 reports, it seems an alligator was hanging out by the side of a lake in Kissimmee, with some deer grazing undisturbed nearby. Tourist Sarah Louise Martin, on vacation from the...

Geoffrey Epstein Is Causing Some Confusion

Massachusetts man is running for mayor, causing some consternation with his famous name

(Newser) - Sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein continues to dominate headlines some six years after his death—which is rather inconvenient for a man of the same-ish name running for office in Massachusetts. Geoffrey Epstein, an Australian-born mayoral candidate in Framingham, says most locals know him as a former theoretical physics professor and...

In Forests Around the World, a 'Trail of a Thousand Trolls'

Trash sculptures by Dutch recycle artist Thomas Dambo are meant to connect us to environment

(Newser) - Nestled in forests around the world, a gentle army of giant wooden trolls wants to show humans how to live better without destroying the planet. The Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo and his team have created 170 troll sculptures from discarded materials such as wooden pallets, old furniture, and wine...

Meet Leonardo da Pinchy, the Thieving Cat

Feline with sticky paws swipes laundry from all over his New Zealand neighborhood

(Newser) - Most cat owners dread their pets bringing home mice or birds. But for the owners of one felonious feline in New Zealand, there's a worse shame—being the unwitting accomplice to an unstoppable one-cat crime wave. His prolific laundry-pinching from clotheslines and bedrooms in the beachside neighborhood of Mairangi...

At Prague Zoo, Staff Puppeteers Become Vulture Parents

Mama and papa lesser yellow-headed vulture weren't ready to take care of their chick

(Newser) - Zookeepers in Prague sometimes have to become puppeteers to save newborn birds rejected by their parents. This was the case for a lesser yellow-headed vulture chick hatched three weeks ago. Bird keeper Antonin Vaidl said Thursday that when a dummy egg disappeared from the nest, it signaled to keepers that...

Hotel Staff 'Heartbroken' After Dozens of Peacocks Vanish

Workers believe they were stolen from California hotel

(Newser) - Dozens of peacocks and peahens known for wandering the grounds of a historic Art Deco hotel south of Sacramento, California, are missing, and the hotel staff said Tuesday they believe the birds were stolen. After a customer at the Ryde Hotel mentioned Sunday seeing two men grabbing one of the...

That $6.2M Banana? Someone Just Ate It. Again.

And nobody seems too upset

(Newser) - Well, when you duct-tape a perishable fruit to a wall, call it art, and sell it for $6.2 million, there is just bound to be a hungry museum-goer around. When last we checked in on the previous iteration of the banana known as The Comedian by Italian artist and...

Beetles Are Chowing Down in Hungary's Oldest Library

About 100K books are pulled from shelves at Pannonhalma Archabbey due to beetle infestation

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of centuries-old books are being pulled from the shelves of Hungary's 1,000-year-old Pannonhalma Archabbey—a sprawling Benedictine monastery that's one of Hungary's oldest centers of learning and a UNESCO World Heritage Site—in an effort to save them from a beetle infestation that...

On an Empty TP Roll, a Long-Lost Message
On an Empty TP Roll,
a Long-Lost Message
in case you missed it
Jul 19, 2025 6:00 AM CDT

On an Empty TP Roll, a Long-Lost Message

British homeowners find 35-year-old note from little girl (now 43) scrawled on cardboard tube

(Newser) - From bowling ball graveyards to human remains , homeowners sometimes find the most unexpected things while exploring or renovating their new digs. For one British couple, their discovery was of the "heartwarming" kind, and one decades in the making, per SWNS . The outlet reports that Charlotte England-Black, 30, and her...

Science Finds People Want to Date Their Pets (Kind of)

New study reveals nearly a third of pet owners would go out with the AI version of their cats, dogs

(Newser) - Man's best friend = man's artificial-intelligence-created lover? That's the gist of a new study that shows a significant number of pet owners wouldn't mind dating their pets if an AI version of them could be created, reports the New York Post . According to the MetLife survey...

Paranormal Investigator Dies on Tour With Annabelle Doll

Allegedly haunted doll wasn't in the hotel room where Dan Rivera died, coroner says

(Newser) - The New England Society for Psychic Research says it's "heartbroken" by the sudden death of Dan Rivera, a paranormal investigator who was on tour with the allegedly haunted Annabelle doll made famous by the Conjuring movies. The 54-year-old Army veteran was the society's lead investigator. Adams County...

To Help With Hunting, Some Dolphins Use a Sponge
Strange Dolphin
Hunting Aid: a Sponge
Jul 16, 2025 10:30 AM CDT

Strange Dolphin Hunting Aid: a Sponge

They wear them to scrounge up prey, but it's harder than it looks

(Newser) - Some dolphins in Australia have a special technique to flush fish from the seafloor: They hunt with a sponge on their beak, like a clown nose. Using the sponge to protect from sharp rocks, the dolphins swim with their beaks covered, shoveling through rubble at the bottom of sandy channels...

Man Arrested After Creepy Teddy Bear Left at Bus Stop

The bear appeared to be made out of human flesh, but was not

(Newser) - A man has been arrested for allegedly leaving a very creepy teddy bear at a Southern California bus stop, ABC 7 reports. Per the San Bernadino Sheriff's Department, Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, faces charges of reporting an emergency knowing it to be false and intentionally and wrongfully planting evidence...

It's Time for King Charles to Count All His Swans

Actually the 'Seigneur of the Swans' has people to carry out the medieval tradition for him

(Newser) - Scarlet uniforms flashed against the riverbank. Wooden skiffs glided in formation. A young swan, gently lifted from the water, was measured, inspected, and released. The annual five-day census of swans belonging to King Charles III—known as Swan Upping—began Monday on the River Thames to assess their health. One...

Italy's Risotto Crops Face Long-Legged Marauders

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice in Italy's northeast

(Newser) - An unusual pest is ravaging crops and irking farmers in northeastern Italy: the flamingo. Flocks of these relatively recent immigrants have set their hungry sights on the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna. The long-legged birds aren't interested in the seedlings;...

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