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Started by Imperator; Last updated Feb 28, 08 11:51 AM CST by K Schwartz | View history

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Strange Stuff

"There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on." - Rod Serling

The world can be a wacky place. From the mysterious to stomach-churning to the just-plain-wacky, the best of the weirdest

Stories

Stories 101 - 120 of 367

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 19 Next >>

May 2008
- Grammatical Dynamic Duo Wages War on Typos
  
  newser | Chicago Tribune | May 21, 08 8:50 PM CDT
  
  Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson are out-of-work Ivy Leaguers on a mission. They just wrapped up a three-month cross-country drive to eradicate typos and grammar gaffes in public spaces. Sharpies in hand, the pair confronted store owners about typos on their signs and windows and did their best to correct them, explains the Chicago Tribune . "A grocery store that can't spell grocery makes you question the food they sell," says Deck. More »
- Cannes Goes to the Dogs
  
  newser | Times (UK) | May 20, 08 10:47 AM CDT
  
  Dogs will paw the red carpet at Cannes this week as the "Palm Dog" ceremony returns to the festival, the Times of London reports. Critics determine the winner of the 56-year-old award (8 in human years) for the top canine performer in the competing films. The victor receives a stylish brass-studded black leather collar—and top-dog status. More »
- Hello, China: Meet Japan's New Envoy
  
  newser | Associated Press | May 19, 08 8:00 PM CDT
  
  Hello Kitty has been tapped as Japan’s cultural envoy to China, the AP reports. Japan’s ministry of tourism chose the über-popular icon to represent the country in its drive to attract 10 million annual visitors to the islands. Last year, tourists from China and Hong Kong made up 16.5% of Japan's 8.35 million overseas visitors. More »
- Vt. Town Sheds Inhibitions, Puts Them Back On
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 19, 08 5:45 PM CDT
  
  Whether shopping, bicycling, hula-hooping, or demonstrating for PETA, people in Brattleboro, Vt., have witnessed a rash of nakedness, the Wall Street Journal reports. Public nudity is generally legal in Vermont, but a spontaneous act of nakedness by three 20-year-olds two summers ago sparked a trend that made many residents uncomfortable and prompted passage of a ban. More »
- Cat and Mouse Cause Massive Albanian Blackout
  
  newser | Reuters | May 16, 08 6:42 PM CDT
  
  It’s an unlikely reason for a power outage: A cat and mouse engaged in a chase accidentally ran into high-voltage cables at the main power station in Tirana, frying themselves and causing a 72-hour blackout in some districts of the Albanian capital, Reuters reports. Outages are relatively common in Albania, but they usually result from the Soviet-era infrastructure, not the law of the jungle. More »
- Final Doomsday Cultists Exit Russian Cave
  
  newser | BBC | May 16, 08 10:15 AM CDT
  
  The final nine members of a Russian doomsday cult holed up in a cave to await the apocalypse (coming this month) have abandoned ship, unable to stand the stench of two people who had died. Thirty-five followers of a self-declared prophet calling himself Father Pyotr climbed into the cave in November and threatened to blow themselves up if police tried to remove them, the BBC reports. More »
- Broke in the City of Light? Pay a Visit to 'Auntie'
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | May 12, 08 3:37 PM CDT
  
  The Credit Municipal of Paris, known about town as "Auntie," is pretty glamorous for a pawnshop. Since 1777, the city-operated institution has served Rodin, Monet, Zola, Verlaine, and Victor Hugo, who mentioned it in Les Miserables . The newest development? Auntie now accepts wine. "People can now exchange liquidity—for liquidity," the shop's director tells the Los Angeles Times . More »
- America's Most Haunted
  
  newser | LiveScience | May 11, 08 3:31 PM CDT
  
  Your local graveyard may be creepy, but mazelike mansions and murderous history make up LifeScience’s list of the most haunted places in America: Winchester Mystery House: More than 100 rooms and staircases leading nowhere fill this San Jose, Calif., mansion, built by its paranoid owner to ward off ghosts. Amityville Horror: The NY site where a son said demons possessed him to kill six family members. More »
- Imprisoned Moms Are Keeping Kids
  
  newser | Associated Press | May 10, 08 7:23 PM CDT
  
  More states are imprisoning babies, and moms couldn't be happier: Prisons nationwide are allowing incarcerated mothers to keep their little ones, the AP reports. Opponents of the practice say the kids may be traumatized, but one researcher found that “the outcomes are promising, if the prison nursery programs have the appropriate resources.” More »
- Mom, Kids Lived With Corpse of Woman, 90
  
  newser | The Wisconsin State Journal | May 10, 08 10:09 AM CDT
  
  A woman and her self-proclaimed "bishop" have been arrested after cops found the decomposing corpse of a 90-year-old woman on a toilet in the house she shared with her two kids, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. The woman said the bishop of her tiny religious group told her her God would bring the corpse back to life if she prayed hard enough. More »
- Philly Cops Probe NFL Star in Shooting
  
  newser | Indianapolis Star | May 2, 08 7:07 PM CDT
  
  Police have questioned Indianapolis Colts star Marvin Harrison about a shooting outside his Philadelphia bar this week, the Indianapolis Star reports. Details are vague so far: A man was shot in the hand, doctors treated a child hurt by shattered glass, and “a vehicle that was on the highway” was involved in the Tuesday incident, a police spokesman said. More »
- Regrown Finger Called 'Absurd'
  
  newser | Guardian (UK) | May 1, 08 7:36 PM CDT
  
  A UK plastic surgeon repudiated claims by an American company that a powder made from a pig’s bladder spurred regrowth of a man’s severed fingertip, the Guardian reports. Stories circulated this week of Lee Spievack’s “miraculous” recovery thanks to what he called “pixie dust,” but Simon Kay, professor of hand surgery at the University of Leeds, said the reports were “junk science.” More »
April 2008
- Missing Romanovs Identified
  
  newser | BBC | Apr 30, 08 5:50 PM CDT
  
  DNA tests have confirmed that remains discovered last year in Russia are the remains of two children of Tsar Nicholas II, the BBC reports. Though most of the tsar’s family, executed during the Bolshevik revolution, was found in 1991, two children—Alexei and Maria—were thought missing, fueling widespread rumors that they survived and escaped later capture. More »
- David Blaine Breaks Breath-Holding Record
  
  newser | Associated Press | Apr 30, 08 12:11 PM CDT
  
  David Blaine broke the world record for holding one’s breath today when he was submerged for 17 minutes and 4 seconds during a taping of Oprah. The endurance artist looked relaxed emerging from a water-filled sphere, the AP reports. Blaine had undergone simulated altitude training and pure oxygen treatment to prepare for the feat. The previous record was 16 minutes, 32 seconds. More »
- As Currency, Dolphin Teeth Feel Recession's Bite
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 11:50 AM CDT
  
  Spinner dolphins had better watch out—their pearly whites are again a fast-growing currency in the South Pacific, the Wall Street Journal reports. Economic troubles in the Solomon Islands have caused many to return to the traditional trading chip. “Dolphin teeth are like gold,” says the governor of the nation's central bank. "You keep them as a store of wealth.” More »
- Dear Mass Murderer: I Need Advice
  
  newser | Radar | Apr 30, 08 10:51 AM CDT
  
  An unemployed writer posing as a 10-year-old boy seeking advice wrote letters to a number of celebrities, including some of America's most infamous killers. The responses to the queries from the "pop-culture historian," as Radar magazine described Bill Geerhart, range from the weirdly sensible (Ted Kaczynski) to the terrifyingly psychotic (Charles Manson). More »
- Roger Waters' Giant Inflatable Pig—Found!
  
  newser | The Desert Sun | Apr 29, 08 6:46 PM CDT
  
  The bus-sized, helium-filled pig unintentionally unleashed by Pink Floyd alum Roger Waters at the Coachella music festival Sunday has been found—in two pieces—at a nearby country club, reports the Desert Sun of Palm Springs. "It is entirely possible that I have at least part of your pig," a woman wrote organizers of the festival. "I must warn you that it is not in good shape." More »
- Scientists Thaw Colossal Squid for Probe
  
  newser | BBC | Apr 28, 08 10:56 AM CDT
  
  New Zealand scientists have begun defrosting a colossal squid, caught last year, so they can dissect the little-known species. They aim to start by determining the sex of the 34-foot long animal, a native of Antarctica that weighs half a ton. "They're incredibly rare—this is probably one of six specimens ever brought up," one researcher told the BBC. More »
- Celebrity Scents Wrinkle Noses
  
  newser | I.D. Magazine | Apr 27, 08 4:55 PM CDT
  
  Just about every week seems to bring another entry into the field of celebrity fragrances, but the news that architect Zaha Hadid has her own scent moved I.D. Magazine to ask industrial designers how they'd approach the process. Hold your nose for this sampling: France's Inga Sempé gets equine with an unnamed "blend of horse dung, gasoline, milled iron, and parma ham"—in a bottle strung with animal hair. More »
- Genitals On the Menu at Beijing's Penis Bistro
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | Apr 26, 08 4:27 PM CDT
  
  If your idea of good eating doesn't stretch to yak's penis or duck testicles, then Beijing's Guolizhuang restaurant definitely isn't the place for you. The exclusive restaurant's menu is made up almost entirely of penis and testicle dishes, Der Speigel reports. Well-heeled businessmen flock in for dishes such as "Jasmine Flowers with 1,000 Layers"—otherwise known as sliced donkey penis. More »

Stories 101 - 120 of 367

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