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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Shining Hotel Plans Creepy Cemetery Move

Get married at hotel that inspired book ... on top of former pet cemetery

(Newser) - It doesn't exactly sounds like every bride's dream: Get married at the hotel that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining ... atop a former pet cemetery. But that's exactly what Colorado's Stanley Hotel intends to make possible. The hotel doesn't seem to intentionally be going...

Man Grows New Nose ... on His Forehead

Not your average nose job

(Newser) - A 22-year-old man in China needed a new nose. So a surgeon has built him one ... on his forehead. The surgeon, Guo Zhihui from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, constructed the second nose out of cartilage from the man's ribs, then put it under the skin on his forehead...

EPA Official Stole $900K by Not Showing Up for Work

Says he was on special assignment at 'Langley'

(Newser) - There's calling in sick with a little white lie, and then there's this guy: A former high-ranking official with the EPA pleaded guilty today to stealing nearly $900,000 from the agency over 13 years by failing to show up for work while falsely claiming to be working...

Man Hijacks Ambulance —With Patient Inside

No one hurt in bizarre incident

(Newser) - Let's say traffic is backed up on the highway, and you're a gun-toting would-be carjacker in a hurry. What car do you grab? If you're a quick thinker like Brian Timothy Kada Jr., you carjack an ambulance and make everyone get out of your way. That's...

Half-Marathoner Misses Turn, Wins 1st Marathon

Meredith Fitzmaurice qualifies for Boston in longest race of her life

(Newser) - That Meredith Fitzmaurice finished first among all female marathoners in an Ontario race on Sunday is a story that wouldn't typically make it past the local paper. But Fitzmaurice's story has a pretty awesome twist: She had never run more than 20 miles before and only entered the...

Man Whose Skin Was Blue Dead at 62

 Man Whose 
 Skin Was Blue 
 Dead at 62 
obituary
Sep 25, 2013 2:13 PM CDT

Man Whose Skin Was Blue Dead at 62

Paul Karason's skin changed color because of his use of silver

(Newser) - As far as obituaries go, it's not your everyday death notice: Paul Karason died Monday in a Washington hospital after suffering a heart attack, at age 62. Had his death occurred five years earlier it likely would have gone quietly unnoticed. But in 2008, Karason went on the Today ...

To Rebuild Company, Sharp Turns to ... Strawberries

Will grow the fruit indoors in Dubai, sell it to rich Middle Easterners

(Newser) - Remember Sharp? Perhaps you owned one of the Japanese company's TVs many years ago. Perhaps you still do—though that's less likely, given, as Reuters reports, the company had to get bailed out by banks last year after posting a $5.5 billion loss. So to address its...

Explained: The Complex Math Jokes Hidden in The Simpsons

Staff of math-nerd writers have inserted many mind-blowing freeze-frame gags

(Newser) - Many of us can quote endlessly from The Simpsons, citing obscure plots, characters, and gags from the show's 24 seasons. But not so many people are aware of the complex math jokes that have been quietly slipped into the series over the years, writes Simon Singh, who calls The ...

Man Charges $35 for 'Hand-Sharpened Pencil'

And almost 2K people have paid

(Newser) - David Rees is an artisanal pencil sharpener. No, really. The former political cartoonist charges $35 for a "hand-sharpened" No. 2 pencil, and he has sold 1,804 of them already, Fox News reports. Rees, who discovered the art of pencil sharpening after taking a job with the 2010 Census...

Student Pays Bills With Competitive Eating

Wisconsin computer major finds an odd way to cover tuition

(Newser) - A University of Wisconsin student with a nickname of "Silo" is eating his way through school—competitively. Computer engineering student Eric Dahl now ranks third in the world of competitive eating as determined by All Pro Eating rankings, though he once held the top spot. Dahl has earned more...

Work for NASA: Lie in Bed for 15 Weeks

And get paid about $5K a month

(Newser) - Best job ever? NASA wants test subjects to spend 15 weeks in bed and get paid about $5,000 a month for doing it, the Metro reports. Sounds like a dream job (literally), until you realize that you'd be prohibited from sitting or standing up, the Houston Chronicle notes....

Weird Ailment Makes Guy Drunk—Without Drinking

Blame the yeast in his gut: NPR

(Newser) - Is it possible to get drunk without drinking a drop of alcohol? Yes, it turns out, thanks to a rare and bizarre ailment newly dubbed "auto-brewery syndrome." As NPR explains, the case involved a Texas man who would get drunk at random times while swearing up and down...

Woman Says God Told Her to 'Feed the Strippers'

Creates 'Strip Church' ministry

(Newser) - People have claimed to have heard God instruct them to do all sorts of things over the years, but this is probably a first: "I felt the Lord say to me, ‘Go feed the strippers,'" Erin Stevens tells Fox News . The calling came to Stevens, a...

Parents Can Name Baby 'Messiah,' Judge Rules

Says original judge acted unconstitutionally by ordering name change

(Newser) - A Tennessee woman will be allowed to name her 8-month-old son "Messiah," a judge ruled today, overturning an order from another judge who said the boy's name should be changed to Martin because "'Messiah' is a title that is held only by Jesus Christ."...

Turned In at Lost and Found: $6.3M Lotto Ticket

Unclaimed prize was won last year

(Newser) - Talk about a good deed: A very kind man turned a winning lotto ticket in to Spanish officials rather than taking the money for himself. Now, lottery bosses are trying to find the winner of the $6.27 million prize, which dates back to last year; it was never claimed,...

Man Shot in Fight About 18th-Century Philosopher

Plus: more weird Russian attacks

(Newser) - A spate of odd news today concerning attacks in Russia: one on a dance floor, three in a cemetery, and another over a philosopher.
  • Two 20-something men in line for beers at a festival in southern Russia, got in a heated dispute about 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant. The feud "
...

Chinese Hospital's Request: Female Virgins' Blood

Researchers face backlash ahead of HPV study

(Newser) - A Chinese cancer hospital has sparked anger with a call for blood donations—specifically from 100 female virgins ages 18 to 24. The Peking University Cancer Hospital says it's planning a study on HPV and that virgins are less likely to have the virus. "It's in line...

Creepy Clown Is Freaking Out a British Town

He apparently looks like Pennywise

(Newser) - If you suffer from coulrophobia, stop reading. The British town of Northampton has been reporting jarring sightings of a creepy clown, who first appeared on Friday (the 13th). The Herald & Post reports that the clown, a man fully decked out with red hair and white face with severely arched...

At Seahawks Game, Cops Dress as ... 49ers Fans

Fans are having a hard time keeping their hands to themselves

(Newser) - Apparently, Seattle Seahawks fans have gotten thuggish to the point that police are going undercover for today's game—dressed in 49ers jerseys, in a tactic aimed squarely at curbing fan fights and attacks. "The goal here is to get people to be on their best behavior," says...

Cops Find Drugs, Cash, Gun in Raid on ... Daycare?

1 kilo cocaine, 1K Oxy pills, wads of cash stashed at daycare center

(Newser) - Of all the places in the Bronx to find a stash of drugs, guns, and weapons, "Fun World Childcare" doesn't sound like the most likely candidate. But a raid on the building that houses the daycare center last week turned up more than just teddy bears and juice...

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