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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Termite 'Apartment Complex' Has Been Busy for 34K Years

'We knew they were old, but not that old,' South African researcher says

(Newser) - Scientists in South Africa have been stunned to discover that termite mounds that are still inhabited in an arid region of the country are more than 30,000 years old, meaning they're the oldest known active termite hills. Some of the mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand were...

Mysterious Monolith Removed From Colorado Dairy Farm

Strange object brought too many people to farm, owner says

(Newser) - After a mysterious monolith brought an "overwhelming influx" of looky-loos to a Colorado dairy farm, some of whom damaged the natural environment, the farm's owner has taken the strange shiny structure down, the Denver Post reports. "We took 'the Monolith' down and are keeping it safe....

Soup-Eating Hikers Are Trouble for Mount Halla

Officials say too much broth is being dumped

(Newser) - South Korea's highest mountain has a problem, and it involves soup. CNN reports on a campaign started by the National Park Office of Mount Halla that asks hikers to refrain from dumping ramyun broth on the mountain or in its streams. The instant noodles come in a disposable cup,...

Welcome to the Poozeum. Yes, It's a Poop Museum

Arizona museum has some record-setting pieces of feces on display—and a lot of them

(Newser) - One way to tell how a Tyrannosaurus rex digested food is to look at its poop. Bone fragments in a piece of fossilized excrement at a new museum in northern Arizona—aptly called the Poozeum—are among the tinier bits of evidence that indicate T. rex wasn't much of...

Nebraska Considers Putting Fans' Ashes Under Football Field

University regent offers up strange plan to make up a budget shortfall

(Newser) - A University of Nebraska regent has proposed a way for lifelong Cornhusker fans to carry their support into the afterlife. When Memorial Stadium undergoes its next renovation, the AP reports that Regent Barbara Weitz of Omaha suggested building a columbarium under the football field where departed fans can have their...

Mystery Kinkajou Found at Rest Stop in Washington

Officials aren't sure how rainforest animal got there

(Newser) - Why did the kinkajou cross the road? And what's a kinkajou, anyway? One of the mammals—which look like a cross between a monkey and a tiny bear—was found far from its normal rainforest habitat this week at a highway rest stop amid the rolling sagebrush plains of...

Developer Must Take Down House Built on Wrong Lot

It was a strange mix-up in Hawaii

(Newser) - A developer who built a home in Hawaii on the wrong vacant lot has been ordered to take it down, reports SFGate . The mistake set off a series of convoluted legal skirmishes, and the judge cut to the chase: "This was not an instance of minor encroachment, but an...

Latest Mystery Monolith Turns Up in Nevada Desert
Las Vegas Police Remove
Mysterious Monolith
updated
Jun 21, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Las Vegas Police Remove Mysterious Monolith

Someone is apparently playing an elaborate game all over the world

(Newser) - Las Vegas police won't say where they took it, but the department announced Friday that the monolith found jutting out of the rocks in the mountains not far from the city has been removed. "It remains unknown how the item got to its location or who might be...

China Says Man Bought Military Secrets for 85 Cents

Military employees who were supposed to shred documents sold them to recycling center

(Newser) - A military history buff in China appears to have made an alarming discovery after picking up four discarded books for less than $1 at a neighborhood recycling station: They were confidential military documents. The country's Ministry of State Security told the story in a social media post on Thursday,...

For King Charles' Birthday Honors, a Beheaded Statue

Monument in Australian city of Melbourne is now headless on King's Birthday holiday after vandalism

(Newser) - King Charles III was born in November, but on the second Monday of June, many states in Australia celebrate King's Birthday to pay tribute to the monarch's arrival on Earth. The celebration in Melbourne, however, got off to a bit of a dark start, after someone vandalized a...

What the Heck Has Washed Ashore in Oregon?

Rare 7-foot hoodwinker sunfish may remain on beach in Gearhart for weeks, per local aquarium

(Newser) - A massive rare fish thought to only live in temperate waters in the Southern Hemisphere has washed up on Oregon's northern coast, drawing crowds of curious onlookers intrigued by the unusual sight. The 7.3-foot hoodwinker sunfish first appeared on the beach in Gearhart on Monday, the Seaside Aquarium...

With 14 Advanced Degrees, He Has a Logical Career

Benjamin Bolger is a college admissions consultant, and he's profiled in the New York Times Magazine

(Newser) - Benjamin B. Bolger achieved the impressive feat of graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in sociology at the age of 19. He's 48 now, and as a profile in the New York Times Magazine explains, he hasn't stopped collecting diplomas. Bolger has 14 advanced degrees...

Researchers Surprised by What Tiger Shark Threw Up

Sighting of shark regurgitating a dead echidna is believed to be a first

(Newser) - Tiger sharks aren't known for being fussy eaters but researcher Nicolas Lubitz and his team were still surprised by what one of them regurgitated. Lubitz says the shark vomited a dead echidna, a spiky, land-dwelling relative of the platypus, CNN reports. "We were quite shocked at what we...

China's Tallest Waterfall Gets an Odd Boost

Footage recorded by drone shows pipes in the rock face

(Newser) - China's Yuntai Falls trumps Niagara Falls when it comes to height, at roughly 1,000 feet to the latter's 188 feet. But when it comes to powerful natural flows, Niagara appears to have it soundly beat. It turns out the towering Chinese waterfall—the country's highest (see...

In Pennsylvania, a Wild Wildlife Photo

Falling black bear was caught in a tarp in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

(Newser) - It's certainly a candidate for photo of the week: an image of a young black bear falling from a tree and into a giant tarp held aloft by a group of wildlife, public safety, and rescue officials. That was the scene on Tuesday after the bruin showed up around...

&#39;Dead&#39; Woman Found Breathing at Funeral Home
Woman Found Breathing
at Funeral Home Has Died
UPDATED
Jun 4, 2024 3:02 PM CDT

Woman Found Breathing at Funeral Home Has Died

74-year-old was prematurely declared dead at her nursing home

(Newser) - A woman in Nebraska who was pronounced dead at her nursing home only to be discovered breathing by a funeral home employee two hours later has died, reports the New York Times . The woman died Monday afternoon, after being transported from the funeral home to a hospital in Lincoln. An...

Stingray Was Not Impregnated by Shark: Aquarium

North Carolina aquarium confirms stingray was never pregnant, is actually sick

(Newser) - In a sad update to the mystery of the stingray in a North Carolina aquarium that some speculated had been impregnated by a shark, aquarium officials have now announced the stingray actually has a rare ailment, ABC News reports. Lab testing and other data (including the fact that the ray...

Juror in Fraud Case Receives $120K Bag of Cash

Woman turns it over to Minneapolis police and was dismissed from the jury

(Newser) - A juror was dismissed Monday after reporting that a woman dropped a bag of $120,000 in cash at her Minneapolis home. And the woman offered her more money if she would vote to acquit seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed...

Couple Goes Magnet Fishing, Ends Up $100K Wealthier

New York couple finds safe, which police can't trace to anyone

(Newser) - A couple that took up magnet fishing during the COVID-19 pandemic now has their uncommon hobby to thank for a massive windfall. James Kane and Barbie Agostini tell NY1 they were looking for way to take up treasure-hunting without a large investment; magnet fishing requires just a rope and a...

Italian Island: Please Adopt Our Goats

Wild goats outnumber people on Italy's Alicudi by at least 6 to 1

(Newser) - About 100 year-round residents live on Alicudi, an idyllic, 2-square mile Mediterranean island that's part of the Aeolian chain. But they share their home with roughly 600 wild goats, and it's becoming a problem. As the New York Times reports, the plan is to capture, tag, and quarantine...

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