strange stuff

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

Stories 2561 - 2580 | << Prev   Next >>

Alien Believers Fly Swastika Over NYC Beaches

Work of alien-based religion of Raelism

(Newser) - Visitors to New York City beaches yesterday were pretty horrified when a plane flew by towing a banner with a swastika that noted, in symbols, that "swastika plus peace equals love." It also contained a swastika combined with a Star of David. The banner, which flew through Coney...

Virginia Dad Treks to Africa, Claims Country for Daughter

Emily Heaton wanted to be a real princess

(Newser) - Most dads would probably say they'd do anything for their daughters, but only one that we know of has actually traveled to an unclaimed patch of land in the African desert, planted a flag, and declared himself king—all so his little girl could officially be a princess. Jeremiah...

Silent but Healthy: Sniffing Farts Is Good for You
Silent but Healthy: Sniffing Farts Is Good for You
study says
Jul 12, 2014 1:00 PM CDT

Silent but Healthy: Sniffing Farts Is Good for You

Or say scientists at the University of Exeter

(Newser) - To put it one way, small doses of hydrogen sulfide help keep cells healthy and thus help ward off maladies such as dementia, diabetes, and even cancer. To put it another way, "smelling farts could be the best thing you do today," as per CNET . As the Independent ...

Agency Sends Draft Notices to Men Born in Wrong Century

About 14K go out to centenarians in Pennsylvania

(Newser) - No, the United States isn't trying to build a military force of centenarians. It just seems that way after the Selective Service System mistakenly sent notices to more than 14,000 Pennsylvania men born between 1893 and 1897, ordering them to register for the nation's military draft and...

Brooklyn Woman Found Living With Mother's Bones

Chava Stirn, 28, discovered living in trash-packed apartment with remains

(Newser) - Skeletal remains were found in a Brooklyn apartment on Monday, and the New York Post today reports that, as suspected , a 28-year-old woman found in the apartment had been living with her dead mother's bones. Cops came upon the scene after the apartment building’s superintendent, who was investigating...

Shakespeare Is Why You Hate Zits
 Shakespeare 
 Is Why You 
 Hate Zits 
study says
Jul 5, 2014 8:15 AM CDT

Shakespeare Is Why You Hate Zits

His plays are really into bad skin: researchers

(Newser) - The makers of Neutrogena may have Shakespeare to thank for their success: The influence of his work has left us grossed out by pimples and other skin conditions. So say dermatologists in a new study that notes how much his plays focus on bad skin, the Christian Science Monitor reports....

Man&#39;s First Name Is 63 Words Long

 Man's First Name 
 Is 63 Words Long 
in case you missed it
Jul 5, 2014 6:50 AM CDT

Man's First Name Is 63 Words Long

First word: Kim-Jong

(Newser) - And you thought "Lianne Madonna Vogue On The Cover Of A Magazine McHale Dawson" was an unusual name. A Swedish 25-year-old lays claims to what the Local speculates may be the world's longest name; it holds the record in Sweden. Though the former Alexander Ek goes by Papah...

DWI Suspect Blames Crash on 3 Animals, Tree

The old turtle-cat-squirrel excuse doesn't fly

(Newser) - Police surely hear all kinds of things from drivers looking to deflect blame after an accident, but a man in College Station, Texas, gets points for originality. He told officers that he swerved to avoid a turtle, a cat, a squirrel, and an overhanging tree, reports the Eagle of Bryan-College...

Drivers Blame Adult Store's Mannequins for Crashes

Hustler Hollywood store in Oklahoma City is distracting, they say

(Newser) - A Hustler Hollywood store opened in Oklahoma City on June 12, and since then, there have been eight car accidents near the adult establishment. At least two drivers say the mannequins in the store windows might be to blame. "I just had a minor fender bender looking at the...

Woman Sues Boss Over Rush-Hour Traffic
Woman Sues Boss Over
Rush-Hour Traffic
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 29, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Woman Sues Boss Over Rush-Hour Traffic

She claims it made her anxious to the point of disability

(Newser) - Rush-hour traffic is a pain, but can it qualify you for a disability? A New Jersey woman is trying to make her case in court against a former employer, reports the Courier-Post . Andrea DeGerolamo worked for Fulton Financial in 2012 when, according to her lawsuit, she "began to feel...

Nanny Who Wouldn't Leave Home Is Gone, for Now

But all her stuff is still at the residence

(Newser) - The nanny who wouldn't leave seems to have left, at least temporarily. After a California family's strange plight made national headlines—they hired Diane Stretton as a live-in nanny, fired her after three months when she stopped working, then found that they couldn't legally boot her from...

Miss Florida Pageant Crowns Wrong Winner

Elizabeth Fechtel loses title after less than a week thanks to tabulation error

(Newser) - Florida has just one-upped Delaware in the beauty-pageant gaffe department: The Miss Florida pageant crowned the wrong winner last Saturday because of a vote-counting error and has had to make an embarrassing about-face, reports the Miami Herald . The pageant initially named Elizabeth Fechtel its winner, and the 20-year-old University of...

Woman Has Mass Removed 50 Years After Snake Bite

Calcified tissue took a while to develop

(Newser) - It was a slowww reaction. When she was 14, a girl in Thailand got bit in the leg by a poisonous snake called the Malayan pit viper. A half-century later, she showed up at the doctor with a painful mass in that same leg, reports LiveScience , picking up on a...

Yum? World's First Coffee Wine Is Here

Available in red or white, in a can

(Newser) - You never knew you wanted it, but it's here anyway. The "wine in a can specialists" at Friends Fun Wine have come up with the world's first coffee-flavored wine—a combination of "the world's most popular Day Drink with the world's most popular Night...

Family's Problem: Daughter Harriet's Name 'Illegal'

But Hjörný, Haddý, Hekla, Hrafnhildur are just fine in Iceland

(Newser) - You might see why a government would be reluctant to hand Adolf Hitler a passport, but what's so bad about Harriet? A couple living in Iceland say the government has refused to issue their 10-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son new passports because their names, Harriet and Duncan, aren't...

Woman Killed by ... Phone Charger

Sheryl Aldeguer electrocuted by faulty charger in April

(Newser) - A mother of two has died in Australia thanks to a $4.95 phone charger. Authorities say Sheryl Anne Aldeguer, 28, was talking on the phone, plugged into a cheap charger that failed to meet Australian safety rules, when she was electrocuted with 240 volts and died instantly. The Filipino...

Man Spots Jesus, Lamb—on Apple

'Maybe it's a sign,' says David Duran

(Newser) - First Jesus was spotted on Google Earth . Now he's apparently taken to fruit. Albuquerque's David Duran was making apple butter in his mother's kitchen when he came to "the last couple of apples in the batch." He was just about to peel one when he...

EPA to Workers: Stop Pooping in the Hall

Agency hires consultant after phantom pooper strikes

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency has a pretty basic tip for EPA employees who want to protect the environment they work in: Stop pooping in the hallway. The agency's Denver branch found it necessary to tell workers to cease "inappropriate bathroom behavior," citing incidents including toilets clogged with...

Air-Conditioner Thief Gets Extra Time ... for Pollution

By releasing Freon, he violated Clean Air Act

(Newser) - When Martin Eldridge and his pals started stealing air-conditioning units around Columbus, Ohio, last year, it's a safe bet they didn't factor the Clean Air Act into their possible punishment. Big mistake: Because when Eldridge and company cut the tubing that connected the units to their buildings, they...

Cops Sued for Killing Guy, 95, With Bean Bag Gun

Police claimed he was belligerent; family says he couldn't have posed threat

(Newser) - When 95-year-old John Wrana refused to go to the hospital last year for medical treatment, cops in suburban Chicago shot him with "five rounds of bean bag cartridges from a 12 gauge shotgun within a distance of approximately only six to eight feet," according to a lawsuit filed...

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