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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'Unreal': Whale Capsizes Boat Off New Hampshire Coast

Occupants were rescued, and whale seems to be OK, too

(Newser) - Two occupants of a fishing vessel are safe Tuesday after a whale surfaced under their boat, capsizing it off the New Hampshire shore, according to the US Coast Guard. The incident occurred Tuesday near Odiorne Point State Park, the AP reports. The Coast Guard posted to X that they had...

Man Hides Historic $1.7K Goodwill Buy From Wife

Richard Moore scooped up fragment of George Washington's tent from nonprofit's online store

(Newser) - If you prefer online shopping to in-person browsing, Goodwill's online store offers that option for not only its typical gently used clothing, books, and housewares, but also rarer items with heftier price tags. The nonprofit is now boasting of a "historic sale" via its site—a tattered piece...

Rare Orange Lobster Saved by Denver Broncos Fans

Meet Crush, who avoided his fate at Red Lobster by not conforming

(Newser) - The Downtown Aquarium in Denver has a new resident—a rare orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado. A long-term employee spotted the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last Friday and alerted restaurant managers, reports the...

Salsa Mishap Has Town Spending $20K to Clean Pool

The jar broke, and Needham, Mass., is concerned about those glass shards

(Newser) - Snacking on chips and salsa by the pool might sound like a great way to summer. For residents of Needham, Massachusetts, it turned into a big bummer instead. Boston 25 reports a patron brought a glass jar of salsa to the Rosemary Recreation Complex on Sunday. It broke, and pieces...

On a Steamy Sunday, Philly Logged Record Snowfall

It was hail, and that counts

(Newser) - It's been steamy in Philadelphia this week, where temps hit 94 degrees on Sunday—which was also a record-setting day when it comes to snow, reports NBC Philadelphia . The National Weather Service on Monday reported that thunderstorms passed over the Philadelphia region on Sunday afternoon and generated a "...

For 42 Hours, No One Knew He Was Stuck in an Elevator

Indian man was only rescued when an operator reported to work Monday

(Newser) - A 59-year-old Indian man walked into an elevator to head to a doctor's appointment around noon on Saturday—and ended up in the hospital 42 hours later, when he finally exited the elevator. The BBC reports on Ravindran Nair's ordeal, which started when he found himself unable to...

Museum Admits Picassos Are Fake, Part of a Stunt

Kirsha Kaechele comes forward in Australia

(Newser) - The Picassos were fake, as it turns out. The curator of a controversial exhibit at a museum in Australia has admitted that she painted three purported works by the artist that were hung in a women's restroom, reports the AP . Kirsha Kaechele moved her exhibit to the restroom to...

Small City's Claim to Fame: the Mysterious Pickle Jar

It's been a near-constant in Des Peres, Missouri, for more than a decade now

(Newser) - If you look up the St. Louis suburb of Des Peres, Missouri, on Wikipedia , you'll see the usual entries about its history, population, etc. Des Peres, however, is unique in that it also has an entry under "Jar of Pickles," notes the Wall Street Journal . It seems...

Dog Turns on Stove, Starts House Fire
Dog Turns on Stove,
Starts House Fire
video
Jul 5, 2024 1:01 PM CDT

Dog Turns on Stove, Starts House Fire

Owner in Colorado Springs was able to extinguish it, but damage is significant

(Newser) - Stories occasionally surface of dogs saving their human families from a fire. This is not that story. Instead, firefighters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, say the pooch in this case started the fire by turning on a gas burner in the middle of the night, reports KKTV . Security video from inside...

Campaigning for Governor in Tokyo Has Gone a Bit Wild

Publicity stunts have incorporated AI, pets, even scantily clad women

(Newser) - Tokyo elects a new governor this weekend, but residents say personal publicity stunts have overtaken serious campaigning to a degree never seen before, with nearly nude women in suggestive poses, pets, an AI character, and a man practicing his golf swing. It's impossible to ignore. With internet campaigning still...

Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Off Another Fourth of July Stunt

Meta CEO got all dressed up for his latest video showing his Independence Day antics in Tahoe

(Newser) - Three summers ago, Mark Zuckerberg entertained (and completely annoyed) the masses with a "full-cringe" Fourth of July video that showed him riding an electric hydrofoil surfboard, American flag in hand. This year he's back with similar antics, albeit a slightly fancier version. Per Fox Business , the Meta CEO...

Termite 'Apartment Complex' Has Been Busy for 34K Years

'We knew they were old, but not that old,' South African researcher says

(Newser) - Scientists in South Africa have been stunned to discover that termite mounds that are still inhabited in an arid region of the country are more than 30,000 years old, meaning they're the oldest known active termite hills. Some of the mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand were...

Mysterious Monolith Removed From Colorado Dairy Farm

Strange object brought too many people to farm, owner says

(Newser) - After a mysterious monolith brought an "overwhelming influx" of looky-loos to a Colorado dairy farm, some of whom damaged the natural environment, the farm's owner has taken the strange shiny structure down, the Denver Post reports. "We took 'the Monolith' down and are keeping it safe....

Soup-Eating Hikers Are Trouble for Mount Halla

Officials say too much broth is being dumped

(Newser) - South Korea's highest mountain has a problem, and it involves soup. CNN reports on a campaign started by the National Park Office of Mount Halla that asks hikers to refrain from dumping ramyun broth on the mountain or in its streams. The instant noodles come in a disposable cup,...

Welcome to the Poozeum. Yes, It's a Poop Museum

Arizona museum has some record-setting pieces of feces on display—and a lot of them

(Newser) - One way to tell how a Tyrannosaurus rex digested food is to look at its poop. Bone fragments in a piece of fossilized excrement at a new museum in northern Arizona—aptly called the Poozeum—are among the tinier bits of evidence that indicate T. rex wasn't much of...

Nebraska Considers Putting Fans' Ashes Under Football Field

University regent offers up strange plan to make up a budget shortfall

(Newser) - A University of Nebraska regent has proposed a way for lifelong Cornhusker fans to carry their support into the afterlife. When Memorial Stadium undergoes its next renovation, the AP reports that Regent Barbara Weitz of Omaha suggested building a columbarium under the football field where departed fans can have their...

Mystery Kinkajou Found at Rest Stop in Washington

Officials aren't sure how rainforest animal got there

(Newser) - Why did the kinkajou cross the road? And what's a kinkajou, anyway? One of the mammals—which look like a cross between a monkey and a tiny bear—was found far from its normal rainforest habitat this week at a highway rest stop amid the rolling sagebrush plains of...

Developer Must Take Down House Built on Wrong Lot

It was a strange mix-up in Hawaii

(Newser) - A developer who built a home in Hawaii on the wrong vacant lot has been ordered to take it down, reports SFGate . The mistake set off a series of convoluted legal skirmishes, and the judge cut to the chase: "This was not an instance of minor encroachment, but an...

Latest Mystery Monolith Turns Up in Nevada Desert
Las Vegas Police Remove
Mysterious Monolith
updated
Jun 21, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Las Vegas Police Remove Mysterious Monolith

Someone is apparently playing an elaborate game all over the world

(Newser) - Las Vegas police won't say where they took it, but the department announced Friday that the monolith found jutting out of the rocks in the mountains not far from the city has been removed. "It remains unknown how the item got to its location or who might be...

China Says Man Bought Military Secrets for 85 Cents

Military employees who were supposed to shred documents sold them to recycling center

(Newser) - A military history buff in China appears to have made an alarming discovery after picking up four discarded books for less than $1 at a neighborhood recycling station: They were confidential military documents. The country's Ministry of State Security told the story in a social media post on Thursday,...

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