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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Viral Leprechaun Lore Thrives in Alabama, 2 Decades Later

Residents reflect on headline-making story in Mobile, after 2006 broadcast on supposed sighting

(Newser) - Two decades after a supposed leprechaun sighting clogged a dead-end street in Mobile, Alabama, the tiny figure that no one can quite agree they saw is still everywhere. In a St. Patrick's Day feature, the New York Times revisits a 2006 WPMI-TV segment that showed residents in the Crichton...

'Doomsday Plane' Training Over California Fuels Jitters
2 Months After One 'Doomsday
Plane' Over California, Another
in case you missed it
Mar 15, 2026 1:54 PM CDT

2 Months After One 'Doomsday Plane' Over California, Another

Military nuclear command jet spotted doing routine drills in Fresno sparks jitters, online speculation

(Newser) - Residents in California's Central Valley got an unsettling reminder of global tensions over the weekend, courtesy of a military jet with a grim nickname. A US Navy E-6B Mercury —one of the aircraft that can serve as an airborne command center in a nuclear crisis—was spotted on...

West Virginia Takes Pregame Lemons, Makes a Title Run

Mountaineers credit quirky ritual for focus during Big 12 run

(Newser) - Pregame snacks usually skew toward protein bars, not fruit that makes your face pucker. But West Virginia's women's basketball team swears by lemon wedges as its go-to ritual, a tangy tradition that was on full display as the Mountaineers captured their first Big 12 tournament title since 2017...

Kitten Shows Up at Shelter Looking Like Inflated Balloon
Vet Says This Puffy Kitten Is
Among Strangest Cases Ever
in case you missed it
Mar 15, 2026 11:02 AM CDT

Vet Says This Puffy Kitten Is Among Strangest Cases Ever

Cat with rare air buildup under the skin looked like inflated balloon, is now OK after being 'deflated'

(Newser) - A California animal shelter says a kitten that arrived looking more like a tiny balloon than a cat is now on the mend, and she could eventually be up for adoption. NBC Los Angeles reports that the shelter took in a feline, since named Zoe, about a week ago, and...

In Japan, People Are Randomly Shoving Other People

'Bumping man' phenomenon perpetrated by both men and women is causing frustration, tension

(Newser) - A smiling kid posing at Tokyo's famed Shibuya crossing is now central to Japan's latest public-behavior worry: the rise of the "bumping" attacker. Viral video from Feb. 25 shows the young girl, visiting from Taiwan, knocked flat from behind by a masked woman who keeps walking, per...

This Fox Just Took an Inadvertent Transatlantic Trip

Red fox stowed away on cargo ship from Southampton to New York

(Newser) - This stowaway truly was sly as a fox. A red fox somehow slipped onto a cargo ship that was traveling from Southampton, England, to New York, where the animal is now in the Bronx Zoo's care. The zoo said on Wednesday that the 11-pound male fox appears healthy after...

'A Bear May Be in Front of Your House When You Wake Up'

Cloudy skies tied to climate change are leading to food shortages, spurring bear attacks in Japan

(Newser) - Residents in northern Japan now have a new hazard to worry about: hungry bears. The country is seeing an unprecedented spike in attacks, with more than a dozen people killed and upward of 200 injured in 2025, prompting the government to deploy troops in Akita prefecture, and the US Embassy...

Behold, One of Britain's Strangest Contests

Finnish pair wins a barrel of ale in annual 'wife-carrying' contest in England

(Newser) - To have and to hold took on a new meaning for about two dozen couples who put their relationships to the test on a grassy hill in southern England. Wives and girlfriends clung on for dear life as their partners carried them up and down a hillside for the UK...

Soccer Club Desperately Seeks Madonna's 36-Year-Old Shirt

Spain's Celta Vigo wants jersey the pop star wore during a 1990 concert

(Newser) - Spanish soccer team Celta Vigo is desperately seeking Madonna as it goes in search of a 36-year-old soccer shirt the pop star wore during a 1990 concert at its Balaidos stadium. As the AP reports, Madonna appeared on stage wearing the club's true blue colors during her Blonde Ambition...

Claw Machine Claims Second Trapped Toddler: 'I Get Ball'

Firefighters assemble special tool kit after back-to-back claw machine rescues in Missouri

(Newser) - A claw machine at a Missouri sports complex has apparently become a literal kid magnet. Local outlets cited by USA Today report that a second toddler recently climbed into the same prize machine at Vetta Sports' Soccerdome in Webster Groves, a St. Louis suburb. This time it was 3-year-old Patrick...

Boy Finds Crocodile Far From Where It Should Be

Juvenile reptile turns up in Newcastle, Australia, 1.2K miles away from its natural habitat

(Newser) - Stephanie Kirsop didn't believe her son when he phoned to say a crocodile was lurking in a creek near their home. The family lives in the temperate coastal city of Newcastle, which is 1,200 miles south of Australia's crocodile habitat in the tropical north. Lionel Saunders, 12,...

Great Antique Store Find: A Very Sleepy Owl

Little guy was just snoozing next to a chicken-shaped cookie jar

(Newser) - Shoppers in upstate New York earlier this month turned up a rare find while perusing a local antique store this month: tucked next to a cookie jar made in the shape of a chicken was a live owl resting peacefully on a shelf. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said...

New Zealand's Weird Flightless Parrot Is in Mood for Romance

A bumper berry harvest has the endangered kakapo feeling a little frisky

(Newser) - The world's only flightless parrot species was once thought to be doomed by design. The kakapo is too heavy, too slow and, frankly, too delicious to survive around predators, and takes a shamelessly relaxed approach to reproduction. But the AP reports that the nocturnal and reclusive New Zealand native...

Woman Arrested for 'Acts of Outrage' During Karaoke

The 64-year-old is in hot water in Dominican Republic for singing national anthem too fast

(Newser) - Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested a 64-year-old woman who went viral on social media after singing the national anthem to the high-tempo local rhythm called dembow during a karaoke session at a restaurant. A police report issued on Tuesday accuses Amarilis Brito Rodriguez of disrespecting the anthem by...

24 Years After Disappearing, Missing Mom Is Arrested

Located alive this month, Michele Hundley Smith is now charged over a 2001 DWI case

(Newser) - A North Carolina mom who fell off the map in 2001 and resurfaced this month is now facing some more from her past: an old DWI case. Authorities say 62-year-old Michele Hundley Smith was arrested on Wednesday by the Robeson County Sheriff's Office on a nearly 25-year-old order for...

Tinkerer Gains Access to 7K Robot Vacuums

Security flaw exposed live video, audio, and home layout data

(Newser) - A French software engineer tinkering with his $2,000 robot vacuum wound up with the virtual keys to thousands of other people's homes. Sammy Azdoufal tells the Verge he was trying to figure out how to control his DJI Romo vacuum with a video game controller as a fun...

Hotels Cash In as Millennials, Gen Z Embrace 'Sleepcations'

Exhausted young people are being lured in by travel packages promising uninterrupted rest

(Newser) - Forget the packed itinerary: Some travelers are now checking into hotels with plans to do almost nothing but sleep. The Wall Street Journal reports on the rise of the "sleepcation," especially among millennials and members of Gen Z, who are trading sunrise hikes and sightseeing for blackout curtains,...

Richard III Audience Member Hurt by Flying Sword

Lead actor's weapon flew out of his hand during performance of Shakespeare play in Berlin

(Newser) - A climactic sword fight in Berlin's Schaubuehne theater briefly turned real when a weapon flew out of the lead actor's hand and struck a woman in the front row. The incident came during the final scene of Richard III on Thursday night, when German star Lars Eidinger, known...

Thai Police Get Imaginative for Undercover Arrest

Officers pose as traditional lion dancers to nab suspect at Lunar New Year celebration

(Newser) - When Thai police were having trouble catching a serial burglar who repeatedly slipped through their fingers, they came up with a creative plan: going undercover in a traditional lion costume to get close to their elusive quarry. Video footage released by the Bangkok police department showed officers hidden beneath a...

Injured Seabird Goes to ER, Pecks on Door

Cormorant gets humans to remove the fishing hook from its beak

(Newser) - An injured seabird sought help by pecking at the door of an emergency room at a hospital in Germany until medical staff noticed it and called firefighters to help with its rescue. The cormorant, a shiny black waterbird, had a triple fishing hook stuck in its beak when it made...

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