strange stuff

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

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>

Centuries-Old English Race Is Most Delicious

Olney's pancake race dates to 1445

(Newser) - Women in matching checkered aprons, headscarves, and a rainbow of running shoes limbered up Tuesday as they prepared for the centuries-old pancake race in the English town of Olney—frying pans in hand. At "Go," they sprinted through the streets, trying not to drop their pancakes as they...

Passenger Claimed He Had Dried Fish. Not Exactly

US Customs and Border Protection dog flagged bag that held mummified monkeys

(Newser) - A US Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out something unusual in luggage from a traveler returning from Africa—mummified monkeys. After the K9 directed his handler to a specific piece of luggage, the passenger, who was returning from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, reported the luggage...

Deputies Capture Kangaroo at Florida Pool

Animal was reunited with its owner

(Newser) - A wayward kangaroo was corralled safely by sheriff's deputies Thursday after it was spotted hopping around the pool area of a Florida apartment complex, the AP reports. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released video and still photos of the kangaroo, including some footage shot from a helicopter. The...

Man Climbs Las Vegas Orb to Make Point on Abortion

Maison Des Champs, 24, scaled the 366-foot-tall Sphere, was soon arrested

(Newser) - A man who bills himself as "The Official Pro-Life Spider-Man" scaled the massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas on Wednesday to raise funds for a pregnant woman, according to video posted on his Instagram. He was subsequently arrested. Las Vegas police said they began receiving calls about a person...

This Wasn't a Theft Anyone Was Expecting

Someone made off with a 200-foot-tall AM radio tower in Alabama

(Newser) - There are small-time thefts, and there are big-time thefts—and then there are thefts that no one can adequately explain. One of the latter took place last week in Jasper, Alabama, where a 200-foot-high AM radio tower used by station WJLX was inexplicably stolen, reports the New York Post . In...

Notes Finally Change in Organ Piece That's Played for 22 Years

Performance of John Cage's Organ2/ASLSP isn't slated to end until 2640

(Newser) - The late American avant-garde composer John Cage asked that his piece Organ2/ASLSP be played as its name instructs: That latter part is a nod to the phrase "as slowly and softly as possible," reports the Conversation . Cage, who died in 1992, never dictated just how slowly he meant,...

Inert Nuclear Missile Found in Dead Man's Garage

'And we think it's gonna be a long, long time before we get another call like this,' police say

(Newser) - An inert rocket of the type used to carry a nuclear warhead has been found in the garage of a home of a deceased resident in Washington state, police said. Bellevue police responded Thursday to a report of a military-grade rocket in the garage of a home in the city...

A Unique Love Story Has Ended
A Unique
Zoo Love Story
Has Ended
Feb 5, 2024 1:22 PM CST

A Unique Zoo Love Story Has Ended

Walnut, a white-naped crane who attacked potential mates but bonded with her keeper, has died

(Newser) - One of the great interspecies love stories of our time has come to an end. Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has passed away at age 42, reports the AP . She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute,...

Floating Sauna Saves Tesla Passengers From Icy Fjord

Half-naked patrons pulled stranded motorists out of water in Norwegian capital of Oslo

(Newser) - As Tesla handles a new recall in the US , a Tesla owner on the other side of the globe dealt with a different kind of issue this week. A witness tells the Norwegian newspaper VG that the Tesla was cruising Thursday near the quay at the foot of Oslo's...

Taylor Swift Is Even Queen of the Snowplows

Winner of Minnesota DOT's annual snowplow-naming contest: Taylor Drift

(Newser) - Travelers in northwestern Minnesota can shake off their trepidation about hitting the winter roads knowing Taylor Drift is clearing a path ahead of them. The snowplow named for Taylor Swift was the runaway winner of Minnesota's fourth annual "Name a Snowplow" contest , with eight new names announced this...

Congressman Learns Capitol Dome Isn't His Personal Gym

Report filed against GOP's Rich McCormick of Georgia for 'unsafe' pullups hundreds of feet high

(Newser) - The last thing that officials at the US Capitol need is a visitor jumping over a guardrail and getting in a workout hundreds of feet in the air—and not just any visitor, but a sitting US congressman. That's what apparently happened Tuesday when Georgia Republican Rick McCormick was...

500-Pound Stuffed Polar Bear Stolen

Canadian authorities are asking the public to keep an eye out for suspicious online sales

(Newser) - It was so cold at Canada's Lily Lake Resort on January 22 that security patrols at the hotel were canceled—so an opportunistic group of thieves broke in and stole a 500-pound, 12-foot-tall stuffed polar bear. Somehow no one even noticed the massive animal, which had undergone taxidermy, was...

285-Year-Old Lemon Sold at Auction
285-Year-Old Lemon
Sold at Auction
Jan 31, 2024 3:00 PM CST

285-Year-Old Lemon Sold at Auction

It fetched $1,780 after British auction house found it in old chest

(Newser) - A lemon that was ripe when George Washington was a child fetched $1,780 at an auction in the UK. Auctioneers didn't have any problem establishing that the fruit was 285 years old: It was inscribed with the message "Given By Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739...

Woman Falls in Dumpster, Gets Compacted by Trash Truck

New Hampshire resident was compacted 4 times and survived

(Newser) - A woman fell into a dumpster while throwing out her garbage and was later rescued from a trash truck that had compacted the contents while she was inside, fire department officials in New Hampshire said. Luckily, neighbors heard her screams, and the trash compartment was equipped with a camera, reports...

Cops: She Tried to Kill Husband Over Note From Old Flame

Florida's Bertha Yalter charged with attempted murder in what lawyer claims is an overreaction

(Newser) - Getting in touch with an old flame could have deadly consequences, according to Florida police, who allege a woman tried to kill her husband of 51 years after he received a postcard from a lover of six decades previously. Upon learning of the note, Bertha Yalter, 71, tried to smother...

Colorado Woman: I Didn't Want to Run for President, Don't Vote for Me

Krystal Gabel says she didn't give her OK to be a presidential candidate in Minnesota primary

(Newser) - Krystal Gabel of Colorado is currently a candidate for president of the United States in the Minnesota primary—which came as a big surprise to Krystal Gabel. WDAY describes Gabel as a cannabis activist whose name was entered as a candidate by a Minnesota third party for the March 5...

Tampa Residents Raise Money to Figure Out Funky Sound

Scientist aims to prove the bass noise is made by a certain type of fish mating in Tampa Bay

(Newser) - Some residents in Tampa are raising money to figure out once and for all the source of a funky, low-bass sound that keeps them up at night. Meanwhile, some fish in Tampa Bay are preparing to blush. Because, as Fox13 explains, the best guess is that the sound is being...

Zoo Tries New Tactic With Its Foul-Mouthed Parrots

8 swearing birds get integrated with the rest of the flock

(Newser) - There's nothing like cussing parrots to take the family fun out of a visit to the zoo. That was the predicament England's Lincolnshire Wildlife Park faced in 2020, when it took in five African gray parrots who could be mistaken for the love children of a sailor and...

Someone Really, Really, Really Wanted These Stanley Products

Police say California woman stuffed 65 of much-coveted drinking vessels into car without paying

(Newser) - Stanley drinking vessels are the hot fad at the moment, but someone may have become a bit too obsessed. Police in Roseville, California, last week announced that an arrest was made after workers at a local retail store spotted a woman leaving the establishment with a shopping cart crammed with...

Feds Unamused by Highway Sign Puns
Feds Unamused by
Highway Sign Puns
Jan 20, 2024 3:10 PM CST

Feds Unamused by Highway Sign Puns

New guidance is winding down clever safety messages within the next 2 years

(Newser) - If you enjoy the occasional wild highway sign urging you to "Camp in the woods, not the left lane," sadly, you'll have to get your dad jokes elsewhere. The Federal Highway Administration (part of the Department of Transportation) has weighed in on whether electronic safety billboards on...

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