Strange Stuff

Indians are coming from far and wide to see a two-faced baby born in a tiny village, ABC News reports. Many think the little girl with four eyes and two mouths is a reincarnation of the Hindu god Ganesh. "Some people say she is like a goddess," a village teacher said of the weeks-old girl. "They call the baby a face of a goddess." More »

Playboy playmate, reality TV wreck, tragic heroine? London's famed Covent Garden has commissioned an opera based on the tumultuous life of Anna Nicole Smith, Reuters reports. The librettist best known for creating the hit musical Jerry Springer: The Opera is penning what he called an "incredible story" and planning a 2010 premiere. More »

Wonder what it's like to be as high—on life and on couch cushions—as Tom Cruise? Head west, where licensed California medical-marijuana dealers are hawking a bud called "Tom Cruise Purple." The vials reportedly feature the actor's maniacally laughing mug—and aficionados  say it'll have you hallucinating in no time, the New York Daily News reports. More »

The 2010 US census was meant to be a high-tech affair, NextGov.com reports, but the Census Bureau today ditched plans to use hand-held computers. The agency will return to plain old paper after "a lack of effective communication" derailed efforts by Harris Corp. to come up with devices to record data from the estimated 1 million who don't mail back their forms. More »

It's been a dozen years since France won the Baking World Cup, but the baguette's homeland took home the gold today, reports the Wall Street Journal. The drought was odd, because, as America’s coach says, “It's a French competition. And it's bread.” America has won two of the last three, but their coach said this time the French came “ready to kill." More »

Octopuses are sexier in the wild than in the aquarium, report stunned researchers who snorkeled among the frisky cephalopods for several weeks in Indonesia. Some Abdopus aculeatus males employ deceit, mimicking females with their changeable colors and sneaking up on them from the reef bottom. Others jealously guard their mates, fending off competition with a fatal multi-armed stranglehold. More »

A good April Fools' prank can really liven up the office, and 32% of us have been on the giving or receiving end. CNN draws 10 of the best workplace gags from an annual CareerBuilder survey. Put pants and shoes in a men’s room stall to make it look as if there’s someone in there . . . for hours Stock the soda vending machine with beer More »

A thief has managed to walk out of a Norwegian aquarium with a croc stuffed in a bag, Reuters reports. The 2.3-foot long Schneider's dwarf caiman named "Taggen" was spirited away sometime over the weekend while the aquarium was busy. Police are investigating, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for help finding the animal. More »

More women are carrying babies for dollars, despite opposition from Christians, feminists, and medical ethicists—not to mention some states and most EU nations. So why do they do it? A $20,000 to $25,000 paycheck doesn't hurt, Newsweek reports, but many also do it for love. "I felt like, 'What else am I going to do with my life that means so much?'" one surrogate mom said. More »

A particle smasher in Switzerland could suck up Earth and possibly the whole universe, a US lawsuit claims. The suit warns that the $8 billion Large Hadron Collider near Geneva could spark a matter-sucking black hole or a "strangelet" that turns our planet into "strange matter." But one Princeton scientist dismisses the claim, saying the Collider is as likely to "make dragons that might eat us up," the New York Times reports. More »

Officials on Long Island have initiated a study on the economic feasibility of its secession from New York state, Newsday reports. While acknowledging the difficulties of establishing a 51st state, Suffolk County Comptroller Joseph Sawicki said the proposal is really about examining what Long Island contributes to greater New York, and what it doesn’t get in return. More »

Not only will Guns N’ Roses fans rejoice if Axl Rose and company deliver “Chinese Democracy” in 2008—they’ll also be sipping a free can of Dr Pepper, the New York Post reports. The soda-maker promises every American a free can if the 1980s rock icons complete their 17-year-old project before the year is through. More »

A Hawaii hospital ejected the relative of a man recovering from surgery after he tried to bring the patient’s favorite pet—a full-grown horse—to visit, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports. Security staff stopped the visitors before they could get to the patient's room; the man was intoxicated, and the horse turned out not to belong to the patient at all. More »

While you're busy worrying about human rights in China, author and journalist Ted Kerasote argues, add animal rights to the list. After a trip to a ski camp in China where he was befriended by a "dead ringer for Lassie," he was appalled to find his canine pal served as the main dish at a feast in his honor. More »

Suburbanites are fighting to keep bamboo at bay in backyards all over America, but the tropical grass is winning. The Asian import grows fast and has become a popular, environmentally friendly way to screen out the neighbors. But with roots like steel cables, the relentless spreader resists pesticides, pickaxes, and metal barriers, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

This Good Friday is not simply the most solemn day in the Christian calendar but a convergence of movable feasts that doesn't occur more than once in a century. March 21 is also the first day of the Jewish festival of Purim and the celebration of the birth of the prophet Muhammed. The three holidays have fallen on the same day only nine times in 800 years, Time reports. More »

A stingray leapt out of the water and struck a 55-year-old Michigan woman who was sunbathing on the deck of a boat off the Florida Keys yesterday, CNN reports. The woman, who was with her husband and children, was knocked to the ground and pronounced dead at a local hospital. No word on the specific cause of death yet, but local reports say she was impaled through the neck by the 75 lb. ray's barb. More »

Spanish couples will do anything to get their kids into top schools—including break up, the Guardian reports. Thanks to a point-based admissions system that favors children of single parents, Spain has seen a staggering spike in divorces, suspiciously filed just ahead of the upcoming application deadline. Judges think many are “fake” splits, designed to net the all-important points. More »

Good news for anyone who's ever wanted to be someone else: You can be Ian Usher of Perth, Australia. The native Brit went through a nasty divorce and has decided to put his whole life on the eBay auction block: house, friends, motorcycle, car, even his job. The total cost? Upwards of $390,000, roughly the value of the house, ABC News reports. More »

Wild boars wreaked havoc in a German town this weekend, attempting to shop for hardware, go to church, and do some gardening, Der Spiegel reports. One of the beasts, acting like "an elephant in a porcelain store," was eventually cornered at the checkout of the home-improvement center, police said. They shot that boar, and the others escaped to the wild. More »